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Hello and welcome to the Antioch Library’s at home scavenger hunt. Over the next few months, we will be posting different tasks you can complete at home. Some are crafts. Some are activities you can complete on your own or with family, friend, and/or neighbors. Some of our tasks will involve reading and telling stories. Some will even ask you to take a look at the world around you in a way you might find unexpected, exciting, or new. Have fun and try to complete some or all of the challenges to the best of your ability. And most importantly, remember to have fun!

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Create and send a marble through a maze of paper towel tubes, toilet paper rolls, Legos, or any other household items. Cereal boxes are fine too. The only rule is, the ball or marble must make it through the track!

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Play with your food! You heard me. We’re not talking about anything crazy or wasteful though. I want you to create a work of art using food or food ingredients you already have at home. Be careful, though. You have to eat it when you’re finished. 

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Discover five different animals and insects living in your backyard. Document them and report back to us. Maybe you would like to learn more about these different creatures?

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They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks but I think they’re wrong. Besides, you’re not that old. Using the library’s curbside pickup or one of our digital apps, checkout and read the sort of book you usually wouldn’t think to read on your own. Try to finish it too. You might be surprised at how much you enjoy poetry when you usually prefer graphic novels or at how cool science fiction is when you’re used to reading about birds and insects.

I read: Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray

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Face the Cookie Challenge: Sit in a chair and lean your head back. Have someone place an Oreo on your forehead flat side down. Try to move the cookie into your mouth using only your facial muscles. If you don’t eat Oreos you can substitute it for any similar sized, round and flat food. Crackers, silver dollar pancakes, apple slices, and anything else you can think of will work.

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Minute to Win It: Face the Cookie (4 Players)

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Read the book Ten Apples Up On Top and then see how many apples you can stand on top of each other.  You can check out a copy at ALPD or watch this storytime video.

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Visit the library and pick up one of our super fun take home crafts. As of July 13th, it's a bee!

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It can be one you’ve already read or a new book. Once you finish, grab some makers, paint, or any other art supplies and create a new cover for the book you just read. It’s your job to make us want to read this book so make it exciting and fun!

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Build an obstacle course with your toys and anything else in your home or yard. Then, have every member of your family complete the course one at a time. Feel free to use additional items for climbing over or under, crawling through, etc.!

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Do something to make somebody else smile. You can draw a picture or leave a kind message on the sidewalk or driveway in chalk. Do some extra chores around your home. If you’re feeling really generous collect toys, clothes, and or canned food for donation. Maybe you have your own idea. That’s good too. Make the world brighter. And shine on.

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Attempt any of the STEAM projects available on the APLD facebook page!

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Antioch Public Library District, Antioch, IL. 1.7K likes. The Antioch Public Library District provides materials and services to help community residents obtain information meeting their...

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Play the “hot and cold” game with a member of your household. Simply hide an toy or book somewhere in your house and then give your teammate clues as they search for it. When they move in the right direction they are getting “hot.” The closer they come to the hidden object, the hotter it is. So if they are right next to it, they are standing on the sun! If they go the wrong way, they are “cold.” The further you get from the hiding spot, the colder you are. If you’re three rooms away you are on the North Pole!

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Invent a completely new dance! Can we see?

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Write a letter to a friend or relative who doesn’t live in your house. Get your grownup to help you send it to them in the real mail!

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Discover the joys of cup stacking, a fun game you can play at home! You can use plastic drinking cups from your own house or you can purchase a set of official speed stacking cups online.

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Speed Stacks - The Official Cup of the World Sport Stacking Association (Sport Stacking)

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Speed Stacks is the worldwide leader in Sport Stacking. Sport Stacking is an amazing sport of fitness, agility, concentration and quickness. Thousands of teachers, administrators, and parents along with millions of kids have experienced the benefits of Sport Stacking.

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For this game, all you need is a tennis ball, a pair of pantyhose, eight empty drink bottles or cans, and stopwatch or kitchen timer (the timer app will also work).

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This craft project is a lot of fun. You start off by drawing your basic face shape. Then, fill the left half of the drawing with a realistic self-portrait and the right half with pictures of your favorite foods, colors, your hobbies, etc.

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Materials:
- Pencil
- Erasers
- Colored Pencils
- Mirrors

After doing facial feature sketches and a portrait shading practice, the students created their own self portraits. They were asked to create one realistic side in black and white, and one side including symbols about their identity which was completed in color.

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Materials: - Pencil - Erasers - Colored Pencils - Mirrors After doing facial feature sketches and a portrait shading practice, the students created their own self portraits. They were asked to create one realistic side in black and white, and one side including symbols about their identity which was completed in color.

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Join Operation Gratitude and send a thank you note to one of our deployed troops, first responders, or emergency medical personnel

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Try out this balloon powered car project! Simple and fun. You can find a similar project using lego vehicles.

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Antioch Public Library District on Facebook Watch

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Try out a game of hula hoop lasso! All you need is a hula hoop and a length of rope for each player and some balls or balloons. Scatter the balls around the yard. Use your hula hoop lasso to catch as many as you can!

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I'm always looking for fun ways to entertain the kids outdoors when the weather is nice and this Hula Hoop Lasso Challenge is the perfect game to keep all my kids engaged and moving! Did I mention it's super simple to set up?

Hula Hoop Lasso Challenge Video:

Check out the below video to see the game in action and then read on to learn how to do it yourself!

Materials Needed:

Direction to Setup and Play:

1. Tie some string to the end of a hula hoop and leave enough extra string so they can throw the hula hoop like a lasso.

2. Gather a bunch of balls like basketballs, footballs or anything that can roll and spread them out over a large surface.

3. Finally use the hula hoop lassos to try and catch the balls and bring them in. The person who catches the most balls wins!

It's also fun to try to steal someone's catch by throwing your lasso over it and pulling it your way!

More Outdoor Activities:

Looking for more fun outdoor games and activities? Check out all our outdoor activities here.

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Hula Hoop Lasso Challenge * ages 3+ ⋆ Raising Dragons

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I'm always looking for fun ways to entertain the kids outdoors when the weather is nice and this Hula Hoop Lasso Challenge is the perfect game to keep all my kids engaged and moving! Did I mention it's super simple to set up?

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Did you know you can make your own raisins? It's a simple process. Take some grapes, rinse them off, and place them in the sun. For best results keep them inside the house and out of reach of insects, animals, and toddlers. The process takes several days but by the end you will have some very plump and delicious treats to eat. Check on your grapes every day around the same time an record or discuss the changes you notice.

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First J-Bug picked a couple handfuls of grapes and rinsed them clean. We used this step for counting practice as well, as he selected twenty five grapes. When they were clean he carefully set them out on a paper towel on top of a plate, and our grapes were ready to be left in the sun. We have a sun window behind our kitchen sink, so we left them inside in the window. When we made raisins when JZ was in kindergarten we left them outside. My toddler twins weren't mobile back then, and I didn't want them to be left within reach just to be safe.

We checked on our grapes/raisins every day, sometimes multiple times each day, per J-Bug's request. He kept an observation chart full of drawings of the progress of the raisins.

After almost two weeks we had plumb, juicy raisins. J-Bug was so excited and so proud.

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First J-Bug picked a couple handfuls of grapes and rinsed them clean. We used this step for counting practice as well, as he selected twenty five grapes. When they were clean he carefully set them out on a paper towel on top of a plate, and our grapes were ready to be left in the sun.

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Using some paint and a flat rock or two (from the craft store or from a local) make a decorative rock that will brighten people's days. Then, place it somewhere outside for all to see!

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amp;quot;I am excited to share two ways to make darling kindness rocks. The first way is a little bit more difficult than than the second because it involves more detail with the paintbrush. However, it is prettttttty easy peasy and I believe in you! You can do it.

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Record yourself reading your favorite picture book (or a part of your favorite chapter book) and send it to your friends to stay connected during social distancing. This is also an excellent activity for zoom play dates. If you're spending time with friends in person feel free to take turns reading to each other from the same location!

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Head to your backyard and spend some time looking at the clouds. What shapes do you see? Any animals? Faces? Mountains? Take pictures with your tablet or phone and show us what you discover.

