Lego

Introduction

      ·         Introduce Lego Theme

Jokes

      ·         Jokes on PowerPoint (3)

Icebreaker

      ·         Lego Bingo

Read Aloud

      ·         The LEGO Book by Daniel Lipkowitz

Activity
      ·         Bricks 4 Kidz

Craft

      ·         Lego Storage Jars

Snack
      ·         Lego Jell-O

Mother Goose Games

Introduction

      ·         Introduce Mother Goose Games Theme

Jokes

      ·         Jokes on PowerPoint (3)

Icebreaker

      ·         Parachute

o   Play a recording of "The Grand Old Duke of York." Lift the parachute up and down according to the lyrics.

Read Aloud

      ·         The Stinky Cheese Man and other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka

Activity
      ·         Nursery Rhyme Olympics

o   Hey Diddle, Diddle Egg and Spoon Race
o   Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star Sort
o   Hickory Dickory Dock Count
o   Jack be Nimble Hurdles
o   Humpty Dumpty Puzzles
o   Jack & Jill Bean Bag Toss

Craft

      ·         Itsy Bitsy Spider Hand Puppet

Snack
      ·         Porridge

Olympics

Introduction

      ·         Introduce Olympics Theme

Jokes

      ·         Jokes on PowerPoint (4)

Icebreaker

      ·         Awards Ceremony

o   Have each kid represent a participating country and award medals accordingly.

Read Aloud

      ·         Olympics! by B.G. Hennessy

Activity
      ·         Olympic Ring Toss

o   Variation of a “Ring Toss”

Craft

      ·         Ceremonial Torch

Snack
      ·         Gatorade

Happy Noon Year

Introduction

      ·         Introduce Happy Noon Year Theme

Jokes

      ·         Jokes on PowerPoint (4)

Icebreaker

      ·         New Year's Resolutions

o   Have each kid promise to start doing something good or stop doing something bad in the coming year.

Read Aloud

      ·         Goodbye Old Year, Hello New Year by Frank Modell

Activity
      ·         Balloon Drop

o   Play the song "Auld Lang Syne" by Guy Lombardo. Countdown to a balloon drop at noon. Give kids noisemakers to ring in the new year.

Craft

      ·         Party Hats

Snack
      ·         Ginger Ale

Kentucky Derby

Introduction

      ·         Introduce Kentucky Derby Theme

Jokes

      ·         Jokes on PowerPoint (3)

Icebreaker

      ·         Betting Window

o   Have each kid draw a ticket with the name of a horse entered in the race. After the race, the kid that drew the name of the winning horse gets a prize.

Read Aloud

      ·         Seabiscuit the Wonder Horse  by Meghan McCarthy

Activity
      ·         Run for the Roses

o   Announce the start of the race by playing "My Old Kentucky Home." Have the kids race while riding stick horses. Crown the winner with a garland of roses.

Craft

      ·         Paper Plate Hats

Snack
      ·         Derby Pie

Jurassic Park

Introduction

      ·         Introduce Jurassic Park Theme

Jokes

      ·         Jokes on PowerPoint (3)

Icebreaker

      ·         Whatsaurus

o   Make fossils by using clay imprinted with the impression of dinosaur figurines. Have kids guess what type of dinosaur was used to make each fossil.

Read Aloud

      ·         When Dinosaurs Came with Everything by Elise Broach

Activity
      ·         Sand Box Dig

o   Have kids excavate dinosaur bones out of a sand box using paintbrushes.

Craft

      ·         Dinosaur Eggs

Snack
      ·         Amber Jell-O

Indiana Jones

Introduction

      ·         Introduce Indiana Jones Theme

Jokes

      ·         Jokes on PowerPoint (3)

Icebreaker

      ·         Snake Pit

o   Variation of "Hot Potato" using a rubber snake.

Read Aloud

      ·         Indy's Adventures by Lindsay Kent

Activity
      ·         Stepping Stones

o   Variation of "Hopscotch" where kids must spell out "Indiana."

Craft

      ·         Whips

Snack
      ·         Jell-O Monkey Brains

Construction

Introduction

      ·         Introduce Construction Theme

Jokes

      ·         Jokes on PowerPoint (3)

Icebreaker

      ·         Demolition Ball Bowling

o   Variation of "Bowling"

Read Aloud

      ·         Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker

Activity
      ·         Construction Zone

o   Variation of a "Wheelbarrow Race" with a caution tape finish line.

Craft

      ·         Hammer & Nails

Snack
      ·         Dirt Cake

Caves

Introduction

      ·         Introduce Caves Theme

Jokes

      ·         Jokes on PowerPoint (3)

Icebreaker

      ·         Mining for Magnets

o   Hide magnetic chips in a sand box. Have kids use magnetic wands to locate the chips. The kid that collects the most chips is the winner.

Read Aloud

      ·         Cave Baby by Julia Donaldson

Activity
      ·         Panning for Gold

o   Give each kid a pie tin with holes drilled through the bottom. Have kids sift through a sand box using the pie tins to find fake gems.

Craft

      ·         Cave Drawings

Snack
      ·         Rice Krispies Coal
      ·         Red Licorice TNT

Buried Treasure

Introduction

      ·         Introduce Buried Treasure Theme

Jokes

      ·         Jokes on PowerPoint (3)

Icebreaker

      ·         Walk the Plank

o   Have kids walk across a wooden plank elevated above a kiddie pool filled with water.

