Storybook Pumpkin Museum!

Storybook Pumpkin Museum for Grades K-5 

Recipe for Participation!

A pumpkin (any size or shape)
A book for inspiration
Acrylic paint and brushes
Newspaper (for catching the mess while painting)
Glue gun (optional, but it works well)
Craft supplies (paper, pom-poms, yarn?)
Imagination!!!

Rules:

• All pumpkins are to be inspired by a children's book or children's book character.  Please bring in the book that inspired the pumpkin decoration if possible, to be displayed beside it and returned after the showcase.  Pumpkins without a reading theme will be sent home for decoration there. 
• Please bring in your completed pumpkin anytime between Monday, October 21 and October 30.  Please do not bring your pumpkin earlier than that date. Pumpkins submitted in time will be included in the Stone Pumpkin Walk! 
• Please DO NOT CARVE THE PUMPKIN.  Sticking things in the pumpkin is okay, but full-on-scoop-it-out designs cannot be accepted.  Carved pumpkins rot quickly, attract pests and have a strong smell.  We would have nasty pumpkin soup all over the library in three days.
• Yes, you can work with friends and family are are encouraged to do so.  Children of different ages and grade levels can work together.  Parents, please try not to do the project without your kids.  ;-)
• Like the Haunted House Museum in the past, please, no blood or gore.  We are celebrating imagination, not horror.
• Make sure to put your name(s) and room number(s) on the bottom of pumpkin; we have masking tape in the library if you need it.  
• Books and pumpkins will be returned to you in time for Halloween.  Pick up end of the day October 31st.  
• The activity is optional.  Fun is always an option.  
• All kids who participate will get a treat when they pick them up on the 31st.  
• Scroll down to photos below for inspiration!  Credits are hyperlinked (click on them!) for further examples.  These are just ideas, feel free to decorate using your own favorite!  

We'll have the Haunted House Museum again next year.  This year, we're mixing it up! Please feel free to see me or contact me with any questions or thoughts.  October is such a creative month. Have fun, can't wait to see these amazing autumnal creations!

Photograph courtesy of P is for Preschool

Photograph courtesy of Wynne Primary School

Photograph Courtesy of Sunny Days in Second Grade

Photograph courtesy of Ms. Jordan and Ms. Ostroski

Photograph courtesy of Run! Mrs. Nelson's Got the Camera!

Photograph courtesy of Café Mom

Photograph courtesy of Paper Perfection

Photograph courtesy of Hoover City Schools

Photograph courtesy of Oh Boy 4th Grade!

Photograph courtesy of The Twenty Sixth Year

Photograph courtesy of Little Kinder Warriors

Photograph courtesy of Mrs. Houlin's Class

Photograph courtesy of The Educator's Spin on It

List of necessary supplies also courtesy of The Educator's Spin on It

Photograph courtesy of Olathe Public Library

Photograph courtesy of The Educator's Spin on It

2024 Parade of Books!

 

P is for PARADE!
Hooray, it's time for our 10th Annual 
Parade of Books!

This year's parade, in which children dress up as their favorite book characters and carry the book to match or create wearable book covers, will be held on Wednesday, May 22th at 2:00 p.m. and grades K through 3 will be participating.  All students in these grade levels are expected to participate.  

Families are welcome to watch the parade outside on the Stone playground at 2:00 (in case of rain, the parade will be held inside the school). Bring little brothers and sisters to cheer, and don't forget the camera! This is a great opportunity for us to celebrate Stone as a community of readers, and to create home-school connections.  We are asking that costumes should be book related, and that each student carry a book related to the costume they are wearing. Chefs can carry cookbooks, Cleopatra can carry a book about ancient Egypt, baseball players can carry sport biographies, for just a few examples. 

So! Checklist for K-3 parents on May 22:
* Please send your child to school with the book-related costume (or poster) in a bag, to be changed into (or carried) in the afternoon. Please keep it simple. Mark all belongings with name and room number.
* Please send your child to school with the corresponding book to carry in the parade.
* Cheer and take pictures on the school playground at 2:00, if you are available. If you are not available, we love you just the same, and we'll take pictures.

A gentle reminder:  This should not be a recycling of scary or licensed character-inspired Halloween costumes. Children should not wear masks (which also present a safety challenge when small children march), any horror themes involving blood (zombies or vampires), or television characters/video game characters that were cartoons before they were books.  The rule is that the character should have been in a book before a television show or movie!  As far as books to carry, there are some resources available in our school library and your child's classroom library, but this is also a perfect opportunity to visit the Chicago Public Library.

Additionally, we ask that parents please do not follow children back into the school after the parade, as this presents security issues. Thank you for your support and cooperation!  Can't wait to see what our creative community comes up with this year...every year has been so full of amazing surprises!

Here are some ideas to get your creative juices flowing, using household items to make a fun costume in less than an hour!

• Cut "ears" out of construction paper, leaving a little extra length at the bottom of each ear.  Fold a flap at the bottom of the ear and tape to a plastic headband.  Great for bears, pigs, cats, etc.!

