Thursday, May 10, 2012

Spytastic Secret Codes

45 minutes

Intended for 25 guests, grades 4-6

Supplies

"Making Secret Codes" by Jillian Gregory
25 pencils with erasers
25 pens
25 big pie charts printed on card stock*
25 small pie charts printed on card stock*
25 brass fasteners
25 foam sheet circles
25 Spytastic Secret Codes worksheets**


Program

This program was completely developed by me through the use of the book "Making Secret Codes" by Jillian Gregory.

Read aloud pages 6-7 in the book which introduce codes in general.  Why they came about, how they are used...

Then, read aloud pages 10-11 about creating a Ceasar Shift Code.  On the Worksheet, have them create their own Ceaser Shift Code using the number 10.  This means that the second alphabet would begin under the letter K. 


A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
q
r
s
t
u
v
w
x
y
z
a
b
c
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o
p

Then have them decode this message. 

Dro wkx gry nyoc xyd bokn lyyuc rkc xy knfkxdkqo yfob dro wkx drkd mkxxyd bokn drow. – Wkbu Dgksx

(The man who does not read books has no advantage over the man that cannot read them. – Mark Twain)

The children can then make their own secret message using the Ceaser Shift Code. 

Then read aloud pages 26-27 about the Alberti Disk and have the children create their own. 

*To make the pie chart for the Alberti Disk:
1. Open Microsoft word
2. Click into the INSERT tab
3. Click on CHART
4. Scroll down to PIE CHART and select the "Pie" chart (not the "Pie in 3D" or "Pie in Pie")
5. When the excel sheet opens so that you can adjust  the values, drag the corner down to expand the total amount of "slices" to 26.  (One for every letter in the alphabet)
6. Make each "slice" the same value so that each slice will be the same size (assign a value of one to each cell in the excel sheet)
7.  Close the excel sheet and the pie chart will appear in the word window.
8.  Repeat steps 1-7 a second time.
9.  Make one of the pie charts bigger by right clicking on the image in word and expanding corner. 
10.  Print out 25 copies of each and cut out the circles. 

Each child should be given a small pie chart and a large pie chart.  Tell the children to write the alphabet around both disks, putting one letter in each slice.  Then fasten the two disks and the foam circle together by putting the brass fastener through the center of each circle.  As you spin the disk around, have the slices match up, with a different letter.  Have the children practice writing words in code using the disk as a codex. 


Spytastic Secret Codes Worksheet**


Pirate Storytime - Talk Like a Pirate Day - September 19

45 minutes

Intended for 25 guests, grades 1-3

Supplies

"When You're a Pirate Dog and other Pirate Poems" by Eric Ode
"Pirate vs Pirate: The Terrific Tale of Big Blustery Maritime Match" by Mary Quattlebaum
"The Pirate Cruncher" by Johnny Duddle
25 empty toilet paper rolls
Feathers
Crayons
Orange foam sheets
25 red solo cups
Aluminum foil
Black construction paper
Skull and cross bones decal
Stapler
Oranges or clementines (to prevent scurvy)

Program

If presenting this program on International Talk Like a Pirate Day, it is important that you talk like a pirate though the program and encourage your guests to do the same.  As the guests arrive, hand out pirate name tag for them.  I created my own list of silly pirate names:

Barbarossa
Dread Pirate Roberts
Calico John Sweeney
First-mate Casey Calderon
Captain Morgan O'Toole
Davey Jones
Poop-deck Petey Hayes
Madame Mary McDuffie
Sea-legs Sally O'Connell
Landlubbin' Laura Daly
Starboard Stu O'Malley
Rainbow Beard Ronda
Scurvy Stephanie Collins
Fuzzy Fred Moore
Sir Patchy Pants
Poisonous Patsy
Captain Jack Sparrow
Mad Eye McDougal
Black Beard
Jolly Roger
Rowdy Rudy O'Reilly
Harvey Peg-leg Hullihan
Grumpy George Turner
One-eyes Bobby O'Shay
Red Patch Polly

As the kids receive their names, they compare and laugh, and it gets them ready to have fun in the program. 

Hand out a citrus snack to prevent scurvy and dive into your books.  I like introducing some fun poetry into story times to keep children open to this literature form. 

Here I have three different crafts, and your time and the patience level will determine how many you can do. 

Use the toilet paper rolls, feathers, orange foam, and crayons to make a parrot friend. 


Use the black construction paper, the decal, and these instructions to create your own pirate hats!


With a red solo cup, and some aluminum foil, create a pirate hook.  Simply cut a hole in the bottom of the cup and feed a rolled strip of foil through the hole.  then bend the foil into the shape of a hook. 



Tuesday, May 8, 2012

You Are What You Eat From Your Head to Your Feet!

45 minutes

Intended for 25 guests, ages 3-5 with their adult


Supplies

"Food for Thought: The Complete Book of Concepts for Growing Minds" by Freyman
"Food Fight" by Shields
"Happy Healthy Monsters" by Sesame Street
25 bread photos
25 cereal photos
25 vegetable photos
25 fruit photos
25 dairy photos
25 protein photos
25 person cut outs
25 heart cut outs
25 triangle cut outs
Apple slices
Baby carrots
Glue sticks

Program


This program is about moving and shaking and being healthy.  Get ready to hokey your pokey and point out where your head, shoulders, knees and toes are. 

When guests arrive, do that Hokey Pokey.  You can ask for suggestions what to "put in."

