February 1, 2007
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Groundhog Day!:
Shadow or No Shadow
by Gail Gibbons
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Each year on February 2nd, Americans celebrate the long-standing tradition known as Groundhog Day. The celebration of Groundhog Day began with Pennsylvania's earliest settlers. They brought with them the legend of Candlemas Day – which said, "If the sun shines on Candlemas Day, the snow will swirl in May." And, that's how Groundhog Day came to be. Punxsutawney held its first Groundhog Day celebration in the 1880's and the first official trek to Gobbler's Knob was on February 2, 1887.
Did you know? Punxsutawney Phil was named after King Phillip!
Groundhog Day Activity:
Make a Pop-Up Groundhog Puppet using a paper cup, a craft stick (popsicle stick), and paper. You can act out Phil the groundhog popping out of his hole in Gobbler's Knob!
Supplies:
- Paper clip (or Styrofoam cup)
- Craft or popsicle stick
- Brown construction paper
- Crayons, markers or tempura paint
- Scissors
- Glue
- Googly eyes (optional)
Directions:
- Cut a circle or oval from brown construction paper to make the groundhog's body.
- Cut a smaller circle out of the brown paper to make its head.
- Draw a mouth and eyes on the head or glue on googly eyes.
- Glue the two pieces of the groundhog onto the craft/popsicle stick.
- Cut a small slit in the bottom of the paper/Styrofoam cup
- Decorate the paper cup with markers or paint
- Insert the bottom of the popsicle stick into the hole and you now have an adorable pop-up groundhog puppet.
February 8, 2008
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I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato
by Lauren Child
Gregory The Terrible Eater
by Mitchell Sharmat
Too Much Junk Food
by Stan Berenstain
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Create a nutrition chart and help your children develop an awareness of nutritious foods while they learn some basic charting skills.
You'll Need:
- markers or crayons
- scissors
- glue
- magazines with pictures of foods
- large white paper
Directions:
- Cut a large triangle out of white paper.
- Draw a food pyramid on the paper triangle. Be sure to include all of the food groups (grains, fruits, vegetables, milk, meat, and fats/sweets). For reference, check out the USDA's Food Guide Pyramid for Young Children.
- Talk about the food pyramid and the five food categories with your children.
- Brainstorm a list of foods for each category together.
- Using your list, have children choose food pictures from magazines and cut them out.
- Glue the pictures in the appropriate categories on the pyramid.
Suggested Show to View:
Arthur (Episode #203) - "D.W., the Picky Eater"
It's wrong to call D.W. a picky eater. Just wrong. The only things she won't eat are vegetables, fish, fruit, and meat. So it's not her fault when she has a tantrum in a restaurant--I mean, someone tried to slip her some spinach! Is this the end of D.W.'s nights on the town? Will she miss Grandma Thora's birthday bash? (Based on the book by Marc Brown.)
February 15, 2008
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We're Different, We're the Same
by Bobbi Jane Kates
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February is Black History Month! Our teachers are beginning to assign Black History reports as their students are running to the library to check out books and are burning up internet traffic on the family computer to gather all of the facts for their reports! Most children write about great African Americans such has Rosa Parks, Frederick Douglas, George Washington Carver and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. While these individuals undoubtedly have made extraordinary achievements that have opened the doors of opportunity for African Americans today, there are some others that we do not often hear about in our classrooms and in our reports. Here are just a few!
- Otis Boykin invented the electronic control device for guided missiles, IBM computers and the control unit for a pacemaker.
- Mark Dean along with his co-inventor Dennis Moelle created a microcomputer system with bus control means for peripheral processing devices. This invention allows the plug-ins like disk drives, speakers and scanners.
- Frederick Jones invented a portable air conditioner used in World War II to preserve medicine and blood serum.
- George Sampson invented a clothes dryer that used heat from a stove in 1892.
- Jesse Ernest Wilkins Jr. was a physicist, mathematician and an engineer who earned a Ph.D in mathematics at age 19 from the University of Chicago in 1942.
- Ben Carson is a skilled neurosurgeon who led the first successful operation to separate a pair of Siamese twin infants who were joined at the back of the head.
- Charles Turner was a zoologist and educator. He was the first person to discover that insects can hear.
- Alexia Irene became the first African American neurosurgeon in the United States in 1984.
- Lewis H. Latimer drafted patent drawings for Alexander Graham Bell's telephone while working at a patent law firm. He patented an improved way to produce carbon filaments for light bulbs.
For more information on African American History, go http://www.biography.com/blackhistory.
Here is a fun activity to share with your child to teach them about great African Americans.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Scrabble Board
You'll Need:
- foam letters
- black foam sheets
- large piece of card board
- a printable coloring picture of Dr. King. (Use Google to locate a coloring page)
Directions:
- Glue black foams sheets to the card board
- Have your child color a picture of Dr. King and glue the picture to the foam board (upper right or left)
- Using your foam letters, spell out "Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr." and adhere to the foam board. (at the top)
- Help your child find words using the letters from "Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. These words should be used to describe Dr. King and/or his message of equality.
- Using extra letters, spell the words out on the foam board below Dr. King's name. For example, the word ‘dream' can be used. Tell your child that Dr. King wrote a speech called "I Have a Dream" and explain his message to your child.
February 22, 2008
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Arthur Writes a Story
by Marc Brown
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Making an Original Story Book
Family literacy is about more than just words and pictures; it's about spending time together. So, start exploring literacy with your child, by writing and illustrating an original story book. This activity is great for children of all ages.
What You Need:
- Foam or cardboard
- Scissors
- Glue
- Hole punch
- Yarn or ribbon
- Paper
What You Do:
- Make front and back covers by cutting two pieces of foam or cardboard a little larger than the paper pages you'll be using. Your child can decorate the foam or cardboard to make fancy covers.
- Put several pages between the covers, punch holes along one side, and lace the pages together with ribbon or yarn.
- Draw pictures, cut and paste magazine pictures, or make up a poem to write in the book.
- For older children, take a look at Arthur's Story-Writing Checklist
So, what do you do after you've created a book of your very own?
Grab your book, find a comfy place to sit together, and start reading together with your child. Then complete the View, Do, Read Learning Triangle by watching an episode of Arthur on WQLN TV-54. And why not follow all of this up with a great online activity from the Arthur website? We recommend Story Scramble, an online game where children help Binky put the mixed-up pieces of a narrative into the correct order. This game promotes reading and comprehension.
View: Arthur on WQLN TV-54 at 7:30am or 4:30pm
Do: Make a Story Book
Read: Arthur Writes a Story
Online Activity: Story Scramble
And don't forget! Enter WQLN's Young Writers and Illustrators Contest. The deadline is April 1st. Find out more at www.wqln.org/education.
February 29, 2008
We've been buried in winter so long that we haven't seen flowers in months. Let's get ready for springtime with this fun and easy activity – Tissue Paper Flowers!
What You Need:
- Tissue Paper
- Green Pipe Cleaners
What You Do:
- Cut a few pieces (about 4-6) of tissue paper.
- Put the paper in a pile and fold it like an accordion
- Tie the Center of the folded paper with a green pipe cleaner
- Gently pull each piece of paper towards the top center of the flower, separating each sheet of paper from the others.
You can also turn this into a learning activity very easily. Explore the following with your child as you work on making your tissue paper flower together:
- List the specific needs of plants and flowers: water, air, light and minerals.
- Identify the major parts of a plant or flower: roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds.
- Name uses for each part of the plant or flower.
Then! Plant your own flower seeds in flower box in your home – and together, watch them grow!
For more great crafts to do with your kids, visit www.wqlnkids.org!
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