Happy Chickens - Daisy Comes Home

Daisy Comes Home
written and illustrated by Jan Brett
Laptime: preschool - early elementary
Story Circle preschool - elementary

I know that I've said it before, but I love Jan Brett's books! This book takes Brett's fans far away from Scandinavia, the setting for some of my favorites: Trouble with Trolls, The Hat and Annie and the Animals, to the beautiful Li River in China. The story opens in Mei Mei's home by the Li River where she raises the happiest hens in China and sells their eggs at the local market. Life is not so happy for the little hen named Daisy. The other hens pick on her and push her off the roosting perch at night. So Daisy decides to go to sleep in a basket by the bank of the river. While she is sleeping the river rises and carries her away to adventures where she must face a barking dog, a water buffalo and a group of red-tailed monkeys. From each adventure she learns a little more about being strong, brave and how to stand up for herself.
Brett's colorful and intricate illustrations never fail to capture the imagination. If you look closely at the unusually shaped mountains in the background you can see cleverly hidden images. This is a book that you will want to take your time to enjoy.

Use Daisy's adventures to start a conversation about conflict resolution and character building.

• What did the other hens do that was hurtful to Daisy?
• Have you ever treated anyone like that? Do you know people who treat others like that?
• What did Daisy learn about standing up for herself during her adventure on the river?
• That's the way that chickens handle trouble with other chickens, how should people handle handle trouble with other people?

Laptime Activities:
Make a Happy Hen oven Omelet

This is such an easy lunch or quick dinner. Be sure and let the kids help (check out Tips for Successful Classroom Cooking).
You will need:

• 6 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 Cup shredded cheese - cheddar works great but any of your favorite cheeses will work
• 1/4 Cup sliced mushrooms (optional)
• 1/4 Cup diced red and orange peppers or any other veggies that you love
• a little chopped green onion, to taste
• a shake or two of salt and a grind of pepper.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2. Whisk eggs and milk together.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients
4. Spray a round casserole or pie dish with cooking spray
5. Pour in egg mixture
6. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes. The omelet is done when it is set and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Visit a the happy hens at a local small acre farm.
We have a number of independent small acre farms, or hobby farms, in our area. These people raise animals and crops as a hobby or to supplement their income. Usually their laying chickens are free range. Most of the small farmers that I know love to show visitors around their farm. In the spring you get the added bonus of new farm babies to visit as well.

Story Circle Activities:
How To Draw a Chicken - this activity is best for elementary age children. You could use one of Jan's coloring pages that are available on her website for preschoolers.
Jan Brett offers a number of how to draw videos that you can download. Here is the link to the video page http://www.janbrettvideos.com/video/video_main_page.htm scroll down and look for the How To Draw a Chicken Video.
Give the class a blank sheet of paper and a pencil and draw with Jan. Then use crayons or markers to decorate the chickens. Look at the Happy Hens from the story and see how each has it's own coloring and markings.

Use your chicken art to play - Find Daisy

• Choose one child to be Mei Mei.
• Have Mei Mei leave the room or hide their eyes.
• Hide that child's picture of Daisy.
• Ask Mei Mei to come into the room and try to find Daisy.
• As Mei Mei gets close to the hiding spot have the children clap loudly.
• As Mei Mei gets farther away from the hiding spot have the children clap softly.
• After Mei Mei finds Daisy, choose a new child to play Mei Mei.
• To add to the fun, when Mei Mei finds Daisy have all of the children call out "Gu-gu gu-gu!"

G.P. Putnam's Sons, A Division of Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers 2002

One Flake, Two Flakes, Snow!

Snow
written and illustrated by Uri Shulevitz
Caldecott Honor book
Laptime: toddler - early elementary
Story Circle: toddler - early elementary

This winter it has been snowing in places that rarely, and sometimes never, see snow. I think that all of those people who are experiencing snow in their normally warm dry cities will relate to Uri Shulevitz's Caldecott Honor book, Snow. In this story, the adults greet the snow with denial and disbelief but the child greets the dancing flakes with joy.

"...One snowflake. 'It's snowing,' said boy with dog. 'It's only a snowflake,' said grandfather with beard. ...'It's nothing,' said man with hat. ... 'It'll melt,' said woman with umbrella."

