“Every night the boy watched the stars from his window and wished he had one of his very own.”  ~Oliver Jeffers, How To Catch A Star.

Every once in a while, a children’s author/illustrator comes along that grabs hold of my heart. Oliver Jeffers is one of those. I will buy a Jeffers book without even opening the first page. I just know it’s going to be great.

We have had How To Catch A Star on our bookshelf for quite a few weeks now and it has not been getting the attention I feel it deserves. Today, we changed that.

I gathered the smalls together and we read the words and poured over the beautiful illustrations…We followed the boy on his journey to catch a star of his very own…The smalls especially thought the spaceship was a good idea, and wondered why the boy didn’t just go and get more fuel!They were so hopeful as the boy tried to reach in the water for that one little star…and soooo disappointed when he couldn’t quite get to it…When the book was finished, I gathered them at the water table where we all could try to catch our very own stars. One of the boys thought this was very smart, because the stars would have a chance to cool down in the water before he touched them with his hands! This activity was so simple to put together, it took only minutes. If you don’t have a water table, you can use a big plastic bin, a bathtub, or a kiddie pool!

Here is how we did it…

I used glue dots to stick magnets to the little plastic stars. You can get these stars at the dollar store…we have had ours for ages and have used them in countless different activities.The fishing rods were also very simple. I tied a string to a stick! Then I tied a magnet to the end of the string. These rods worked so well, I am going to keep them for future fishing expeditions!Once each child had a rod, they went fishing! They began to see how many stars they could catch in one try. The excitement amongst the toddlers was delightful to see…

Then they would use their pudgy little hands to remove the stars from the end of their lines…And the counting would commence! I think the record amount of stars caught on one line was 6!!Here is the face of the one who established that record…

I realize I could have just read the story to them and moved on. That certainly would have been simpler and less work for me. But by providing a tactile experience, whether it’s complicated or simple, the smalls will remember this story long after the book is closed. We learn by doing. And this morning at breakfast, they were discussing how they could try to catch a real star to keep on their beds at night…maybe they could design a shrink-ray, or a machine that made the stars fall, or they could use a butterfly net! Oh, the ideas!!

Speaking of ideas…it’s your turn to share yours! It’s the Weekly Kid’s Co-op, and we’d sure like to see what you’ve been doing this week! Link your kid-friendly activity up at the bottom! And when you’re finished, have a look around at the other bloggers who have already linked up. If you don’t have a blog, come and have a browse! There are so many ideas out there from so many creative people! Enjoy!

Click on the blue guy below to link up!…

Thanks for stopping by!

~Arlee, Small Potatoes