Color Your Own Flower Pot and Storytime

 I thought having a flower pot craft and flower storytime aligns pretty well with our summer reading theme, so I went with it. There's tons of flower picture books and who wouldn't enjoy decorating and planting their own flower seeds?

Our celebration of flowers started with the book Lucy's Blooms by Dawn Babb Prochovnic. Lucy enters a flower contest only to get disappointed, but quickly learns that it's the joy of caring for her flowers and someone and something that is the most special. I like how this book touches upon the patience and process of growing and nurturing something. 

The next and final book I read was What Dos Bunny See? by Linda Sue Park. This is just a sweet and simple book that rhymes and is about flowers and colors. Perfect for this theme. 

I was able to find plastic flower pots on Oriental Trading that allowed the kids to be able to color and design the paper that was inside of it. The paper had flowers so the kids could color them in, but there was also an option of just having blank sheets so they could color any design they wanted. I definitely liked this option for a supply bag and maybe would have done terra cotta pots and paint if in person. 

I enjoyed this program because it mixes stories, the summer reading theme, and nature and planting seeds all together. 

Magical Mermaid Storytime

 I always wanted to do a mermaid storytime and the day has come! 

For my first book shared, I chose Mermaid School by Joanne Stewart Wetzel. This book is really fun to read out loud and let's imaginations go wild when you wonder how mermaids are in school. 

My next mermaid book read was Coral by Molly Idle. Unique illustrations and a great message about acceptance, handling anger, and enjoying the help and company of others. 

We took a break from reading by counting fish on the flannel board and pointing out their different colors.

Afterwards, it was time to read our last book, Can I Give You a Squish? by Emily Neilson. I love this book and purposely picked it because it's about a mer-boy, so my boy listeners could relate to it more and feel included. I also like this book because it explains to children that sometimes others don't like hugs and to be touched but that there are other ways to welcome and be friendly to each other. 

Since we were done with our last book for storytime, it was time for our craft. I found these adorable seashell crowns that could be decorated and colored and worn on each child. 

I would definitely do this theme again because the books are so much fun!