Sea Survival Stories - Sharks, Submarines and Ships Oh My!

*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my Disclosure Page for details.

We love reading and hands on learning so of course I couldn't resist participating in another online book club. The last Thursday of every month I will be joining some of my Usborne friends in the Story Corner Blog Hop. Each month there will be a theme and I will share one of our favorite Usborne books and a hands on learning activity to go along with it.

Make sure you also follow my Usborne Facebook page where I share about literacy tips, book deals, giveaways, new arrivals, upcoming party information and more.  - Kathys Cluttered Book Nook.

Book:
This month's theme was beaches/oceans so the book I chose to share with you is called True Survival Stories. This book is part of the True Stories Collection which are great chapter books for children ages 9 years and older. True Survival Stories features 10 stories, 4 of which involve the ocean. From shark attacks and blazing airships to exploding spacecraft and sinking submarines, these are real stories of people who have stared death in the face and lived to tell the tale.  The book is a 100 page  paperback and costs just $4.99.

Be sure to also check out these other shark and ship resources from Usborne.

• A Shiver of Sharks
• Extreme Adventures - Shark
• Shark Excavation Kit
• Sharks Level 1 Reader
• Shark Fact Cards
• Sharks Lift-the-Flap
• Shark in the Park - Phonics Readers
• Warships
• Titanic
  

Craft:

We decided to do a shark craft to go along with this book.

Materials:

• 3 Paper Plates
• Wiggle Eyes
• Markers or Paint
• Glue

Instructions:

1. Fold the 1st paper plate in half, this is the body/jaws. Fold the 2nd paper plate in half then cut it in half to make the fin. Glue the pieces together in the middle.
2. Cut triangles out of the 3rd paper plate, these are the teeth. Also cut a large oval out of the 3rd paper place, then cut it in half to make the eyes. 
3. Color or paint all the pieces gray.
4. Glue the fin piece to the top of the 1st paper plate along with the eyes on each side of the fin. Glue wiggle eyes on the semi ovals. Glue the teeth around the opening on the 1st paper plate. 
5. Have fun with your shark puppet.

Free Resources:
Head over to Camp Google and check out all the resources from Ocean Week including a live dive with National Geographic Explorers. (The live dive is over but you can watch the recording and still complete the activities)

Story Corner

Each month we feature different themed books and corresponding activities! This month’s theme is summer so make sure you check out all the other posts from my blogger friends!

Treasure Island-Inspired Compass Treasure Hunt from Line Upon Line Learning
Free Ocean Matching Pack from Life Over at C's

Summertime Fun - Learn How Flowers Grow

*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my Disclosure Page for details.

We love reading and hands on learning so of course I couldn't resist participating in another online book club. The last Thursday of every month I will be joining some of my Usborne friends in the Story Corner Blog Hop. Each month there will be a theme and I will share one of our favorite Usborne books and a hands on learning activity to go along with it.

Make sure you also follow my Usborne Facebook page where I share about literacy tips, book deals, giveaways, new arrivals, upcoming party information and more.  - Kathys Cluttered Book Nook.

Book:
This month's theme was summer and nothing says summer better than flowers! So the book I chose to share with you is called, "How flowers grow." This book is part of the beginner series and features easy- to-read text which has been specifically written with the help of a reading expert. The book covers a wide variety of topics including: How do flowers grow in dry deserts? How do animals help to spread seeds? Which flower smells like rotting meat? And like all Usborne books the illustrations and diagrams are bold and beautiful. In the back of the book there is a glossary, website links and an index. The book is a 32 page hardback and costs just $4.99.

Craft:

We got the inspiration for our craft project from the Summer Activities Usborne book which is now out of print. However there are several other Usborne activity books available which have similar craft ideas.

Materials:

• Tissue paper
• Scissors
• Pipe cleaners or bendable straws
• Pom poms

Instructions:

1. Cut a 5 x 11 inch piece of tissue paper and fold it in half length wise.
2. Next fold the paper in half, short sides together.
3. Then fold it in half again, short sides together. 
4. Make long cuts from the bottom edge (where openings are) to the top edge (where creases are) but do not cut all the way to the top creases. Be sure to cut through all the layers of the tissue paper.
5. Open the paper carefully and lay it flat with the cut edge at the top. 
6. Tape one uncut end to a bendable straw or pipe cleaner and roll it tightly around the straw.
7. Fasten the loose end with tape and pull down all the cut ends to make the petals.
8. Glue a pom pom onto the center. 

More Resources:

Visit my flower unit study post for even more resources and craft ideas.

Free Journal Pages:
Here is an flower journal page that goes along great with books on flowers. Download your copy here or click the picture below.

Story Corner

Each month we feature different themed books and corresponding activities! This month’s theme is summer so make sure you check out all the other posts from my blogger friends!

15 Seashore Inspired Kid Crafts from Bombshell Bling

Summertime Fun - Learn How Flowers Grow from Kathy's Cluttered Mind

Mud Painting from Line Upon Line Learning

Summer Explorations from Whatsoever is Lovely Living

Glow in the Dark Ocean Bottle from Sunny Day Family

Free Printable Camping Journal from To the Moon and Back

A Pirate Ship Summer Adventure from Pichea Place

Poisonous Animals Book and Itsy Bitsy Spider Craft

*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my Disclosure Page for details.

We love reading and hands on learning so of course I couldn't resist participating in another online book club. The last Thursday of every month I will be joining some of my Usborne friends in the Story Corner Blog Hop. Each month there will be a theme and I will share one of our favorite Usborne books and a hands on learning activity to go along with it.

Make sure you also follow my Usborne Facebook page where I share about literacy tips, book deals, giveaways, new arrivals, upcoming party information and more.  - Kathys Cluttered Book Nook.

Book:
Poisonous Animals is part of the Usborne Beginners set (only $4.99 each). This is probably one of my  children's favorite Usborne sets. Each book is jam packed with information and includes a glossary and website recommendations. In the Poisonous Animals book children learn about why animals have poison, what happens when a snake bites, why wasps sting and more. The font in the Usborne Beginners set is large and easy to read and the paragraphs are concise making these books perfect for beginning readers...or you can use them as a read aloud too. And you won't have to worry about children loosing interest because the images are bright and beautiful and encourage children to continue reading to learn more!

Craft:

For our craft we made spider webs...they also make great dream catchers. These are so simple to make and are a great complimenting craft for spider, Halloween and Native American books.

Materials:

• Black or white paper plate (we used small 6" plates)
• Hole punch
• Yarn
• Mini toy spiders (we used glow in the dark spiders for an added effect)

Instructions:

1. Cut the center out of the plate (this part may require adult supervision). When I we made ours I had to cut about 40 plates for a group so I used my scrapbooking circle cutter and it worked great!
2. Punch holes around the outside of the paper plate. For a small plate punch about 12 evenly spaced holes.
3. Weave yarn through the holes in any pattern. If the children wish to hang the web up you will want to have them leave a piece dangling. 
4. Add a mini toy spider onto the web. 

Free Journal Pages:
Here is an arachnid journal page that goes along great with books on spiders. Download your copy here or click the picture below.

Story Corner

Each month we feature different themed books and corresponding activities! This month’s theme is animals so make sure you check out all the other posts!

Mix and Match Animal Game

Poisonous Animals and Itsy Bitsy Spider Craft

Dogs, Dogs! Memory Matching Game

Reading With George

Shark Sight Words

Activity Basket for Kids: I Can Draw Animals!

Panda Bear Play Dough Fun

Farmyard Tales Sticker Stories

Sea Animal Paper Plate Aquariums