But, of course, it doesn't stop or melt and soon the gray city and the gray day are transformed by the white snow giving the boy and his dog a whimsical winter wonderland in which to play.

Laptime Activity - Play in the snow!

• If you have snow, go out and play.
• If you don't have snow, make some. About.com has directions for making non-toxic fake snow. All you need to make fake snow is sodium polyacrylate, found in disposable diapers or from the gardening center, and water.
• Another easy way to play in the snow when there is no snow around, is to play with shaving cream. For easy clean up cover your table with plastic. Give each child a snowball size squirt of shaving cream and allow them to squish is around the table and finger paint winter designs.

Story Circle Activity -Snowflake Dance
The author uses these beautifully descriptive words, "circling, swirling, spinning, and twirling, dancing, playing.." to share the dance of the falling snow. Choose a piece of music that reminds you of snowfall and is easy for the children to move to. I like Saturday Snow from the Currier and Ives Holiday Collection, Winterscapes. Follow the storyline and have one child be the first snowflake and start the dance. Add children one at a time and then in small groups until everyone is a dancing snowflake.

Make Balloon Snowballs
This craft works best at an art center where you or an aide can work with 3 or 4 children at a time. If you do this project with your whole class make sure that you plan ahead and have everything ready to go so all of the children can begin at the same time.
You will need:

• one blown up balloon per child
• white glue mixed with a little water in a bowl. One bowl for two or three children to share.
• white yarn cut into long strings
• silver or white glitter

1. Have the children dip the yarn strings into the glue mixture and place around their balloons until the balloon is almost covered.
2. Sprinkle the balloon with glitter and allow to dry completely.
3. When the yarn and glitter are dry, pop the balloon and you will have a sparkling snow ball.

Check out Everything Preschool for more snow arts and crafts.

Farrar Straus Giroux, New York 1998

Wondersome Valentines Day Read-a-louds

Valentines Day is almost here. Here is a list of Wondersome Valentines Day books for preschool through early elementary:

• Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch - by Eileen Spinelli, illustrations by Paul Yalowitz
• Love Splat - by Rob Scotton
• Valentine's Day - written and illustrated by Anne and Lizzy Rockwell
• Queen of Hearts - by Mary Engelbreight
• Too Many Valentines - by Margaret McNamara, illustrated by Mike Gordon
• Nate the Great and The Mushy Valentines - by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat
• Roses are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink - by Diane de Groat
• Guess How Much I Love You - by Sam McBratney, illustrated by Anita Jeram
• Valentine Hearts Holiday Poetry - by various poets, illustrated by JoAnn Adinolfi
• It's Valentines Day - by Jack Prelutsky, illustrated by Yossi Abolafia

Thank you Elizabeth Kennedy at About.com: Children's Books for this list of Valentines Books. For story synopsis visit About.com:Children's Books.

Also, check out my Valentines Post on Seven Spunky Monkeys by Jacki French Koller,
illustrated by Lynn Munsinger. There are some fun activities to accompany this darling Valentines counting book.
Have a love filled Valentines Day!

image by stock.xchng

Knock, Knock. Who's at the Door?

Duck at the Door
written and illustrated by Jackie Urbanovic
Laptime: preschool - early elementary
Story Circle: preschool - second grade



We live up north in an area where ducks really do fly south for the winter. I love to see the ducks and the geese fly away in the late fall and imagine that I might be winging my way to sunny warm places. In the spring it's always such a joy to see them return to the little lake near my home. Duck at the Door is the story of Max the duck who loved his summer home so much that he stayed behind thinking that he would love it in the winter, too. Luckily Irene and her animal friends were there to take him in. Max makes himself at home but has to learn all of the new skills that come with domestic life like using the remote control and learning to cook.
Duck at the Door is Jackie Urbanovic's first book as author and illustrator. This delightful story about making room for everyone that we love is accompanied by her charming and often laugh out loud funny illustrations. Other books in the Max series are Duck Soup and Duck and Cover.

Laptime Activity:
Learn something new: Max had to learn lots of new things to fit into his life at Irene's house.
What new skill can you learn together? How about a new recipe, a new song to sing or play, or a new game that you all can play together?

