Scaredy Squirrel Party!

Last night our library held a Scaredy Squirrel Party in honor of Fire Prevention Week.  I was originally going to do a fire safety theme, but decided that Scaredy Squirrel was a lot more fun!  We ended up with 22 kids from 1st – 3rd grade in attendance on what ended up as a really dark and rainy night.AS the kids came to check-in and get a nametag, they received a packet of papers for the evening.  On the front page was a Scaredy Squirrel maze from the story Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach.  This kept most of the kids occupied as we waited for everyone to arrive!

Once the program started, I read aloud the first Scaredy Squirrel book.  I would say over half the kids had read a Scaredy Squirrel book before, but it’s always fun to share a new character with kids.  This book is absolutely hilarious and the kids were laughing and giggling and participating as I read the book.  Our favorite part was when Scaredy Squirrel panicked… at this point in the book we raised our hands above our heads shook them around and screamed.  After we read the story, I had the kids use crayons to create their own emergency kits.  The kids were all really inventive and took some time to think about what they wanted to add.  Finally, the kids participated in a squirrel obstacle course.  The obstacle course involved balancing an acorn on a spoon while weaving between leaves on the ground, followed by dropping the acorn into a “hole” which was really a bucket, then pitting on a squirrel tail and balancing along a tree branch using the heel-to-toe method.  The tree branch?  A line of masking tape on the floor.  And the squirrel tail?  A pool noodle cut in half with some elastic run through it.  The kids put their feet in the elastic circle and pulled it up to their waist.

Overall, I think the program was a HUGE success, we had a lot of kids asking to check out more Scaredy Squirrel books and plenty left home with a smile on their face, while others signed up for more of our upcoming programs.  If you need some other ideas, check out the Scaredy Squirrel website!  The website has an adorable Scaredy Squirrel video up right now about having a safe Halloween, it’s adorable!