Elementary Programs Chapter
Wild and Fantasical
Books to Share
- Favorite Medieval Tales by Mary Pope Osborne.
- Fire and Wings: Dragon Tales From East and West edited by Marianne Carus.
- Rumpelstiltskin Problem by Vivian Vande Velde.
- Wishing of Biddy Malone by Joy Cowley.
Books to Display or Booktalk
- Alien in a Bottle by Kathy Mackel.
- How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell.
- Inkheart by Cornelia Funke.
- Lionboy by Zizou Corder.
- Midnight for Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo.
- Sword of the Rightful King by Jane Yolen.
Displays
Display books with fantasy themes along with dragon puppets, magic wands, and other props.
Rhymes and Poetry
Read one or more entertaining poems from Monster Museum by Marilyn Singer, such as “The Mummy” and “Frankenstein’s Monster.”
The Dragons are Singing Tonight by Jack Prelutsky offers a wide variety of poems related to dragons that are sure to please school-aged children. Try reading aloud “I Am My Master’s Dragon” or “A Dragon’s Lament.”
Audio Recordings
- Inkheart by Cornelia Funke.
- Moorchild by Eloise McGraw.
- So You Want to be a Wizard? by Diane Duane.
Jokes/Riddles
- Q: What did King Arthur say to Sir Galahad at bedtime?
- A. Good knight.
- Q. Who was the angriest knight of the Round Table?
- A. Sir Rants-a-lot.
Crafts
Wizard or Princess Hat
(Adapted from Huzzah Means Hooray by Laurie Carlson)
Materials
- Poster board or large sheets of construction paper
- Scissors
- Glue
- Tape
- Crepe paper streamers (for princess hat)
- Self-adhesive stars (optional)
- Glitter pens (optional)
- Crayons or markers (optional)
Directions
Cut out the hat shape from poster board or from a large sheet of construction paper, as shown in the illustration above. Roll the circle into a cone to fit the child’s head. After determining the right size for the child’s head, use a pencil to mark where the hat will fit together. Let each child decorate his or her hat with crayons, markers, glitter pens, and stars. Roll the decorated paper and tape it to fit each child’s head to make a wizard hat. To convert it to a princess hat, tape or glue several strips of crepe paper streamers to the inside of the hat, before you tape it closed, so they hang out of the top.
Fire-Breathing Dragon
Materials
- Dragon pattern
- Card stock or sturdy paper, 8”x 10” or larger
- Pencils
- Scissors
- Green glitter pens (or other colors)
- Markers
- Red construction paper
- Black construction paper for background
- Glue
- Wiggly eyes
Directions
Copy the dragon pattern or encourage the children to create an original one. Pull books from the collection that contain pictures of dragons to help with the design. Let the children color the dragon with markers and use the green glitter pen to outline the dragon’s scales. Glue on wiggly eyes and cut out the dragon. Create flames from red construction paper and glue or tape them to the back of the dragon so that they appear to be shooting out from its mouth. Glue the dragon to a larger background sheet of paper.
Guest Speakers
Invite a magician or “wizard” to perform.
If there is a chapter of the Society for Creative Anachronism in your area, invite them to demonstrate dancing, music, and crafts from the Renaissance or Middle Ages. If you have the space, they might also demonstrate sword fighting. Check the Society for Creative Anachronism Web site at www.sca.org for your local group. Texas is in the Kingdom of the Outlands or The Stellar Kingdom of Ansteorra. You may be surprised at how many towns and cities, large and small, have Society members!
Videos/DVDs
If you have public performance rights, show these videos and DVDs to the children during a movie program. Otherwise, display them for home use.
- Fantasia. (125 minutes) Show the 9-minute segment about the Sorcerer’s Apprentice.
- Wishbone: Frankenbone. (20 minutes)
Web Sites
- Athropolis
- www.athropolis.com
This site provides an imaginary world set on an Arctic iceberg. In addition to information cited a variety of areas, the site provides stories, songs, and games dealing with this fantastical world.
- Kaboose
- www.kaboose.com
Games, clip art, and craft ideas involving fantasy and wizards are available at this site.
- Kids Reads
- www.Kidsreads.com/harrypotter/games.html
Lovers of fantasy, and Harry Potter fans in particular, will enjoy the trivia questions, word searches, and other games based on the Harry Potter books. This is also a great site for kids to learn about authors and upcoming books.
