2nd Grade Field Trip to the Library

Today was the annual second grade field trip to the library for one of our local schools!  There were three second grade classes that rotated through the library this afternoon.  The sessions were about 20 minutes in length.  I wanted to keep everything fast paced, engaging, and fun for them!

It was really fun to host these students, teachers, and caregivers at our library today.  I really enjoyed getting to engage with them and have the library be one of the fun "stops" of their field trip.

Horse Riddle

Credit: Riddles for Kids

I am a type of animal
Some say that I have a long face
I’m very good at running fast
So people ride me in a race
(horse)

Book: Princess and the Pony by Kate Beaton

Activity: Draw the Pony

Materials neeed:

• paper plate
• crayola washable marker

Instructions:
Participants will uncap the marker and place the paper plate on top of their head.  When you say "sweater" they will begin drawing the pony!  The only rule for this game is that participants must leave the paper plate on top of their head until the leader of the game says "done!"

Participants enjoyed looking at their "ponies" when they were finished.  There was a great deal of laughter as a result of this activity.  Some of the ponies looked more like potatoes or M&Ms with legs.  I had a recycling bin handy for those that didn't want to keep their pony drawing.

Pumpkin Riddle

Credit: Riddles for Kids

I have seeds but I’m not a watermelon
I can be made into a pie but I’m not an apple
I can be carved but I’m not roast beef
I’m orange but I’m not an orange
I’m associated with a patch but I’m not an eye
(pumpkin)

Activity: Life Cycle of a Pumpkin 

I used this pumpkin life cycle clipart from Ashley Hughes Design on Teachers Pay Teachers to create large 8x10 cards of the pumpkin life cycle.  I asked for some volunteers and gave them 30 seconds to put the life cycle cards in order.

Book: Llama Destroys the World by Jonathan Stutzman

Book Riddle

Credit: Riddles for Kids

A spine, no knees
Full of stories
You will find these
In libraries 
(book)

Activity: Shadow Character Hunt

The final activity was a "Guess Who" Book Character scavenger hunt.  The idea came from the one and only, Jbrary.  I adapted the activity a bit for our purposes. 

I hid the book characters around our department and focused on areas closest to our storyhour room so that the participants didn't have to go very far to find each character, especially since they were on a time limit.  When they completed the activity, I gave them a bookmark to take home with them.

I also made sure to write down where I head each character so I could give clues to anyone that was having difficulty locating that particular character.