‘Harold and the Purple Crayon’ by Crockett Johnson is such a lovely story! I made the original Storysack back in 2005 but it didn’t have a game and the activity book and crayons were damaged…time for an update! I made a board game, drawing little scenes in the style of the book – then I made a fabric bedroom scenery with a little sheet sewn on so you can put Harold in bed! – I love the challenge of finding non-fiction information books to complement the stories, ‘Me on the map’ by Joan Sweeny was perfect. Introducing children to maps and geography, the little girl shows readers herself in a map of her room, her room on a map of her house, her house on the map of the street, the street on a map of the town, the town on a map of the country, the country (USA) on the map of the world (I added UK label here!) and then she explains how to use maps in diferent ways.
Today’s make, glue and mends
This evening I made some replacement game cards and dino character, ready for Storysacks tomorrow. These 6 pieces will put 6 Storysacks back into the library, ready for children and staff to use again!
Look out for the tiger coming to tea!
I’ve just finished putting together a new storysack, The Tiger Who Came To Tea (by Judith Kerr), which is on the Myatt Garden Early Years Booklist. A big furry storysack full of tea party goodies!
Two new Storysacks…
Ringo the Flamingo and No Room for a Baby Roo were gifted to the Storysacks Library by Myatt Garden Nursery (the sacks were part of a set purchased for the school by Lewisham Council some years ago). I made a new game for No Room for a Baby Roo but apart from that the sacks were in great condition – Ringo and Baby Roo are already proving to be a big hit with the children!
…recent make, glue and mends
Quite regularly I make batches of replacement game pieces – missing pieces put Storysacks out of action. Some years ago I scanned all the Storysack game pieces, so when pieces go missing I can print out a copy, glue it to cardboard and seal with more glue – making new pieces so that the games and Storysacks can continue to be used!
Occasionally I need to make replacement clothes for character pieces (because they have been lost or damaged), this week it was a new pair of pj’s for the lazy farmer in the Farmer Duck Storysack – a few weeks ago a tiny shirt for Nelligan in the Pig in the Pond Storysack. Recently most of Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs Storysack were lost, so I did some scanning (from the storybook), and drawing in Photoshop, to make ‘lollystick puppets’, then I found some great Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs activities online, improving the educational value of the sack too.
Hello ‘Messy Martin’…
Big thanks to Myatt Garden Nursery for giving us this fantastic Storysack!
Messy Martin is feeling rather sad, he can’t help spilling foood and it makes him oh so mad! But his ‘Super Gran’ has got a master plan! Find out how the plan saves the day for Martin…
There’s a ‘Shark in the Park’!
A ‘Shark in the Park’ storysack has recently been completed.
Funded by Myatt Garden P.T.A. it was made by Lisa, Storysacks Librarian. “It took 2 years to make it in my spare time, Timothy Pope’s hair and clothes were quite fiddly”.
This story is one of the Early Years Core Book List titles, with it’s brightly coloured illustrations it’s a big favourite with the children.
A new addition to the family
A new storysack for our library! I finished putting together this new storysack today – “So Much” is on the Early Years Core Reading List and Myatt Garden P.T.A. provided the funding for it. I spent my summer holiday embroidering this little chap’s hair and making his romper suit – I shall miss him sitting on my desk but he will be much loved by the children and teachers.
Peachy new Storysack!
This new Storysack Each Peach Pear Plum is a book on the Myatt Garden Early Years Core Reading List. Each Peach Pear Plum is an “I Spy” rhyming story, it’s lots of fun trying to find all the fairy-tale and nursery rhyme characters hiding in the pictures. Then you can make up your own stories with all the puppet characters! I had some funding to buy the game and books for this Storysack from Myatt Garden P.T.A. but the cloth sack and puppet theatre were made with leftover fabric I’ve had in my cupboard for years, it was great to find a good use for it.
This Is The Bear
This is a very popular story sack, which means it’s had a lot of wear and tear over the last 11 years. The game had lost too many pieces to be useable, so I looked around for a new one: Red Dog Blue Dog is a colour and shape lotto game which I hope everyone will enjoy playing.
When significant new pieces/replacements are added to a Storysack it has to be re-photographed, two new inventories and a new Photoblurb (the cards the children choose from) are made, plus changing the photo here on the website…..