This month's activity is making a boat! 

Supplies: colored construction paper, white construction paper, 1 black marker, 1 colored marker, scissors, and a glue stick

Cutting Out Your Shapes
Folding your colored construction in half cut out a big "C" shape with the curve being the open part of the paper. 

Cut out a rectangle from the white paper and a smaller rectangle from the colored paper. 

Cut out an "O" and 2 small thin rectangles from the white paper. 

Putting Together Your Boat
Glue the white rectangle to the folded edge of the boat. 

​Glue the colored rectangle on top of the white rectangle. 

Glue the 2 smaller white rectangles upright to be the smoke stakes. 

Draw 3 circlers with your black market to be the portholes (windows). 

Use the colored marker to make colored segments of your "O" shape and then glue it onto the body of the boat. This is the life raft. Every boat needs a life raft. 

1. You need

• black paper
• white paint
• black paint
• 3 other paint colors
• pink paint (optional)
• pencil
• your fingers

Remember friends if you don't have paint you can make your ghost with crayons, markers, or colored pencils! 

2. Draw a ghost outline on your paper. I did this by drawing half of a circle and making the end lines very long. Then I made a wavy line to connect the straight lines. 

3. Use your thumb as a paint brush to make your ghost white. 

4. Use your other 4 fingers and your 3 colorful paints to make dots around your ghost. 
​This gives your ghost friend a fun background. 





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​5. Use your black paint to give your ghost eyes and a mouth. (Optional) Use your pink paint to give your ghost blushing cheeks.

Materials: colorful construction paper, markers or crayons, scissors, and a glue stick

I Don't Want to Read This Book written by Max Greenfield with pictures by Mike Lowery. 

​This was such a silly book. I really liked it. Did you?

That Bear Can't Babysit by Ruth Quayle and Alison Friend. 

This was a fun story! Bear was a great babysitter!

Grow Flower, Grow by Lisa Bruce with pictures by Rosalind Beardshow

This book taught us a lot about growing flowers! Thank you to Dr. Darren for reading to us today!

Carousel by Donald Crews

This was a fun book about what happens when you ride a carousel! Did it remind you of coming to visit the museum? Thank you Ms. Dru for reading Carousel to us!

My Bear and Me by Barbara Maitland with pictures by Lisa Flather.

This was one of my favorite books when I was a kid! I have a special teddy bear and this story always reminds me of him. 

Thank you to Mr. John for reading My Bear and Me!

Thank you Mr. Bud for reading Bears to the Rescue by David Biedrzycki. I sure do love when Mr. Bud reads to us! I think he is a AWESOME reader!

Spring Children's Book Week 2024 is May 6th through May 12th! The museum will have storytime Monday and Tuesday on Facebook at 11:00am and Wednesday-Friday in-person in the Children's Gallery and on Facebook at 11:00am. To help you celebrate I made a Reading Bingo Card. You can download your card here.

Here is a picture of our view of the eclipse from the museum!

Step 1. Color the sun, moon, and earth.

Step 2. Cut out the sun, moon, and earth.

​Step 3. Use the hole puncher to punch 1 hole in the center of the sun, moon, and earth. Ask an adult if you need help. 

Step 4. Use the hole puncher to punch 1 whole on each end of each strip of the constriction paper
.
Step 5. Using the holes in the sun and the moon, attach the moon to the sun using 1 piece of construction paper and 2 fasteners.

Step 6. Using the holes in the sun and the earth, attach the earth to the sun using the other piece of construction paper and 2 fasteners.

Step 7. Show how a total solar eclipse works by moving the moon in front of the sun. This is what happened on April 8th!

Supplies: 2 pieces of color paper, scissors, pencil, glue stick (optional), and ribbon (optional)

Step 1: Fold both of your papers lengthwise and then unfold them. 

Step 2: Fold both of your papers hamburger style. Draw one half of an oval on each half of your paper. Have the open side of the oval go down to the fold. When we cut out the ovals we want to have 2 long ovals. 

Step 4: Keep the ovals folded, draw 3 straight lines on the ovals, and then cut on the lines. If you don't want the lines on your template showing on your basket, unfold the paper after cutting the 3 lines. Now fold your paper the other way to hide the lines on the inside. 

Step 3: Keep the paper folded and cut out the ovals. This should give you 2 long ovals. 

Step 5: Label the strips on your templates. On your folded oval label the strips D-C-B-A. On the other folded oval label the strips 1-2-3-4.

Step 6: Place the oval on the right side under the oval on the left and rotate them to form a right angle. 

Step 7: To start weaving, take Strip 1 and weave it through the loop of Strip A. ​

Step 8: Weave Strip 1 around Strip B.

Step 9: Wave Strip 1 through the loop of Strip C. 

Step 10: Weave Strip 1 around Strip D. 

Step 12: Do the opposite for Strip 2.
             Take Strip 2 and weave it around Strip A.
             Weave Strip 2 through Strip B.
             Weave Strip 2 around Strip C
             Weave Strip 2 through Strip D. 
​             Push Strip 2 up against Strip 1.             

Step 13: Repeat Steps 7 to 11 for Strip 3. 

Step 14: Repeat Step 12 for Strip 4.

Step 15: Gently push your strips to the edge to form the heart. Erase any pencil marks. 

I hope all of you enjoy your heart basket! We will see you next month for First Friday Storytime on Friday, March 1st at 11:00am and on the blog for next month's activity. 

Have a great month!
​Ms. Marissa