Activities for My Books

 Herding Those Animals!         A Fun Activity to Accompany Some of my Books.

              Two of my favorite friends in Texas are enjoying a game in which they must swat the balls with those huge fly swatters. They must move all of the balls to the opposite side of the room and into a hula hoop located on the floor. Each side has a different color of ball. Although I'm not an artist, I drew animal faces on the balls. Some are elephant faces. Others are cow or pig faces. I also try to buy four balls of the same color. I let up to four children play each time. I've also seen teachers against teachers in a friendly game.
              According to which book I'm presenting, my young friends could be herding elephants when they swat the balls with the elephant faces on them. That would  be for my Great Elephant Escape book.
            Or, they could be herding pigs after listening to my book, The Oklahoma Land Run. Pig faces have been drawn on those 8 colorful balls.
            Of course, with Grady's in the Silo, they could be moooooving cattle by swatting the balls with cow faces on them.
            With my new book, Scanner, I drew dog pictures on balls so that the children could sort out the dogs.
            Each team herds their animals into their own hula hoop. It's fun. It's loud. It's something children enjoy. Teachers might want to try it, too.

 Blazer's Taxi

One of the most unusual activities I received last year was from a former student's son who had to do a book report. He had to use a pumpkin or pumpkins for a some of the characters in the book. Here is the   result--A Blazer and a Taxi as pumpkins. I love  it. So creative!

This is another creative idea I found on internet. This could be made with buttons, popcorn, coffee grounds, pennies, etc. These are so much fun to make. I know children would love an art activity like this. Think of the possibilities.

This is a picture of Vickie Kastl, the illustrator of Blazer's Taxi. She is with Coach Doug Sauter. Accompanying them is Taxi II.

                         Clancy
                                               

               Covering the goat with any of the following or coming up with a different cover for the goat makes a great art project for home or school. The can be hung on a line or put on a bulletin board to show the different colors of goats.

             If you want to include a nutrition lesson for any of my books, you can stress the importance of having healthy foods before chasing elephants, milking cows, doing farm chores, looking for wood, running in land runs,  driving race cars, listening to students read, or anything else any of my characters might want to do. One idea is to introduce new foods to students by letting them make faces using vegetables and fruits. Here are some faces made by students, and then eaten by them.

                                                          Grady's in the Silo

Do you need an art project for Grady's in the Silo? This cow is made from a wooden spoon craft stick. The features are painted on with paint, or they can be drawn on with crayons or markers. The eyes can be bought, painted, or made from felt. The ears are made from a stiff fabric, but they can be made from cardstock or construction paper. It's a fun project for children.

Here's a cute cow puppet for little ones to make. There are plenty of patterns on line. Check out my Pinterest page, too.  This one takes very little time to make. I think the "green grass" adds a little bit to the cow, too.

Scanner and the Icky, Sticky Gum

Here's an activity for Scanner's new book about icky, sticky gum. Begin by cutting out some Scottie dogs using black construction paper. They need to be around 8 inches long. There are many patterns around. I have some on my Pinterest page.  Then make sure to have newspapers, an old sheet, or plastic on the table before beginning the activity.

Have a piece of construction paper on the table and let children glue their Scottie to the construction paper. In a cup or cupcake type holder, mix a little glue, a little bit of shaving cream and 3 to 4 dots of green food coloring. Have the children stir this up, give the students a small paint brush, and have them dab green paint on the black Scottie. When they're finished painting their Scottie with icky, sticky green "paint", the dogs are set aside to dry. The paint should puff up some, and "Scanner" should be ready to take home soon. Below are some pictures.

Here are dogs set aside to paint. The Scottie will fit on the construction paper.

A student is painting his Scottie with the special "paint" made of white glue, shaving cream, and green food coloring.

A student showing the "paint" used and the dog he has created.

The Oklahoma Land Run

  

Constellations

This is a good project for a couple of my books. Late at night, Grady from Grady's in the Silo might have seen some stars. Elephants, Isa and Lilly, from The Great Elephant Escape, may have had stars guide them after they ran away from the circus grounds. People in the Oklahoma Land Run would have slept under the stars. Toby, as well as his great-great-grandfather, Tobias Frazier, would have slept under the stars.  So, why not make your own constellations. Dark blue or black construction paper works best. Lightly draw the design for your constellation. You might want to use chalk or a pencil.

 Your design can be anything that would relate to the book you have read. Once the constellation is drawn, decide what to use to show your constellation. Cereal works very well. Icing or frosting (just a little bit) will glue cereals in place. You might use a cotton swab or toothpick for the icing. Stars or other small stickers can also be used. Beans, seeds, or popcorn can be used as well as some foods such as potato sticks, crackers, or small, colorful candies. Nuts would work, too,  unless there are children who are allergic to nuts. Be sure and let children name their new constellation.

This could be the Handy Hat, the Cowboy Hat, a Sombrero, or any other name that refers to a hat like the one shown.

Children could make this the North Star, the Shimmering Star, the Shining Star, etc.

This design could be the Wobbly Wagon Wheel, the Land Run Wagon Wheel, the Broken spoke, etc.

Children like to make their wagons for the land run. Some are fancy and some are not. They often contain dolls inside to represent the children that accompanied their parents along the way.  Many contained signs on the sides of the wagons. Some had shovels, coffee pots, barrels of water, etc. attached to the sides. Many use tarps, sheets, canvas, made the wagon's sides. 

Racecar Driver's Night Before Christmas  

      It's always interesting to see how students would design their own race car. When I go to a class for an author visit, I enjoy having them design their own car. I show them pictures of some of the race cars that race on week-ends, and they begin to get their own ideas as to how their race car should look. I have a worksheet with a car on it, and they begin designing their car immediately.

      They often have sponsors listed on the car which may be related to cookies or candy names, and some students will write their own names as sponsors. I usually bring along items such as cereals, leather pieces, beans, seed, popcorn, feathers, buttons, foam pieces, beads, rubber stamps, and a variety of other items for them to use as they design their car. Girls will design their own "powder puff" cars using feathers, lace, glitter glue, beads, etc.  I have foam numbers and letters available so students can make their own decals, or put their own names on their cars. I also have glue, crayons, and markers available.

     Some of the decorated cars shown below were designed by students at a library in Texas.

                                                        

Scanner

                                                                     

 One of the ideas for younger students and preschoolers is to make a necklace for them to wear. It can also be a Christmas ornament. I used a punch out of a Scottie, added a small piece of ribbon around the Scottie's neck and glued the Scottie to a circular foam piece. Then I punched a hole in  the foam piece, and added ribbon to easily go around a child's neck. A  smaller piece of ribbon can be added so Scanner hangs as a Christmas ornament.

You could use construction paper instead of foam, add a bow around the neck of the Scottie, and add sequins, etc. to the circle as desired.

For Valentine's Day, I used a couple of doilies to dress up the Scottie. I added a piece of ribbon to each dog, but I could have used sequins, lace, etc. I glued the Scotties to the white doily. These could be on a bulletin board or go home with the students. They could be backed with red paper, and be Valentine's for their mother's.

                                                  Toby and the Secret Code

I used a doily for a turtle.  This goes with my Toby and the Secret Code book.

I made this poster size turtle to ask comprehension questions for my Toby and the Secret Code book. It can also be a game for two or more to play. It's easy to make. I also laminated it.

This colorful turtle is made from buttons glued on an old CD. I found green felt for the head, tail, and feet, and I used a black marker for the markings on the face and feet. I used wiggly eyes on the turtle's face. Any size and color of buttons will work for this turtle ("luksi" in Choctaw).