All About Food: Watermelon & Cherries Story Time -- November 15-16, 2021

Outdoor Story Times are held weekly on Monday and Tuesday mornings at 10:00 am, weather permitting.  (Registration is required to attend.)  Online Story Times will be posted weekly on Tuesday mornings.  (The video is available to watch for one week before a new one is uploaded.)

Click HERE for this week's Story Time video.

Blueberry Mouse by Alice Low
I Am Bat by Morag Hood
The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli

Books:  (Fruit)
Fruit Bowl by Mark Hoffmann

Fruits and Suits by Jared Chapman

Go, Go, Grapes! by April Pulley Sayre
The Monkey Goes Banana by C.P. Bloom

Ned's New Home by Kevin Tseng
Ten Apples Up on Top by Theo LeSeig

Craft:  Watermelon

- Glue small red pieces of paper to the center of a paper plate

- Glue small green pieces of paper around the edges of the paper plate

- Fold plate in half

- Draw on face and seeds

Extension Activities:

- See how many different types of fruit your child can name.  Have them poll family and friends to see which fruits are their favorites.

- Visit the grocery story or local market.  Ask your child to name the different fruits they see.

- Try a fruit that you haven't had before.

Fruits Story Time: October 24-25, 2016

Books:
Blueberry Mouse by Alice Low
Ned's New Home by Kevin Tseng *
Raisin and Grape by Tom Amico
Ten Orange Pumpkins: A Counting Book by Stephen Savage *
The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli *

Craft: Banana Man
The children colored a banana cutout before gluing on yellow strips of paper that were accordian-folded for arms and legs.


Literacy Extensions:
- Have your child take a poll to see which fruits are most liked in your family.
- After reading Ten Orange Pumpkins, have your child come up with a similar story using a different type of fruit.

W - Wolves & Weather: May 18-19, 2015

Books:
Bear in Sunshine by Stella Blackstone
Breathe by Scott Magoon
Diary of a Baby Wombat by Jackie French
Hello, Sun! by Dayle Ann Dodds *
I Am a Witch's Cat by Harriet Muncaster
I Am So Strong by Mario Ramos
The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli *
We Need Water by Charles Ghigna
Winter Woes by Marty Kelley *
Wolfie the Bunny by Ame Dyckman *

Craft: Windsock
Children were given a piece of cardstock chopped in half longways and six pieces of crepe paper about a foot long each.  The children colored the cardstock however they liked before gluing the crepe paper along one of the long bottom edges of the cardstock.  The cardstock was then glued into a cylinder to make it a windsock.

Literacy Extensions:
- After reading Diary of a Baby Wombat, have your child keep a simple diary for a week.  If they are not yet writing, have them draw their activities during the day.
- Talk about weather and why we have to wear certain types of clothes for different types of weather.

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.

Our Favorite Books 2013: December 30, 2013

Books:
Oliver and His Alligator by Paul Schmid *
Open Very Carefully: A Book with Bite by Nicola O'Byrne *
That Is NOT a Good Idea! by Mo Willems
The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli *

Craft: Alligator
The craft we did is based on the picture to the left.  The template can be found at http://www.skiptomylou.org/2008/02/06/id-snap-at-the-chance-to-be-your-valentine/.  Ours was a little different in that we did a flat body instead of the pillow box body.

Literacy Extensions:
- Talk with your child about how plants grow (i.e. The Watermelon Seed)
- Discuss with your child things that they are scared of and ways they might cope (i.e. Oliver and His Alligator)