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Use hula hoops or inner-tubes for this fun, outdoor activity. Make sure to use care when tossing

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Kid Friendly Things to Do.com - Family Recipes, Crafts, Fun Food Crafts, and Game Ideas

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Summertime fun is the best kind of fun! I love heading outdoors with the kids to enjoy a few family friendly competitions. My kids are growing up way too fast, so I'm cramming all of the summertime epic moments that I can. This Human Ring Toss was such a fun and easy game to pull together, and I wanted to share it with you all. Come on in and check out the Human Ring Toss Game - A Fun and Easy Summer Outdoor Game for Kids

Here's What You'll Need for the Human Ring Toss Game:

3 inflatable pool rings per team - our rings are called 36″, but they really only measure 31″x31″. The inside ring is about 16″. I bought 6 - (3 for each team of 2 teams)

That's seriously it! - FYI - they make giant pool rings for adults! I'll provide a link to Amazon below. So fun!

The 2 on the left are about 4 ft. across - for adults. The 2 on the left are 36″ and 38″ floats - ages 9+.

(affiliate links)

Instructions: Here's how you play the Human Ring Toss Game

Pick your teams and divide the rings evenly between teams

Decide on distance away from the person to ring that's challenging, but doable - we settled on about 6 ft. away

To ensure that there is no cheating - It might be a good idea to place a marker down for the person that you're going to ring and for the people throwing rings to stand on or behind

When you're ready, start ringing your human!

*The human has to stand on their mark, but can bend at the waist and point arms up in the direction of the pool ring to make it easier to ring them - to make it more challenging for older kids and adults you can disregard this variation

Rings count as 2 points for a full ring (I think that around the neck counts) and 1 point for a pool ring that is leaning on on touching the target/human

First team to get to 21 points wins!

*This would also make a fun Minute to Win it Game. Just see who can toss all 3 rings in less than a minute and ring their team mate with all 3 rings!

Or, you could always play tackle. My kids didn't waste anytime ringing themselves as a target while the other kids ran as fast as they could to knock them down. They played tackle for what seemed like forever.

~ Melissa - Kid Friendly Things To Do

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Human Ring Toss Game - A Fun and Easy Summer Outdoor Game for Kids and Adults

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Summertime fun is the best kind of fun! I love heading outdoors with the kids to enjoy a few family friendly competitions. My kids are growing up way too fast, so I'm cramming all of the summertime epic moments that I can.

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All you need for this awesome STEM project is: a straw, some yarn, a balloon, and a few strips of tape. Build your own zip line!

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Using some tape or side walk chalk, design a giant tic-tac-toe grid. Then, build your own reusable Xs and Os and enjoy a game!

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Try out one of these links for fun autumn themed crafts that make use of your hand. Extra links in the comments.

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In the past, I've had fun making fall hand print trees with my preschool students. This year I wanted to try something a little different. When I came across No Time for Flashcards' "Fall Art Project", I had an idea about how to change it up. I was inspired to explore negative space with the kiddos in this fall hand print art project!

Affiliate links included below

A twist on fall hand print art with preschoolers

Materials
Construction paper (brown and white)
Poster putty
Sponge Paint Wands (I used yellow, red, and orange)
Sponge Paint Wands

Directions
1. Trace child's hand and forearm on brown construction paper, then cut it out.
2. Use poster putty to secure the "tree" to white construction paper.
3. Once the hand print is in place, allow the child to sponge paint all around it with fall colors. (Be sure to encourage the child to leave little or no white around the edges of the "tree".
4. Gently remove the brown hand print, and be sure to remove any vestiges of poster putty.
5. Allow to dry, then display!

Fun with Art
This was an incredibly simple art project for the preschool kids, but they had a blast with it! Most of the children LOVED using the sponge paint brushes - they dabbed with them, splattered paint with them, and moved them all over the paper. One of my students used the brushes to paint almost the entire center time!

It was fun to chat with the children during this project, too. We talked about fall weather, the leaves changing colors, and how we all enjoy jumping in piles of leaves. It's nice to connect with the students one-on-one when we're painting together!

Learning with Art
In addition to the fun that was had painting, the children also explored some important concepts. Many of the children noticed they didn't need the orange paint "because you know red and yellow make orange, Ms. Mary Catherine!" The concept of negative space in art was also discussed. Obviously, we talked about it in an age-appropriate way, focusing on how the brown hand prints blocked the paint from the white construction paper. It was almost like a magic trick to some of the children, based on their response - "Wow! You can see my hand tree even though it's not there anymore!"

This little art experiment turned out really well! The kiddos had fun, I got to spend time chatting with each students, and we explored a new art concept. 🙂

Have you ever done an art project like this with your children/students?

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Fall Hand Print Art - Exploring Negative Space with Kids

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In the past, I've had fun making fall hand print trees with my preschool students. This year I wanted to try something a little different. When I came across No Time for Flashcards' "Fall Art Project" , I had an idea about how to change it up.

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Since we can’t visit them in person right now, many zoos have live streaming videos of their animals. Take a virtual tour of the National Zoo in Washington DC.

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See elephants, lions and naked mole-rats on animal cams streaming live, 24/7 from the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.

Download Animal Cam Bingo Cards (link opens in new window). These activities are designed to engage learners of all ages in looking closely and thinking deeply about animal behavior and habitats. Welcome to the wild side of learning!

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The Zoo's animal webcams are some of the most famous on the internet. Tune in to watch the Zoo's elephants, lions and naked mole-rats - live, 24/7!

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Check Out Ms. Kerri's Page to Plate Storytime! Learn how to make barbecue sauce and enjoy Take Me To Your BBQ by Kathy Duval

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Miss Keri- From Page To Plate (Take Me To Your BBQ)

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Use this excellent recipe to make your own bouncy balls out of Borax and other household ingredients.

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Today I am going to show you how to make a bouncy ball in five minutes. I remember doing this during Science Class a million years ago and I thought it would be awesome to share with my kiddos this fun activity... Besides, we are already in Spring Break so this is a great way to keep them busy and have a good time.
How to Make a Bouncy Ball Tutorial
How to Make a Bouncy Ball

½ Cup Warm Water

1 Tb Borax

1 Tb of Cornstarch

2 Tb White Liquid Glue

Food coloring

Optional: Disposable rubber gloves.

1. In a cup mix the warm water and the borax.

2. In another cup mix the glue, cornstarch, and food coloring.

3. Pour the glue mixture into the water-borax cup.

4. The glue mixture will harden after 10 seconds; use a fork to take it out of the water. If the glue mixture is still sticky, squish it with your hands and dip it back in the water.

5. Roll the mixture in your hands to make a ball. The more you handle the mixture the firmer it will become.

6. You are done!

So easy!

Your kids are going to love this activity!

For more fun projects, crafts and kid activities check out these other awesome ideas!
DIY Kool-Aid Play-dough Tutorial
Melted Bead Crafts and Accessories

How to Make Glittered Slime

20 Fun Activities for Kids

Have a fantastic day and don't forget to play!

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Today I am going to show you how to make a bouncy ball in five minutes. I remember doing this during Science Class a million years ago and I thought it would be awesome to share with my kiddos this fun activity...

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Try out a new craft or hobby. Maybe now is the time to start a rock collection. I bet you can find all sorts of rocks in your backyard. Check out the library for books related to your hobby to help you get started! Make splatter art. Try a virtual dance, instrument, or sewing class.

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Squigly's Playhouse has many Mad Libs you can fill out from your tablet, phone, or home computer. Try it out. They are lots of fun!

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Mad libs are funny stories created on the spot. Pick a story from any category and fill in a word for each prompt. Once you've filled in all the blanks click on the Build 'Story Button' and a funny story will be made with the words you provided! Play this fun word game alone or with friends. The results are usually hilarious and we've got over a 100 mad lib stories to choose from! Just pick a story to get started!

Featured Mad Libs

Holiday Mad Libs

More Mad Libs

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Mad libs are funny stories created on the spot. Pick a story from any category and fill in a word for each prompt. Once you've filled in all the blanks click on the Build 'Story Button' and a funny story will be made with the words you provided!

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Donate some brand new socks to the Antioch Open Arms Mission.

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Over the past 10 years, thanks to the support of local schools, churches, organizations, small businesses and generous individuals like you, we have been able to collect over 50,000 pairs of socks for the Socks For The Soul project! Now going into our 11th year we are once again looking for your support to continue our program.

