June’s Reading to Kids Event was a Great Success. Seventy-seven Volunteers read to 107 Kids! Dominic & Xiuhcoatl joined me for the Zoom Reading Event. The books for the Event are about “Friendship & Fun”.
Kindergarten: “Be Kind” by Pat Zietlow Miller; 1st Grade: “Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile” by Bernard Waber; 2nd Grade: “Yellow Kayak” by Nina Laden; 3rd Grade: “Make Way for Dyamonde Daniel” by Nikki Grimes; 4th Grade: “The Ugly Truth (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 5) by Jeff Kinney; 5th Grade: “Merci Suarez Changes Gears” by Meg Medina
Reading to Kids provides these Events for 8 Elementary Schools in the Downtown Los Angeles Area. For June the 3rd, 4th & 5th Grades were combined for the School I Volunteered. Therefore, Nicole my reading partner & I compromised and read the first few chapters of the 4th Grade book to 18 eager listeners. Principal Ortega made the Zoom Meeting possible for Our Group. All the books are a Wonderful Treat for the Kids and the Readers too! I especially liked the artwork in “Yellow Kayak”. “Make Way for Dyamonde Daniel” & “Merci Suarez Changes Gears” are Great Stories of Friendship & Family. After the reading we have craft ideas for the Kids with items they hopefully have at home.
I liked the bicycle crafts suggested for the “Merci Suarez Changes Gears” book. However, this isn’t a Harry Potter Story so those bicycles don’t pedal own their own. So, I added some Prehistoric Pals for Fun! Using a Whiteboard, I demonstrated steps for drawing a bicycle. First Black Circles for the wheels, a few orange lines from the center of the circles to make the bike frame, chain, pedals, handle bars and seat. Dark Blue lines for the spokes and more black to color in the seat. Light Blue to Create our Dinosaur Rider – oval shapes for the head & body. Add a tail, arms, legs, and some details for the head and back. Use Your easer to remove extra lines and Alfonso the Allosaurus is off riding. See posts May 29, 2021 “Zoom with Dinosaurs” https://www.paulsprehistoricpark.com/?p=5765 and May 4, 2018 “How to Draw a Dinosaur and other Prehistoric Beasts” https://www.paulsprehistoricpark.com/?p=2154 for step-by-step illustrations.
For the other craft, You need 2 or 3 pieces of paper. I used colored & white construction paper, but regular paper will work. Plus you can color the regular paper for more fun. I used the blue paper to represent the sky and pasted a cloud in each corner from a third sheet of paper. Again, if You use white paper to start You can draw clouds and color the sky. I used a light green sheet to make a circle with half of the paper. With Sharpies I made flowers and short lines for grass. If you rotate the circle as you draw, it can help you keep the flowers and grass pointing outward on the circle. I drew a bicycle and colored it with Sharpie markers. A rectangular piece of paper larger than half the circle provided a mount for the bicycle.
After gluing the Bicycle to the rectangular piece of paper, make a hole near the bottom of the rectangular piece and at the center of the circle and the center of the background piece of paper. Use a brass fastener to connect them all. First through the circle then the rectangular piece holding the bicycle and finally the background. Fold the ends back on the fastener and now You can either rotate the circle to give the bicycle the appearance of motion or rotate the bicycle around the circle, which is a little more awkward. Of course, you’ll want to add a rider! (See above for “How to Draw a Dinosaur”) Pamela the Pachycephalosaurus, Brandi the Brontosaurus and Tony the T-Rex will all want turns on the bicycle.
Creating a Comic inspired by the illustration style of Tales of a Wimpy Kid was another craft idea. Angel made a great comic about a man his cat and a monster! Cristian drew Godzilla. And others worked making bicycles and other fun things. Apologies for the picture quality of the kids work. I’m still learning with Zoom.
July’s Club Topic: “Wonders of Science & Technology”
Kindergarten: “Forces: Physical Science for Kids” by Andi Diehn
1st Grade: “What a Waste: Trash, Recycling and Protecting Our Planet” by Jess French
2nd Grade: “Under Your Feet… Soil, Sand and Everything Underground” by Royal Horticultural Society
3rd Grade: “Mistakes That Worked: The World’s Familiar Inventions and How They Came to Be” by Charlotte Foltz
4th Grade: “How to Make a Better World: For Every Kid Who Wants to Make a Difference” by Keilly Swift
5th Grade: “You Can Change the World: Kids Guide to a Better Planet” by Lucy Bell
I think the Prehistoric Pals can help me with some Crafty Ideas for July’s Reading Event. Check Out these Books at Your Local Library. Visit www.readingtokids.org to learn about their Resources and ways You might want to Support Them.
Stay Tuned for More Prehistoric Fun!
My First Book “Is a Metal Dinosaur the Right Pet for You?” is Available as an eBook on Kindle through Amazon.com
Only $3.99!
Included are two photos of Prehistoric Pals converted to black & white line drawings for You to express Your Color Imagination! Search online for print options on Your device. Print Screen, Cropping & Printing are available on many smart phones. Your smart phone may even allow You to email Your Print Screen to Yourself allowing even more options before printing. Kindle has an app for smart phones!
I would love to see Your Color Visions for Dominic & Raphael! Use crayons, pencils, pens, or watercolors! Attach feathers, glitter whatever brings them to life for You. Send a picture of Your Colorized Imaginations to: paul@paulsprehistoricpark.com It could be in a future post!
I will keep You posted with information on my Next eBook “The Shy Triceratops”. I hope to have Paperback versions available later in 2021.
Museums continue reopening with Limits on Guests, Social Distancing & Mask requirements to keep Visitors Safe while They Enjoy Their Learning Experience. Consider a Membership with the Museum. In addition to Supporting Their Valuable Work there are Benefits to You. Special Preview Events for Members Only as well as Virtual Access Exclusive for Members. For more information and access to general public eLearning check out the links below.
The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County www.nhm.org under Research & Collections / Digitized Collections will allow you to browse their Collections. Check out the latest Activities on their site.
The American Natural History Museum www.amnh.org You will find eLearning for Families, Students & Educators. Explore the Museum Virtually. Check Out SciCafe: Video Talks and Meet the Icons: Stories behind the Exhibits! There are Video Series covering Behind the Scenes at the Museum with Space & Dinosaur Explainers.
Chicago’s Field Museum www.fieldmuseum.org You can talk to “Maximo the Titanosaur” online, Yes Really! Visit Sue the largest T-Rex discovered! Check Out “Brain Scoop” with host Emily Graslie and the Learning Resources – many are also in Spanish.
Check Out Your Libraries eBooks. My local Library has over 900 eBooks on Dinosaurs! Libraries are reopening and many still offer “Curbside Pick-up. Here are three books for Drawing Dinosaurs that you might find at your Library. Ask your Librarian about others.
Dinosaurs! A Drawing Book by Michael Emberley (1980)
1-2-3 Draw Dinosaurs and other Prehistoric Animals A step by step guide by Freddie Levin (2001)
Draw 50 Dinosaurs and other Prehistoric Animals by Lee J. Ames (1977)
Stay Safe & Well.
Please Remember to Wear Masks & Social Distance not everyone has been vaccinated. Protect Yourself, Friends, Family & Everyone You Pass!
Thank You!
“Encouraging the Appreciation of Art and Education through the Inspiration of Dinosaurs”
Paul & Prehistoric Pals
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