Favorite Books of 2014: December 29-30, 2014

Books:
The Crocodile Who Didn't Like Water by Gemma Merino *
Duck, Duck, MOOSE! by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen *
Hickory Dickory Dog by Alison Murray *
My Teacher Is a Monster! No, I Am Not. by Peter Brown
Ninja! by Aree Chung
Peek-A-Boo Bunny by Holly Surplice *
Tyrannosaurus Wrecks by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen

Craft: Dragon
I don't have a picture or template to share of this project as it was hand-drawn.  The kids colored a dragon's body and wings before gluing the wings to the body and then gluing on tissue paper flames.

Literacy Extensions:
- Explore the original "Hickory Dickory Dock" and other nursery rhymes.
- Ask your child for his favorite books from this year.  Have them articulate why they liked certain books and disliked others.

Notes:
I was amazed at how much the kids really liked Duck, Duck, MOOSE!.  I was afraid that it didn't have enough story to go with it.  Turns out that they liked it almost as much as the similarly written book Moo! by David LaRochelle.

Christmas Story Time: December 22-23, 2014

Books:
Dinosaur vs. Santa by bob Shea
Have You Been Naughty or Nice? by Ethan Long *
Minerva Louise on Christmas Eve by Janet Morgan Stoeke *
Snowmen at Christmas by Caralyn Buehner *
Star Bright: A Christmas Story by Alison McGhee
The Twelve Days of Christmas by Jane Cabrera

Craft: Standing Christmas Tree
Our craft was based on the picture at left.  Children colored a cardstock triangle before gluing on a star topper and sequins ornaments.  A clothespin was clipped at the bottom as the stand.

Literacy Extensions:
- Talk about your family's holiday traditions.  Explain the history and the meaning behind them to your children.
- See if your child can come up with his own version of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" like Jane Cabrera did in her book.

Favorite Books of 2014: December 22-23, 2014

Books:
Digger Dog by William Bee *
Froodle by Antoinette Portis
Number One Sam by Greg Pizzoli *
The Nuts: Bedtime at the Nut House by Eric Litwin *

Craft: Paper Tube Race Car
Our craft this week was based on the picture at right.  A quarter sheet of cardstock was rolled and glued into a cylinder to make the car's body.  Four circles were glued on for tires.  A person was colored and stuck through a slit cut in the car's body.

Literacy Extensions:
- Discuss how there are different ways to be number one - not just winning first place. (i.e. Number One Sam)
- Talk about bones and skeletons.  Explain how it is our bones that hold us together and allow us to stand up.

Favorite Books of 2014: December 8-9, 2014

Books:
Found by Salina Yoon *
Froodle by Antoinette Portis
How to Cheer Up Dad by Fred Koehler
How to Lose a Lemur by Frann Preston-Gannon *
Naked! by Michael Ian Black *

Craft: Lemur
We made a lemur today where the kids colored the various body part and glued them together to make a lemur.  The template can be found on the DLTK kids page.

Literacy Extensions:
- Discuss the importance of clothes.  Talk about what is appropriate clothing for various situations. (i.e. Naked!)
- Talk about how it feels to lose a favorite toy or animal.  Then discuss how it feels to give a formerly cherished toy or animal to a friend.  Select a toy or animal to donate to a charity for the needy.
(i.e. Found)


Notes:
All of the stories we read this week were really short. I probably should have added a fourth book to the story time.

Favorite Books of 2014: December 1-2, 2014

Books:
The Book with No Pictures by B.J. Novak *
Hickory Dickory Dog by Alison Murray
Mix It Up! by Herve Tullet *
Oh So Brave Dragon by David Kirk *
Three Little Peas by Marine Rivoal

Craft: Color Wheel Coloring Sheet
We practiced mixing our colors this week by completing the coloring sheet at left.  The circles are labeled which color to use.  Kids had to figure out what color to use where the circles overlap.

Literacy Extensions:
- Play with color mixing.  Use watercolor paints to mix colors and explore how they change when mixed. (i.e. Mix It Up!)
- Read some nursery rhymes.  See if you and your child can come up with variations on them similar to the book Hickory Dickory Dog.

Notes:
We started out our series of favorite picture books from 2014 with my two favorite books -- The Book with No Pictures and Mix It Up!.
I have been amazed at the great reaction we get from The Book with No Pictures.  The kids giggle through the entire book.
Mix It Up! got a little more of a mixed reaction.  All of the children loved the "magic" of how the book changes based on the directions you follow.  However, the  younger children did not get the color mixing.
The same problem came up with the craft activity.  I went with just the simple coloring sheet as we had Play Time after the Story Times this week.  The kids usually  just want to get through the activity to get to the toys.  However, again the younger children didn't grasp the color mixing concept that the coloring sheet asked for.