Ordinary People Change the World Book Chats and Xavier Riddle Celebration

I serve as the PBS NC Rootle Ambassador for one of the counties I serve. My role as a Rootle Ambassador is to promote PBS resources to parents and children through engagement events twice a year. 

I like to focus on PBS Kids shows that are book based (see Dinosaur Party and Clifford the Big Red Dog Party) or that fit in well with the library's collections (see Party Like the Kratts and Cat). Given that I decided to host a series of book chats that focused on the Ordinary People Change the World book series by Brad Meltzer and wrap up with an Xavier Riddle Celebration. The PBS Kids show Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum was inspired by the book series. 

I pulled resources from PBS Kids, PBS Kids for Parents, PBS Learning Media, and the Book series website. 

I chose a book chat format as opposed to a book club format so the kids could read any more in the series and talk about it. At the time of the book chats, there were 32 books in the series. 

At the first book chat, we talked about the following books: Amelia Earhart, Helen Keller, Harriet Tubman, Sacajawea, Marie Curie, Neil Armstrong, and I. M. Pei. I pointed out the comic book style of the illustrations and the timeline and real photos at the end of the books. 

Together we looked at the Harry Houdini Biosketch and the Anna Pavlova Biosketch from PBS Learning Media. The kids took home the following in addition to the Biosketches: 

• Harry Houdini Sentence Starter (PBS Learning Media)
• Anna Pavlova Venn Diagram (PBS Learning Media)
• "Let's Talk" and "Let's Do" Conversation Cards for Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum (PBS Learning Media)
• Hero for a Day (PBS Learning Media)
• Who's Your Hero (OPCTW website) 
• Xavier Riddle Story Cubes (PBS Learning Media)

At the second book chat, we talked about the following books: Jane Goodall, Harry Houdini, Albert Einstein, Gandhi, and Temple Grandin. Together we looked at the Cleopatra Biosketch and the Theodore Roosevelt Biosketch from PBS Learning Media. The kids took the following home in addition to the biosketches: 

• Cleopatra Sentence Starter (PBS Learning Media)
• Theodore Roosevelt Venn Diagram (PBS Learning Media)
• Biosketch Template Condense Version (PBS Learning Media)
• OPCTW Book Series List (I created this!)
• Neil Armstrong Postcard Activity (OPCTW website) 
• George Washington Carver Coloring Sheet (PBS Kids)
• Drawing with Leonardo da Vinci Activity Sheet (PBS Learning Media)

At the third event which was a celebration of the TV show, we went over the Leonardo da Vinci Biosketch from PBS Learning Media and the kids took the following home:

• Leonardo da Vinci Sentence Starter
• Leonardo da Vinci Venn Diagram 
• Activity Page (PBS Kids)

We ended the event with a character scavenger hunt. I got the images from the printables and coloring pages on PBS Kids for Parents. 

Teddy Bear Picnic 2023

I've hosted Teddy Bear Picnics in 2013 and 2015. The last time I blogged about it was in 2013. It was so interesting to see how my event planning style had changed in 10 years. 

We started off with music and a craft. The kids danced and/or listened to "The Teddy Bears' Picnic" sung by Bing Crosby. Then we made Teddy Bear Ears. The template came from Twinkl.  

We then had snacks, facts, books, and more music. The snacks were teddy grahams or animal crackers and fruit snacks. Here are the facts I shared with the kids: 

• The first teddy bear was made in 1903
• Teddy bears are named after US President Theodore Roosevelt, whose nickname was Teddy
• The music for the song “The Teddy Bears’ Picnic” dates back to 1907 [lyrics added in 1932]
• July 10 is The Teddy Bear’s Picnic Day in the United States
• Teddy Bear Day is September 9.
• Winnie the Pooh Day is January 18.
• Have a Party with Your Bear Day is November 16. 

Note: The first 4 facts came from Teatime Monkeys. The rest came from Brownielocks. 

We read Louis by Tom Lichtenheld and Bear Is a Bear by Jonathan Stutzman. The kids danced with their stuffed animal friends to "Rock A Bye Your Bear" by The Wiggles and "Waltzing with Bears" by Priscilla Herdman. 

We moved on to some games. We played Food Toss and Ant Toss. For Food Toss, the kids tossed crocheted food into a picnic basket. For Ant Toss, the kids tossed rubber ants onto a picnic tablecloth. 

We ended our picnic with a Teddy Bear Shapes Scavenger Hunt and a take home activity packet. The clipart for the scavenger hunt came from Teachers Pay Teachers.

The take home packet included the following: 

• Bear Is a Bear activity page (Publisher)
• First 4 pages from the Louis Activity Packet (Author)
• Bear Paper Bag Puppet Template + bag
• Teddy Bears' Picnic I Spy and Count to 20 Sheet (Twinkl)
• Teddy Bear Info Sheet (Teachers Pay Teachers) 
• Winnie-the-Pooh Exercise (Disney Family)
• Teddy Bear Mask [boy or girl option] (Teachers Pay Teachers)

I also had a little photo op with a picnic blanket, basket, and bears. 