Our goal is Warm Feet, Warm Hearts for everyone. Your generosity will greatly warm the hearts and the feet of your neighbors that utilize Open Arms Mission to help supplement their weekly food.

In 2009, on behalf of Open Arms Mission, the Close family initiated a campaign to provide warm socks for the neighborhood families needing a little extra assistance during the cold winter months. Thanks to your support over the past ten years we were able to collect and distribute over 69,000 pairs of socks!

Each week families throughout Antioch and Lake Villa Townships come to Open Arms Mission for assistance. One week each month, during November thru March, we distribute warm socks for each family member along with their food and milk. Our simple request of you is to donate packages of new warm socks, any size, Men, Women, Boys, Girls and Infants.

Over the years we have had some fun events, such as Sock Hops at Schools, Crazy Sock Days at Work and School and Sock Sunday at Churches. Great program for Scout Troops! If you are in a position to organize a Sock Drive or donate a package of Socks, all will help!

Please contact Judy at 847-395-0309 for more information on how you can help.

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Over the past 10 years, thanks to the support of local schools, churches, organizations, small businesses and generous individuals like you, we have been able to collect over 50,000 pairs of socks for the Socks For The Soul project! Now going into our 11th year we are once again looking for your support to continue our program.

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Collect fallen leaves from your yard or neighborhood and use them to create fun new art projects. You can build people, animals, nature scenes, or anything else you can imagine!

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Prepare a meal for your family. It can be as simple as making a salad or some sandwiches if you are 10 or under. If you are 11 or older, perhaps your grownup can supervise while you make pancakes, tacos, or a simple pizza or another simple dish for everyone to enjoy! Our older friends can maybe make the whole meal themselves. And of course since you made the mess, you need to clean up everything after you are done! Give your grownups a break for the morning or night.

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Want your kids to get excited about the food on their plates? Let them help make it!

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Try out this funny Minute to Win it game where you try to stick as many post it notes to your face in 60 seconds as you can. Here is a video of someone attempting to break the world record for most sticky notes on face in 60 seconds!

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Most sticky notes on the face - Challenge

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Build a craft stick catapult and let us know how well it works.

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Kids and creating they just go together, don't they? Last time I shared the caterpillar craft my kids made. They turned out really cute. Today I'm sharing an easy to make catapult your kids will love.

My son loves to shoot or throw things. So this project was one he was really excited about. This catapult takes a few items, popsicle sticks, a cap from a milk or water jug and rubber bands. Most of the things we already had at home. I purchased our jumbo popsicle sticks at the dollar store. Gotta love that store for inexpensive craft times.

My daughter wanted to decorate her catapult as we were assembling them. She added a flowers and hearts to hers using a felt tip markers. But after using the catapult a few times the drawings started to smear. So it might be best if your kids want to decorate them, to use a sharpie pen.

How to assemble the Catapult

Step 1. Stack 7 popsicle stick together. Then secure them at both ends with a rubber band. Make sure to wrap the rubber band around each end tightly.

Step 2. Stack 2 more popsicle sticks and secure only one end just like the larger stack of popsicle sticks.

Step 3. Slide the first stack or 7 popsicle sticks between the stack of two popsicle sticks and slide it down close to the rubber banded end.

Step 4. Secure the two popsicle stick stack to the 7 popsicle sticks. Take a rubber band and wrap it around one end of the stack of 7 popsicle sticks. Twist the rubber band and cross over to the other side of the two stick popsicle stack on the short end, that has been secured with the rubber band. Don't cross over the non secured end of the two stack popsicle sticks. Then twist the rubber band around the other side of the 7 stack popsicle sticks and go back to the other side and repeat the twist and secure it.

Now the stack of 7 popsicle sticks should be secured in-between the two popsicle sticks.

Step 5. Glue the bottle top to the end of the popsicle stick that is sticking up on the top. We used hot glue to secure ours.

Step 6. Add a pom pom or wadded pieces of foil or paper to the cap at the end of the catapult. While holding the base of the 7 popsicle sticks push the upper arm down and release it. The object will go flying.

My kids set up a target on the floor so they could play a game with their catapults. To make this activity a little more educational, get some books from the library on catapults and other launching devices. So the kids can learn how they work and why they work the way they do.

Here's a few book ideas,

Just so you know the links below are my referral links. When you use them I can earn a little money, thanks for your support. You can read my disclosure page for more information.

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Check out the other Kid's crafts.
The Art of the Catapult Stomp Rockets, Catapults, and Kaleidoscopes Amazing Leonardo da Vinci Inventions: You Can Build Yourself I hope your kids love this craft as much as mine did! What kind of crafts have you done with your kids recently?

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Kids and creating they just go together, don't they? Last time I shared the caterpillar craft my kids made. They turned out really cute. Today I'm sharing an easy to make catapult your kids will love. My son loves to shoot or throw things. So this project was one he was really excited about.

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Sign up for Ms. Nikki's Spine Cracker Virtual Book Club (grades 3-5 only). For October the book is Nightmares by Jason Segel and Kristen Miller

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Collect toys, sponges, pieces of fruit, and other items from your house to test and see if they will sink or float in a bowl of water. Make sure to check with a grownup before filling up your water bowl and before testing anything in it. What do you think will float? Were you surprised by the results? To learn more about why things sink or float you can watch this video.

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Recreate a famous work of art from objects and supplies in your own home. It can be a painting, a sculpture, your favorite book or album cover, a scene from your favorite movie or TV show, or anything else you can imagine. Try to find a picture of the original so we can see the before and after!

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Go outside and collect fallen leaves from three separate kinds of trees. Try and get each one in a different color too.

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Checkout this storytime video by Ms. Sarah. Let us know what you thought!

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As a nice treat for you family, make some hot chocolate to keep them warm on a chilly fall afternoon.

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Christine Pittman Christine is the Senior Editor and Owner of The Cookful, COOKtheSTORY and IsThisThatFood. Her sites reach over 1.5 million readers per month, which means that things can get a bit crazy. She's constantly writing, taking pictures, editing, managing contributors, and, oh yeah, cooking.

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Check out our amazing "Myth a Month" program with Ms. Gwen. 3rd-5th graders can sign up on libcal.

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See all of the events that the Antioch Public Library District has to offer.

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Preform your own puppet show at home. Follow this link to learn how to make your own finger puppets.

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Literacy does not always mean you have to crack open a book. What if I told you that making origami finger puppets for pretend play was a gateway to literacy? Okay, you probably know origami is great for math and problem solving, but literacy? You might need some convincing.

Well, pretend play promotes creative storytelling and children engage the skills they need to be good readers and writers. Skills like learning cause and effect, developing characterization, motivation and emotion, creating narratives, using language for a purpose. Following directions is a key literacy skill. Even the act of drawing faces on the blank faces of origami puppets leads children to develop a cast of characters with their own personalities, wants and desires, an essential part of storytelling.

The instructions for how to make origami finger puppets for pretend play and theatrical storytelling couldn't be easier. As a bonus, kids are working fine motor skills essential for handwriting. The educational benefits of origami are many!

Your children will love this simple folding technique that creates a blank platform for their imaginations. They can even turn the paper finger puppets into animals or people with a quick folding switch at the ears. Make a family, a menagerie of pets, the characters from a favorite fairy tale; the possibilities are endless!

(Note: This post contains affiliate links.)

Materials for Origami Finger Puppets
Gather together the following items:
Square paper. The most convenient way to make origami finger puppets is to use standard size sticky-notes, like Post-its. They come in lots of fun colors so you are not limited to yellow.

Alternatively, for the colorful finger puppets, We cut 6×6 (approximately) origami paper into four squares.

Pens or markers. We used flair pens, which are my favorite pens for this type of project. We also love them for zentangle drawing.

Creative kids! I bet your kids can learn how to make origami finger puppets easily by watching our video, but give them a hand if their fine motor skills need a bit of assistance.

That's it!

Origami Finger Puppet Instructions

It is probably easiest to learn how to make the finger puppets by watching the video instructions. Below the video I have written instructions and photographs if you prefer learning the old fashioned way.
Step by Step Instructions:
Take your square piece of paper and fold one side approximately one third the way towards the middle. If using sticky notes, keep the sticky side up, and fold the non-sticky edge first.

Fold the other side down to match. You should now have a small, flat tube. Do not worry if you are using origami paper and the paper doesn't stick, you do not need to use tape to secure.