Story Circle Activity:
Play Duck, Duck, Max
Follow the same directions as the game Duck, Duck, Goose but say 'Max' instead of 'goose'.

• One player is chosen to be it
• The rest of the players sit cross legged in a circle
• "It" walks around the circle saying "duck" as he/she touches each player on the head
• When "It" taps a player on the head and says "Max", the tapped player must stand and chase "It" around the circle
• If "It" can reach the space that "Max" was sitting in and sits down before being tagged then "Max" is the new "It".
• If "Max" tags "It" then "It" sits in the middle of the circle, called the duck pond, and waits until a new player is tagged and has to sit in the middle.

Read about Migratory Birds: Check out these books
The Man Who Flies With Birds (Israel) by Carole G. Vogel and Yossi Leshem
On the Wing: American Birds in Migration by Carol Lerner
Life in an Estuary: The Chesapeake Bay (Ecoystems in Action) by Sally M. Walker


Look online at the Ducks Unlimited Migration Map.
This map shows the peak migration times for various months and places throughout the U.S.

Harper Collins Publishers 2007

Back Again! It's a Wondersome Time to Read

Hello reading friends. After a very long hiatus I am thrilled to be back in the land of children's literature. My latest wondersome reads includes The 13 Clocks a whimsical fairy tale by James Thurber, a darling story about Max the displaced duck entitled Duck at the Door by Jacki Urbanovic and an absolutely must have book of games called Hopschotch, Hangman, Hot Potato and Ha Ha Ha by Jack Maguire. New reviews and activities are coming in future posts, so stay tuned to Wondersome StoryTime.

In the mean time, leave a comment and tell us what have you been reading.

Let's Go Fly a Kite in Chinatown

Henry and the Kite Dragon
written by Bruce Edward Hall
illustrated by William Low
Laptime: kindergarten - elementary
Story Circle: kindergarten - elementary

Spring weather in the Pacific Northwest is often windy and a perfect time for flying kites. I love to go to the coast and watch the kites fly. Kites depicting butterflies, dragons, birds, fish and creatures created in the imagination of the kite maker color the sky. That is one of the reasons that I was so drawn to the book Henry and the Kite Dragon. The other reason is the beautiful conflict resolution depicted in the story. A good lesson that prejudices are often based on misunderstanding.

This 1920's story takes place in Chinatown in New York City. Mr. Chin, also called Grandfather, makes beautiful kites that he and the Chinese children fly from the rooftop of his building. Grandfather Chin can make the kites fly as if they were alive but one day the Italian boys from Little Italy started to throw rocks at the kites. Why would they do such a mean thing? Find out how the kids from Chinatown and the kids from Little Italy resolve their differences and bring peace to the sky over their neighborhoods.

This story is inspired by a man named Mr. Chin who lived in Chinatown when the author's father was a little boy. The book won the Jane Addams Children Book Award in 2005 given by the Jane Addams Peace Association for its depiction of peaceful resolution of conflict. Award winning artist, William Low gives us beautifully intricate and vibrant illustrations. I particularly enjoyed looking at the faces of the children; each face seemed familiar.

Laptime Activity
Go to the store and buy a kite to fly. I recently saw kites at a dollar type store. Don't forget to buy kite string, too. Keep the frustration level down when you fly your kites by going to a park or an open field where there are no power lines and very few trees to get tangled in. Once you get proficient you may want to invest in more expensive kites or make your own.

Here are some sites that give instructions for making your own kite:
eHow.com How to Make a Kite
Scratchpad.com - Make your own Kite
How to make a kite out of a plastic bag

Practice Conflict Resolution - Is there someone in the family or in your neighborhood with whom your children have had a misunderstanding? Take the lesson learned in the story and discuss what steps that you and your children can take to fix the broken relationship. Then do it.

Story Circle
Make kites (see sites above) and fly them on a windy day.
Learn about the history of Kites. Try these sites:
The History of Kites and Kite Flying
National Kite Month: A History of Kiting

Practice Conflict Resolution - Reread the confrontation between the children from Chinatown and Little Italy. Ask the children how they would feel if they were the Chinese children and their kites were being destroyed. Discuss how they would feel if they were the Italian children and their pet pigeons were being frightened away. Act out the confrontation in the park with half of the children being the kite flyers and the other half the pigeon owners. Switch roles.
After you are done role playing have the children think of other ways that the children in the story could have solved their differences. Write the ideas down and have the children add illustrations for a classroom book.

