Miss Fiona's Stupendous Pumpkin Pie

This week's fun was inspired by Miss Fiona's Stupendous Pumpkin Pie by Mark Kimball Moulton.  It was also our Halloween Mommy and Me Book Club, so the children dressed up in costumes.
 

 

Gathering Activity: Pumpkin Pie Playdough 
(Fine motor skills, creative play, sensory play)

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup salt
• 2 cups water
• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp. cream of tartar
• 2 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
•  yellow and red food coloring

*I always add the food coloring to my water before combining all the ingredients. 

*Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and stir over medium-low heat. Continue to stir until the mixtures reaches a good consistency. Remove it from the heat and knead it when it's cool enough to handle.  Store in an air tight container.

Circle Time
(Pre-literacy skills, rhyming, music, listening skills, language development, gross motor skills)

 
We read Miss Fiona's Stupendous Pumpkin Pie by Mark Kimball Moulton.  The pictures in this book are very sweet and remind me a little of Mary Englebreit's artwork, which I love.  There are no frightening pictures.  The story is written in a pleasing rhyme that is enjoyable to read aloud.  It is the tale of a kind witch who loves to plant pumpkins and make pumpkin pie to share with everyone in town on Halloween night.   The children all love to come to her home.  When asked her secret ingredient, she says she puts spiders and bat wings inside, which made our little ones giggle. 

 After our story, we enjoyed 3 different songs. 

First I shared the 5 Little Pumpkins Traditional finger play and flannel board story. 

 

We sang "5 Little Bats Flew Out One Day."

"5 little bats flew out one day, over the trees and far away.  When the Mommy Bat said "Eek ack come back."  Only 4 little bats came back."  Repeat until no bats.
"No little bats went out to play, over the trees and far away. When the DADDY bat said "EEK ACK COME BACK!" 5 little bats came flying back.   

And a favorite every year, "I'm A Little Scarecrow."  (sung to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot") The children stand with their arms straight out like a scarecrow.

"I'm a little scarecrow, filled with hay.   Here I stand in the fields all day.  When I see a crow I like to shout..."HEY! YOU CROWS, YOU BETTER GET OUT!" 

 


Art: Decorate Pumpkins
 (Creative exploration, fine motor skills, art, spatial reasoning)

We decorated pumpkins with foam stickers, ribbon, buttons, pipe cleaners, pom poms,  sequins, glue, and these adorable felt witch hats and pirate hats one of our talented moms made!  I loved them!  

 


Snack - Mini Pumpkin Pies
(Communication, making connections with literature, self-help skills)

 
Of course we had to eat pumpkin pie with our story.  These were the perfect size. 

Activities
(Gross Motor Skills, Fine Motor Skills, Cooperation, Communication, Sorting, Listening Skills)
 
1-Pumpkin Toss and Roll

The children took turns tossing and rolling small plastic pumpkins into a basket. 

2-Making Fiona's Stupendous Pumpkin Pie Game 

 
I placed one large plastic cauldron in the center of the room.  I then scattered several objects around on the floor of different ingredients (pumpkins, eyes, spiders, worms, etc.....) 

I called out the name of one of the items and had the children run and find that item on the floor and place it in the pot.

  Then they returned to their places.  I had enough of each item that every child could do each one.  This game didn't last too long.

   It ended up with the children playing and sorting all of the objects together.  Which was also very fun.   I think that is one of the most important part of teaching children, allowing them to take the game where they want it to go.  

So, now, it is your turn to share with us all of your kid lit inspired posts this week. Please link up any children's book posts below and don't forget to follow The Children's Bookshelf on Pinterest or visit TCB's co-hosts: What Do We Do All Day?, No Twiddle Twaddle, Smiling Like Sunshine, Mommy and Me Book Club, My Little Bookcase and Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns.

By linking up you are giving permission for any of the co-hosts to pin and/or feature a photo from that post on a future The Children's Bookshelf post.  

September Virtual Book Club For Kids

Rrralph  by Lois Ehlert

 

This month our featured author for the August Virtual Book Club for Kids is Lois Ehlert.  She has written and illustrated so many fabulous books that it was hard to choose just one.  That is, until I read Rrralph to my children this summer.  They thought it was Laugh Out Loud Funny. 


Gathering Activity: Doggie Ears

Materials Needed: Long strips of white construction paper large enough to wrap around a child's head.  Two Black Doggie Ears.  We cut ours to have jagged edges like those in the story.  Stapler 

1-Allow the child to color the ears and white paper.  

