Superhero Story Time: November 23-24, 2015

Books:
The Astonishing Secret of Awesome Man by Michael Chabon *
The Day I Lost My Superpowers by  Michael Escoffier
Eliot Jones, Midnight Superhero by Anne Cottringer
Superhero ABC by Bob McLeod
Superhero Joe by Jacqueline Preiss Weitzman
Supertruck by Stephen Savage *
Ten Rules of Being a Superhero by Deb Pilutti *

Craft: Paperbag Supehero Puppet
Our craft was based on the picture at left.  The kids colored their superhero before gluing on a cape, mask, and chest logo.  (Template below)

Literacy Extensions:
- Talk with your child about what makes a superhero.  Is it superpowers, bravery, etc?
- Have your child make up their own superhero.  Give it a name, design its costume, make up a secret identity, and give it superpowers.


Template:

Princess Story Time: November 16-17, 2015

Books:
Not All Princesses Dress in Pink by Jane Yolen
Princess in Training by Tammi Sauer
Part-Time Princess by Deborah Underwood *
Princess Palooza by Joy Allen *
Princess Penelope and the Runaway Kitten by Alison Murray *
Princess Says Goodnight by Naomi Howland

Craft: Crown
I found a crown template online.  (There are plenty to choose from.)  The kids colored and then glued sequins to the crowns.  Strips of yellow paper were glued to the back so the kids could wear the crown.

Literacy Extensions:
- After reading Princess Palooza, have your child design their favorite princess (i.e. sports princess, cooking princess, etc.)
- Pick a famous princess from history and learn a little about them.

Ninja Story Time: November 9-10, 2015

Books:
Nighttime Ninja by Barbara DaCosta
Ninja! by Arree Chung
Ninja Boy Goes to School by N.D. Wilson
Ninja Bunny by Jennifer Gray Olson *
Ninja Cowboy Bear Presents The Way of the Ninja
           by David Bruins & Hilary Leung *
Ninja, Ninja, Never Stop! by Todd Tuell
The Three Ninja Pigs by Corey Rosen Schwartz *

Craft: Tube Ninja
Our craft was based on the picture above.  I made a template with the mask hole with eyes that was copied onto cardstock.  Each template made two ninjas.  (Template below)  The ninja was colored and then glued into a cylinder.  A cut piece of straw (about the same height at the ninja) was tied around the ninja with a piece of red curling ribbon.

Literacy Extensions:
- After reading The Three Ninja Pigs, have your child retell another popular fairy tale or story with at least one of the main characters changed into a ninja.
- Come up with some ninja training exercises for your child.  This could be walking a beam to practice balance, tiptoeing to practice stealth, or standing on one leg to practice balance.  Make it fun!


Notes:
Ninja Template

Let's Pretend! Story Time: November 2-3, 2015

Books:
Can You Make a Scary Face? by Jan Thomas *
Emma Kate by Patricia Polacco
I'm a Frog! by Mo Willems *
My Garden by Kevin Henkes
Not a Box by Antoinette Portis

Craft: Frog Mask
This is a very simple mask made from the ring of a paper plate.  The center of the plate is cut out.  Two large circle eyes are glued to the colored plate along with a red paper tongue that can be curled.

Literacy Extensions:
- Play a game of pretend with your child.  Call out different animals for your child to pretend to be.
- After reading Emma Kate, discuss which is the imaginary friend -- the little girl or the elephant.  Point out the visual clues given throughout the book.