Poetry Picnic

Description: Families and children of all ages are invited to celebrate National Poetry Month by listening to food themed poetry and playing a few games. Feel free to bring a picnic blanket to sit on in the meeting room.

 

Share poems from the following: 

The Popcorn Astronauts and Other Bitable Rhymes by Deborah Ruddell

·         Lickety-Split Picnic

·         Your Choices at the Totally Toast Café

·         21 Things to Do with an Apple

·         Menu for a Gray Day

 The 20^th Century Children’s Poetry Treasury selected by jack Prelutsky

·         Alligator Pie by Dennis Lee

·         Noodles by Janet S. Wong

 Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

·         Spaghetti

·         Alice

·         Recipe for a Hippopotamus Sandwich

·         Eighteen Flavors

 The New Kid on the Block by Jack Prelutsky

·         Bleezer’s Ice Cream

 Hard-Boiled Bugs for Breakfast and Other Tasty Poems by Jack Prelutsky

·         My Family’s Last Picnic

·         The Stir-Frying Pandas

·         Bananas

 Read-Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young selected by Jack Prelutsky

·         Toaster Time by Eve Merriam

·         Yellow Butter by Mary Ann Hoberman

 My Dog May Be a Genius by Jack Prelutsky

·         Sandwich Stan

·         I Wanted Macaroni

  Game: Picnic Bingo (Source: Etsy)

 

Movement Song: The Ants Go Marching

Game: Pass the Sandwich (From 2016 CSLP On Your Mark Children’s Manual, Chapter 7, p. 153)

Take Home:

• Recipe Ruckus (2016 Poetry Month Activities from Shel Silverstein's website)
• Bleezer’s Ice Cream Poem from The New Kid on the Block by Jack Prelutsky & Design Your Own Bleezer’s Ice Cream Flavors (Source: Teachers Pay Teachers)
• Sandwich Craft (Source: Krokotak)

Clifford the Big Red Dog Party 2024

See my Clifford Party from 2018 here. 

February is the perfect time to have a Clifford Party as that's his birthday month. I hosted this at event at all my libraries and for one it was my PBS NC Rootle Ambassador event. 

Here's the agenda: 

Game: Clifford Hot Dog

Share Clifford Facts 

• 1963 – First book published by Norman Bridwell (Clifford is 61 this year!)
• 2000-2003 – Clifford the Big Red Dog TV series on PBS Kids
• 2003-2006 – Clifford’s Puppy Days TV series on PBS Kids
• 2014 – Norman Bridwell dies at age 86
• 2021 – Clifford the Big Red Dog film 

Read: Clifford the Big Red Dog and Clifford's First Valentine's Day both by Norman Bridwell

Flannel Board: Clifford, Clifford, Where's Your Bone? 

Craft: modified Clifford Handprint Face (Trace their hand on cardstock and color in.)

Scavenger Hunt: Clifford (images from Clipart Library)

Take Home Activity Packet

• Clifford the Big Red Dog Let’s Talk & Let’s Do Cards (PBS Kids)
• Happy Birthday Clifford Coloring Page 1 (Scholastic)
• Happy Birthday Clifford Coloring Page 2 (Scholastic)
• Clifford the Big Red Dog Let’s Talk about Size (PBS Kids)
• Story Starter: Who is in Clifford’s doghouse? (PBS Kids)
• Story Starter: What did Clifford find in the sand? (PBS Kids)

That Blue Dog Party

Pop Culture events are guaranteed to draw crowds. This past spring I finally hosted my own blue dog party--an homage to the ever popular Australian cartoon. 

I knew attendance would be large so I had to design this event differently. I planned stations to be placed in the meeting room and children's section of each library. Ideally, the parents and kids would flow from one area to another. 

I found a lot of inspiration in librarian Facebook groups and from the official website. 

Here are the stations: 

Grannies Photo Booth 

Zoo

Bus

Keepy Uppy

Coloring & Headbands 

Scavenger Hunts (Long Dog and Gnomes 

Storytime: I read one story from Bluey Awesome Storybook Collection (Mum School, The Pool, Grannies, Bob Bilby, Charades, and Camping). 

Door Prizes: Wooden Gnomes to Paint 

I hosted four parties with a total attendance of 305 (about half of that number was children). 

Party Like the Kratts & Cat

I'm the PBS NC Rootle Ambassador for one of the counties I serve. My role is to promote PBS Kids and all the resources it has to offer children and parents. One of the ways I do this is presenting a PBS Kids based program twice a year. 

I used two PBS Kids Shows, Wild Kratts and Nature Cat, to introduce resources on PBS Kids, PBS Kids for Parents, and PBS Learning Media as well as showcase nonfiction books about animals. 

