Summer Book Club - Day 2

Day 2 of our Summer Book Club is on the way. Caleb's turn to pick the book and he picked Bailey at the Museum by Harry Bliss.

This had a ton of themes and ideas to go along with it....if I was planning, I could have had many things to choose from. But the most time that I had was an hour, so this is what I came up with very little planning time. We read the book first thing. Then we discussed proper manners at a museum as well as different items found there.

In the Museum, Bailey comes across several Native American items such as a totem pole and a dream catcher. The first craft they did was a totem pole. This idea came from Hative (link below) and there were free printable pages to make it easier.

Karen asked me to make Bailey the dog for the top of his totem pole like int he book. So, I drew it and he colored it.

J and her finished totem pole.

Then, they worked on heart shaped dream catchers. These were super simple to make - pipe cleaners, and yarn. I doubled the pipe cleaners to make the unit more sturdy for the yarn wrapping. We decided to call them love catchers instead of dream catchers!

J made two love catchers and hung them in her room. Kaleb made one which hangs from our living room fan.

I had intended to make a teepee from a paper plate but we decided to use the rest of our time at a local museum. We are within walking distance to an art museum which had free admission today. I love when thing work out! So we spent about 2 hours in the art museum looking at pottery, modern art, but our favorite were pictures of international families from all over the world and their world possessions. It was truly an eye-opener to see what people owned as well as ate through the world. We even found one from our other country! For lunch, as a special treat we watched Night at the Museum 3. It seemed fitting for the book :)

Other Possible Topics for this book:
(1) Manners - what are the expected manners for a trip to the museum? What did Bailey do that shouldn't have been done? How to say thank you for a gift.
(2) Dinosaurs - anything dinosaur, make a tooth that is over 9 inches long wow!
(3) Darwin - what did he do and is he correct in his thinking? I am not saying have a creation vs. evolution argument with your child. But I think your child should know who he is and what he stood for as well as what you believe. No hate comments please.
(4) Clown fish - watch Finding Nemo, make a paper clown fish or an ocean scene.
(5) Indian Culture - totem poles, dream catchers, read about them. Make a teepee tent.
(6) What to do if you ever get lost. This is an important talk for your kids no matter what age. Who should they look for and what should they do. Have a plan if they get lost in a museum or library etc...If they are younger, make a bracelet with phone number so if they get lost, someone can contact you.
(7) Museum Visit - if time permits, visit a museum. We have an art museum which allows free entrance on certain days. It might not be like the museum in the book but it would be an experience.

Links

Hative - has some awesome pictures of totem pole crafts for kids. I would have loved to make the plastic jug one but I didn't have time.

An Everyday Occasion - has a cute paper bag totem pole. I love the colors!

Easy Child Crafts - easy teepee craft from a paper plate.

Naturally Educational - a simple dreamcatcher craft using a paper plate.

Yarnspirations - if you don't want to do the typical dream catcher, here is one using pipe cleaners and yarn with basic shapes.