After School Read-Aloud and Craft (Bugs Theme), 4/26/12

There has been no attendance at all at this program the past few weeks, probably because of Spring Break. Most of the regulars were back today, so I had about 9 kids. This time, I read the books first, then invited the kids to do the craft and talked with them while they worked. I have to work on how best to set up the room to facilitate that kind of interaction more often.

The Read-Alouds: Bug Books

Book 1: The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (1969)

Book 2: Ride, Fly Guy, Ride! by Tedd Arnold (2012)

Book 3: Miss Spider's Tea Party by David Kirk (2007)

The Craft: Band-aid Butterflies 

(This idea was inspired by Storytime Katie's Sick & Get Well Soon story time.)

I. Supplies 

• Colorful Band-aids
• Tissues
• Blue construction paper 
• Markers 

II. Prep

There was no real preparation for me to do, other than creating an example and providing the materials.

III. Process 
I didn't realize until I started writing this post that I actually did this craft backwards from the way I've seen it on Katie's blog and on Pinterest. I used tissue for the butterfly's body and a band-aid for the wings. The kids really enjoyed it. One boy who was around 4 or 5 told me he made a butterfly family "and a brother and a sister!" Another little girl, who usually needs a lot of help, did this one almost entirely on her own, and announced halfway through, "This butterfly is the baby." All of  them used slightly different approaches to the antenna and some even colored on the tissues to give the bodies some color. It was a great success, and I will definitely file it away to try again.

The Display: More Buggy Books

• The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle (1950)
• The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle (1970)
• Miss Spider's New Car by David Kirk (1997)
• Grasshopper on the Road by Arnold Lobel (1978)
• Bug Safari by Bob Barner (2004)
• Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Kids by David Kirk (2004)
• Insectlopedia by Douglas Florian (1998)