Going on a Picnic!

It's still not exactly what I would call picnic weather here in Northern California (though it should be), but we read and talked and sang about picnics at storytime today anyway.  Our books were Pig Picnic, by Patrica Hubbell, and Ready for Anything, by Keiko Kasza.

On the flannelboard we did two of my favorite songs. You could do these without the felt figures, but they are pretty easy to make, and very effective for these two songs.

The first song goes like this:

Going on a picnic, leaving right away.
If it doesn't rain we can stay all day!

Did you bring the hot dogs?
(Answer) Yes, we brought the hot dogs!
Did you bring the buns?
Yes, we brought the buns!
Going on a picnic, here we go!

Keep going through the song, two items at a time----catsup, mustard, lemonade, soda, potato chips, salad, apples, watermelon. Of course you can add any other items you want on your picnic. It's a Raffi song; his lyrics are slightly different than the way I sing it. Need the tune? Here are some kids singing the song.

The other song is "Strawberries, Peaches" sung (more or less) to the tune of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star".







Strawberries, peaches, watermelon too,
Good for me and good for you.
They are yummy, they are sweet,
They are such a tasty treat.

Strawberries, peaches, watermelon too,
Good for me and good for you.

You can change the fruits around---try "strawberries, apples, bananas too" and so on.

When It's CD Hangin' Time in Chico

The cherries are ripening, so I went out and hung old CDs on the trees to scare away the birds. Birds will do a number on ripe cherries. I don't mind them getting a few up at the top where I can't reach, but I sure don't want to find beak marks in every other cherry on the tree.

CDs work great. I use old CDs---damaged ones or ones from defunct computer programs. I throw them in a drawer during the year, and in the spring I get them out, tie a loop of yarn through the center, and hang them on the trees. They turn and flash and scare the birds away. More cherries for me!

Casaba Melons

This afternoon I planted casaba melons in a big empty patch in the middle of our orchard. This is the second year that I have planted casabas---they were such a favorite with General Bidwell that I had to try them. I would have planted them sooner, but the weather has been too cool up until now for the seeds to sprout.

I got my seed from Seed Savers Exchange.  I don't know of any other catalog that carries it. They are wonderful melons, juicy and delicious, with a heady aroma, but they take a long time to grow, which is probably why they are not favorites anymore.

Casaba melons are native to Turkey. Bidwell's original seed was sent to him by the Department of Agriculture, who knew how he liked to experiment with new crops. The melons were such an outstanding success that Bidwell decided to devote 10 acres to them the following year.

Casabas take a lot of water, and my husband asked me how Bidwell managed to grow them during our dry Chico summers. The answer comes from his ranch foreman George Moses Gray.  He recounts:

"The next year, 1882, we planted ten acres of casabas on newly cleared ground on land between the flume and Humboldt Road. . . The ground was very rich and we had plenty of water from the flume and of all the melons I ever saw growing those were the best."

It's a Bird!

Our fine feathered friends--birds--was the theme for today. Our books were Birds, by Kevin Henkes, and The Baby Beebee Bird, by Diane Massie. This is an old title in a new edition, with illustrations by Steven Kellogg. It's a fun book to read aloud, because the baby beebee bird says "beebee bobbi beebee bobbi" over and over and over, and the kids can join in. But beware! I read this book to two Head Start classes back to back and nearly lost my voice.

I also told the story of Old Mother Hubbard on the flannelboard. There are many verses to this old rhyme, and some of them sound a little odd to modern ears. "She went to the hosier's to buy him some hose," "she went to the fishmonger to buy him some fish," and even "she went to the tavern to buy him some beer." ! But the kids thoroughly enjoy the antics of Old Mother Hubbard's dog, who stands on his head, sits in a chair, plays the flute, and reads the news.

We made birds, of course, and the birds look like this:

The body is cut out of colored scrapbook paper. (I found a good deal on scrapbook paper at Ross.) The beak is just a little piece of construction paper glued on.