• Examples of easy costumes:
mouse ears + pink tutu + pink ribbon + eyebrow pencil whiskers = Angelina Ballerina by Helen Craig

mouse ears + blue overalls  + a bag of chocolate chip cookies  + eyebrow pencil whiskers = If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff

Straw hat + black ribbon + red coat + white socks + black shoes = Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans

bear ears + overalls with one strap undone = Corduroy by Don Freeman
red material + basket = Little Red Riding Hood

Floppy hat decorated with tissue paper flowers + apron = Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish

• Paper bags can be magical!  Design a gown from one like The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch, or cut out a cowboy vest and don a cowboy hat like Pecos Bill by Steven Kellogg!

• You can make googly eyes for Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel or Lyle, Lyle Crocodile by  Bernard Waber from egg cartons!  Attach two egg receptacles to a half-paper plate colored green, to be tied around the forehead!  Wear a green turtleneck, pants or tights!  Add green felt spikes for dinosaur or dragon characters!

• Fairy tale costumes are fun and easy!  Construction paper crowns sparkling with glitter or aluminum foil for kings and queens...scarf capes for princes...construction paper rolled into cone-shapes with a scarf at the top for princesses, or decorated with silver moons for wizards...aluminum foil stars on foil-covered sticks for wands...wicked witches are storybook characters that can be recycled for Halloween!

• Beauty secret!  Pippi Longstocking's braids stick out with the help of pipe cleaners!

• An alternative to a disguise is to make a placard!  Take two pieces of poster board, punch two holes at the top of each piece and tie yard to attach the boards, leaving about 3-5 inches of "give" on the yarn, so your child can slip the boards over the head, carrying the boards on the shoulders.  Your child can then decorate the poster board like a favorite book!  A walking advertisement!

• There are so many classic characters from classic books:  Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, King Arthur, Oliver Twist, Curious George...which was your favorite as a child?  Now is a great time to read it aloud!

• And don't forget, readers of non-fiction are real readers, too!  How about an alien costume if your child loves a book about outer space?  A chef carrying a cookbook?  A famous person carrying his or her biography?  A favorite animal carrying a book featuring that animal?  

For some more ambitious costume inspiration, click here! 

The goal is not expense, but I-M-A-G-I-N-A-T-I-O-N!

Ms. Demonte sporting stripes a la A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon.

Here are some examples of costumes from years past!  

Can't wait to see our creativity and love of reading SHINE!

Happy Summer, Stone Bookworms!

Check out summer reading recommendations at

https://tinyurl.com/stonesummerread2023

See you in the fall!

Artwork by Richard Scarry.  

Parade of Books 2023!

                           

Hooray, it's time for our 9th Annual Parade of Books, our first parade since COVID-19! 

How exciting and wonderful!  

This year's parade, in which children dress up as their favorite book characters and carry the book to match or create wearable book covers, will be held on Friday, May 19th and grades K through 3 will be participating. (Hints for homemade costumes here.)  All students in these grade levels are expected to participate.  

You are welcome to watch the parade outside on the Stone playground at 2:00 (in case of rain, the parade will be held inside the school). Bring little brothers and sisters to cheer, and don't forget the camera! This is a great opportunity for us to celebrate Stone as a community of readers, and to create home-school connections.  We still are asking that costumes should be book related, and that each student carry a book related to the costume they are wearing. Chefs can carry cookbooks, Cleopatra can carry a book about ancient Egypt, baseball players can carry sport biographies, for just a few examples...and for more inspiration, check out some costumes from parades past here, or some ambitious online costume leads here and here!

So! Checklist for K-3 parents on May 19th:
* Please send your child to school with the book-related costume (or poster) in a bag, to be changed into (or carried) in the afternoon. Please keep it simple. Mark all belongings with name and room number.
* Please send your child to school with the corresponding book to carry in the parade.
* Cheer and take pictures on the school playground at 2:00, if you are available. If you are not available, we love you just the same, and we'll take pictures.

A gentle reminder:  This should not be a recycling of scary or licensed character-inspired Halloween costumes. Children should not wear masks (which also present a safety challenge when small children march), any horror themes involving blood (zombies or vampires), or television characters/video game characters that were cartoons before they were books.  The rule is that the character should have been in a book before a television show or movie!  As far as books to carry, there are some resources available in our school library and your child's classroom library, but this is also a perfect opportunity to visit the Chicago Public Library.

Additionally, we ask that parents please do not follow children back into the school after the parade, as this presents security issues. Thank you for your support and cooperation!  Can't wait to see what our creative community comes up with this year...every year has been so full of amazing surprises!

Ms. Demonte sporting stripes a la A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon.

Here are some examples of costumes from years past!  

Can't wait to see our creativity and love of reading SHINE!

Author Visit with Akim Aliu!

On Friday, February 10th Our middle schoolers will enjoy an author visit with author and NHL star Akim Aliu and co-author Greg Anderson Elysee!

 

Akim Aliu — also known as "Dreamer" —

is a Nigerian born, Ukrainian Canadian professional hockey player whose career took him all around the world and who experienced systemic racism at everyone turn. This graphic novel tells Akim's incredible story, from being the only black child in his Ukrainian school, to having his teeth bashed in by a racist teammate in the Ontario junior league. A gut-wrenching and riveting graphic novel memoir that reminds us to never stop dreaming and working toward our goals no matter what obstacles we encounter.

This visit is brought to us through the generous support of our friends at The Book Stall. Independent booksellers support Stone Academy...let's support our wonderful independent booksellers!