4th Of July Literacy Activities

It's always fun to do crafts with the little ones to go along with the holidays. However, we often overlook the day our nation gained its freedom as being a day to do some fun crafts. I know, it's always so nice on the 4th and no one wants to be inside, but trust me, if your kids see these fun activities you have in store for them they will be sure to come inside for a little while to partake in the fun. It doesn't have to be an all day event, just take a little time to spend with your little one working on their literacy skills, all while enjoying the time together to teach them that the 4th of July is more than grilling out and fireworks.

Paper Roll Windsocks
What you need
•Toilet paper rolls
•Blue paint
•Paintbrush
•White star stickers
•Red and white streamers, or ribbon
•Yarn or string
•Hole punch
•Stapler
•Glue
•Scissors

Directions
Provide your child with an empty toilet paper roll. Let them paint the roll with blue paint. Let dry. Have them add white star stickers to their roll. Cut white and red streamers into strips and attach to one end of the paper roll with glue and a stapler. On the other end, punch two holes opposite each other and thread a long piece of yarn. Tie off to create a handle from which to hang the windsock. Hang the windsocks outside and let children enjoy watching their American flag windsock blow in the wind. Take it outside and enjoy your new creation

Bring the fireworks inside with Firework Art

Place various colors of diluted paint into small bowls. Give each child a straw and white piece of paper. Have children dip their straw into the diluted paint and blow the paint onto their paper. This makes a great fireworks effect!

Star Rubbings

Cut star shapes from paper doilies or sandpaper. Tape stars to table. Have children place a piece of thin white paper over stars and rub a crayon over the star.

After doing one or all of these craft ideas your little one will definitely be in the mood for a delicious snack. So why not continue with the theme and help them with the creation of a fun patriotic snack.

Graham Cracker Flags
What you need
•Graham crackers
•White icing
•Blue food coloring
•Red licorice
•white chocolate chips
•Small bowls
•Craft sticks or plastic knives

Directions
Show the kids a flag or a picture of the flag. Talk about what the flag means. The fifty stars represent the fifty states. The thirteen stripes represent the original thirteen colonies. The color blue stands for justice, or fairness; the color white stands for purity; and the color red stands for courage.

Mix some of the white icing with blue food coloring. Place white and blue icing in separate bowls. Provide each child with a graham cracker and craft stick. Let them spread the white frosting on the cracker. Add some blue frosting to the top left corner. Pull the red licorice into small strips and cut into pieces. let them add the licorice for the stipes and decorate their graham cracker so that it resembles a flag. Add white chocolate chips or star sprinkles for the stars.

Enjoy these fun patriotic literacy activities with your kids. Have a great literacy filled holiday.

Brown Bag Craft Ideas

Today I am going to take a break from the brown bag lunch suggestions and instead give everyone some fun ideas for crafts to do with your little ones using a brown bag. These crafts are all easy to do and will bring the kids hours of enjoyment after they are finished with their creation. After creating your brown bag craft please feel free to comment on our blog and let us know how the craft goes. We would love to see pictures of your little one with their craft.

http://www.kinderart.com/crafts/bagkite.shtml

http://www.allkidsnetwork.com/crafts/animals/ocean/paper-bag-octopus.asp

http://www.allkidsnetwork.com/crafts/animals/ocean/paper-bag-whale.asp

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/puppets/paperbag/

There you go folks, take some time with your little ones and enjoy these fun activities. Share your successes with us. Happy Brown Bagging!!! See you today at the Story House Depot from 12-2.

Great Day at The Big Dig

Goodmorning-

Yesterday we hosted our second Literacy Center at Riverside Park, and it was a huge success. The theme for the day was "The Big Dig," and everyone sure seemed to dig what we had to offer. There were several different dinosaur themed activities for the kids to participate in and take home and treasure for years come. The activities that we offered were: Dig for Dinosaur eggs, Create your own dinosaur mask, Dinosaur Fossils, Piece it Together, the "D" station and finally the infamous Dinosaur Egg station followed up by a delicious snack of "Dinosaur Dirt Pudding." Everything seemed to be enjoyed by everyone who attended.