Henry and the Kite Dragon is published by Philomel Books a division of Penguin Young Readers Group. You can purchase the book from the Amazon Wondersome StoryTime Store.

Would you like more wondersome story time ideas for your home or classroom? Subscribe to Wondersome StoryTime and get new posts delivered straight to your email.

Feel a cold coming on? Read, Chicken Soup by Heart

Chicken Soup by Heart
written by Esther Hershenhorn
illustrated by Rosanne Litzinger
Laptime: preschool - early elementary
Story Circle: preschool - early elementary

We've all heard the medicinal wonders of chicken soup for colds and flu. In Chicken Soup by Heart we learn the secret of Chicken Soup's healing powers - stir in a loving story about the soup-eater.

Rudie Dinkins babysitter Mrs. Gittel is sick with the flu. Mrs. Gittel is the chicken soup queen who makes Rudie special soup whenever he is sick. Her secret ingredient is the story of a loving memory about her soup eater that she stirs into each pot of soup. Rudie is determined to help Mrs. Gittel get better by making her a pot of Rudie Dinkin's chicken soup. Of course, Rudie stirs in some stories about Mrs. Gittel and a few secret ingredients of his own.

Laptime Activity
Make Chicken Soup

• You can try Rudie and Mrs. Gittel's Chicken Soup recipes that are listed on the last page of the book or make your own favorite recipe. Kaboose.com has some delicious and easy soup recipes to try.
• Read the recipe together and gather all of the ingredients.
• Be sure to allow each child to add ingredients and stir the soup. Kids can peel the veggies but an adult should do the chopping.
• While the soup is simmering, sit around the table and allow each person, child and adult, to tell a nice story about someone else who will be eating the soup.
• Eat the soup together or take it to someone that is sick as a get well gift.
  

Story Circle Activity

• If you are allowed to cook in your classroom, Make some Chicken Soup. You can use the recipe at the back of Chicken Soup by Heart or use your own.
• Write the ingredients on the board or a large piece of paper or poster board so that everyone can see and read together what goes into the soup.
• Use a crock pot to simmer the soup. A crock pot wont get quite so hot as an electric stock pot but you will need to allow it to simmer linger.
  
• Be sure that you have your ingredients organized and ready to go.
• If you would like to have the class peel the vegetables, use child safe peelers.
• For Tips for Successful Classroom Cooking click here.

Make Your Own Recipe Book
You will need:
Drawing and writing paper for each child.
Pencils and crayons.

1. Give each child a piece of writing paper and have them write or dictate their version of a recipe for chicken soup.
2. Below the recipe have them write or dictate a nice story about the person that they would like to have eat their soup.
3. Give each child a piece of drawing paper and have them draw a picture to go with their story.
4. Combine all of the pages into one Chicken Soup Recipe book.
5. If you have readers allow each child to read their recipe and story to the class. If you have a class of early readers or young preschoolers the teacher may read the recipes and stories to the class.
6. Make copies of all of the pages and bind them together for a take home book that the children can read to/with their families.

Loveable Troublesome Goats - There's a Billy Goat in the Garden

There's a Billy Goat in the Garden
retold by laurel Dee Gugler
illustrated by Clare Beaton
based on a Puerto Rican folk tale
Laptime: toddler - Kindergarten
Story Circle: preschool - Kindergarten

We have two goats at my house, Sven and Ole. This is a picture of Sven.
Our goats are LaManchas so they have little tiny ears.
People laugh at them but I think that they are very handsome. Though it is
not true that goats will eat anything, they will eat almost anything
and are always looking for ways to get into trouble. I enjoy this book so much because often at our house, there is a billy goat in the garden!

There's a Billy Goat in the Garden is a retelling of a Puerto Rican folk tale. A stubborn billy goat is in the garden eating the clothes that are hanging out to dry. The children can't chase him away so they enlist the help of their barnyard friends. Each animal tries their best to get the goat to leave the garden but as the animals get bigger the goat gets more stubborn. Finally the least likely creature succeeds where the others failed showing sometimes it's the little unexpected things that get the job done.

