Storytime Activities

Pair fun crafts with some of our delightful picture books for an engaging story time event!

Janie is a birder. When she goes out looking for owls, she brings her owl journal, her map, a flashlight, and, most importantly, her binoculars. Construct a pair of binoculars using the instructions below and get ready to go birding.

Materials:

• Toilet paper rolls (or paper towel rolls cut in half)
• Stapler or glue
• Hole punch
• Ribbon or yarn
• Colorful things to decorate with, such as paint, markers, washi tape, stickers, rhinestones, pom-poms, buttons, craft paper, felt, craft foam, glitter, pipe cleaners, and more

Activity:

1. Paint your two toilet paper rolls whatever color you want your binoculars to be.
2. Staple or glue the tubes together on their sides.
3. Use your creativity to decorate your tubes.
4. Punch a hole on both sides close to the end of the tubes and attach the ribbon or yarn as a neck strap.

Go exploring!

Materials:

• Green and brown construction paper (one sheet of each)
• Scissors
• Glue
• Pencil

Activity:

1. Trace your hand, wrist, and forearm on the brown piece of construction paper. This will serve as the perfect outline for your tree’s trunk and branches.
2. On the green construction paper, draw a large cloud-like structure with your pencil. This will serve as the leaves for your tree.
3. Carefully and with supervision, cut out the outlines on the brown and green construction paper.
4. Place the green cloud-like structure on a flat surface and add glue only to the one side of the hand portion of your tree trunk.
5. Glue the green cutout onto the hand section to create your story tree.

Materials:

• Paper plate
• Markers, crayons, or paint
• Optional: glue, pom-poms, craft paper, felt, glitter, pipe cleaners, and more

Activity:

1. Think about a dish you would like to bring to your next gathering.
2. On your paper plate, get creative and draw the dish you have in mind. Use markers, crayons, paint, and more. You can also cut various items out of craft paper or anything you have on hand.
3. Glue additional decorations to your plate to make your dish pop.

Materials:

• Piece of paper
• Markers, crayons, or colored pencils
• Scissors
• Glue

Activity:

1. Lay your paper down and fold it in half long ways (hotdog style) and then fold it again short ways (hamburger style). Fold it short ways once more. Unfold your paper.
2. You should be able to see that you have eight rectangular sections. These will serve as your pages. Fold the paper in half the short way so you have four sections. Turn the folder paper toward yourself and have the side that does not open facing you. On the side that does not open, cut along the center crease line until you meet the middle point where all creases meet.
3. Unfold your paper, and fold it hotdog style once more. Push the two end pieces together; your paper should now look like a plus sign from the top. Fold all four sections in the same direction. You may want to use glue to stick the inside pages (the ones you won’t be able to write on) together. Your Ducktionary is ready to be personalized.
4. Get creative: Name your Ducktionary and create a cover with markers, crayons, and colored pencils.
5. On the inside pages, add words and their definitions that you would like to remember and share with others.

If you would like a visual example, please Google “How to fold paper into a book”.

Materials:

• one large plastic bottle (makes 1 apple)
• tissue paper in red or green
• Green paper (1 sheet)
• tape
• scissors
• one brown marker

{Important: Adults there is a fair amount of cutting involved with this activity; please monitor kids who may be doing this part of the activity.}

• Wash and completely dry a 12 – 24 oz plastic bottle.
• Cut the bottom part of the plastic bottle (approx 4-5 inches from the bottom).
• Cut the top part of the plastic bottle (approx 4-5 inches from the top).
• Cut ½ inch vertical slots into the bottom of the top section of the bottle. This will allow the top and bottom parts to join later.
• Fill the plastic bottle apple with red or green tissue paper.
• Insert the top part of the bottle into the bottom part.
• Optional: Cut out a leaf out of the green paper; set aside for now.
• Optional: You may choose to color the cap of the bottle brown or green.
• Optional: Attach the leaf to the cap.

Materials you will need: 

• Paper plate
• String
• Glue
• Black paper (one sheet)
• Black marker

Instructions: 

• Cut two large ovals or circles out of the black construction paper; these will serve as the panda’s ears; set them aside.
• Cut two medium ovals out of the black paper; gently fold these in half and carefully cut out two eye holes.
• Glue the two medium ovals to the paper plate around where the eyes will be.
• Take the two large ovals that you set aside for the ears and glue these to the back edge of the paper plate.
• To finish, cut a nose from the black paper or draw one directly on the plate finish the face by drawing on the mouth.
• Make a hole in each side of the plate for the string so the mask can be worn.