Fold down the top part of the tube down. This will make the head of the puppet, so make it as large or as small as desired.

Now. Decide if you are going to make a human or an origami animal finger puppet.

For people, fold the top edges of the head back slightly.

For animals, fold the top edges of the head forward. This will create "floppy" ears.

Next, fold the bottom corners of the head up and behind. Now you have a blank face!

Finally, give your origami finger puppet a face and decorate as you please.

Make as many as you want. Put on a show, tell a story and have fun!

TIP: Place the puppets on the end of pencils and use a diy table top puppet theater to put on an extra special dramatic performance!

TIP: For more finger puppets, check out these cute spring themed printable puppets

TIP: For more easy origami with a literacy twist, check out these heart bookmarks even origami beginners can make!

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Enhance Literacy Skills with Easy Origami Finger Puppets

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Literacy does not always mean you have to crack open a book. What if I told you that making origami finger puppets for pretend play was a gateway to literacy? Okay, you probably know origami is great for math and problem solving, but literacy? You might need some convincing.

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Make a paper airplane. Test it out. How far did it go? Did it fly at all? Once you've made and tested one, look at some of these designs to see if you can improve on your original idea.

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Fold 'N Fly " Paper Airplane Folding Instructions

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A database of paper airplanes with easy to follow folding instructions, video tutorials and printable folding plans. Find the best paper airplanes that fly the furthest and stay aloft the longest.

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Try your hand at the Cheese Puff Toss Game. One person puts on a shower cap. The other person sprays shaving cream over the cap an then tries to toss cheese puffs onto the cream. Take turns so you can both throw and catch.

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CHEESE PUFF TOSS GAME! l ADVENTURES OF THE M'S

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Create your own version of the memory matching game "Concentration."
1. Draw pictures of animals, foods, toys, or anything else you can think of on one side of the paper plates.  Make sure you have two plates for each picture so you can match them together.
2. Put the plates on the floor, picture side down.
3. Line them up to make a square or rectangle.
4. Take turns flipping over two plates at a time and trying to find a match.
5. Keep playing until all the plates have been matched.
6. Who ever has the most matches is the winner.

Even though this one is for pumpkins, you can use it as a guideline and make your own choices for the artwork.

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Orange paper plates make simple yet awesome pumpkin faces. (And they save me from having to cut out lots of large orange circles!). We took our pumpkin faces and used them to make a super-sized memory game this Halloween!

(Love pumpkins? B e sure to grab our free Halloween Pumpkin I Spy game here!)

Make the Pumpkin Memory Game

Cut: (Either you or your child, depending on age and ability and interest!)

Using the black paper, cut out shapes for the pumpkin faces. You need to make sure that every pumpkin face you make has a matching pumpkin face. Make sure to make 2 copies of each shape (or 4 for the eye shapes).

Using brown (or green) paper, cut out a stem for each pumpkin. We did 12 pumpkins - how many you make depends on how challenging you want the game to be.

Create: Once the shapes are cut, tape or glue them on (or the kids can). Just be sure every face has a matching face.

Play: Place the pumpkins face down in a grid (ours were 3 rows of 4 pumpkins). The first player flips over 2 pumpkins - if the faces match, they get to take the pumpkins. If not, the pumpkins are placed face down. The next player does the same, until all the matches are found.

If you want a smaller (and portable!) memory game, we've got another Halloween memory game here!

Check out our other fun Halloween activities!
10 Simple Halloween Party Games Halloween Slime Halloween I Spy Free Printables

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Orange paper plates make simple yet awesome pumpkin faces. (And they save me from having to cut out lots of large orange circles!). We took our pumpkin faces and used them to make a super-sized memory game this Halloween! (Love pumpkins? B e sure to grab our free Halloween Pumpkin I Spy game here!)

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Do some extra chores around the house without being asked!

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Check out this fun STEAM project where you will grow your own rock candy in a jar! You will need help from a grownup for part of this project.

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Note: You can easily double and triple the above recipe. We wanted to make a rainbow of rock candy colors, so we ended up using 10 cups of water and close to 30 cups of sugar. As long as the sugar to water ratio is close to 3:1 the rock candy will grow.

Combine equal parts of sugar and water in a saucepan and heat until all of the sugar is dissolved.

Then, slowly add more sugar and mix, slowly adding more sugar and mixing until the sugar will no longer dissolve in the water.

The water should start to look a little cloudy. That is when you know that no more sugar is dissolving and the perfect sugar-saturation has been reached.

The short version is that you are creating a saturated sugar solution, or a solution in which no more sugar can dissolve at a particular temperature.

The amount of sugar verses water used should be roughly 3:1. You can easily double & triple the recipe as long as you mantain a 3:1 ratio.

Add candy flavoring if desired, and then continue to heat the water until it comes to a simmer.

Remove the sugar-water from the heat and allow it to cool.

Cut the skewers to a desirable size for the jar(s) that you are using. Then, dip the sticks in water and roll them in sugar.

Set the sugar-coated sticks aside and allow them to dry.

Once your sugar-water is cool enough pour it into jars, using one jar for each color of rock candy that you wish to make.

Once the sticks are dry carefully place them into the jar(s).

You want to make sure that the sugar-coated sticks are completely dry before placing them in the jars.

The rock candy needs the sugar on the sticks to grow, and if the sugar isn't dry it will dissolve in the water.

It is also important to make sure that the sticks are not touching the bottom or sides of the jar.

It is now time to sit back and observe the jars! Rosie and Jewel loved checking on their jars each day. This is what our rock candy looked like after just one day.

After day three we could really see growth!

By day 5 my girls were dying to actually eat rock candy, haha. But, this was a great lesson in patience.

After a week our rock candy was almost ready! Just look at those beautiful jars!

After a week your rock candy can be removed from the jars and enjoyed.

You can extend the fun and grow your rock candy longer if desired.

Once you and the kids are ready remove the candy sticks from the jar(s), and then place them on a clean surface to dry.

Once dry you will have a yummy treat to enjoy!

The Science Behind the Rock Candy Experiment:

Eating the candy was my kids favorite part of course. They said it was, " the best candy they had ever tasted", and I am sure that is in large part due to the fact that they made it themselves!

_____________________________

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Note: You can easily double and triple the above recipe. We wanted to make a rainbow of rock candy colors, so we ended up using 10 cups of water and close to 30 cups of sugar. As long as the sugar to water ratio is close to 3:1 the rock candy will grow.

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Check out Ms. Rachel's Easy Reader Book Club (grades k-2) for December. This month we're reading Biscuit Loves the Library!

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Make a bridge out of Legos or another kind of blocks. Let's see if it can support some weight. How strong is it? Can you make it stronger?

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Try out a new card game. All you need is a standard deck of playing cards and a few spoons. Instructions Here!

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Spoons may seem like an odd name for a card game, but it is one the greatest games out there. I used to play it when I worked for Disney Cruise Line. It was so popular that we even had it timetabled into the cruise navigator (which is basically what told you what was happening on the ship each day).

Let me apologise for the lack of pictures, we were so into the game that I totally forgot to take any!
Make sure that you follow my activities board on Pinterest for more ideas, and don't forget to save the pin for later.
You will need:

A pack of cards (no jokers)

Spoons (you will need one less than the number of people playing).

How to play Spoons

Start by dealing 4 cards to each player. You need at least 3 people to play the game.

Place the rest of the cards in a pile; face down, in the middle of the table.

Put the spoons in a pile next to them.

The object of the game is to get 4 of a kind in your hand and then pick up a spoon without people noticing.

On your go pick up a card from the pile and then discard one into a trash pile facing up.

The next person then does the same (they can pick up from either pile).

When one person has 4 of a kind they can either try to pick up a spoon while everyone is paying attention to their cards. Or you can make an obvious grab for the spoon.

As soon as one player gets a spoon then all of the other players need to grab one. There will be one player who won't get one.

I taught Leonora, YC, and some of their family members how to play the other day instead of having movie time. Lets just say it was a huge success. Nobody realised that Leonora's niece had even taken a spoon until she made a comment on her next go.

If you liked this card game then check out how to play clock patience and beggar my neighbour.
Pin for later:

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Spoons may seem like an odd name for a card game, but it is one the greatest games out there. I used to play it when I worked for Disney Cruise Line. It was so popular that we even had it timetabled into the cruise navigator (which is basically what told you what was happening on the ship each day).