Laurel Dee Gugler's charming retelling of this folktale is accompanied by beautiful fabric collage illustrations by Clare Beaton. The artwork gives each page a 3 dimensional feel that makes the reader want to linger on the page to take in every detail.
Laptime Activity
Learn to Love a Goat

• Check out this site, Breeds of Livestock, Goat breeds, to learn about different types of goats. Be sure to check out L for LaMancha and to learn about Sven and Ole.
• Goats and More Goats, from the Irvine Mesa Charros 4-H Club, also gives great goat info.
• Search the internet or go to the library for more information about goats.
• Visit a goat breeder for an up close and personal goat experience. Around kidding time there is always a need for an extra pair of hands to feed baby goats.

Laptime and Story Circle Activity
Fabric Collages
You will need:

• A variety of fabric scraps
• good scissors for each child
• White school or craft glue on bottles or in cups with popscicle sticks for applicators
• buttons, yarn, string, beads, etc. for interesting touches

1. Give each child a piece of heavy construction paper for their background.
2. Put the fabric scraps in the center of the work space so that the children have access to a variety of fabrics.
3. Using the illustrations in the book for inspiration, talk about the different fabrics, colors and patterns that are used and how to cut out different shapes and sizes.
4. Encourage the children to make simple designs: a tree, some flowers, a house, a hillside, a rainbow, clouds, etc.
5. Remind the children to use only small dots of glue on the fabric so that the glue doesn't soak through and make a soggy mess - No glue monsters.
6. If you have preschoolers that do not have the small motor skills to handle scissors, pre-cut different shapes out of the fabric so that they can put the shapes together to make a picture.

Story Circle Activity
Creative Drama - act out the story

• Start with a movement game - Have the children spread out around the room so that they have space to move. Move around the room like each of the animals in the story: You are a goat eating the clothes in the garden. How does a goat move? You are a rooster going to scare the goat out of the garden. How does a rooster move? - and so on with the other animals.
• Choose 10 children to be the characters in the story. The rest of the children will be the chorus.
• As the teacher reads the story have each character act out what is being read. After you read a page allow time for the actors to act out what you just read and encourage them to add their own dialogue - What would the rooster say to the goat? What would the goat say back to the rooster. Also encourage the children to move like the animal characters that they are playing.
• The children who are the chorus should repeat the phrase, "will NOT COME OUT!" every time that it comes up in the story. Each time the phrase comes up the chorus should say it with more and more dismay and frustration.
• Remember, this is not to be a performance piece but a fun activity to enhance the story that you just read. Have fun; be creative.
  

Another Snowy Day - Hooray for Katy the Snowplow!

Katy and the Big Snow
By Virginia Lee Burton
Laptime: preschool - early elementary
Story Circle: preschool - early elementary

Today is March 11. Spring begins in 9 days, but I'm sitting in my office looking out on a white and snowy world of subzero temperatures. In honor of our latest prespring snowstorm I decided to post about my favorite snow plow, Katy.
Katy and the Big Snow was written by Virginia Lee Burton in 1943. Katy is a strong and powerful red crawler tractor who is a bulldozer in the summer and a snow plow in the winter. Katy is so powerful that she can't plow the little snowstorms so she has to wait until a really big snowstorm comes. Finally a huge Blizzard comes and covers the town in 5 feet of snow, almost all the way up to the second story windows. The city is at a standstill and Katy plows to the rescue.
Hooray for Katy! I wish that we had Katy around my city this winter.

Laptime Activities

• If you are living in a snowy area, take some toy trucks and blocks and build a city in the snow. Attach a snowplow blade, made out of heavy cardboard, onto one of your trucks and plow out your city. Show your child which direction in your yard is North, South, East and West. Plow in different directions.
• The Author creates a little peek at life in the 1940's through her illustrations of cars, truck, plains and buildings. Go to Google images and explore the '40's by searching 1940 topics such as fashion, cars, planes, headlines, etc.

Story Circle Activities
Early elementary - Make a map
A fun part of this book is that the author includes a map of the city and then, in the text of the story, tells what direction Katy is headed to plow next.

