2014 Building Block Nominees Story Time: September 29-30, 2014

Books:
Moo! by David La Rochelle *
This Little Piggy by Tim Harrington *
The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli *

Craft: Watermelon Person
This week we made watermelon people based on the picture at left.  We made ours out of half of a paper plate.  The children colored the edge of the plate green before gluing on a red semi-circle and four accordian-folded green strips of paper for arms and legs.  They could then draw on seeds and a face.

Literacy Extensions:
- Visit the Missouri Building Block Picture Book Award website to vote for your choice for the 2014 Missouri Building Block Picture Book Award.
- Extend the book This Little Piggy by having your child come up with more activities for the toes to do.

2014 Building Block Nominees Story Time: September 22-23, 2014

Books:
Count the Monkeys by Mac Barnett *
That Is NOT A Good Idea! by Mo Willems *

Craft: Monkey Necklace
Each child was given a piece of curling ribbon.  They could have 1-5 monkey heads to color and string onto the ribbon to make into a necklace.

Literacy Extensions:
- Practice counting throughout the day by having your child count various common items (i.e. chips eaten at lunchtime, number of steps taken to walk from one room to another, etc.)
- Talk about how pictures can convey emotions without any text (i.e. That Is NOT A Good Idea)

2014 Building Block Nominees Story Time: September 15-16, 2014

Books:
I Dare You NOT to Yawn by Helene Boudreau *
Open Very Carefully: A Book With Bite by Nicola O'Byrne *
Ribbit! by Rodrigo Folgueira *

Craft: Pig
The pig craft we made is based off of the one found on this story time blog.  Children got a head, four legs, and two ears to color and glue together to make into the pig.  They then taped on a pipe cleaner tail.

Literacy Extensions:
- Go over animal sounds with your child. (i.e. Ribbit!)
- Read the original story of 'The Ugly Duckling" and other fairy tales. (i.e. Open Very Carefully)

2014 Building Block Nominees Story Time: September 8-9, 2014

Books:
Little Nelly's Big Book by Pippa Goodhart *
Mustache Baby by Bridget Heos *

Crafts:
Mustache Straw - Children colored a cardstock straw cutout that had two slits cut longwise into the center.  They then weaved it onto a bendy straw.
Police Badge - Children colored a cardstock police badge before stringing it onto yarn to wear as a necklace.

Literacy Extensions:
- See how many animals your child can identify from simple descriptions of them. (i.e. Little Nelly's Big Book)
- Have your child come up with more bad and good guys that might be identified by a certain type of mustache (i.e. Mustache Baby)

Building Block Award Winners Story Time: September 2, 2014

Books:
Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum by Lisa Wheeler
Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin *
Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin
The Pout-Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen *
Press Here by Herve Tullet *
Who Took the Cookies from the Cookie Jar? by Bonnie Lass

Craft: Dot Collage
Children were given 12 dots to make a collage.  They could be used in any combination along with coloring to create their picture.

Literacy Extensions:
- Practice voting with your child. Have them vote for their favorite food, book, television show, game, etc.
- Visit the Missouri Building Block Picture Book Award website for links to activity sheets and Pinterest pages for all the past and current Building Block Award nominee books.