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My older readers have probably tried the egg drop experiment before. It's pretty simple. All you need to do is build a container to protect your egg and slow it down. Then, you drop the container from your balcony, the top of the staircase, etc. to see if it protects the egg or not. When testing indoors, make sure to use an unpeeled HARD-BOILED egg.

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Sign up for Miss. Keri's "All About Animals: Penguins" storytime and craft program (on Facebook) for children ages 3-5.

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(Ages 3-5 Years) This is a story time featuring a different animal every month that highlights learning and fun facts about the animal, as well as stories and crafts! Must pick up craft from the childrens desk...

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In this minute to win it game you have 60 seconds to stack as many pennies in one tower as you possibly can. Compete to see who can get the most. Try to beat your own high score. Learn about balance and engineering while you're at it!

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Design your own laser maze and then try to escape through it. You can do it all on your own (all you need is some string or crepe paper, tape, and a hallway) or you can use this guide from Pinterest.

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In today's post: Learn how to turn your hallway into a laser maze for some easy, inexpensive indoor fun for kids!
Christmas is over and we are headed into the doldrums of winter, which means it's time to come up with some activities kids can do inside on cold or rainy days. We do lots of kid crafts at our house, but sometimes my kids need an activity that's a little more active to help them burn off some energy and keep them from poking each other all. the. time. That's where this DIY hallway laser maze comes in: kids get to pretend they are like the spies they see on movies, creeping through the lasers without touching any of them.

A hallway laser maze is easy to set up and will keep kids busy as they jump, crawl, and climb they way back and forth. It's a perfect activity for a rainy day. Years ago I saw this idea on Brassy Apple and I've always wanted to give it a try, so last week we did.

How to make a DIY hallway laser maze

You will need crepe paper (also called streamers), which is basically a long string of paper that comes on a roll - it's usually used to decorate for parties. You can usually find it in the party section of a store - I found mine at the dollar store in packs of two rolls for a dollar. You'll also want masking tape so you can tape up the maze without damaging your walls.

Basically, you're just going to tape the crepe paper on the wall in a zig zag pattern, back and forth, high and low, moving down the hallway. The idea is to create a "maze" that your kids can then work their way through, like the laser mazes you often see on spy movies. For reference, the maze you see below was created with one roll of crepe paper.

Try to make the maze hard enough that kids can't just crawl under the entire thing, but easy enough that your child won't be frustrated and give up.

Here's a video that shows it in action:

Encourage your kids to treat it like a real laser maze: i.e. tell them to try not to touch any of the crepe paper to get through it safely.

Kids can take turns working their way through the maze and could even time each other to see who gets through the fastest without touching any of the lines. Once they're done going through to maze, kids can toss a ball back and forth through the maze, trying not to let the ball touch any of the lines. For more fun, let older kids create the maze themselves.

A hallway laser maze can also be a fun activity at birthday parties!
For more kid fun ideas, visit these posts: How to make marshmallow launchers 50 indoor crafts and activities for kids DIY balloon drop for NYE or birthdays 50 easy birthday party games 101 summer fun ideas Print + color unicorn masks Print + fold origami bookmarks

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DIY hallway laser maze {indoor fun for kids} - It's Always Autumn

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In today's post: Learn how to turn your hallway into a laser maze for some easy, inexpensive indoor fun for kids! Christmas is over and we are headed into the doldrums of winter, which means it's time to come up with some activities kids can do inside on cold or rainy days.

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Build your own Lego fidget spinner. Instructions in the link.

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Have you heard of fidget spinners? Originally introduced as a fidget tool for kids with ADHD or autism spectrum disorder, they have exploded in popularity with kids everywhere! My boys heard about them from neighbor kids and wanted one of their own, so we ordered one from Amazon. I've gotta say - it's a fun little gadget that demonstrates some neat properties of physics!

Aidan (age 13) has been working for a couple of weeks to design a fidget spinner out of LEGO® bricks. The real ones spin for a longer time, but his version has a satisfying spin and is a fun build! Challenge kids to build one with our design or to create their own. Can they figure out the best way to distribute the weight and reduce friction between the moving parts?
This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
Hold the fidget spinner by placing one finger on each side.

Then use your thumb or finger to give it a spin!

Here are the bricks needed to build one:

Start by putting a 4 x 4 round plate on both the top and bottom of a 6 x 6 round plate. Slide one of the 2 x 2 round tiles (with a round hole) onto the axle. You'll need an axle that is 3 studs long with a stud on the end.

Part number for 2 x 2 round tile with hole: 15535

Part number for axle: 6587

Place the turquoise round plate on the axle. Add another 2 x 2 round tile to the axle. Attach it to the dark red round plate.

Slide a 2 x 2 round plate (with an x shaped hole) onto the top of the axle. Leave some space so that the spinner is free to turn.

We found that our spinner would spin for a longer time if we added arms. The additional weight seems to give the spinner more momentum.

Place a 2 x 3 plate under the turquoise round plate. Then add a 2 x 2 plate and another 2 x 3 plate.

Add all four arms, and your spinner is ready to go!

To spin it, place one finger on each side as shown below.
Have fun building! Here's a video that shows Aidan's spinner in action, and he also demonstrates how to build it.
This site is full of LEGO® project ideas, such as a working candy dispenser, minions, STEM projects, and more. Browse through all of our ideas!

You will also want to check out our LEGO® book! It's called Awesome LEGO® Creations with Bricks You Already Have, and it's packed with 50 new LEGO® projects. There are robots, dragons, airplanes, animals, working machines, and more. Most LEGO® books don't have instructions, but ours does! Some of the projects are open-ended or can be figured out with the photos provided, but others have step-by-step instructions.

COMING SOON... OCTOBER 2017! Our second LEGO® book will release on October 10th! Epic LEGO® Adventures with Bricks You Already Have contains five funny stories to read, and then there are step-by-step instructions for each of the projects in the stories. I'm super excited about this one because it will be such a springboard for imaginative play and building! Pre-order now and your copy will arrive on release day.
LEGO® is a trademark of the LEGO® group of companies which does not sponsor, authorize, or endorse this site.

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How to Build a Fidget Spinner with LEGO Bricks - Frugal Fun For Boys and Girls

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Have you heard of fidget spinners? Originally introduced as a fidget tool for kids with ADHD or autism spectrum disorder, they have exploded in popularity with kids everywhere! My boys heard about them from neighbor kids and wanted one of their own, so we ordered one from Amazon.

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Play a game with a friend or relative who is not inside your house. You can use Zoom, Skype, Facetime, or any other digital program to talk to each other and show your moves on two separate game boards in your own houses. You can also play minecraft or Roblox together but remember to talk to your friend or relative. It’s hard to stay connected when we’re further apart. The goal here is to spend time with someone even though they are not right next to you.

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Enjoy a snow-themed storytime with Ms. Sarah

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See who can make the biggest stack of marshmallows in 60 seconds with this minute to win it game!

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Minute to Win It Snowman Stack Christmas Game

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Draw a picture with your feet! To complete this challenge, have a grownup help you tape a large sheet of paper on the wall. Then, lie flat on your back and hold the marker or crayon with your big toe and second toe and draw a picture with your foot!! Are you left-footed or right-footed?

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This project requires assistance from a grown-up. Place old, broken crayons in an ice-cube tray or muffin tins and bake to make new, rainbow crayons!

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Do you have any broken crayons at home or in your classroom? Recycle your old crayons and make beautiful new rainbow crayons in the microwave.

These rainbow crayons are super easy to make and they'll provide your kids with plenty of fine motor practice too!

You can make these at home or in the classroom- no knives or oven necessary! Perfect for a rainbow or St. Patrick's Day theme.

Recycled Rainbow Crayon Supplies

To get started making your rainbow crayons you will need the following supplies.

Old Crayons (Crayola brand works best- broken crayons and crayon pieces work great for this activity)

Silicone Mold

Microwave

Bowl

Water

How to Make Your Own Rainbow Crayons

First, place your crayons in bowl and fill the bowl with water until all the crayons are covered. Let the crayons soak overnight.

Next, drain the water out of the bowl and invite your kids to peel and break the crayons into pieces.

DIY Rainbow Crayons

Then, place the peeled, broken crayon pieces in your silicone mold. I used a mold that was designed to make ice cubes for water bottles. This shape is similar to chunky crayons and creates one flat side that is perfect for what I have in mind.

