On October 27, 2007, a small but lively group of participants enjoyed an afternoon with Mo Willems' Pigeon character. As participants arrived, they were given car-shaped nametags (Ellison die) by Children's Librarian Barb Scott. It only figures that since the Pigeon wants to drive the bus, he'd like to drive a car as well!
Participants then watched a short Powerpoint presentation on Mo Willems and his Pigeon character, which highlighted the books in the series, as well as other books that the author has written. The Pigeon character actually first appeared in the margins of a book Willems was working on, and, as Willems tells it, the Pigeon pretty much demanded his own book! It is interesting to note that in Willems' newest book Knuffle Bunny Too, the name of the main character is Trixie. This just happens to be the name of Mo's own daughter!
Then, participants were released to work on five different Pigeon-themed crafts. They were:
PIGEON AND DUCK STICK PUPPETS
Participants first colored the puppet patterns, which were copied off onto construction paper. Then these were cut out, using the examples (pictured above). Large/jumbo craft sticks were then added to the back of each and a goggly eye was glued onto the Pigeon puppet!
PIGEON'S BUS CRAFT
This colorful bus is just perfect for Pigeon to ride and such a friendly face, to boot! Participants colored all of the pieces that made up the bus and then cut them out and assembled them according to the example (pictured above).
HOT DOG! IT'S A CRAFT!
This hot dog is just too cute for anyone to eat, even Pigeon or Duckling! Participants first colored all of the pieces and then cut them out. The hot dog was glued to the bun and then the arms, legs, eyes, nose, and mouth were added, according to the example.
CREATE YOUR OWN PIGEON DOOR HANGER!
This door hanger is double-sided. Participants first colored the Piegon and the background, if they wished. The hanger was then cut along dotted lines, glue applied to the back of one piece, and then folded.
COLOR THE PIGEON!
A coloring page was provided for participants to color and turn in for display in the library.
Snacks were also provided for those present.
Each participant received a goodie bag before leaving for the day. These goodie bags contained Rubber Duck necklaces (purchased from U.S. Toy) and Gummi Hot Dogs (purchased from Candy Direct).
Handouts were also provided for participants to take home. These included word searches, coloring sheets from other Willems' books, and arecipe for the cookies included in Mo's book Edwina, The Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct.
ALA also has a complete reading program with Pigeon and his friends available in their catalog!
6 comments:
Thanks for sharing all your great ideas with us, Barb! You often spark creativity in the rest of us. Thank you and keep on keeping on!
Perfect timing! I'm doing a Pigeon Party on Wednesday. Could you e-mail me your door hanger pattern? My address is cchristnATscls.lib.wi.us (with, of course, the AT being the normal symbol--just want to foil any robots trolling for spam targets.)
Thanks!
Carissa
Madison Public Library
Wisconsin
We had our Pigeon Party today and in addition to some of the activites you listed here, we also tried drawing the Pigeon (easy instructions on Mo Willems' website) and played "Pin the Feather on the Pigeon" only we didn't use blindfolds (the kids were little) and instead of pins, I just liberally applied some gluestick to a picture of the Pigeon right before I invited kids to come up and glue a feather on him. I usually do a handstamp at the end of programs and I didn't have a pigeon stamp, so I just drew the pigeon's head on their hands with blue, black and orange markers. They loved it!
Barb-- I cannot even begin to tell you how much WE LOVE YOUR PROGRAMS! We fully intend to pay you back. We just had a successful Fancy Nancy Party that we would be happy to share with you.
Kate Hastings
Upper Arlington Public Library
Hi Barb,
I was surfing for some craft ideas for a Pigeon storytime and came across pictures from your program. Great stuff. Could you e-mail me the patterns for the door hanger and the hot dog? I'd appreciate it. My e-mail address is aheingarten@jefferson.lib.la.us.
Thanks a lot.
Andrea Heingarten
Children's Librarian
East Bank Regional Library
Metairie, LA
Hey, it's Barb! Check out the latest issue of the preschool edition of The Mailbox (August/September 2008) for the cutest song EVER to use with your Pigeon party! It's sung to the tune of "The Wheels on the Bus":
The pigeon on the bus says "Can I drive? Can I drive? Can I drive?"
The pigeoon on the bus says "Can I drive?" all through the town
Additional verses:
The children on the bus say "No, no no!"...
The pigeon on the bus says "Please, please, please!"...
The pigeon on the bus shouts "That's not fair..."
Post a Comment