AN AFTERNOON WITH MAISY!

Maisy's birthday is February 10th, so that month is a great time to do a program with this popular character! I did not hold my program that month, however, as we could not get the costume until April!

My program was held on April 28, 2007. 26 participants converged on the Library's community room to enjoy snacks, crafts, and fun!

I opened the program with a short Powerpoint presentation on Maisy, her friends, and her creator, Lucy Cousins.

Participants were them released to the craft tables to make 5 Maisy-themed crafts. They were:

1. Let's Make a Maisy Stick Puppet!--Participants colored a picture of Maisy riding her tricycle (adapted from a coloring page I found online) and attached a small craft stick to the back to make a puppet.

2. Let's Color Maisy!--Participants did their best coloring jobs on a simple picture of Maisy. These were then handed in to be displayed with photos taken of the day's event.

3. Let's Make Maisy Paper Dolls--Participants colored pictures of Maisy and several articles of clothing with small tabes that made th clothing fit onto her. Baggies were used to keep everything in on place!

4. Make Maisy's Panda Bear--This cute panda bear pattern was made mostly of cirlces. Googly eyes were added for a nice effect!

5. Let's Make Maisy Ears!--Color copies of Maisy's ears were copied from an Internet site (www.maisyfunclub.com) and then printed (in color) on construction paper. These ears were then cut out and affixed to strips of paper that were sized to fit the child's head.

While the children worked on crafts, a VERY special visitor showed up: Maisy herself! Many children made a beeline to Maisy for hugs. Maisy stayed long enough to have pictures taken with nearly all of the children present. The costume was rented from Costume Specialists of Columbus, Ohio.

Snacks were also served as part of the afternoon. They consisted of gingerbread men, fruit snacks, pretzels, and lemonade.

Handouts of puzzles, coloring pages, and booklists were also available.

Both of the following websites have additional crafts that could be used as part of a program:

www.maisyfunclub.com
www.noggin.com