Category: Crafts

First Friday Storytime: Elmer's Special Day

7/2/2021

I hope you were able to join us for Elmer's Special Day by David McKee. This is such a fun book to read and look at! It was very nice of Elmer to invite the other animals to join the Elephant Parade. It helped all of the animals become friends with each other! Elmer showed us that a great way to make new friends is to ask others to play with you.

I was inspired by this book and thought we should all make Elephant Masks! Ask a grown-up to help you print out this elephant mask template.

What you need:

elephant mask template
scissors
markers or crayons or colored pencils
(OPTIONAL) popsicle stick and glue or a whole punch and elastic string

Directions:

Have fun coloring your mask
Ask an adult to help you cut out the mask and the eyeholes
(Optional) Attach the mask to the popsicle stick using glue or punch two holes near the ears and tie the elastic on to the mask
Have fun at your Elephant Parade!

A Family is a family is a family

6/4/2021

I hope you enjoyed A Family is a Family is a Family by Sara O'Leary with art by Qin Leng. I loved getting to learn about all the different kinds of families! I thought that since we read a book about families this month's craft should be doing a family activity!

This month's activity is Making Art with Nature! You and your family can go for a nature walk and gather supplies to use for your art project! Remember to only grab leaves, twigs, flowers, pinecones, acorns, and other objects that have fallen off their tree or plant.

You Will Need:

paper
glue
paint
the items you found on your nature walk

Here are the items Ms. Cathy and I found on our walk!

For my first art project I painted using the supplies I found! I really liked the patterns that the different items made. The pine needles were my favorite item to paint with.

HERE IS MY FINISHED PAINTING!

For my next nature art piece I used glue and my nature items to create a picture! Since I had a bunch of nature items I decided to make a BIG TREE with little trees, bushes, and some flowers in front of it!

For this painting I used a weed to make the grass. It was really fun using a weed as a brush!

After you and your family go on your nature walk will you come back and tell me everything you found? Can you show me pictures of YOUR ARTWORK? I'm SO EXCITED to see what you create!

Children's Book Week: The Little Mouse, the Red ripe strawberry, and the big hungry bear

5/7/2021

The Tea Party in the Woods

5/5/2021

Ihad so much fun reading to you!

Did you enjoy The Tea Party in the Woods by Akiko Miyakoshi? I love how all of the animals were so happy to see Kikko and that they helped her when her pie was crushed.

DIY COOKIE PLATE FOR SANTA

12/18/2020

This is a simple, fun, keepsake project for all ages and skill levels. Make one each, or make one together as a family!

You will need:

Sharpie Permanent Markers
Rubbing Alcohol
White Ceramic Plate (I used one from Dollar Tree)
Oven

Directions:

Wash and dry plate.
Use rubbing alcohol to wipe down plate, making sure no other residue is left behind. Allow to dry completely.
Using Sharpie Permanent Markers decorate your plate! **Some colors may fade when baking**
Place plate directly in center of oven on baking rack.
Set a timer for 30 minutes, and turn the oven on to 300 degrees. Allowing your plate to heat-up with the oven.
Crack the oven door and allow your plate to cool completely in the oven.
Do not use utensils on plate, and wash by hand!

crafty jack, Jack - o - Lanterns!

10/16/2020

It's that time of year, hot cider, pumpkins, apples, CANDY, and my favorite: Jack-O-Lanterns! This year I I grew some remember when we read "Seeds Move!" by Robin Page and I showed you some of the seeds I started? I ended up with three lovely pumpkins for this Halloween!

But I wanted a few more pumpkins, so I hope you enjoy this Jack-O-Lantern craft and make a few of your own too!

You will need:

Two paper plates
Assorted orange coloring materials (crayons, colored pencil, marker, etc...)
Scissors
Glue Stick
Black Paper
Add-ons: I used a green pipe cleaner for the stem and green paper cut as a leaf.

Begin by stacking your two paper plates together.
Cut the side of the plate off, making a flat "bottom" for your pumpkin.
Separate your two plates and place them upside down.
Now here comes the fun part, coloring your plates (Jack-O-Lanterns). Remember; this is the back side of the plate. I used a combination of lines, shapes, and all sorts of shades of the color orange.
Flip your two plates over.
On one of your plates, cut a Jack-O-Lantern face. You may need an adult to help you cut the shapes out of the plate.
Use your glue stick and glue the black paper over to cover your cut our Jack-O-Lantern face. This will be glued to the side of the plate you would normally be eating on.
Here is where you can add your own extra touches. For me, I used a green pipe cleaner I twisted as my stem and a green piece of paper cute into a leaf like shape.
Glue your extras to the lip of the plate, then glue the rest of the edges.
Place the plate together so the edges are touching, and the flap ends are one the bottom.
Prop up our new Jack-0-Lantern!

supplemental stem

8/19/2020

aluminum penny boats

This weeks supplemental STEM project here at museum is one that is easy to recreate at home and with a little imagination has the opportunity to take us anywhere. Even out to the stormy seas! This project is pretty simple and only requires a couple of materials to get started. You will need...

Aluminum foil
Pennies (between 100-150, if you don't have pennies you can use rice, cereal, etc. these materials just are not reusable. Whatever you use try to make them as close in weight as much as possible.)
A bucket half way full with water
For a more advance experiment you will also need a bouncy ball as well as a yard stick.

Your challenge is to see how many pennies (or penny substitutes) your boat can hold before it sinks to the bottom of the bucket.

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS...

What miss mitchell saw

8/6/2020

Today we read 'What Miss Mitchell Saw' story by Hayley Barrett, art by Diana Sudyka. Thanks Ms Lauren! What did you think of the story? If you missed it, don't forget that you can still watch it on our facebook page at www.facebook.com/herschellmuseum.

One of the things I enjoyed most about this was book was how persistent and observant Miss Mitchell Was. Constantly looking and observing the night sky. You can be like Miss Mitchell too! When was the last time you went outside at night and just obersrved the night sky?

Alternatively I have also come up with this great quiet time activity inspired by 'What Miss Mitchell Saw' and the popular 'I Spy' series. I had a left over jar (thanks Bread Hive!) though I recommend plastic in case we drop them. I filled mine with glitter, star sequins, and foam space stickers I stuck together, black beans, and dyed rice. The stars, black beans, dyed rice, and glitter were meant to give it the feel of the night sky! Before assembling the 'hidden' objects, my space foam pieces, I made a list, can you find: Two orange planets, a planet with three rings, four astronauts, etc.

But you can make your jar any theme, with any 'hidden' objects. Small toys, Dollar Tree items, Marbles, etc. filled with beans, rice, glitter, or Styrofoam pellets! What will you make?

Ps, to dye my rice for my jar (or sensory bins!) I use this great recipe below:

Colored rice

You will need:

Large bowl
Spoon
1 Cup rice
1 Teaspoon vinegar
3-4 drops food color
Cookie sheet to dry on

Directions:

Place rice, vinegar, and food color in bowl
Mix thoroughly with spoon until evenly colored
spread out on a cookie sheet to air dry for 5-6 hours

Kinetic Walking Horse

7/31/2020

The Tale of paul bunyan

7/3/2020

Did you enjoy today's storytime? Incase you missed it, we read 'The Tale of Paul Bunyan' story by Lori Haskins Houran and art by Luke Flowers. Do you recognize Luke Flowers? He was also the illustrator of our last storytime read, 'A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood: The Poetry of Mister Rogers'. I hope you enjoyed it!

Below is a template to make your own beard - just like Paul Bunyans!

Download Template

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