Now, place the mold filled with broken crayons in the microwave and cover. Don't forget the cover part or you may ruin your microwave!

Now here's the tricky part, because every microwave oven is different, start by setting the timer for three minutes on high first, and then check on their progress periodically.

If they're not done after three minutes, put them in for two more and so on until most of the crayons look sufficiently melted. The amount of time your crayons need to spend in the microwave will vary depending on your microwave.

When your crayons are thoroughly melted, remove them from the microwave and place them in the refrigerator until they are solid. Mine took about 30 minutes in the refrigerator to solidify.

Crayon Rubbing Names

Now that you have your awesome rainbow crayons, it's time to invite kids to use them!

Start by writing each child's name on a piece of cardstock with a permanent marker.

Then, squeeze liquid glue over the top of each letter. Allow the glue to dry overnight or longer if you live in a very humid climate.

When the names are thoroughly dried, place a piece of copy paper over the top and invite children to rub the flat sides of the crayon over the top.

There you have it, instant rainbow names!

Want more rainbow activities?

Good news! I've teamed up with some of my favorite bloggers to bring you the latest Kids Activities.

This month we are focusing on rainbows. Throughout the year, we will join forces to share all sorts of ideas with you- from crafts to sensory play.

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT:
Rainbow in a Bag - No Mess Art // Powerful Mothering

Rainbow Letters Race to the Top // Stay at Home Educator

Color and Shape Match Up // Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

Stack a Stone Rainbow // Adventures of Adam

Rainbow Pasta Threading // Play and Learn Everyday

Rainbow Tinker Tray // Still Playing School

How to Flip a Rainbow | Simple Science for Kids // Lemon Lime Adventures

Rainbow Sun Craft // Fairy Poppins

Rainbow Pencil Control Exercises // Sugar Aunts

Beginning Sound Rainbows // Playdough to Plato

DIY Rainbow Crayon Names // Pre-K Pages

Rainbow Puzzle Skip Counting // Creative Inclusion

Rainbow Bear Color Matching Game // Life Over Cs

Rainbow Marble Painting Process Art // Preschool Inspirations

DIY Paper Plate Loom: Rainbow Yarn Art // Sugar Spice and Glitter

Rainbow Sight Words // The Kindergarten Connection

Rainbow Math with a DIY Abacus // Fun-a-Day

Rainbow Fact Family Board Game // Liz's Early Learning Spot

Simple Rainbow Sensory Bottle for Kids // Coffee Cups and Crayons

Rainbow Paint Chip Color Match // Modern Preschool

Roll a Rainbow // The STEM Laboratory

(Not Shown) Rainbow Perler Bead Key Ring // Teach Me Mommy

More St. Patrick's Day Ideas

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How to Make Rainbow Crayons - Pre-K Pages

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Do you have any broken crayons at home or in your classroom? Recycle your old crayons and make beautiful new rainbow crayons in the microwave. These rainbow crayons are super easy to make and they'll provide your kids with plenty of fine motor practice too!

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Grab a shoebox and a few items that remind you of life in modern life. Make sure these are things you won't mind giving up. Get everyone in the family to put something in the capsule. Then, burry it in the back yard or hide it someplace inside your home. Wait 5-20 years, pull it out and marvel at your past. Bonus idea: have everyone write a letter to their future self!

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Since some of us can't visit with our family due to COVID restrictions, now is the perfect time to send  a virtual hug to grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. Simply grab a large sheet of butcher paper. Then, have someone trace your head, shoulders, arms, and chest. Color in  and cut out the picture of yourself, and send it to a relative you can't see in person so you can give them a long-distance hug.

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Have your kids mail a hug to friends and family that they don't see often! It's a fun, easy way to brighten someone's day.
Hi friends!

Last Fall, we did this mail a hug activity as part of our 75 Acts of Kindness for Kids challenge and it was a huge hit! We mailed one to my parents and one to my sister, since they both live several states away. It's such a simple activity but it really can brighten someone's day.

More Easy Kid Ideas
Here are your directions:

1. Spread out a long sheet of butcher paper.

2. Trace the child's head, arms, and upper torso onto the paper.

3. You can either cut it out now or decorate first and then cut. We used paint but markers or crayons would work just fine!

4. Print or write out the message below to accompany the hug.

5. Fold it all up, put in an envelope and mail!

Here's the message we use:

"I miss you when you're far away.
I'd love to see you every day.
But since I can't come over to play,
I'm mailing you a hug today.

So although it might be quite a sight,
wrap my arms around you tight.
Repeat daily to keep your smile bright,
until we get to reunite!"

We mailed a few more hugs this weekend to friends and family both near and far since we're all stuck at home right now!

I'd love to see pictures of your hugs if you mail some!

Enjoy!
-Lindsay-

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Mail A Hug: An Easy Way To Brighten Someone's Day

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Have your kids mail a hug to friends and family that they don't see often! It's a fun, easy way to brighten someone's day. Hi friends! Last Fall, we did this mail a hug activity as part of our 75 Acts of Kindness for Kids challenge and it was a huge hit!

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See if you can complete this minute to win it challenge!

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A fun twist on the classic game of tic-tac-toe is Ortrio! If you can't get a hold of an official gameboard you can make your own with markers.

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Check out Ms. Nikki's book club, Spine Crackers. Grades 3-5, registration required.

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See all of the events that the Antioch Public Library District has to offer.

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Everyone is an expert at something. Maybe you can burp the alphabet. Maybe you flip pancakes better than anybody in your house. Maybe you know everything there is to know about Pokemon. Take your special skill and teach it to a member of your family or a friend.

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For grades 3-5: do you enjoy fantasy adventures? Check out Ms. Gwen's Dungeon's and Dragons program and have one for yourself!

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Have you ever wondered what it would be like to adventure around the world as an elf? a dwarf? even a half-orc? Do you want to know because Dungeons and Dragons you can experience all that life has to offer and...

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Get together with a friend through zoom, caribou, or another social distancing app and draw each other’s portraits

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Try out a new card game. It's called Trash or Garbage depending on who you talk to. Rules and instructions in the link

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Trash is a super easy card game to learn. Once grandkids understand how to play, it provides lots of fun when playing with grandma - or cousins or aunts or uncles!

For 2 players, you'll need one deck of regular face cards. If you have 3 to 4 players, you need 2 decks. You'll need 3 decks for 5 or more players.

The goal of the round is to be the first person to place cards face up from numbers 1 (or ace) to 10 in their correct positions.

Select someone to be the dealer. The dealer deals out 10 cards face down to each player. The players do not look at their cards.

They arrange their cards in 2 rows with 5 cards in each row. One row is above the other one.

These face down cards 'represent' the numbers 1 through 10 or ace through 10 where the ace represents the number 1.

The remaining cards are placed face down in the middle of the table. This is the draw pile.

The other person takes a card from the top of the draw pile. If it is a jack or a queen, she discards the card because it can't be used.

Let's say she draws a card with a number 6 on it. She puts that 6 card in the correct location in the layout where a 6 would go.

The player picks up the card that was face down in the 6 location and looks at it. She can put it in the spot that corresponds to the number on the card if there isn't a card already face up in that spot.

Play continues until that player gets a card that cannot be played. She discards that card face up next to the pile of draw cards. This is the discard pile.

Let's say a player draws a king. That is great! Kings are wild and can be used in any location. Wahoo!

If a card is drawn that corresponds to the numerical position where a king is, the player may put the numerical card in its correct location. Then, she can take the king and place it wherever she chooses.

Now it's the other player's turn. She can draw either from the discard pile or the draw pile. If it's a card she can use, she puts it in the correct location. She continues playing until she gets a card that she can't put in any of the locations.

She discards her card and it's the other person's turn.

Play continues until one player has all 10 cards face up in numerical order. She is the winner of that round.

The cards are shuffled and dealt out.

But! Oh boy! This is where things start to get fun.

In this round, the winner is dealt one less card. Which means in the second round she has only 9 cards face down in front of her. Which means she has less cards to put in order. Which means it might be easier for her to win. Yipee!

Continue playing more rounds until one person has one card face down in front of her. When she replaces her one face down card with either an ace or a king, she is the winner of the entire game of Trash!

If both players have only one card, the winner of the entire game is the first person to replace her face card down with an ace or a king.