Read Aloud

      ·         The Green Bath by Margaret Mahy

Activity
      ·         Treasure Hunt

o   Variation of a "Scavenger Hunt"

Craft

      ·         Spyglasses

Snack
      ·         Chocolate Gold Nuggets

Archaeology

Introduction

      ·         Introduce Archaeology Theme

Jokes

      ·         Jokes on PowerPoint (3)

Icebreaker

      ·         Fossil Formation

o   Have kids insert a few gummy bears between two slices of bread. Then place all the bread under a stack of books. Later, have kids separate the slices of bread and examine the impressions left by the gummy bears.

Read Aloud

      ·         Big Old Bones by Carol Carrick

Activity
      ·         Cookie Excavation

o   Have each kid extract the chocolate chips from a cookie using only toothpicks.

Craft

      ·         Handprint Fossils

Snack
      ·         Pop Rocks

Movie Night

Introduction

      ·         Introduce Movie Night Theme

Jokes

      ·         Jokes on PowerPoint (3)

Icebreaker

      ·         Red Carpet

o   Have kids walk a red carpet and give autographs while being photographed by parents posing as paparazzi.

Read Aloud

      ·         Amelia Makes a Movie by David Milgrim

Activity
      ·         Drive in Movie

o   Have kids “drive in” to a movie screening on their bicycles.

Craft

      ·         Hollywood Walk of Fame Stars

Snack
      ·         Popcorn

NASA

Introduction

      ·         Introduce NASA Theme

Jokes

      ·         Jokes on PowerPoint (3)

Icebreaker

      ·         Blast Off

o   Have a countdown to a rocket launch.

Read Aloud

      ·         If You Decide to Go to the Moon by Faith McNulty

Activity
      ·         Abort Mission

o   Have kids perform synchronized activities with a parachute.

Craft

      ·         Jet Packs

Snack
      ·         Astronaut Ice Cream

Astronomy

Introduction

      ·         Introduce Astronomy Theme

Jokes

      ·         Jokes on PowerPoint (3)

Icebreaker

      ·         Zodiac Symbols

o   Assign the appropriate zodiac symbol to each kid based on their birthday.

Read Aloud

      ·         Stars by Mary Lyn Ray

Activity
      ·         Planetarium

o   Have kids identify stars in a simulated night sky.

Craft

      ·         Hole Punch Constellations

Snack
      ·         Milky Ways

Camping

Introduction

      ·         Introduce Camping Theme

Jokes

      ·         Jokes on PowerPoint (3)

Icebreaker

      ·         Parachute Tent

o   Have kids form a tent around them with the parachute.

Read Aloud

      ·         Lights Out! by John Himmelman

Activity
      ·         Pillow Case Race

o   Variation of a “Potato Sack Race”

Craft

      ·         Tealight Lanterns

Snack
      ·         S’mores

Glow in the Dark

Introduction

      ·         Introduce Glow in the Dark Theme

Jokes

      ·         Jokes on PowerPoint (3)

Icebreaker

      ·         Glow in the Dark Hopscotch

o   Variation of “Hopscotch”

Read Aloud

      ·         Blackout by John Rocco

Activity
      ·         Glow in the Dark Bowling

o   Variation of “Bowling”

Craft

      ·         Glow Stick Lanterns

Snack
      ·         Glow in the Dark Jell-O

Star Wars

Introduction

      ·         Introduce Star Wars Theme

Jokes

      ·         Jokes on PowerPoint (4)

Icebreaker

      ·         Meet & Greet with the 501^st Legion

Read Aloud

      ·         Luke Skywalker’s Amazing Story by Simon Beecroft

Activity
      ·         Duel with Darth Vader

o   Have kids duel with Darth Vader using inflatable light sabers.

Craft

      ·         Origami Yodas

Snack
      ·         Death Star Fruit

Bubbles

Introduction

      ·         Introduce Bubbles Theme

Jokes

      ·         Jokes on PowerPoint (3)

Icebreaker

      ·         Megabubble

o   Encase kids in a giant bubble using a kiddie pool filled with bubble solution.

Read Aloud

      ·         Bubble Trouble by Margaret Mahy

Activity
      ·         Pop the Bubbles

o   Variation of a “Balloon Stomp”

Craft

      ·         Water Bottle Bubble Blowers

Snack
      ·         Bubble Gum

Titanic

Introduction

      ·         Introduce Titanic Theme

Jokes

      ·         Jokes on PowerPoint (3)

Icebreaker

      ·         Boarding Pass

o   Assign each kid the name of a passenger aboard the Titanic

o   Write names on nametags for kids to wear

o   Tell them if they were survivors or victims of the tragedy

Read Aloud

      ·         The Story of the Titanic by Deborah Heiligman

Activity
      ·         Melt the Iceberg

o   Divide kids into two teams. Give each team an ice cube. Each kid must rub the ice cube until their hands get too cold and then pass it to the next kid in line. The first team to melt the ice cube wins.

Craft

      ·         Paper Plate Portholes

Snack
      ·         Life Savers

Race Cars

Introduction

      ·         Introduce Race Cars Theme

Jokes

      ·         Jokes on PowerPoint (3)

Icebreaker

      ·         Red Light, Green Light

Read Aloud

      ·         If I Built a Car by Chris Van Dusen

Activity
      ·         Car Wash

o   Have kids pretend to be cars and drive through a “car wash” made out of a tunnel and crepe paper streamers. At the same time, have the other kids blow sudsy bubbles into the tunnel.

Craft

      ·         Pinewood Derby Cars & Checkered Flags

Snack
      ·         Hot Rod Pretzels