The wings are made by coloring a half-sheet of paper, then fan folding it and inserting through a slit cut in the bird's body.

The children had fun scribbling all over the paper with makers and crayons. They needed help with folding though. Fan folding is a bit tricky, even for some grown-ups. But the kids could push the paper through the slit and fan out the wings. Then just punch a hole and thread a piece of yarn through, and you have a pretty little bird.

Happy Easter!

Today I introduced Buffy the Hen and her amazing colorful chicks. Buffy is made from fleece and felt, and has a tube that runs from a hole in her back down to her bottom, so she can lay eggs.

I got the pattern from www.ikatbag.com. If you are into sewing, this blog has a host of ingenious tutorials and patterns, some free and some for sale. The chicken pattern is one that you have to buy.

It's a bit tricky, getting that tube in, but the resulting magic chicken is a delight. The little chicks are pretty easy to make---my 10-year-old granddaughter wants to try making one.

Our books today were all old Easter favorites: Max's Chocolate Chicken, by Rosemary Wells, Minerva Louise and the Colorful Eggs, by Janet Morgan Stoeke, and The Golden Egg Book, by Margaret Wise Brown. Here's our craft:

Ester Egg Magnets:

The eggs are cut out of foam sheets, and are about 6 inches high, although they could be any size you like. Cut out some eggs, and use the scraps to cut stripes.

You might want to put an adhesive magnet on the back before you start. That way the front won't be all gluey sticky when you go to put the magnet on.

Start by squeezing out some glitter glue and smearing it around with your finger. Then add stripes, stickers, and anything else you want to decorate with. Let it dry and then stick it on the fridge.  Happy Easter!

Book Club

The Orland Library Book Club for kids met today. I have 5 (or 6 or 7--depends on who shows up) 4th to 6th graders in the group. Our book this month was Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede. All but one of the kids read it and enjoyed it, and a couple of them plan to read the rest of the books in the series.

We talked about:
How would you describe Cimorene? Kazul?
What was the funniest part of the book?
Do you know what cherries jubilee is?
Do you like fantasy?
Which cover do you like better, the hardbound or the paperback?

The cover vote was split 50/50. I'm a diehard Trina Schart Hyman fan, so I like the original cover, but the paperback cover, by Peter de Seve, is good too, with a great look of disdain on Kazul's face.

I didn't want to set fire to the library making cherries jubilee, so we had chocolate mousse for treat instead. (Princess Cimorene cooks both of these in the book.) The girls liked it; the boys would have preferred brownies.

For an activity we made Flubber (also known as Gack). Here's the recipe:

2 cups white glue
1 1/2 cups warm water
a few drops of food coloring

Mix the ingredients in a large bowl.
In a separate cup dissolve 3 teaspoons of borax in 1 1/3 cups warm water.

Add borax water to glue and stir. As you stir the mixture will coalesce, the water will be absorbed, and you will end up with a rubbery, bouncy, moldable, stretchable concoction.

It's a magical scientific experiment!

Readasaurus Rex Rules!

During the Orland Free Library's Centennial Week in February, I emptied the coins out of our Readasaurus Rex. I was quite surprised at how much money he had in his clear plastic tummy. Enough to buy three new picture books!

Today we celebrated by reading all three new books at storytime. We read:

Interrupting Chicken, by David Ezra Stein

Little White Rabbit, by Kevin Henkes

Worms for Lunch?, by Leonid Gore



Each book has a sticker in the front which says: "This READASAURUS REX book was donated by Orland Free Library children and parents." A few pennies, nickels and dimes at a time, and it all added up to three wonderful books.

Since one of the books had worms in it, we made wiggly worms for our craft.

To make a worm you will need:
A strip of craft foam 1" x 9"
A chenille stem (pipe cleaner)
Hole punch
Wiggly eyes

Round the ends of the foam strip. Punch a series of holes and thread the chenille stem trough the holes. Bend the stem at each end so it doesn't pull through. Add two wiggly eyes. Done!