What You’ll Need:

• Juice or milk carton
• Scissors
• Paints
• Paint brushes
• Patterned, thick paper or card
• Card drinking straw
• Plasticine or playdough

Activity:

1. Cut a rectangular shape out of one side of the milk carton. This part is best done by an adult.
2. Paint the whole milk carton in your base color using paints. You may need to apply two coats to completely cover your carton in a thick layer. Have fun with different colors, stripes, and shapes!
3. Cut a triangle of thick patterned paper or card. Fold it around a drinking straw and tape it in place to make the sail. Place a ball of plasticine or play dough on the bottom of the milk carton boat (inside the opening). Plant your sail into the ball so that it stands upright inside the boat.

Take a deep breath in and let it all the way out. Pair this activity with Breathe Like a Bear: First Day of School Worries by Kira Willey; illustrated by Anni Betts.

What You’ll Need:

• A toilet paper or paper towel roll
• Markers, crayons, or paint
• Streamers or thin ribbon that is light enough to be moved easily by breath

Activity:

1. Take a toilet paper or paper towel roll and cut off the top (about an inch thick) and set aside.
2. Cut a straight line all the way up the remainder of the roll.
3. Use this cut to tighten the roll to roll it thinner and tape on top and bottom to hold it in place.
4. Allow children to decorate the roll with paint, markers, stickers, etc.
5. Tape strands of thin light decorative ribbon or streamers along the inside of the small ring you cut off earlier.
6. Tape the ring on top of the thinner roll to make the wand.
7. BREATHE and notice what you see.

Create your own imaginary friend. Pair this activity with Real to Me by  Minh Lê; illustrated by Raissa Figueroa.

What You’ll Need:

• A variety of small reused food containers or boxes
• 1 – 4 toilet paper tubes or paper towel rolls
• Construction paper
• A variety of art supplies including glitter, pipe cleaners, googly eyes, pom-poms, ribbon, feathers, etc.
• Markers and/or paint for decorating
• Scissors, tape, and glue sticks for construction
• A hot glue gun

Activity:

1. Using the small containers, boxes, toilet paper, and paper towel rolls decide on your friends body shape and leg. Have an adult work the hot glue gun to help assemble the friends.
2. Once the body and legs are constructed decorate your friend however you would like using the supplies provided. Be sure to add a face, hair, and any other defining features such as a tail or horns.
3. Give your friend a name!

Celebrate life, nature, and our human role within it. Pair this activity with Remember by Joy Harjo; illustrated by Michaela Goade.

What You’ll Need:

• Construction paper
• Markers, crayons, or colored pencils
• Scissors
• Glue stick

Activity:

1. Carefully and with supervision cut out the shape of a flower using the construction paper.
2. Have kids assemble their flower however they would like on a separate piece of paper.
3. Help kids brainstorm works that describe their universe including words that represent the earth, sky, animals, plants, stars, and more.
4. Add these words and phrases to each petal using the markers, crayons, and colored pencils.

Pair this activity with Blue Bison Needs a Haircut by Scott Rothman and illustrated by Pete Oswald

What You’ll Need:

• Paper plate
• Scissors
• Markers, crayons or colored pencils

Activity:

1. Have kids draw a face on their paper plate.
2. With color pencils or markers color the top of the plate with whatever color they would like the “hair” to be.
3. Carefully and with supervision if needed, cut slits into the top of the paper plate to create “hair.”
4. Using the scissors carefully, kids can give their paper plate person a hair cut.

Pair this activity with This Story is Not About a Kitten, by Randall de Sève and illustrated by Carson Ellis

What you’ll need:

• Black Construction paper
• Pencil
• White or silver gel pen
• Eye stickers or googly eyes
• Scissors
• Glue

Activity:

1. Have kids trace their hands on the black construction paper with a pencil.
2. Carefully and with supervision cut along the pencil line. Also cut a cat head shape (one circle with two triangles on top for ears).
3. Decorate the cat by sticking on eyes and drawing details with the gel pen. Be sure to draw ears, mouth, snout and whiskers!
4. On the hand print, draw claws on all fingers except the thumb, this will be the tail.
5. Place the hand print, fingers pointing down, on a flat surface and glue on the cat head to the base of the pinky finger to create the cat!

Pair this activity with Misty the Cloud: Friends Through Rain or Shine by Dylan Dryer and illustrated by Rosie Butcher.

What You’ll Need:

• Mason jar or clear vase
• Shaving cream
• Water
• Food coloring

Activity:

1. Fill your glass jar or vase ¾ full with water
2. Create the cloud by spraying shaving cream on top of the water.
3. Drop the food coloring one drop at a time into the shaving cream and watch the color rain down in the jar below.

Pair this activity with All Are Neighbors by Alexandra Penfold, and illustrated by Suzanne Kaufman.

What You’ll need:

• Paper
• Clean dry sponges
• Paint Scissors
• Paper Plate

Activity:

1. Using the scissors carefully, cut the sponges into various shapes.
2. Pour small amounts of paint onto the paper plate.
3. Dip the sponges into the paint and stamp the paper.
4. Have kids combine shapes to create houses, buildings, etc to create a skyline.