WEEK 4_Einstein the Class Hamster_October 2014
Book: Einstein the Class Hamster By: Janet Tashjian
Ages: Kindergarten – 3rd grade
Duration: 5-week program (1hr 15mn/meeting)
Theme: Game Show/Trivia
Synopsis:
This program is designed to take children on a 5-week journey to complete a chapter book and participate in related activities. This particular program spends more time on activities than crafts. Each meeting is divided into walk-in activity time, reading, games, and snacks. A different game show activity is planned for each week culminating in a memory matching game that revolves around the interesting facts presented at the end of each chapter in the book.
Week 4:
At a Glance:
start collecting trading cards through a scavenger hunt that will start off each meeting
read 3 chapters in Einstein the Class Hamster
Recognize vocab as we read and earn stickers
Play a series of quick team games to earn points
Enjoy a snack
Provided materials:
Walk-in Activity: Collect and Color
As participants arrive, allow each child to choose a stack of 3 scavenger hunt clues from a face down pile. Begin helping the children navigate through the sections of your library to find the materials listed on the cards. When participants have located all three of their materials, they may begin coloring the trading cards hidden inside.
The trading cards reflect “Einstein’s Tasty Tidbits” from the ends of each chapter.
Collect these trading cards making sure each card is clearly labeled with each child’s name. Children will find new trading cards each week. They are to be laminated and returned to the participants on week 5.
Thomas Jefferson and macaroni
Hamsters
The brain, exercise, and endorphins
Reading: Chapters 10-12
Vocab List:
Admit
Relented
Breached
Ancestor
Insulation
Data
Envy
Sulking
Eloquent
Before reading, choose a few vocab words from the list provided and post them on a display board. I've highlighted the words I decided to use. Go over the words talking about definition and ask the participants to repeat them back to you for an added exposure to the new words.
Then, ask students to listen for those words as you read. If they hear a word from the board, they should raise their hand. The first person to raise their hand and recite the vocab word Award a sticker to each child’s vocab chart when a word is correctly recognized.
These charts will be given to the participants at the end of the 5-week program.
Activity I: Team Game Show
The following are examples of games to be played during this activity. Split your group of players into two teams and keep score!
Paper airplane relay - 50pts
Fold many paper airplanes ahead of time. (The kids in my program are young, so I ran a strip of stick glue along the final fold. My intention was to keep the participants from getting confused if the airplane happened to unfold during the game.) Place a basket/box or some other method of collection a few feet away from the starting line. Teams must rotate as quickly as they can through their lines, each throwing one paper airplane per turn into the basket at the other end of the room. The team with the most paper airplanes at the end of a 60 second time limit, wins.
Backpack relay- 50pts
Pack two backpacks with identical items - a foldable car travel map, a teddy bear (or other stuffed animal), and a flashlight. Give one to the first player on each team. Players must run to the designated place at another end of the room, unpack everything in the bag, unfold and refold the map, hug the teddy bear, flash the flashlight, repack the backpack, and run back to the starting line to hand the pack to the next person. The first team to get through all team members wins! (If teams are uneven, ask the first person on the team with fewer players to go twice.)
Balloon Pop Relay - 50pts
Arrange two lines of players and place a chair for each team a few feet away from the starting line. Give each participant a balloon. Each player must run to the chair, sit on and pop their balloon, run back and tag the next player on their team to do the same. The first team to pop all of their balloons, wins.
Beach Blanket Volleyball - 10pts/catch
Two or three members of each team hold the edges of a beach blanket. The other members of the team make a line a few feet away from their teammates behind the starting line holding a beach ball. The clock starts for 60 seconds and the teammembers will rotate through their lines, each throwing the beach ball to their teammates across the room to catch in their blanket. After each toss, the team member that threw the ball will retrieve the ball and pass it on to the next player in the line. Play continues until the 60 seconds are up. A staff member must keep track of how many successful catches were made and award the appropriate number of points to that team.
Straw Rocket Wars - 50pts
Make a bunch of straw rockets ahead of time. Using masking tape, make a line that will separate the room in half. Place Team 1 on one side of the line and Team 2 on the other. Sprinkle an even number of straw rockets on each side of the line. The object of the game is to shoot as many straw rockets into the other team's area as possible. The team with the LEAST amount of straw rockets at the end of the game, wins. (It may be helpful to place a second line on each side of the middle line that players cannot cross. This may help to keep them from straddling the center of the room.)
Lava Island - 50pts
Blindfold one member of each team. Drop red squares of construction paper on the floor and two stuffed animals. The object of the game is for each team to guide their blindfolded teammate through the laval landmine and to the designated stuffed animal by shouting instructions from the starting line. Spin the blindfolded teammate in a few circles before starting the game. Be sure to point them in the right direction before the game starts. The team that steps on the least amount of lava spots, wins!
Snack: Rice Crispie Treats
Be sure to ask your participants about special dietary needs before scheduling your snacks!
Extension: Collect and Color
If extra time remains, allow children to finish coloring any of the trading cards they didn’t get to at the beginning of the program.
