Chapter Book and Activities for GIRLS

Book: “IVY & BEAN and the Ghost that Had to Go”

Activity: When I asked my 9 year old what book we should send for the book exchange this year – she immediately said to send an “Ivy & Bean” book!  The “Ivy & Bean” books actually lend themselves very well to an activity, because the girls in the books are active, creative and imaginative.  My daughter chose “IVY & BEAN and the Ghost that Had to Go” because she thought it would be a fun activity to make a potion, as the girls do in the book.  This type of activity is a great way to engage younger elementary school children in a creative and scientific process at the same time.  It can involve color mixing, dissolving solids in to liquids, the use of scents and more.  Our package includes some of the ingredients that could be used  (food coloring, glitter glue and fine gitter, cinnamon sticks, cloves, baking soda, eye droppers, small containers and a potion jar).  Just add water!

We also added “Model Magic” clay for a second activity, as the girls in the book give the gift of a fossil to the ghost in the book.  I thought it would be a great summer activity to use the clay to make impressions of things found outdoors in nature.  The clay could be used over and over in a sealed container; or let air-dry for a permanent fossil.

My daughter’s favorite book is The Last of the Really Great Wangdoodles by Julie Andrews (you know, Mary Poppins). In it are all sorts of crazy and fanciful creatures, so my daughter decided that her partner might want to create a “photo” album where she could draw them and keep them all straight. We used our Silhouette machine to cut out the pieces our partner would need to create her own beautiful picture album as well as tags on which to create her pictures. We also included fancy glitter crayons to get her started on the pictures and decorating the album itself.

Love Books Package Creator: Tara from Feels Like Home