Then read "Food for Thought" but only the counting part.  Point out how all the characters are made of food, and ask if the children can identify what kinds of food the animals are made of. 

Next read "Food Fight."  The kids love this one.  It's silly and funny and the rhyming verse is terribly cute. 

Then have them get up again, and do some Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.  Work it! 

Then read "Happy Healthy Monsters."  This is a great interactive book that gets the children moving to different activities on the page.  When it says, get a health snack, have the children grab the carrot sticks and apple slices. 

Next on the the craft.  The Food Pyramid Person, which shows that you are what you eat! 

International Penguin Day - April 25

45 minutes

Intended for 25 guests, grades K-2


Supplies

"Penguin and the cupcake" by Ashley Spires
"Tacky the Penguin" by Helen Lester
"The Pirate and the Penguin" by Patricia Storms
50 paper plates
Markers
Scissors
Glue sticks
25 cupcakes

Program

As the children are arriving for the program, play some hangman for the first 5-7 minutes or so.
Before reading the stories, share some fun penguin facts with the children.  After all, it is International Penguin Day and this is a library, so they should learn something:

Even though penguins are birds, they cannot fly.  They can swim though.
There are 17 different species, or kinds, or penguins that live on the Earth.
Emperor penguins are the largest of all the penguin species, up to 4 feet tall.
Fairy penguins are the smallest of all the penguin species, only 16 inches tall.
The male Emperor penguin keeps the egg at his feet for 65 days to keep it warm.
Penguins live on four different continents: South America, Africa, Australia, and Antartica.

Since one of the books is the "Penguin and the Cupcake" I suggest reading this book first, and giving the children cupcakes.  With a cupcake in hand, the children will quietly listen to the stories you read.  Read through the rest of the stories. 

For a craft, make paper plate penguins!  Each penguin is made from two plates.  I gave mine a green bow-tie because he is already wearing his penguin tux! 

  

May Outreach

MAY

30 minutes

Intended for preschool audience

Hello Song

Hello! Hello!
Hello, and how are you?
I'm fine! I'm fine!
And I hope that you are too!


Get the Wiggles Out!

Two littel feet go tap, tap tap
Two little hands go clap, clap, clap
One little body jumps up in the air
Two little arms reach way up there
Two little feet go jump, jump, jump
Two little fists go thump, thump, thump
One little body spins round and round
And one little child sits quietly down

Storytime

"Read to Tiger" by S J Fore

That was a pretty silly tiger, right? Let's read about another silly animal with sharp teeth!

"The Super Hungry Dinosaur" by Martin Waddell

Dino Song

(to the tune of "Lollypop, Lollypop")
Dinosaur, dinosaur, oh dino, dinosaur
(Jazz hands to the left, right, up and down)
Dinosaur, dinosaur, oh dino, dinosaur
ROAR!
Dinosaur, dinosaur, oh dino, dinosaur
Dinosaur, dinosaur, oh dino, dinosaur
STOMP!
Dinosaur, dinosaur, oh dino, dinosaur
Dinosaur, dinosaur, oh dino, dinosaur
CHOMP!

Storytime Resumes

"Maggie's Ball" by Lindsay Barrett George

Maggie's Ball Game

I use a handy cookie sheet for this and sticky magnetic strips. I printed out six different pictures of locations where Maggies ball could be hiding (a house, a tree, a playground, a flowerbed, a body of water, and a library). Then I printed out a picture of a ball. I put a magnetic strip on the back of the seven pictures. I sing a little ditty: "Where is Maggie's ball? Oh! Where is Maggie's ball?", as I turn the board around and hid the ball behind one of the pictures. Then the children guess where the ball is hiding.

Storytime (Last book)


"Look! Look! Look!" by Tana Hoban
(Great participatory book!)

Goodbye

Our hands say thank you with a clap, clap, clap
Out feet say thank you with a tap, tap tap
Now reach up very high
And wave goodbye!

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

April Outreach

APRIL

30 minutes

Intended for preschool audience

Hello Song

Hello! Hello!
Hello, and how are you?
I'm fine! I'm fine!
And I hope that you are too!

Get the Wiggles Out!

Two littel feet go tap, tap tap
Two little hands go clap, clap, clap
One little body jumps up in the air
Two little arms reach way up there
Two little feet go jump, jump, jump
Two little fists go thump, thump, thump
One little body spins round and round
And one little child sits quietly down

Storytime

"Spring is Here" by Will Hillenbrand
Have the children make the sounds and motions that Mole does.

"Opposnakes: A lift the flap book about opposites" by Salina Yoon


Activity

Opposites - talk to the children about opposites in the book. Then play a game. Place one item on the board and have them guess the opposite. (I printed out pictures, laminated them and placed magnets on the back so the pictures can be attached to a cookie sheet.)


Story Time Resumes

"The Cow Loves Cookies" by Karma Wilson
Have the chant along saying "The cow loves cookies!"

Farm Chores Song

(to the tune of Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush)
This is the way we mow the hay,
mow the hay, mow the hay
This is the way we mow the hay so early in the morning.

Repeat with feed the chicks, milk the cows, plant the seeds, brush the horse...

One Last Book

"Look Book" by Tana Hoban
Have the children try to guess what the full image will be.




Goodbye

Our hands say thank you with a clap, clap, clap
Out feet say thank you with a tap, tap tap
Now reach up very high
And wave goodbye!