Saturday, May 30, 2009

Olivia


Olivia is the most awesome pig ever. She is talented, spunky, and very funny. And she is very good at wearing people out – even herself.

These books are a great mixture of incredibly realistic childhood behaviors and extremely grandiose exaggerations. The artwork is wonderful (if you don’t like it at first because it’s different from the cuddly pictures you’re used to, don’t worry, it will grow on you!). This book holds the distinction of being a Caldecott honor book.

I would recommend this book (and the other Olivia books) for young children and older children with a good sense of humor. The activities I thought of are more games and fun than lesson plans, but oh well!

Art – Paint Your Own, and Not on the Wall Please!

Supplies:
Canvas – white t-shirt, pillowcase, etc. or to be truly artsy, an actual canvas
Lots of paint-safe space – a clothesline works best, but a fence is also nice, or an easel if you don’t mind getting paint on it
Paintbrushes
Paint – choose several colors in a paint suitable for whatever your canvas will be

It would be best to sign your canvas before you get started painting – you never know it you’ll leave enough room to do it afterward. Hang the canvas on your clothesline. Dip the paintbrush in the paint, and use a flinging motion to make the paint fly from the brush to the canvas. Repeat. A lot. With different colors of paint. Great fun, terribly messy, awesome results.

Clothes Relay Race –

Gather up some red clothes like Olivia tries on: a hat, some mittens, maybe a coat or jacket, a shirt, socks, etc. Just whatever you can find around your house will work great. Size doesn’t matter, as long as it’s not really small. Fill two bags or boxes with clothes, putting an equal number of items in each bag. Designate a starting place for a short race and put the full bags there. Designate a turn-around place and mark it clearly.
Divide your players into teams and have them line up behind the starting point. As soon as you say go, the first person from each team should begin putting on all the articles of clothes in the bag as fast as they can. Then they run to the turn-around point, and take all the clothes off. They then have to carry all the clothes back and put them back in the bag for the next person. They can carry them all at once or make as many trips as needed to get all the clothes back to the starting point. Then the next person goes and so on. The first team to get all their players dressed, undressed, and back to the starting point wins.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

The Bears in the Bed and the Great Big Storm


This book is so adorable! I just love the illustrations, the picture of Baby Bear telling his daddy Bear about the storm outside makes me want to just scoop Baby Bear up and snuggle him close. I’m sure we’ve all had the experience at some point or another – there is nothing like snuggling under the nice warm covers with someone you love, feeling all safe and comfy while listening to the storm rage outside.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a cute cuddly read. It would be especially good as a read-a-loud for young children, it has lots of opportunities for sound effects.

I don’t have any ideas for this book, I just wanted to recommend it because it is so precious.