2-Staple the headband to fit the child's head.  Then Staple the ears to either side of the headband. (This is an adult step, but the children love to help use the stapler)! 

Circle Time:

I read Rrralph by Lois Ehlert to the children.  It is a clever book with clever artwork.  On each page, the dog's owner asks a question and the dog responds in ways that seem like he is speaking.  He tells his owner his name is "Rrralph" and he is standing on the "Roof, Roof" and the ground feels "Rough, Rough" on his paws.  The three year olds thought it was a very funny book...and so did their Mommies, as we groaned together at the old puns.  Ehlert uses recycled materials in this book to create her illustrations.  The result is bold and amazing.


Ralph (to the tune of Bingo)
There was a farmer had a dog and Ralph was his name-o.
R-A-L-P-H, R-A-L-P-H, R-A-L-P-H and Ralph was his name. 
(We sang the song, replacing one letter each time, with a bark).

Art Activity: Dog Art Collage
 

Materials Needed
*Using the image from the cover of the book, draw an outline of the dog on a ¼ sheet of posterboard (needs to be heavy paper) with a black sharpie. 

*Collage materials:  soda pop tabs, fabric, various printed papers, buttons, recycled  odds and ends, foam shapes, etc...
 

*Glue

Provide the children with various collage materials to fill in the outline to create their own dogs. Let them name their dogs and write the name of the dog on top.

I ADORE how these turned out.  The children were able to do these with very little guidance needed.    

 
Snack:  Puppy Cookie

Ingredients Needed Per Child: One Nutter Butter, One Vanilla Wafer, One large round Sugar Cookie, Brown frosting, kid-friendly plastic knife, 3 M and Ms Candy pieces

1-Allow each child to frost the large cookie. 

2-Open the Nutter Butter.  Place one piece on each side of the large cookie to create ears.
3-Place the Nilla Wafer in the center of the face.
4-Add eyes and a nose. 

The children loved making and eating these!

Games

In order to play our two games, we needed our own doghouse! 

This one was created by cutting arched doors in the two opposite sides of a large box.  Then it was wrapped with newspaper and covered with paw prints.  One of the talented moms who comes to our Mommy and Me Book Club made this.  Don't you love it?!?!?

1-Doggie Doggie Where’s Your Bone?

Each child took a turn hiding inside the box with the bone.  Another friend came and took the bone and hid it.  We all sang "Doggie, Doggie Where's Your Bone?  Somebody took it from your home.  Guess Who?"  Then the Doggie came out and tried to guess which friend had the bone.  We let them guess until they found the right person.  We did not limit their guesses. 

 2-Musical Dog House-

This was played a little bit like musical chairs. We played doggie themed music as the children crawled on the floor like puppy dogs in a circle each taking turns to crawl through the dog house.  When the music stopped, the person in the dog house stayed inside and made one of the sounds Ralph makes in the book.   

<a href="https://www.facebook.com/VirtualBookClubForKids"><img border="0"src="http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae323/toddlerapproved/virtualbookclub-2012.jpg" /></a>

Here are the other participants in this month's Virtual Book Club.  Please check out their great ideas, too! Can you believe how big this has gotten?  So happy to have so many other bloggers who love reading as much as we do!

Toddler Approved - Rainy Day Mum - Adventures in Reading with Kids - 3 Dinosaurs - Royal Baloo - The Educators' Spin On It - Inspiration Laboratories - Pleasantest Thing - Edventures with Kids - Two Big Two Little - Playing With Words 365 - Kitchen Counter Chronicles - Outlaw Mom - Mommy and Me Book Club - Crafty Moms Share - No Twiddle Twaddle - The Good Long Road - Ready. Set. Read 2 Me - Reading Confetti - Mama Smiles - Juggling with Kids- Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas - Creekside Learning - Creative Family Fun - The Usual Mayhem - Teach Preschool - PlayDrMom - CraftoArt - Here Come the Girls - Being a Conscious Parent - Smiling like Sunshine - Crayon Freckles - Train Up a Child

I am so excited to see what fun book inspired activities YOU did with your children, based on Lois Ehlert's books!  Please link up your posts below!

 

 There are a few rules for this blog hop that we ask you to follow, so make sure to read them:

1. Link up only posts inspired by Lois Elhert that share children's book inspired crafts, activities, recipes, etc. Any other posts will be deleted.
2. Visit other blog posts on the linky and comment on or share the ones you love!
3. Add our Virtual Book Club button to your post if you'd like.