• Turn your classroom into the city of Geoppolis.
• Look at the map included in the first few pages of the book. In the margin around the map there is an illustrated list of Geoppolis businesses. Assign each child a business and ask them to draw a picture of that business and write the name of the business across the top of the paper.
• Using a compass, find which part of the room is North. Hang a Big N on the North wall. Do the same for South, East and West and NW, NE, SW, SE.
• Now, using the map in the book as a reference, place the picture of each business in the proper place in the classroom. For example: the school is in the center of the city, the hospital is West Geoppolis, the Railway station is in East Geoppolis and the Water Department is in North Geoppolis.
• Once the sign for every business is placed in the proper place, give each child a large piece of paper and pencil and have them draw their own map of Geoppolis. First they should draw a compass on their map and then add each business in it's proper place in the city. If you have early readers/writers, the teacher can make the map on the board while the class tells her where to put each business and then the class can copy it on their own maps.
• Once the businesses are in place on the map, add roads and people and trees and anything else that makes your maps colorful and fun.

Preschool Activity - Plow around the town. Children will learn the directions North, South, East and West.

• This activity is best done in a large space like a gym.
• Using a compass, show the children how to find the North Wall of the classroom. Hang a big sign with the word North written on it on the North wall. Do the same with South, East and West.
• Gather the children in the center of the room, this is the Highway Department.
• Say, "Katy, plow the road East to the hospital." All the children should drive their pretend snowplows to the East wall.
• Then say, "Katy, plow the road North to the airport." The children should drive their pretend snowplows to the North wall.
• Once the children have driven to all four directions, spice up the game a little by adding directions: drive backwards, drive very quickly, the snow is very deep drive slowly, the road is very bumpy drive over the bumps, etc.
• Continue until your snowplows are tired out and ready to head back home to the Highway Department for a rest.

Ideas from Miss Kay - Calendar Counting and Teaching the Days of the Week

Miss Kay, a retired Kindergarten teacher, Has a great idea for reinforcing counting skills and for learning the days of the week by using an inexpensive calendar and some Popsicle sticks. This lesson works well at home or in the classroom.

There are so many simple things parents of 4 and 5 year olds can do at home to reinforce the lessons being taught in school. How about buying one those very big desk calendars that you lay flat on a desk. Hang it on the wall or fridge. Everyday have your child mark off the day . Encourage him to read that number and all those before it. Show him how to find the name of the day and repeat the days of the week with him. Teach the meanings of before , after, yesterday, today , tomorrow, above, below, next, last, first. Etc.
Make a special pointer or wand and hang it next to the calendar. Use it for pointing as the numbers are read . See how many numbers can be recognized as you move the pointer around the calendar. A large box of popsicle sticks from the hobby store are so handy, also. Use them as counters as you talk about the numbers.
Encourage your child to play school with you, or to use their imagination playing with their friends, with their dolls or stuffed animals reviewing these concepts. Make it a game. Have fun!!!!!!

Seven Spunky Monkeys written by Jackie French Koller and illustrated by Lynn Munsinger is fun book to use to teach the days of the week. See the post about Seven Spunky Monkeys for more Counting and Days of the Week activities.

Here is a song from my childhood but the kids still love it and it will work very well with your daily calendar time:

Today is Monday
Today is Monday, Today is Monday
Monday -- string beans
All you little children, come on and eat!

Today is Tuesday, Today is Tuesday
Tuesday -- spaghetti
All you little children, come on and eat!

Today is Wednesday, Today is Wednesday
Wednesday -- soup
All you little children, come on and eat!

Today is Thursday, Today is Thursday
Thursday -- roast beef
All you little children, come on and eat!

Today is Friday, Today is Friday
Friday -- fresh fish
All you little children, come on and eat!

Today is Saturday, Today is Saturday
Saturday -- chicken
All you little children, come on and eat!

Today is Sunday, Today is Sunday
Sunday -- ice cream
All you little children, come on and eat!

Songs for Teaching has another version of this song, the lyrics in Spanish, a sound clip and other songs to teach the days of the week.


For more hands on learning activities check out Ideas from Miss Kay.