School Age S.T.E.A.M. Storytime & Craft: Earth Day & Arbor Day

Clarence Dillon Public Library

STEAM Story Time & Craft with Miss Carol Levin

Wednesday, Apr. 16, 4:30 pm

        Wednesday, April 16th @ 4:30 pm

This month's theme:  Arbor Day & Earth Day

Join us as we share stories about Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM)!

 Ages 5-9 (siblings welcomed)
 

I Love Our Earth - Bill Martin Jr. - photographic celebration (or could use Mother Earth - Nancy Luenn instead)

Song (earth ball, optional puppets): We’ve Got the Whole World in our Hands – traditional

We've got the whole world in our hands
We've got the whole wide world in our hands
We've got the whole world in our hands
We've got the whole world in our hands
We've got our mamas and our daddies…
We've got our brothers and our sisters…
We've got a little bitty baby…
We've got the birds in the air…
We've got whales in the sea…
We’ve got you and we’ve got me…

Spring is Here - Taro Gomi  "Spring is here. / The snow melts. / The earth is fresh. / The grass sprouts." Taro Gomi's clever picture book about the change of seasons couldn't be simpler. The first spread shows a white calf against a hot-pink background. "Spring is here," it says. In the next spread "the snow melts." And indeed, the once snow-white calf is now spotted black and white! 

Song (action) This is the way... tune "Mulberry Bush": This is the way we plant a seed, plant a seed, plant a seed. This is the way we plant a seed so early in the morning...This is the way the sun will shine... This is the way the rain will fall...This is the way the seed will grow... This is the way the flower will bloom...

Living Sunlight: How Plants Bring the Earth to Life - Molly Bang & Penny Chisholm  (572.46 BANG) -- this creative and memorable explanation of photosynthesis will stick with kids for a long time.

Song: And the Green Grass Grew all Around (flannel) – lyrics here: http://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/2015/04/sing-springhappy-earthday.html 

The Great Kapok Tree  - Lynne Cherry -- The many different animals that live in a great kapok tree in the Brazilian rainforest try to convince a man with an ax of the importance of not cutting down their home.

Action Book: Earth Dance by Joanne Ryder

Didn't get in time: 

Singable book: What a Wonderful World - Ashley Bryan  E Thiele

Mother Earth - Nancy Luenn Gorgeous watercolors accompany this extended metaphorical exploration of our planet (could use instead of  I Love Our Earth

This pretty Planet

skipped Sign Language Song: “Walk the World Now Children”

Craft – construction & tissue paper collages – trees, earth, environmental, spring scenes 

Optional:  music from Tom Chapin’s album This Pretty Planet as kids make crafts 

School Age S.T.E.A.M. Storytime & Craft: Building Bridges

 

School Age S.T.E.A.M. Storytime & Craft: Building Bridges

Wednesday March 19th 4:30-5:30 p.m.

(geared to ages 5-9, but older/younger siblings are welcomed)

Registration Required.

For Women's History Month, we'll share the story of Emily Roebling, the "Secret Engineer" behind the Brooklyn Bridge, then experiment with building a variety of bridges.

As children arrived, had books for browsing on bridges, various versions of "The Billy Goats Gruff" and Rosie Revere, Engineer and other empowering picture books by Andrea Beaty

Read aloud the book Secret Engineer: How Emily Roebling Built the Brooklyn Bridge by Rachel Dougherty, booktalked the other books.

Explored tension/compression & created a human suspension bridge: 

Acted out the story of The Three Billy Goats Gruff (no pictures)

Explored the strength of a beam bridge with this model:

And tested the strength of paper and straw-built bridges: 

More details on all of these projects can be found here: 

https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/2017/07/fairytale-engineering-three-billy-goats.html

CSL Clarence Dillon Library March 2025

S.T.E.A.M. Storytime/Craft : Valentine's Day & Friendship -- Clarence Dillon Public Library

 

STEAM Story Time & Craft

School Age S.T.E.A.M. Storytime & Craft: Valentine's Day & Friendship

 Wednesday February 5th   4:30-5:30 p.m.

(geared to ages 5-9, but older/younger siblings are welcomed - most of the kids were between 3 & 6 today)

Join us as we share stories about kindness, then create geometric cut paper valentines for our friends and family members.

Opened with a book about a shadow friend (a nod to this week's Groundhog's Day)

Read: I have a Friend by Keiko Narahashi (great figurative language) 
(Science snippet: talk about when shadows are short and long -- midday & ends of day because of the position of the sun.)

Action Song: I Am Your Shadow by Carol Simon Levin (Tune: “I'm A Little Teapot”)

I am your shadow, short and fat,
Lift up your hand, I can do that,
Lift up your foot, I'll do that too,
I do anything that you do.

I am your shadow, long and thin,
Put your finger to your chin,
Then watch me, I do that too,
I do anything that you do!

More Shadow Songs & Stories here: https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/search/label/Shadows

Book: The Other Side -- Jacqueline Woodson -- the story of two girls, one black and one white, who overcame segregation  (represented by a dividing fence in their town) to cleverly find a way to play together.  

Group today was too young for Sister Anne’s Hands – Marybeth Lorbiecki – Beautifully-written & illustrated story of a black nun who comes to all-white school to teach – history, heart, and humor – including counting buttons on underwear!  For more funky math problems, check out the website www.bedtimemath.com.  Includes handprint art project:

Book/Song: This Little Light of Mine illustrated by E.B. Lewis – with hand motions

More Black History Month ideas; https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/search/label/Black%20History%20Month

Book: My Friend Rabbit – Eric Rohmann (Caldecott Winner - talked about the award, author/illustrator definition)  sometimes friends drive us crazy! - kids loved this silly book

Book: My Heart is Like a Zoo by Michael Hall  --> Valentine crafts 

(supplies: construction paper, children's scissors, hole punches, glue sticks, markers)

More Valentine's Day ideas: https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/search/label/Valentine%27s%20Day

CDPL 2.5.25

Literacy Volunteers/Middle Earth "Soup's On"

 Participatory Stories & Songs: Soup & Thanksgiving

Asked about everyone's favorite kinds of soup, then opened with a very strange recipe:

Book: Monkey Soup by Louis Sachar (child makes her father a special kind of soup to help get him well – silly! -- Don't try this at home! )   

Song/Flannel:  "Alphabet Soup" by Tom Chapin (another silly recipe, reinforces alphabet, lyrics here: Soup's On)

 

Book: Mean Soup by Betsy Everitt (how to handle a "bad day" - could also make "Mean Cheerios!")

Interactive story with props (pot, puppets, & veggies): Stone Soup  (Participatory storytelling, mentioned old story many variants – I use the Ann McGovern version with old lady and young man - script here: Soup's On)

Book/Cards/Song: Chicken Soup with Rice – Maurice Sendak, tune by Carole King from “Really Rosie” (audio & video available, concept: the names of the months, lyrics here: Soup's On)

Craft: decorating potholders with fabric markers, then concluded with a "snowball fight" (details here) on this cold evening!