Elephant and Piggie Books

I know, it seems like blasphemy for a writer of a children’s books blog to type those words, but it is true.  That is not to say that I do not love Dr. Seuss.  I adore him!


But right now, I am the mom of a five year old learning to read.  Having taught MANY children to read over the years, I declare EMPHATICALLY that the  

“Elephant and Piggie” book series by Mo Willems

are the BEST books available for engaging the newest readers.  

I am writing this post in hopes of introducing a few of you to this amazing series.  If you are not familiar with the Elephant and Piggie books, head straight to your library and check out all they have. You won't be disappointed.   I am always surprised by the number of Don't Let the Pigeon Drive The Bus fans who don't know about these. 

The Elephant and Piggie books are early readers by Mo Willems that feature two unlikely best friends who learn and grow together.  There are currently 17 books in this series.

So, why do I think they are better than anything else out there, including the great early reader contributions by Dr. Seuss?


1- The Elephant and Piggie books are short. -Pigs Make Me Sneeze has 188 words on 57 pages.  The Cat in the Hat has 1629 words on 61 pages.  For a new reader and his enthusiastic parents, the books can be completed in a time frame that manages to maintain the interest of both the young reader and the doting listeners (before mom and dad become the “doZing” listeners).  They are the PERFECT length! 


2- Willems has perfected the use of the speech bubble.  My son loves speech bubbles!  They help him recognize which character is speaking.  They help him know if the character is speaking LOUDLY, because the word bubbles are LARGER.  He knows if they are speaking softly, because the word bubbles are smaller.  This helps him read with expression, THE VERY FIRST TIME THROUGH!  He doesn’t stumble through in a monotone voice, like he does with some other early readers.  He knows when to use a grumpy voice, give a happy cheer, or whisper quietly.  Just from the speech bubbles and font size. I never really understood the power of the speech bubble in early literacy, until I was introduced to Mo Willems.  

2 ½-Did I mention the use of speech bubbles?  Speech bubbles lend themselves beautifully to shared reading, an important part of reading instruction.  My son and I each choose a character in the book and read all of his or her lines throughout the entire book, similar to reading a play.  In fact, we have often used the Elephant and Piggie  books as scripts for puppet shows or plays.  (Any other early literacy specialists out there know that RETELL is also an important part of reading instruction).  

  

3- The books use real words.  This makes it easier to use context clues and phonetics to figure out unfamiliar words.  ‘Jertain’ and ‘Zizzer-Zazzer-Zuzz’ are certainly fun and silly to say, but context clues are useless to figure them out and can frustrate the newest readers.


4-Speaking of context clues...the PICTURES are so clear and simple, so concrete. Yet somehow they convey the meaning of the story so perfectly, that it is easy for a child stuck on a word to look at the pictures and determine what the word should be or the emotion with which the words should be expressed.  How do you do that, Mo?  How do you get one simple line across a pig’s eye lid to say so much? 


5-The Elephant  and Piggie books are quite simply put.... hilarious!  Laugh out loud funny.  Tears in your eye funny.  Appropriately funny.   My children and the adults in our family giggle every time we read the “Piggie and Elephant” books, whether it is the first time or the 37th.  (There is no need to pander to bathroom humor or jokes above the kids’ heads).  We all think the books are truly funny.  

6-According to the official Mo Willems website, each book is reviewed by early childhood reading specialists before publication!  (Something I didn’t know before working on this article).  I feel even better as a parent knowing that not only does my gut tell me this is good, quality, children’s literature, the “experts” agree as well.  


7-Most Elephant and Piggie books teach valuable lessons, without being too preachy.  Friends are better than toys. (I Love My New Toy).  Being outside is fun in all kinds of weather  (Are You Ready to Play Outside?).  Asking politely can make things better. (There’s A Bird On My Head).  There isn’t always just one right way to do something. (Elephants Can’t Dance).    Lots of Dr. Seuss books do teach valuable lessons, too.  But it is hard to find in his early readers.  I am not quite deep enough to find the moral of the ABC Book, the Foot Book, or Hop on Pop.   


8-Most importantly, I love the Piggie and Elephant Books because they give my son CONFIDENCE as a reader.  He can pick one up and know that he can read it with fluency and expression.  He knows he will laugh.  He knows he will enjoy himself.  And what can any parent want more for their son, then for him to LOVE to read.  





