School Age S.T.E.A.M. Storytime & Craft: Building Bridges

 

School Age S.T.E.A.M. Storytime & Craft: Building Bridges

Wednesday March 19th 4:30-5:30 p.m.

(geared to ages 5-9, but older/younger siblings are welcomed)

Registration Required.

For Women's History Month, we'll share the story of Emily Roebling, the "Secret Engineer" behind the Brooklyn Bridge, then experiment with building a variety of bridges.

As children arrived, had books for browsing on bridges, various versions of "The Billy Goats Gruff" and Rosie Revere, Engineer and other empowering picture books by Andrea Beaty

Read aloud the book Secret Engineer: How Emily Roebling Built the Brooklyn Bridge by Rachel Dougherty, booktalked the other books.

Explored tension/compression & created a human suspension bridge: 

Acted out the story of The Three Billy Goats Gruff (no pictures)

Explored the strength of a beam bridge with this model:

And tested the strength of paper and straw-built bridges: 

More details on all of these projects can be found here: 

https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/2017/07/fairytale-engineering-three-billy-goats.html

CSL Clarence Dillon Library March 2025

S.T.E.A.M. Storytime/Craft : Valentine's Day & Friendship -- Clarence Dillon Public Library

 

STEAM Story Time & Craft

School Age S.T.E.A.M. Storytime & Craft: Valentine's Day & Friendship

 Wednesday February 5th   4:30-5:30 p.m.

(geared to ages 5-9, but older/younger siblings are welcomed - most of the kids were between 3 & 6 today)

Join us as we share stories about kindness, then create geometric cut paper valentines for our friends and family members.

Opened with a book about a shadow friend (a nod to this week's Groundhog's Day)

Read: I have a Friend by Keiko Narahashi (great figurative language) 
(Science snippet: talk about when shadows are short and long -- midday & ends of day because of the position of the sun.)

Action Song: I Am Your Shadow by Carol Simon Levin (Tune: “I'm A Little Teapot”)

I am your shadow, short and fat,
Lift up your hand, I can do that,
Lift up your foot, I'll do that too,
I do anything that you do.

I am your shadow, long and thin,
Put your finger to your chin,
Then watch me, I do that too,
I do anything that you do!

More Shadow Songs & Stories here: https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/search/label/Shadows

Book: The Other Side -- Jacqueline Woodson -- the story of two girls, one black and one white, who overcame segregation  (represented by a dividing fence in their town) to cleverly find a way to play together.  

Group today was too young for Sister Anne’s Hands – Marybeth Lorbiecki – Beautifully-written & illustrated story of a black nun who comes to all-white school to teach – history, heart, and humor – including counting buttons on underwear!  For more funky math problems, check out the website www.bedtimemath.com.  Includes handprint art project:

Book/Song: This Little Light of Mine illustrated by E.B. Lewis – with hand motions

More Black History Month ideas; https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/search/label/Black%20History%20Month

Book: My Friend Rabbit – Eric Rohmann (Caldecott Winner - talked about the award, author/illustrator definition)  sometimes friends drive us crazy! - kids loved this silly book

Book: My Heart is Like a Zoo by Michael Hall  --> Valentine crafts 

(supplies: construction paper, children's scissors, hole punches, glue sticks, markers)

More Valentine's Day ideas: https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/search/label/Valentine%27s%20Day

CDPL 2.5.25

Literacy Volunteers/Middle Earth "Soup's On"

 Participatory Stories & Songs: Soup & Thanksgiving

Asked about everyone's favorite kinds of soup, then opened with a very strange recipe:

Book: Monkey Soup by Louis Sachar (child makes her father a special kind of soup to help get him well – silly! -- Don't try this at home! )   

Song/Flannel:  "Alphabet Soup" by Tom Chapin (another silly recipe, reinforces alphabet, lyrics here: Soup's On)

 

Book: Mean Soup by Betsy Everitt (how to handle a "bad day" - could also make "Mean Cheerios!")

Interactive story with props (pot, puppets, & veggies): Stone Soup  (Participatory storytelling, mentioned old story many variants – I use the Ann McGovern version with old lady and young man - script here: Soup's On)

Book/Cards/Song: Chicken Soup with Rice – Maurice Sendak, tune by Carole King from “Really Rosie” (audio & video available, concept: the names of the months, lyrics here: Soup's On)

Craft: decorating potholders with fabric markers, then concluded with a "snowball fight" (details here) on this cold evening!

School Age S.T.E.A.M. Storytime & Craft: The "Wright" Stuff

 

School Age S.T.E.A.M. Storytime & Craft: The "Wright" Stuff

(geared to ages 5-9, but older/younger siblings are welcomed)

Wednesday January 8th 4:30 p.m. Registration Required.

Join us as we share a story about the great American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, then explore the geometry of his designs, a fantasy house, and create some buildings and designs of our own.

As kids entered, had assorted coloring sheets of his buildings and windows from the internet as well as pages photocopied from Frank Lloyd Wright for Kids: His Life & Work along with books on architecture and Frank Lloyd Wright to browse (including some adult “coffee table” books to look at pictures).

Opened by asking if anyone knew what architect/architecture was?  Said we’d be reading a book about an architect who some consider America’s best.  Man who loved shapes…had kids look for shapes on the cover of The Shape of the World (one kid even pointed out the rhombus = diamond!), notice what was on the end-papers – items from nature…

Read the book aloud then showed pictures of some of his famous buildings: Falling Water, The Johnson Wax building interior with the “lilypads”, Guggenheim – asked kids to respond with what shapes they saw.  Showed pictures of a few things he dreamed up but never built – future city with helicopters, mile high skyscraper. Then shared another book of imaginitive architecture If I Built A House by Chris Van Dusen

Booktalked Dreaming Up by Christy Hale (poems & children's versions of iconic buildings), The Wright 3 mystery,  Frank Lloyd Wright for Kids: His Life & Work.

“Design It” - encouraged kids to create their own Wright-inspired  designs or imagine a future city

• tables with coloring sheets, paper and cardboard, grid paper, pencils, crayons, colored pencils, markers, rulers, scissors
• on the floor -- magnetiles, foam shapes, straws & connectors, Toobers &  Zots.

More ideas: https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/2017/09/steam-storytimethe-wright-stuff.html

CDPL 1/2025