Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Fairytale Success

Goodmorning-

Yesterday's Literacy Center at the library was a huge hit with all of the kids who stopped by to participate. Although the parents may not have been to happy with us here at the Reading Railroad, the kids sure seemed to be. It turned out to be a great day.

The theme of our Literacy Center yesterday was "Once Upon a Time." Since we are not doing the lettered themed literacy centers during the summer we have picked some fun themes for all the kids to enjoy. Yesterday was no exception. The kids had a wide variety of activities to choose from and they did not seem to be disapointed. The kids could build castles using icing and sugar cubes, decorate their own crown, make their own magic alphabet wand, do a fairtale puppet show, make an alphabet shield or practice drawing their letters and shapes at our writing station. The favorites among the kids seemed to be the crown, shield and wand stations.

At the crown station we had laid out sticker letters for the kids to sort through and work on spelling their names or anything else they wanted to stick on their crowns to make it their own. After doing that they could then decorate their crown with an array of sequins or beads that we had laid out for them to choose from. Everyone came into the literacy center a kid, but left a king or queen.

Another favorite station for the kids was the "Magic Alphabet Wand" station. Here the kids were able to create a special tool that would help them with their literacy skills whenever they wanted. We were supplied with paint sticks from our local Home Depot which acted as the handle for the wand. The kids were able to decorate it however they wanted. After decorating their handle they could decorate a star that was glued on top of the wand to enable it with magical power. The point of it being an "Alphabet" wand was so that the kids could choose a letter. After doing so they walked around and whatever they touched with the wand, that object then started with the letter they chose. For instance a kid chooses the "B." Now he touches the table but instead of it being a table it is now a "Bable" then he touches the floor and it becomes the "Bloor." This enables the kids to work on the pronunication of their letters.

A last popular station of the kids was the creation of their "Spelling Shields." Here we had cut out shields from cardboard boxes. The kids were then able to decorate the front of their shields, with the intent that they would use the letter stamps we had provided them to work on spelling out their name, or any other words they chose to practice. After decorating the front of the shield they then attached a handle to the back and were able to carry it into battle.

The day turned out to be great fun, and the kids seemed to enjoy everything we planned for them. We sent them on their way with a "Sugarplumb Fairy Wand" to eat on the way home. Which was a hit, as it was a pretzel stick covered in either icing or PB then smothered in a plethora of sugary treats. All the kids seemed to enjoy them, even though we got some dirty looks from the parents. All in all the day was a great one, and thanks to all the parents, grandparents and chaperones who took the time to bring the kids to the library. Keep it up and come see us at all of our weekly events. Don't forget next week we are Riverside Park in the old carousel building.

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