After our first day at the park just a short two weeks ago we were a little hesitant as to how good of an idea it was to have it away from the library. It was originally intended to draw the families who were unable to get rides to the library on Monday's. However, the first trip to the park did not see many people enjoying the literacy fun we had planned for them. But, we did not let that get us down and decided to continue to promote the park and literacy centers even more, and I think yesterday was proof that our efforts paid off. Yesterday we saw about forty kids come through our Literacy Center and it was great to see those type of numbers. We hope to continue to get more and more each time.

A couple of the favorite activities that the kids participated in were the "Dinosaur Egg" station, the "Dino Dig" station and the "Dinosaur Fossils" station. At the Egg station we had already hard boiled eggs for the kids to use as their canvas. We also had prepared Easter Egg die for them to color their eggs however they chose, after of course they put a cool design on them with Crayon. The designs the kids came up with were very interesting to say the least. We had multiple colors of eggs with designs that were previously unbeknownst to humankind. The kids also got a kick out of being able to eat their dinosaur. Some even took it to the extreme by cracking their eggs right on the spot and eating their egg before they left the literacy center.

Another favorite station was "Dino Dig" where the kids could Dig through our sandbox and look for matching Dinosaur Eggs that were buried in the sand. Of course this was a favorite for the kids because it gave them a chance to get their hands dirty as all kids seem to enjoy doing. The kids sat out by the sandbox and dug away for the longest time, often forgetting that we had plenty more to offer to them inside. It was a good time.

A last favorite of the kids was the "Dinosaur Fossil" station where kids had to make their own fossil dough using flower salt and water. This station allowed the kids to dive in and get their hands dirty while learning how to measure out the proper amount of the ingredients in order to create their fossil dough. After they had created the dough they were encouraged to use whatever they wanted to create a fossil imprint on their dough. We had toy dinosaurs for them to use, but they also had the choice of going out in the grass and finding pine cones or leaves to make their own fossils with. After going home they could put the dough in the oven for 10 minutes and it would bake the dough so that their fossil would be saved forever.

After the long dirty day at "The Big Dig" we at the Reading Railroad were extremely happy to see everyone that turned out. It was a successful day for everyone who attended and we hope to continue to see such a big turnout every Monday. And a note to all of my loyal followers out there, don't forget that next week out Literacy Center will be on Wednesday at the Library, not Monday. See you there!!!

StoryBook Festival--July 11

For those of you who haven't heard, the CCRR is planning its StoryBook Festival for July 11 in Spencer Park from 1-3pm. This event is sure to be great fun for the entire family. The staff down at the Reading Railroad has put a significant amount of time into planning for this event and assuring a fun day for all attendees. Make sure to come and see us.

At the festival you will find a plethora of things to do. We have lined up a puppeteer who will be performing two shows during the day. Jarret Binney will be there performing "Literacy and Lyrics" throughout the day, in which he will us his music to show how literacy plays a major role in the creation of lyric. Storytellers from the Bloomington Storytellers Guild will be in attendance doing live storytelling every 20 minutes for your enjoyment. Not to mention the large number of crafts we have set up for the kids to participate in, as well as free food. Thats right, through the gracious donations of multiple area businesses we will have free popsicles, cookies, popcorn and water all for your enjoyment.

This is the second year for this event with the hopes of continuing it into the future for many years. It looks to be a day full of great times, so make it a point to come out and see us at the Park on July 11th from 1-3pm. Oh, and don't forget to dress up like your favorite StoryBook character. It is sure to be a magical time.

The Salad Sandwich

With today being Thursday it is of course time for some brown bag advice before we head out to Brown Bags and Books at Spencer Park at 12. Today I am going to talk about the summertime favorites; chicken salad, tuna salad, ham salad, egg salad...ect. These sandwiches are a delicious alternative to your typical sandwiches, however they tend to get a bad rap because of one of the main ingredients; mayonaise. Hopefully with these tips, your creations will be more sought after during the summer months and even on into the school year.

