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Land Ahoy Storytime Ages 6 and under We read: Big Bear's Big Boat by Nancy Carpenter Once Upon a Tide by Tony Mitton Sail Away by Donald Crews We sang: The Bubble Song SEE THE LITTLE SAILORS See the little sailors rowing out to sea. Rowing, rowing, one, two, three.                                     Jean Warren (Have children pretend to row three times.) We continued with scarves. I love my new scarves sooooo much. Today, in addition to the usual up, down, all around, throw it in the air and catch, we also blew on on scarves and became sailboats. So much fun. The craft was paper plate boats. Boats can be made many different ways, with many different materials (I used pool noodles this summer in my Ocean Craft). I just adore these . And now a note about Banned Books Week. You can re...

Series: Minerva Mint Title: The Order of the Owls Author: Elisa Puricelli Guerra Who to recommend it to: Kids who love offbeat mysteries such as Series of Unfortunate Events and anyone who loved Pippi Longstocking, Little Orphan Annie, and Gilda Joyce I'm not sure if the series will take a paranormal spin, but there are no paranormal elements in this one. Why it rocks: We have an orphan in a cool setting with complete freedom (she is "home schooled" by an absent adult), a level of danger, several interesting mysteries, and wild animals. We have a bully bad guy who is pretty scary, and three kids that get by on their wits. Lizard Manor, Minerva's home, is a character in itself. Think: Grey Gardens. I couldn't put it down. It's charming, but not so sweet that the reader wants to brush their teeth afterward. Most importantly, it's a fun read. Finally, diversity. Minerva is a ginger with an unknown background, her "perfect" blonde...

 Dragon Training Party for kids ages 6-12: Hi! September is on a roll. I've already had a couple of Storytimes and Baby Times, but this was my first big kid craft of the season. I went with Vikings, cause why not? I read Hiccup the Seasick Viking by Cowell and yes, I sang the Viking song! Me, modeling the pink version of our viking hat.  Then we broke into stations to make: 1. our names in runes (there is mine, I added a longboat)  2. Shields made from paper plates wrapped in aluminum foil. I got smart AFTER I made the sample and let the dull side be on the outside, it looked more like iron and was easier for the kids to color on. We used Sharpies and Bic Markits because regular markers smear. See my longboats? Sensing a theme? 3. The viking hats from duct tape and paper plates. This was THE hardest part (because I actually made each hat, but sooooo worth it). I found this link on Pinterest and just winged it from the photo. The teen li...