KI DS NIGH T I N BOX
Y O U R B O X WAS T HO U G HT F U L L Y AN D C AR E F U L L Y P AC K E D IN OUR O W N F AC IL IT Y B Y T R I- DE V E L OP M E NT C E N T E R O F AIK E N C O U N T Y
Welcome to your Kids Night In! Welcome to your Kids Night In! Thanks for allowing us to come into your home and help you make memories with your little one(s)! Recently, I watched my four-year-old daughter fall off her bike. She was completely defeated. I felt my heart break as she learned that, sometimes, life is not as easy as she might hope. Our team at Kids Night In Box has cultivated a wonderful experience for you and your little one(s) to learn values such as perseverance, determination, resilience and—most importantly— standing tall in moments of defeat. As we continue to grow, we appreciate ALL social media sharing to help spread the word! We will be giving away a FREE Kids Night In Box to a lucky winner. To enter, simply share a picture on Instagram or Facebook using the hashtags #KidsNightInBox and #KNIStandTall. If you received this box as a gift, we would LOVE for you to continue your Kids Night In Box journey with us! We value all feedback, and we encourage you to reach out to us with any comments or concerns. Feel free to message us on Facebook or email us at customerservice@nightinboxes.com. All the best,
Megan Pruitt Founder, Kids Night In
Learning to Stand Tall Lets Get Cooking Enjoy this optional but amazing recipe for Gerald the Giraffe Bananas and Tropical Toast!
Reading Time Go on a journey with Gerald by reading Giraffes Can’t Dance!
Art Project Create your own handprint giraffe!
Jungle Treat Take a break and eat a delicious jungle snack!
Goal Chart Learn how to stand tall like Gerald by setting goals for yourself!
Animal Mask and Roll-a-Dance Make an animal mask and play a super-fun jungle dancing game while wearing it!
Ways to Continue Standing Tall Check out these bonus activities for you and little one(s) to continue the practice of Standing Tall!
Let’s Get Cooking Enjoy this optional but amazing recipe for Gerald the Giraffe Bananas & Tropical Toast!
Gerald the Giraffe Bananas and Tropical Toast (Makes four banana giraffes and two slices of tropical toast) Prep time: 5 minutes Total time: 15 minutes
Ingredients Banana Giraffes
Tropical Toast
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2 bananas 1/4 cup of hazelnut spread* 1/4 cup of peanut butter* Candy Eyes Almond slices Raisins Green apple slices
*If you or your little one(s) are allergic to nuts or peanuts, please use cookie butter or an appropriate alternative instead.
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2 slices of bread 2 tablespoons of peanut butter* 10-12 banana slices 1 teaspoon of shredded coconut
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Directions Alright, friends: It’s time to make Gerald and his silly giraffe friends out of bananas! •
If your little one(s) are old enough, have them peel and slice the bananas. First, peel one banana and slice it once crosswise and once lengthwise (making four equal pieces). Place the slices on a serving plate or wax paper—whichever is easier. Then, peel the second banana and slice it thinly. These banana slices will make the giraffes’ mouths.
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Now, it’s time to make the giraffes’ pretty spots. Place the hazelnut spread and the peanut butter (or alternatives) in separate plastic bags. Using the scissors, snip off a tiny piece of the corner of each bag to create a hole to squeeze the spreads out. The little one(s) can help place dots of these spreads along the giraffes using the plastic bags. Next, guide them to place dollops of one spread near the top of each banana slice, then place the banana slices on top to create the giraffes’ mouths. Do the same for the eyes (candy eyes) and the ears (almond slices). Add little horns at the top using the hazelnut spread (or alternative). Let your little one(s) add raisins to make noses and use more spread to make cute smiley faces.
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Now, these giraffes are pretty hungry! Last but not least, thinly slice the green apples to give them some “leaves” to munch on.
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To make the tropical toast, place the pieces of bread in a toaster or toaster oven and toast to your liking. Take the bread out and spread each piece with peanut butter (or alternative). Top the bread with bananas and a sprinkle of coconut.
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A NOTE FROM MARINA MAKES Hi, kiddos! I’m Marina from Marina Makes (marinamakesblog.com). The best thing you can be in life is YOU. It’s always fun to enjoy activities, just as Gerald the Giraffe does in the book that you’ll be reading. This month’s meal is an ode to the way that Gerald fearlessly continues to be himself by dancing to his own beat. As always, I encourage you to involve your little one(s) in the cooking process. For instance, they can cut the bananas, spread the peanut butter or just taste test the food! The directions include specific ways that children can help. I hope that you have fun cooking together! I’d love to see how your treats turn out, so please feel free to share pictures with me on social media using the hashtag #MarinaMakesEats. Happy eating!
Reading Time Go on a journey with Gerald by reading “Giraffes Can’t Dance” Follow Gerald on his journey as he learns how to believe in himself by realizing that his differences are what make him special.