***I want to be clear that I do honor Dr. Seuss as a Founding Father of all that is good in children’s literature.  There would be no Mo Willems without Dr. Seuss and his legacy.  I have laughed at his silly absurdities with my kindergarteners and my own three children.  I have read his inspired lessons about Sneetches with “stars upon thars” with my fourth grade students, who were struggling to fit in or to include everyone.  I have even been inspired myself as a young adult, during a particularly difficult time in my life, by one of his lesser known books I Had Trouble Getting to Solla Sollew.
 

But for new readers, I think Mo Willems has Dr. Seuss beat.  Once my son is ready, he will be able  to read Dr. Seuss to himself.    But for now, I will read Dr. Seuss to him and HE will read  Mr. Willems’  Elephant and Piggie books to me.   He reaches for them each day...and we never tire of them.  Thank you for your wonderful books, Mo Willems.  Thanks for helping my son LOVE to read, and for helping the job of teaching him to read be such an enjoyable experience.   

***Mo Willems also has another early reader series, the Cat the Cat books.  We love those as well for most of the same reasons we love Elephant and Piggie!  And of course we love his famous Pigeon and his Knuffle Bunny and Leonoardo and Amanda and.......many more friends.  

On June 18th, 2012, Mommy and Me Book Club and over 20 other bloggers will be sharing our favorite Mo Willems books and activities to go along with them during the Summer Virtual Book Club.  We will even have a place for you to link up your favorites!  I hope you will join in the fun.

A Ball For Daisy

This week's activities were inspired by the wordless picture book  A Ball for Daisy.

 It was probably one of our favorite day of activities ever!  Especially our ball bounce painting!

Gathering Activity: Marble Runs

We explored balls of all sizes this week.  We started with very small ones.  The children each played with marble runs while we waited for everyone to arrive.  We had three different configurations set up, in order to allow all of the children a chance to experiment.  They had a lot of fun, and this activity extended well past the normal amount of time we allot to gathering time activities. 

Circle Time:

We read a wordless book this week A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka.  This book is a Caldecott Medal winner.  Through lovely and expressive illustrations the author tells a story about a doggy who loves a red ball.  You know she loves the red ball because she plays with it, can't sleep without it, and smiles whenever she has it.  Then one day at the park, another doggy pops her ball by accident.  The pictures show a very sad doggy who cannot sleep or play or smile without her ball.  In the end, the other doggy and owner bring Daisy a new ball, a blue one!  Daisy is happy again and plays with her new ball and friend.  

This was a fun one to do with my 2 and 3 year olds.  It is the very first wordless book I have featured at Mommy and Me Book Club.  I showed the pictures and guided the children through questions and observations. The children shared what they thought was happening in each picture.  They loved helping tell the story.  They were focused on the story and very engaged as they interacted with the book. 

We sang "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." 

Then we sang one I made up on the spot about our story.  

Daisy's Ball Song

sung to "Mary had a Little Lamb"

Daisy had a little ball

little ball

little ball

Daisy had a little ball

that she loved.

Daisy's friend, he popped the ball

popped the ball

popped the ball

Daisy's friend he popped the ball

that she loved.

Daisy got a new blue ball

new blue ball

new blue ball

Daisy got a new blue ball

that she loved! 

 

Snack: Fruit Bouncing Ball Pizzas

We were inspired by this beautiful fruit pizza at Hungry Happenings.  We wanted to make ours all red, like Daisy's ball, so we used only red fruit.  We made a large one for the moms to share, using watermelon, raspberries, and strawberries.  The individualized small ones for the children were made on flattened biscuits instead of cookies, and spread with strawberry flavored cream cheese.  Yum!  

Art: Ball Bouncing Painting

Messy outside art fun!  We dipped bouncing balls into sidewalk paint and then let the children bounce and splatter the paint onto large butcher paper.  These trays were perfect for this activity!   Talk about fun!  There were so many giggles and squeals.   This was a great process, not product activity!  

Materials Needed: Sidewalk Paint (we used these great Crayola trays), tennis balls, large sheets of butcher paper, and lots of water for clean up! 

Like all great activities, this one was flexible enough to allow the children to explore in lots of different ways.  The children quickly discovered that it was also fun to paint with their toes.

Activities: Ball Free Play

We set out assorted shapes and sizes and kinds of balls for the children to have free play with outside.  We even had an impromptu ball wash out of necessity.  The kids loved it!