The event started with watching some clips from the shows. 

Wild Kratts

• Activate Turkey Power 
• Who Are You Calling Turkey?
• Secret Turkey Lurk
• The Awesome Possum 
• Opossum Powers

Nature Cat 

• Squirreling Away Food Part 1
• Squirreling Away Food Part 2

After watching the clips, I shared a few books. 

• I See a Kookaburra: Discovering Animal Habitats Around the World by Steve Jenkins & Robin Page
• Creature Features: 25 Animals Explain Why They Look the Way They Do by Steve Jenkins & Robin Page (Use masks)
• What’s Your Favorite Animal? by Eric Carle & Friends

Then the kids made animal tracks using toothpicks and Play-Doh. The idea came from PBS Kids for Parents. I provided Nature Cat's Animal Track Match printable and some books (Wild Tracks!: A Guide to Nature’s Footprints by Jim Arnosky, Crinkleroot’s Book of Animal Tracking by Jim Arnosky, Crinkleroot’s Book of Animal Tracks and Wildlife Signs by Jim Arnosky) to give them ideas. 

We ended with a scavenger hunt: Wild Kratts and Nature Cat characters. 

And I had 3 activity packets for the kids as well as a Rootle on the Go sheet for parents so they wouldn't forget all the resources I shared. 

Wild Kratts

• Let’s Talk & Let’s Do Cards (PBS Learning Media)
• Draw Your Own Creature Power Suit for Chris (PBS Kids for Parents)
• Draw Your Own Creature Power Suit for Martin (PBS Kids for Parents)
• Invent a Creepy Cool Creature for Martin & Chris (PBS Kids for Parents)
• Creature Tracker (PBS Learning Media)
• My Creature Adventure (PBS Kids for Parents)

Nature Cat

• Let’s Talk & Let’s Do Cards (PBS Learning Media)
• Nature Cat Coloring Sheet (PBS Kids for Parents)
• Nature Cat Storytelling Puppets (PBS Learning Media)
• Makin’ Tracks with Crayons (PBS Kids for Parents)
• Make Leaf and Bark Rubbings (PBS Kids for Parents)
• Track Your Daily Weather (PBS Kids for Parents)

Steve Jenkins

• What’s Your Favorite Animal? Activity Page
• Where Does Your Favorite Animal Live? Activity Page
• What Does Your Favorite Animal Like to Eat? Activity Page
• Creature Features Activity Page

Holiday Movie Nights 2022 and 2024

 I usually host a Holiday Movie Night as my special event in December. 

The format is simple: a short holiday film, make an ornament, go on a scavenger hunt, and receive a take home activity packet. 

(My library system has a public performance license from Swank.)

In 2022, I showed Olaf's Holiday Adventure. We made beaded jingle bell ornaments and went on an Olaf hunt. The Olaf clipart came from Disneyclips. 

In 2024, we watched Mickey's Christmas Carol, made beaded jingle bell ornaments, and went on a cookie scavenger hunt. 

The clipart for the scavenger hunt came from Teachers Pay Teachers. 

See my other Holiday Movie Night Posts: 

2018

2019

Bruce the Bear Party

Bruce is one of my favorite picture book characters so I decided to host a Bruce the Bear Party in the fall. 

I took inspiration from Annamarie over at Book Cart Queens. I borrowed her craft and scavenger hunt. 

I've stopped reading books first at events like these as latecomers often miss the books altogether. 

We started off with a game that was inspired by Bruce's Big Move and I developed into something I could do in a library meeting room: Frying Pan Ball! 

Supplies needed: 

• Toy Frying Pans (I got mine at Dollar Tree)
• Play Balls 
• Laundry Baskets 

How to Play: 2 kids per laundry basket. They use the frying pan as a racket and try to get their balls in the basket. 

For the book portion of the program we read Mother Bruce and then did a couple of activities. I had a couple of extra books (Bruce's Big Move and Hey, Bruce!) as well as a movement song (If You're Grumpy and You Know It) from Library Village if the kids wanted more books or more activities. 

On the flannel board, the kids took turns looking under eggs. I call this What's In an Egg? 

Then we played Find the Goslings with an egg carton full of plastic eggs. A few of the eggs had yellow pompoms in them to represent the goslings. 

We then moved on to the craft: Mother Bruce Ears & Gosling Craft. Templates were provided by Annamarie over at Book Cart Queens. I just provided scissors, string, and tape. 

Finally It was time for the Find the Goslings Scavenger Hunt. The templates were again provided by Annamarie over at Book Cart Queens. 

After the scavenger hunt, I gave the kids a take home activity packet that consisted of the following: 

• Coloring Page from Bruce's Big Move 
• Coloring Page from Hey, Bruce!
• Hibernating Bear Craft from krokotak
• Mice Craft from krokotak

I would definitely do this again and maybe even use it as a special storytime.