Tag Archives: simple

Beautiful Lights, Beautiful Night

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It’s a simple project, but oh-so-beautiful! Design your own aurora borealis in Arctic skies, then light it up for a creative and colorful glow box!

We read The Lights the Dance in the Night by Yuval Zommer (Doubleday Books, 2021). Beginning as specks of dust from the sun, the story follows them as they whirl to Earth and change into gleaming, shining, lights for Arctic animals and people! Poetic and gentle, this book is just lovely to read and share.

You’ll need:

  • 1 box with a clear lid or window (more on this below!)
  • An assortment of tissue paper
  • 1 string of LED mini lights
  • White, blue, and yellow poster board
  • Scissors, tape, and glue stick for construction

The box for this project will need to be a good size, sturdy, and have a clear lid or window. I found some 12″ x 8″ x 2.5″ cake boxes on Amazon that totally did the trick (20 boxes cost $19).

Now for the aurora borealis! Open the box and glue tissue paper snippets on the interior side of the window. We found glue sticks to be the best way to adhere things, because you can clearly see the glue going on and it dries clear! When the sky is finished, tape a string of LED mini lights to the back of the box like so:

Close the box and use poster board to create a landscape on the front of the box. We used cool Arctic colors: light blue, dark blue, yellow and white. The boxes turned out great…especially this one with a FLYING UNICORN!!!

Ghost-y with the Most-y

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Share a soft ghostly glow with a spirited little friend! This was a very simple project and activity, but a total story time favorite! And just LOOK at this vibrant book cover!

We read Gustavo the Shy Ghost, by Flavia Z. Drago (Candlewick, 2020 and read here by The Teacher’s Library). Gustavo is a very shy ghost, but he wants friends more then anything! The problem is, no one ever seemed to see him. So Gustavo sends an invitation to a violin concert in the cemetery. No one shows. Gustavo decides to play anyway and gets so caught up glowing and creating his beautiful music he doesn’t notice his friends have arrived (they were just a little late)! Now Gustavo has plenty of friends, and even though he still might be a bit quiet, they always know he’s there!

You’ll need:

  • 1 paper lantern
  • 1 LED votive candle
  • 1 ghost ornament
  • Yarn or ribbon to hang the lantern
  • Markers for decorating

We bought our lanterns on Amazon, opting for the large 14″ diameter ones with lots of decorating room. We purchased the ghost ornaments on Amazon as well, but you can also make these easy ghost lollipops too!

During the project, we turned off the lights and invited kids to use markers (and self-adhesive foam shapes) to decorate their lanterns in the twinkling glimmer of an LED votive. Then we went on a ghost hunt to find ghost ornaments hidden in the gallery!

Want to meet the author and see her studio? You will find our Studio Snapshots feature on Flavia Zorilla Drago here!

That’s a Big Bunny

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It’s a simple DIY projector that creates an enormous shadow friend! All you need is a sheet of paper, an oatmeal container, and a cell phone flashlight. And have we got the PERFECT storytime book for it!

We recommend reading The Black Rabbit by Philippa Leathers (Candlewick, 2006, read here by Storytime with Miss Abi). When Rabbit is stalked by an enormous Black Rabbit, he tries everything to escape his foe. He loses him in the deep dark woods, but unfortunately encounters a hungry wolf! Rabbit gets chased and just when things look bleak (and with juuuuust the right amount of sunlight), the Black Rabbit appears and saves the day!

You’ll need:

  • 1 large oatmeal container
  • 1 piece of black construction paper
  • Scissors or a utility knife
  • Hot glue or tape

First, cut a circle of black construction paper that fits over the open end of a large oatmeal container. Then use scissors or a utlilty knife to cut a design into the circle. Attach to the oatmeal container using hot glue or tape.

On the other end of the oatmeal container, cut a pinhole that’s just a tad larger then your cell phone light.

Find a darkened room, activate the flashlight on your cell phone, and place the light against the pinhole of the container. Point the image towards the wall and watch the magic happen! Move closer to the wall for a smaller projected image, and further away for a super large projected image.

FYI: we discoverd that a cell phone flashlight definitely works best. We tried a regular flashlight and found it produced a blurrier, less definied image, as seen below.

Make one shadow projector, or create several and put on a fabulous show!