We’re Off!

The first week of summer reading has gone off with a quack…and a cluck…and a woof!

The Busy Bees listened to animal stories. One was about Rosie, a hen who went for walk all the while being followed by a fox. All turns out well for Rosie who makes it home in time for dinner. The fox, however, has a more troublesome adventure! We also learned that a doghouse can be a very crowded place during a thunderstorm…unless, of course, you are a skunk.  Our last story was called Mung, Mung, which is the sound dogs make in Korea. We learned that animals around the world make different sounds and you can hear a number of them at http://www.bzzzpeek.com/ Interestingly, everywhere the cow says moo.

The Terrific Tigers learned about Anansi the spider man from African folktales and the clever Mouse Deer from Asian and African trickster tales. We were all surprised to learn that the mouse deer is a real animal with a body like a deer and a head like a mouse. This cat-sized animal is found in the jungles of Africa and Asia.

The children then made Anansi spider crafts with symbols included in hopes they would be able to retell the story.

The World Travelers started summer reading on the continent of Asia. We read a story called White Tiger, Blue Serpent where a young boy learns the value of hard work and an evil, greedy queen discovers that greed won’t get you what you want.

We then tried using chopsticks to eat steamed dumplings and fried rice which produced a lot of giggles. We drank green tea (unsweetened) and fried donuts. Finally, the children learned the legend of the koi (how they swim up the Yellow River their entire lives.; at the mouth of the river is a waterfall and if the koi make it up the waterfall, they are turned into glorious dragons). The children decorated their own koi with beautiful, overlapping scales.

All said, the first week was quite successful! I can hardly wait for next week.

 

Move Over, Rover! by Karen Beaumont and Jane Dyer

Rosie's Walk by Pat Hutchins

Mung-Mung! by Linda Sue Park and Diane Bigda

Anansi the Spider: A Tale from the Ashanti by Gerald McDermott

White Tiger, Blue Serpent by Grace Tseng