Got all that? Great! You can download the rules for Trash here so that you could have it on hand as you're learning the game.

You might also be interested in playing the card games of Ripple or Golf. They are great fun, too.

If you have lots of grandkids together, you can do a play off. Pair them off. At the end of the round, have the winners (those with only 9 cards) play each other.

At the end of that round, have those with only 8 cards play each other. The other kids could play each other. (Does this make sense? if not, let me know!)

Continue playing until there is one winner.

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Trash A Fun Family Card Game - Grandma Ideas

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Trash is a super easy card game to learn. Once grandkids understand how to play, it provides lots of fun when playing with grandma - or cousins or aunts or uncles! For 2 players, you'll need one deck of regular face cards. If you have 3 to 4 players, you need 2 decks.

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Volunteer to color in some pictures and share them with Color a Smile. They will send your artwork to people in need of smiles. More information in the link.

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Color A Smile: Fun Community Service & Volunteer Opportunities

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Color a Smile is a non-profit organization that enables fun community service and volunteer opportunities for people of all ages & abilities.

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Write a book review for us. What’s your favorite book? Why should we read it?

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Ban This Book by Alan Gratz is one of the greatest stories I have ever read. The main characters are unique, well rounded, and realistic. A number of children's books suffer form 1-dimensional and stereotypical characters. Not the case here. In fact, I felt a genuine connection to each of them!

As someone who works in a library, the themes of censorship, book recommendations, and getting kids excited about reading really speak to me. Plus, this story is hilarious in all the right places. The little sister who wants to be a pony and shreds paper to create haylofts made me laugh out loud.

I should mention that some of the characters, including the narrator, engage in behaviors we wouldn't normally approve of. They lie. They steal. They disobey their parents and teachers. However, they are doing those things for a cause they believe in. A reading of Ban This Book gives you an excellent opportunity to discuss doing the wrong thing for the right reason (and the consequences of your actions) with your kids. Read the book together and talk about standing up for your principals. It also teaches important lessons about not judging a book by its cover or a person by their reputation.

So, you're probably wondering what this book is about. Let me tell you. Amy Anne Ollinger is a lovable but painfully shy fourth grade girl. She loves to read. Her favorite book is From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweller. This is an especially fitting choice because both stories feature narrators who feel overlooked at home. Her only solace comes when the school librarian allows her to check the book out, once a month. So, you can imagine Amy Anne's horror when her school decides to remove her favorite book (along with several others) from their shelves, effectively banning it.

Amy Anne even tries to speak at a PTA meeting, but she is unable to say a word. The books are gone. And what's worse, the parent who challenged these books in the first place is urging the PTA to remove even more books from the library! Her parents buy a copy of her favorite novel, hoping she'll feel better.

Amy Anne soon finds herself running a banned books library from her school locker. Will Amy Anne get caught? Will the school cave to parental pressure and remove more and more "inappropriate" books? Will Amy Anne learn to speak up for herself? Can she and her friends save the school library? Grab a copy of Ban This Boo kand find out yourself.

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Ban This Book by Alan Gratz is one of the greatest stories I have ever read. The main characters are unique, well rounded, and realistic. A number of children's books suffer form 1-dimensional and stereotypical characters. Not the case here. In fact, I felt a genuine connection to each of them!

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Try out a new game! Or maybe you've played it before. Did you know Mancla is one of the oldest existing games on Earth?

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Mancala is a game with ancient heritage from Eritrea and Ethiopia, dating back as far as the 6th and 7th century, and is still enjoyed through to this day. The term mancala is derived from the Arabic word, "Naqala," which means, "to move."

Equipment

1 Mancala board and 48 stones

Setup

Place the game board between the two players lengthwise. The game board is made of 2 rows of 6 small holes known as "pockets", and large holes on opposite ends called "mancalas" or "stores".

Each player has 6 pockets directly in front of them and a store to their right.

Place 4 stones in each of the 12 pockets. The color of the stones does not matter.

Objective

The object of this game is to see which player can get the most stones into their store.

Gameplay

One player will start the game by picking any pocket containing stones from their own side.

The player will remove all the stones from that pocket, and deposit one stone at a time into neighboring pockets going counter-clockwise until the stones run out.

If a player encounters their own store, a stone is deposited in it.

If there are enough stones to go past the player's own store, stones are deposited continuing on the other side's pockets. However, if they encounter the other player's store, that store is skipped over.

If the last stone is deposited in the player's own store, the player gets another turn.

If the last stone is placed in an empty pocket on the player's own side, the player takes this stone as well as the other player's stones across from the empty pocket landed in, and places them in their own store.

Winning the Game

When all six pockets on one side are emptied the game ends. Each player will count the number of stones in their store. The player who has the most stones in their store wins.

© 2020 Yellow Mountain Imports, Inc.

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Mancala is a game with ancient heritage from Eritrea and Ethiopia, dating back as far as the 6th and 7th century, and is still enjoyed through to this day. The term mancala is derived from the Arabic word, "Naqala," which means, "to move."

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Try out this minute to win it game! If three balloons is too hard, try with one or two.

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Make a quilt square using pieces of scrap paper, pencils, markers, and anything else you can think of. Share pictures of your squares with the library and we'll make a paper quilt to display in the building!

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Try out this fun STEAM experiment courtesy of Ms. Rachel!

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Check out this awesome card game for 2-4 players!

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Sometimes you look at your game closet and you want to play something new! But you don't want to a) spend more money or b) take time to learn a set of complicated instructions. If you already have a standard deck of cards ( and I know you do), the choice is clear: Go Boom.

We were able to learn how to play Go Boom in no time flat. Go Boom is a card game that may remind you a little bit of Uno or Crazy Eights in that players aim to shed cards by matching suit or color. However, instead of continuous play, Go Boom relies on winning "tricks."

A trick is a round of play in which each player contributes one card. As I mentioned in my recommendation of the card game, Marshmallow Test, a lot of trick-taking games like Bridge can be complicated, but Go Boom is super, super easy.

But is it too easy?

Nope!

How to Play Go Boom

Go Boom is a card game for 2 or more players. I recommend it for ages 6 and up, or ages 4 and up for experienced card game players.
Objective:
Be the first player to get rid of your hand.
What you need:

2 or more enthusiastic players

1 52-card deck

Pen and paper for scoring (optional)

Instructions

1. Set up
Decide who will be the dealer. The player to the left of the dealer plays first.

2. Shuffle and deal
Shuffle the deck. Deal each player seven cards. Stack the remaining cards in the "draw pile."

3. Rules
The goal is to be the first player to get rid of the cards in your hand.

The first player lays down any card from their hand. In a clockwise direction, players lay down a card from their hand that matches either the suit or the value of the first card played.

If a player cannot lay down a card, they must draw a card from the draw pile. If they still cannot play, they continue drawing until they draw a playable card.

After everyone has played one card, the player who played the highest card of the initial suit wins "the trick," collects the cards, sets them aside, and begins the next round by laying down a card.

Continue in this manner until one player has emptied their hand. The first player to do so is the winner.

If players are scoring ( optional-see below step 6), they add up the scores and begin another deal. The player to the left of the Dealer becomes the new Dealer, and so on.

4. Example
In a three player game, player A starts out by laying down a 6♠. Player B adds a 9♠. Player C has neither a 6 nor a ♠ and so draws from the draw pile. He draws 4 cards before getting a 6♦. B wins the trick with the 9♠, collects all three played cards and starts the next round.

Note that in the above example, C has now added to his hand. However, after playing a few rounds, you will see it is not necessarily an impediment to winning.

5. Notes
If a player draws the last card from the draw pile and still cannot play, they forfeit their turn for that trick.

6. Optional scoring
At the end of each deal, the winner of the deal collects the remaining cards from each player ( but not any tricks they may have collected). The winner then adds the value of each card ( face cards equal 10) and adds it to their score.

The first player to reach 200 points is the winner.

Alternatively, each player scores the point value of cards remaining in their hand and when one player reaches 100, the player with the lowest score is the winner.

More card games we love:

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Go Boom, A Family "Trick-Taking" Card Game

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Sometimes you look at your game closet and you want to play something new! But you don't want to a) spend more money or b) take time to learn a set of complicated instructions. If you already have a standard deck of cards ( and I know you do), the choice is clear: Go Boom.