Answer these questions... Pre-reading questions for the little one(s): (grade PK-3) 1. Do you think giraffes can dance? 2. What animals live in the jungle? 3. Do you like to dance? If so, what are some of your dance moves? Pre-reading questions for the older one(s): (grades 4-5) 1. What do you think the book Giraffes Can’t Dance will be about? 2. What does the cover tell you about the story that you are going to read? 3. Who are the author and illustrator of Giraffes Can’t Dance? Post-reading questions for the little one(s): (grade PK-3) 1. How do you think Gerald the Giraffe felt at the beginning of the story? Why? 2. How do you think Gerald the Giraffe felt at the end of the story? 3. Why do you think Gerald felt differently at the end of the story than he did in the beginning? 4. How do you think some of the other animals made Gerald feel? Post-reading questions for the older one(s): (grades 4-5) 1. What do you think the cricket meant when he told Gerald, “sometimes when you’re different, you just need a different song”? 2. How could the other animals have encouraged Gerald to dance? 3. How did Gerald’s feelings change between the start and the end of the story? Why?
Items Needed •
Giraffes Can't Dance book
Book Summary Gerald the Giraffe longs to dance, but his legs are too skinny and his neck is too long. At the Jungle Dance while the Warthogs waltz, the chimps cha-cha and the lions tango, they all shout “Giraffes can’t dance,” when it’s Gerald’s turn to prance. However with some sound advice from a wise cricket, Gerald starts swaying to his own sweet tune. In the end, he stands tall.
Art Project Create your own handprint giraffe!
Items Needed • Paint & paintbrush • Orange, yellow and brown markers • Drawing paper (2 sheets) • Device to watch the instructional video • Glue
Directions: Create your own handprint giraffe in a beautiful moonlit field! Head over to kidsnightinbox.com/stand-tall to watch our video instructions.
Here’s what you’ll be creating:
Jungle Treat Take a break and eat a delicious jungle snack! Items Needed • Animal Crackers Enjoy your delicious animal crackers! Use your imagination to come up with how each animal would dance!
Goal Chart Learn to Stand Tall!
Items Needed • Star Stickers
This next project involves a chart and guided questions! We want you and your little one(s) to take your time and put thought into this activity! In the story Giraffes Can’t Dance, Gerald had a huge change of heart. At first, he was very sad because he couldn’t dance like all the other jungle animals. However, the problem wasn’t that Gerald couldn’t dance at all, just that he couldn’t dance YET. With the help of a good friend, Gerald learned that he just had to find the music that HE loved.
At the beginning of the story, there were two things that Gerald could do very well. What were these things?
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Now, it’s your turn to think of some things that YOU can do very well. Brainstorm and write these things down at the top of the provided chart! (Feel free to draw pictures as well.)
At the beginning of the story, Gerald was not very good at dancing, but by the end of the story, he was “the best dancer they had ever seen.” Always remember: Even if you can’t do something right now, you can always learn and get better!
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Learning new things takes time, practice and good friends (who will encourage you)! Take some time to think of things that you are not very good at right now but want to keep working toward! Write down these goals in the bottom half of the chart! (You can also draw pictures of these things.)
Great job! Now, take some time to think about these things that you do well. Use the following questions to guide your thinking: • • • • •
Have you always been good at these things? When you were younger could you do all of these things? How did you learn to do these things? How did you get better at these things? How did you feel when you were trying to learn how to do these things?
Now, take some time to think about the things that you have written down. Let the following questions guide you: • • • •
How can you get better at these things? Do you believe that you will be able to do these things one day? How did the cricket help Gerald? How can you be a good friend like the cricket?
We encourage you to keep the star stickers (included in your box) for your chart. Once you are able to achieve one of your goals, place a star sticker next to it. This shows your growth! Remember that the Kids Night In Team believes in you! Do not get discouraged, and remember to always STAND TALL.
My Goal Chart Things I am good at
Things I am not good at yet
Animal Mask and Roll-a-Dance Make an animal mask and play a super-fun jungle dancing game while wearing it!
Items Needed • Animal mask • Elastic string • Drawing tool • Die template • Scissors • Tape
It’s time to start designing your animal mask! Use the included wood drawing tool to decorate your animal’s face however you want. Then, turn the face into a mask by pushing the two metal ends through the holes on either side! Once your animal mask is done, follow the steps below to create your own dancing game! 1. 2. 3. 4.
Cut out the die template using the scissors. Use tape to turn the template into a die! Head over to kidsnightinbox/stand-tall to find the music for this game. Roll your die and then find the song that matches the animal the die landed on. 5. Dance away! Repeat Steps 4 and 5 until you get a chance to dance like each animal. your e of it to ictur p Post . a k p s a tags a n m s hash mal e e to i r h n t u a s g ir usin all Make n the gram NIStandT one i Insta K r little # o d book InBox an Face ght i N s #Kid
Ways To Continue Standing Tall •
Check out jungle-themed movies like: Khumba, The Jungle Book-Mowgli’s Story, Leo the Lion, and Tarzan.
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Visit a zoo or safari near you!
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Go to a local Build-A-Bear® and make your very own jungle animal!
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Retell the story Giraffes Can’t Dance in a new way. For instance, describe what it would have been like if the other jungle animals had encouraged Gerald.
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Make up your own animal dances!
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Play dress up! Try to find clothing or accessories around your home that can make you look and feel like a jungle animal.
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Remember that you can always visit the Kids Night In Box blog (www.kidsnightinbox.com/blog) for additional themed activities.
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