School Age S.T.E.A.M. Storytime & Craft: Very Special Trees

 

A seasonal storytime incorporating history & empathy, fantasy, gratefulness & giving back

Ask who’s seen the Rockefeller Tree?

Book: The Carpenter’s Gift: A Christmas Tale about the Rockefeller Center Tree by David Rubel (Construction workers at the Rockefeller Center site help a a boy and his family in need—then many years the boy, now grown to an old man, donates his enormous tree after learning that it will not only give pleasure but will also be used to help another family.  Afterward talks about the tradition and logistics involved with the Rockefeller Center Trees and notes that since 2007 the wood from the tree has been milled and used for Habitat for Humanity houses.) 

Book- talked: Night Tree by Eve Bunting (Every year a family decorates a tree in the woods with edible ornaments for the animals),

Book:  The Night Gardener by Terry and Eric Fan. (A boy in an orphanage and a rundown town are transformed by the magical topiary creations of the night gardener. Fascinating parallel story to compare with The Carpenter’s Gift – both have boys lives transformed by a generous stranger and the metaphor of the tool passing from generation to generation.) 

Singable Book: The Marvelous Toy by Tom Paxton (hand-me-down toy has special meaning; performed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCjslf_a11c)

 

Book: Thankful by Elaine Vickers (A child creates a paper chain listing all the things she is thankful for - a great way to cultivate gratitude - and maybe make a nightly tradition to cultivate resiliance.)

Craft: Make our own "thankful paper chains," also trees and other paper ornaments (supplies: construction paper, scissors, markers, glue sticks, stamps & stamp pads, various things to decorate with)

Afterwards, finished with an indoor snowball fight 

Activity: Snowball fight using plastic bag snowballs, to the music “Sleigh Ride” by Leroy Anderson (on album Season’s Greetings)
Making snowballs for the program:
1) Gather a white plastic grocery bag into a long, skinny tube-like length with the handles on one end.
2) Fold the length in half, then in half again.
3) Wind a rubber band around the middle until it is tight.
4) Cut open both ends to remove any folded areas.
5) Then fluff out pieces

Idea courtesy of:  Susan Dailey, librarian, speaker and author of "A Storytime Year"-  

https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/2014/01/let-it-snow-winter-storytimecraft-ages.html

More ideas at: https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/2013/12/school-age-storytime-very-special-trees.html and https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/2013/12/school-age-storytime-gifts-and-giving.html

Clarence Dillon Library 12/10/2025

Memory Cafe (YMCA) Pointillism

 

 I was invited as a storyteller for the Basking Ridge YMCA "Memory Cafe"  - a place of respite for adults with dementia & their caregivers. 

Talked about how sometimes we are afraid to create art, until somebody shows they have confidence in us.

Read The Dot by Peter Reynolds

Then talked about the Neo-Impressionist art movement "Pointellism" 
Asked who had taken kids/grandkids to an art museum

Said about to read about an art museum visit that turns into a fantasy as the people climb in and out of the paintings! 

Read Katie's Sunday Afternoon by James Mayhew while projecting slides of the works mentioned so everyone could see them in more detail

Afterwards, participants created their own pointillist artworks - supplies: Qtips, washable tempera paint, plastic palettes, cardstock paper (with pre-printed outlines & samples for this group)

More Ideas here

Memory Cafe 11/26/25

Halloween Hootenanny - Participatory Stories & Songs

 

Halloween Hootenanny - Participatory Stories & Songs

Details at: https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/2013/12/halloween-hootenany-interactive-program.html

Perth Amboy Free Public Library 10/31/26

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

 

Thanksgiving

Book: Duck for Turkey Day by Jacqueline Jules

Discussion: who came from a different country? parents? grandparents? – all of us came to this country at some time unless we are Native Americans)

Towel Folding Story: The Case of the Missing Turkey -- Rhonda Turley   Piedmont, OK via PUBYAC. Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tq4eojAsNlY  (or search youtube for towel and chicken). 
"Last year, I was in charge of cooking the family thanksgiving turkey.

I set my alarm for early in the morning so I could pop it in the oven to cook for our family dinner.

When the alarm went off, I got up, put on my fuzzy slippers and shuffled out to the kitchen to get the bird.  I opened the fridge, and…IT WAS GONE!
Where could it be!? (this is where the towel folding starts…lay the towel out flat)
I looked everywhere!
I rolled up the living room rug (roll one end of the towel to center)…it wasn’t under there.
I pulled down the covers on my bed (roll other end to the center)…it wasn’t there.
I turned over the couch cushion  (Flip rolled towel over so rolled ends are underneath)…it wasn’t there.
I looked under the chair (fold towel in half end to end, and hold upright like a bouquet of flowers)…it wasn’t there.
I looked in the flower vase (peek in end of one tube and pull up the corner of the towel)
I looked in the umbrella stand (peek in end of one tube and pull up the corner of the towel)…it wasn’t there.
I even looked in the trash can  (peek in end of one tube and pull up the corner of the towel)...thankfully it wasn't there!
Finally, I looked in the cookie jar  (pull up last corner of the towel)
(here’s the finale…grasp two corners with one hand, the other two corners with the other hand, and pull them apart…resulting in what looks like a plucked bird.)
…And there it was!"

Book: Thanksgiving at the Tappletons' by Eileen Spinelli. After calamity stalks every step of the preparations for the Tappletons' Thanksgiving dinner, they realize that there is more to Thanksgiving than turkey and trimmings.

Flannel/Song: The Turkey Ran Away 

Song/Prop  based on the book I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie by Alison Jackson. Story & directions here: https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/2021/12/something-special-for-holidays.html

Action Song: The Turkey Shot Out of the Oven – based on the poem by Jack Prelutsky (lyrics here: https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/2021/12/something-special-for-holidays.html)

Other possible books (no time): Giving Thanks by Chief Jake Swamp or Thankful by Elaine Vickers

Didn't take the time for: 

Flannel : Uno, Dos, Tres Amigos (reinforces idea that we all have come from different places but celebrate together; enumeration practice, learn/reinforce Spanish language numbers)
Diez Amigos "10 Friends" (glove puppets)Tune: “10 Little Indians” 
Uno, dos, tres amigos,
Quatro, cinco, seis amigos,
Siete, Ocho, Nueve amigos,
Diez amigos son.
One, two, three friends,
Four, five, six friends,
Seven, Eight, Nine friends,
Ten friends are we. 

Craft: Cut & decorate the Old Woman & her stomach contents (cut out stomach and mount ziploc sandwich bag on back). Also made handprint turkeys with construction paper, gratitude lists, 

While they were crafting, shared the book Setting the Turkeys Free by W. Nikola-Lisa

More Thanksgiving book and song ideas: https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/search/label/Thanksgiving

CDPL 11/12/2025

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

 

We read 3 books about novel forms of transportation 

Galimoto by Catherine Stock, a young boy in Africa creates a toy vehicle out of things he finds and gets from people in his village

Fast Food by Joost Elffers & Saxton Freyman, a novel way to look at vegetables!

and If I Built a Car by Chris Van Duren, a fantastic fantasy on vehicular possibilities

Then we created our own!

Clarence Dillon 10/8/2025