The salad sandwiches of today have come a long way from where they used to be. A chicken salad sandwich used to be leftover chicken between two slices of bread lathered with mayo. Appetizing I know. But, today generations of family recipes have been passed down that have been tweeked little by little over the years. With that being said there still is a steady trend among them all. There must be a bonding agent in all of them to give them the thick consistency to keep them on the sandwich. This bonding agent is typically mayonaise, and has been for years. However with the recent increase in health conscience parents, mayonaise has begun to be looked at in a negative light. So here are a couple other suggestions to use instead of using mayonaise. A popular choice is plain Greek Yogurt. This provides a significant health benefit without losing much taste at all in your salad. It is a great way to make your salad a bit healthier. Some recipes also call for PB to be used as the bonder. I know this seems a bit out there, but it has been noted to work. A last suggestion is to use avocados. To do this you clean a couple avocados and put them in a bowl. Mix them up in a bowl until they are mixed into a kind of paste. This works perfect as a bonding agent. Although it is almost like a guacamole of sorts with chicken, it is still delicious and a lot healthier than using the classic mayonaise.

PB Chicken Salad

2 boneless chicken breasts
Soy sauce and pepper to marinate chicken
3 T peanut butter (crunchy or smooth)
2 T rice wine vinegar
1 T soy sauce
1 T fresh ginger, peeled
1 T veggie oil
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 lb green beans, trimmed to 1 inch lengths
2 c sliced sweet peppers
1/4 to 1/2 a sweet onion, chopped
Spinach, to serve

Classic Chicken Salad

4 cups diced poached chicken, recipe follows
1 stalk celery, cut into 1/4-inch dice
4 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced or 1/4 cup sweet onion cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh tarragon or fresh dill
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
1 cup Greek Yogurt
2 teaspoons strained freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Tuna Salad Sandwich

1 (6 ounce) can tuna, drained
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup Greek Yogurt
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
paprika to taste

Here are a few recipe suggestions for you and your little ones to try. However, you can easily mix up your own recipe by just replacing the mayonaise with one of the other suggested ingredients in mentioned above. Hope this works for everyone. Make sure to stop and see us at the Story House from 12-2 today. And bring a refined salad sandwich to eat while you read.

Wedneday Nights at the Story House Depot

Hello All-
I hope everyone is enjoying my sandwich ideas, and is putting them to good use. I know some of theme seem to be a bit off the wall, but I can assure everyone they are tried and true favorites. With today being Wednesday I figured it would be a good idea to give a plug to one of our weekly activities we have going on at Spencer Park every Wednesday night all summer long.

Every Wednesday night from 6-8pm at the Story House in Spencer Park we have lined up community volunteers to come and read some fantastic childrens stories. These nights have been specially coordinated with specific storybook authors or themes. To go along with each theme, the local librarians have volunteered their evenings as well to do a special craft for the kids to go along with the stories that our community members have volunteered to read. So far this summer the Wednesday nights have been very successful and we here at the Reading Railroad are glad to see everyone who has come out to participate. However, we would still love to see more kids out there every Wednesday evening

I also want to give a big thanks to all of our community organizations and individual volunteers who have given their time to spread the gift of literacy throughout Cass County. So far Rotary and Judy McNarny have sponsored a night. So a big thanks to those individuals who participated in those nights. Tonight we have our lovely ladies of Tri-Kappa volunteering to come out and read. They have been an instrumental group in spreading literacy amongst Cass County particularly in their creation of Dial-a-Story. So make sure to bring the kids to the Park tonight from 6-8pm to listen to some great stories and to do a fun craft.

See everyone out there, and be sure to check back tomorrow for some great Brown Bag advice before meeting Sam at the Story House for Brown Bags and Books.

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.