• to provide a storytime or other activity to occupy the children during the parent preparation time.

Staff member:

• to prepare parents to read "Picnic" with their children.
  
• to demonstrate how to make edible butterflies.
  
• to collect participant evaluation forms at the end of the program.

Parent Preparation:
Work with the parents to do a "pre-reading" activity. The "pre-reading" activity is the presentation of questions that relate to the subject of the book or to the topic of the activity. These questions are asked and discussed before reading the book.

Pre-Reading Activity
These are questions to ask the parents before reading the book.
Ask parents:

• How does a lost child feel? How does a parent feel when his or her child is lost? How do brothers or sisters feel?
• Have you ever gone on a picnic? Where do you go for your picnics? What do you like to do on a picnic? What foods do you like to eat on a picnic? Who goes with you on a picnic?

Note to the Facilitator: The pages in the book have been numbered so that it is easier to refer to events in the story without describing the pictures.

Model reading "Picnic"
Parents can share books.
Have the parents look at the book's cover and share what they think the book is going to be about.
Have the parents look at page 1, the inside cover, and share what the mice are doing in the picture.
After looking at pages 1-3, ask the parents to think of a family name for all the mice and give names to the major characters (mother, father, grandmother, grandfather and the young child).
(Possible responses: The Fur Family with Ma, Pa, Grammy, Grampy, and Little Squeaky.)

Note to the Facilitator: There are 13 characters in the mouse family. A mother, wearing a blue and white scarf; father; grandmother, wearing glasses; grandfather, wearing glasses and a hat and using a cane; and 9 children, the youngest carrying a pink doll.

Take the parents page by page through the book, creating a verbal story about the book's pictures. Model the predicting strategy by asking the parents what they think will happen next at some turning points in the story.
Specifically, ask them what will happen next:
Page 5 - After the youngest mouse falls out of the truck - What's going to happen to the mouse who fell out of the truck? Will the rest of the family notice that the mouse fell out?
Page 12 - Ma and Pa are watching the family enjoying the picnic -- Do you think anyone is going to notice that the youngest mouse is missing? When will someone notice?
Page 15 - The youngest mouse is looking at the raspberry bushes - What is the mouse going to do? What would you do?
Page 17 - Ma is calling to the family to eat lunch - Do you think anyone is going to notice that the youngest mouse is missing? When will someone notice? Why them?
Page 27 - The youngest mouse drops her doll and walks away without seeming to notice - What happened to the doll? Do you think the mouse knows she dropped her doll? When will she realize she lost it?

In addition to exploring how and when the predicting strategy may be used, the feelings of the characters can also be explored. For example:
Page 6 - How does the mouse feel watching the truck drive away?
Page 7 - What is the mouse feeling? How would you be feeling if you were the one that was lost?
Pages 22 & 23 - How is everyone feeling? How would you be feeling if your child was missing?
Pages 28 & 29 - How does everyone feel?

Make the suggestion that to help tell the story and encourage predicting the parents can write on post-it's the story's text or questions to ask about what will happen next. The post-its can then be put on the appropriate page. The post-it text and questions will help parents to remember what they want to say or ask.

Discussion: How the Parents Can Work With the Children
Have the parents share what questions they can ask their children to elicit predictions concerning what is going to happen next. Share where in the story predicting questions can be asked. Stress that when predicting, its not important if the guesses are correct. It is the aim of the predicting strategy to have parents involve their children in thinking actively about what they are reading.

Additionally, the parents can be reminded of the pages that they can refer to when discussing how the characters are feeling.

Stress that personal insight is also important. Parents can encourage their children to put themselves into the missing mouse's place, and tell how they would react if they were lost.

This discussion time should be a time of clarification and review for the parents of the techniques the parents experienced during the modeling of the reading activity. This time is intended to build the parents ability and confidence for working with their children.

How To Make the Edible Butterfly
The candied "fruit slice" will form the body of the butterfly. It is shaped like a slice of apple or orange, a three dimensional arc.
Cut two slits diagonally and lengthwise into the wide part of the candied "fruit slice," into the thickest part of the arc.
Press a pretzel into each slit to form the wings.
Use the frosting for glue and attach a small gumdrop to the candied "fruit slice" for the head.
Cut two short strips of the licorice and attach with frosting to the gumdrop as antenna.
Spread some frosting on the butterfly's back and shake on cake sprinkles for decoration.
Mistakes can be eaten!

Description of Family Activity:
In parent-child pairs, parents will read "Picnic" with their children.
In parent-child pairs, parents will guide their children in making the edible butterflies.

Note to Facilitator: Limited English adults may want to do the family activity in their native language. Since it is hoped that these activities will enhance parent-child communication, they should use any language in which they are comfortable.

Recommended Age of Children:
Three to ten year old children. This activity crosses a large age range because the activity is simply fun, appropriate at any age.

Ways to Alter Activity for Younger or Older Siblings:
It is not necessary to use the post-its. Simplify the language used to describe the emotions for younger children.
The making of the edible butterfly is a project on which both the parents and children can work. If one or another does more of the work, it does not matter.

Extension Activity:
Talk about the displayed books and hand out the prepared lists of related books.
Talk about where to find the wordless or limited text books in the library.
Encourage parents to borrow children's cookbooks and to explore making some of the fun foods together.
Hand out a sheet explaining how to make "Ants on a Log."

• Cut celery into 2 inch pieces (the logs).
• Put peanut butter into the hollow of the celery.
• Put raisins along the peanut butter (the ants).

Related Books:
Books written by Emily Arnold McCully: "First Snow," "Mouse Practice," "Mirette on the High Wire," "Grandmas at Bat," "Hurry!" She also illustrated "How to Eat Fried Worms" by Thomas Rockwell and "Rabbit Pirates: A Tale of the Spinach Main," by Judy Cox.

Evaluation:
There is a brief Participant Evaluation Survey included in the Facilitator's Guide.
These can be completed in writing or orally (by interview of staff one to one or in a group) depending on the English reading and writing abilities of the participants.
Explain that by telling us what they liked and what they didn't like, they help us put together better activities and they teach their children to think about what they liked.
The Participant Evaluation form asks about their satisfaction level and what they learned about reading wordless books, specifically using the predicting strategy.
It asks what they plan to do with what they learned. It asks for their suggestions to improve this activity and suggestions for future activities.

To make suggestions and comments, email: ccolletti@ilsos.net

Notes to Myself - Lessons Learned for Next Time:

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