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Enjoy this fun coloring page in honor of "Make a Friend Day" on February 11th!

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How would you like to make friends with someone who lives in another country? You can learn all about the world and the people who live in it by signing up for a pen pal with Kids for Peace or Students of the World (link in comments)

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We invite youth to make new friends through some good old fashioned letter writing! Parents or legal guardians may sign their child up to take part in our new Peaceful Pen Pal project. We will match each child with one other child of a similar age.

The Peaceful Pen Pal project is open to everyone, everywhere. For now, we request for all letters to be written in English. Please also note that the postage fees for international letters will be more expensive and it may take longer to exchange letters between friends around the world. During the online sign up you can indicate if you prefer to be matched with a domestic (USA) Peaceful Pen Pal or an international one.

With parents permission, all youth ages 2-17, are encouraged to join the fun! ☺

If you haven't heard back from us within one week, please kindly check your spam folder for emails coming from Meg Jansen at *protected email* or send Meg a quick email and she will get back to you ASAP. Thank you 🙂

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We invite youth to make new friends through some good old fashioned letter writing! Parents or legal guardians may sign their child up to take part in our new Peaceful Pen Pal project. We will match each child with one other child of a similar age.

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Try out this fun minute to win it game!

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Minute to Win It - Games - Tortilla Head

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Check out Miss. Keri's Page to Plate Storytime!

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One of my favorite strategy games of all time: Mastermind.

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Components

Object of the Game

To outsmart your opponent with a clever code or great guesswork.

As the Codemaker: your goal is to set a mystery code so cunning that it will keep your opponent guessing for as long as possible.

As the Decoder: you must break the secret code in the fewest number of guesses.

The Unit

Setup

1. Empty the pegs into the peg tray and discard the bag.

2. Ensure that the red and white indicator arms are tucked in.

Before you begin, agree on an even number of games to play.

Game Play

1. Decide who will be the first Codemaker. That player must lift the Secrecy screen at the end of the unit and insert four Code pegs (their secret code) into the holes underneath.

Note: Make sure the unit is positioned so that the Decoder definitely can't see the code!

2. The code can be made up of any combination of the colored pegs. You may not use two or more pegs of the same color.

3. Once the code is set, the Decoder can begin guessing, trying to duplicate the exact colors and positions of the hidden Code pegs.

4. Each guess is made by placing a row of Code pegs on the unit. Each row of pegs should be left in position throughout the game.

5. After every guess, the Codemaker must inform the Decoder of their progress using the sliding indicator arms (at the sides of the unit) as follows:

Red Indicator Arms

Pull out the corresponding red arm to display the number of pegs that are the correct colors in the correct positions.

White Indicator Arms

Pull out the corresponding white arm to display the number of pegs that are the correct colors but in incorrect positions.

Example: In this case the player has two pegs that are the correct colors but are in the wrong positions. The Codemaker pulls the WHITE slider two spaces. They also have one peg of the correct color and in the correct position.

The red slider is pulled out one space. Decoders: if the Decoder breaks the secret code, the Codemaker pulls out the red indicator arm next to the correct combination so that it displays the number 4 and reveals the hidden code by turning the unit around. That game is over. Tally the score and change roles.

End of the Game

At the end of each game, the Codemaker scores one point for every line of Code pegs placed by the Decoder. If the Decoder does not crack the code in nine attempts, that game is over and the Codemaker scores nine points.

Make a note of your score after each game. Players switch roles at the end of each game. When you have completed the agreed number of games, add up your scores - the player with the highest score is the winner.

Indication Errors

If the Codemaker makes a mistake when giving information to the Decoder, replay the game and award three extra points to the Decoder.

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How to play Mastermind | Official Rules | UltraBoardGames

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To outsmart your opponent with a clever code or great guesswork. As the Codemaker: your goal is to set a mystery code so cunning that it will keep your opponent guessing for as long as possible. As the Decoder: you must break the secret code in the fewest number of guesses.

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Sign up for Ms. Nikki's Spine Cracker Virtual Book Club (grades 3-5 only). For February the book is Greystone Secrets: the Strangers

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Check out these awesome optical illusions and see if you can create your own!

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Essentially, the ideas of Helmholz, Gregory and Changizi are similar. We do not mechanically turn sense data into a picture of the world, as some had thought. What we do is use our brains to work out what it is we are looking at.

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Try your hand at a fun collaborative art project. Take turns adding parts to a drawing. Create a collage or mural from paintings made by everyone in your family. Or try out one of the projects from this website!

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Magic happens when kids work together in group art projects. From paint made with pudding to clay masks to painting with catapults, these collaborative group art projects for kids will be a hit in your home or classroom.

Edible paint and cute, little babies. Squee! The activity is awesome, and the kids in her photos are adorable.

This is a collaborative group art project over multiple sessions with a book tie-in and lessons on color. Very cool. I think my kids would love doing this together.

I love this group art project. Colossal culture and color!

I definitely need to do this with my girls. One of my daughter's OT goals for her Sensory Processing Disorder is heavy work, and she LOVES art, so this would be a great fit for her.

This is so good. So good. I can't take it.

by You Clever Monkey

I love this blog, You Clever Monkey. Visit this link and check out Nichole's blog. She's awesome!

I love the focus on the faces of these kids. I love this collaborative group art project! Easy and fun.

There is a reason why Kandinsky projects are all over the internet. They work, they are fun, they are freeing, and the final results are beautiful! If you don't already visit Deep Space Sparkle for your art lessons, go there now. Right away.

This is an awesome, but it's more labor-intensive than the other group art projects. It is well worth the results though!

What a fun way to study and appreciate works of art!

Wild Art by Here Comes the Girls

A fun group art project inspired by earthworks artist Andy Goldsworthy.

This is a great idea. Adding a little bit of a drawing can really spark creativity for more hesitant little artists. Sometimes a blank piece of paper can be a scary thing!

For more awesome curated art content, check out my boards on Pinterest!
Visit Cindy @ The Art Class Curator's profile on Pinterest.

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12 Super Fun Collaborative Group Art Projects for Kids

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Magic happens when kids work together in group art projects. From paint made with pudding to clay masks to painting with catapults, these collaborative group art projects for kids will be a hit in your home or classroom. Edible paint and cute, little babies. Squee!

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Make a no-sew blanket for Project Linus to help kids in need!

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Volunteer Opportunities

We are always in need of your help to assist us in fulfilling our mission. You can donate home-made blankets by becoming a "blanketeer," give of your time at a local chapter event, or even become a Chapter Coordinator yourself.

Become a "Blanketeer"

Our volunteers, known as "blanketeers," provide new handmade, washable blankets to be given as gifts to seriously ill and traumatized children, ages 0-18. It is Project Linus' policy to accept blankets of all sizes, depending on local chapter needs. All blanket styles are welcome, including quilts, tied comforters, fleece blankets, crocheted or knitted afghans, and receiving blankets in child-friendly colors. Always remember that blankets must be new handmade, washable, free of pins, and come from smoke-free environments due to allergy reasons.

To help you get started, be sure to check our "Patterns" page. There you will find links to many of our popular, free patterns.

On our "Friends" page you will find mention of several businesses that provide much-needed help to Project Linus. You will also see additional links to websites that provide both free and for sale patterns, along with many other things of interest to the Project Linus Blanketeer. Many of these businesses offer special discounts to friends of Project Linus plus donate a percentage of these sales back to us.

Give of Your Time

Our local chapters not only collect and distribute blankets but they also organize several blanket-making events throughout the year. Our chapters depend on volunteers to help in every facet of their activities and are always welcome to a "helping hand."

Find the chapter closest to you by clicking the your state on map located on this page.

Become a Chapter Coordinator

As you can see from our local chapter listings on this page, organized by state, we cover many areas of the United States. But there are still geographic locations that have yet to be served by local chapter coordinators. If you feel you live in one of those locations and would like to become a chapter coordinator, OR if you know your local chapter coordinator will be retiring soon and is seeking for someone to take over responsibilities (known as a "chapter transfer"), then consider becoming a chapter coordinator yourself!

To learn more about becoming a chapter coordinator as well as begin the application process, click the button below.

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We are always in need of your help to assist us in fulfilling our mission. You can donate home-made blankets by becoming a "blanketeer," give of your time at a local chapter event, or even become a Chapter Coordinator yourself.