Dig into Reading

(Theme: Underground)

2013 Children’s Summer Library Program Manual

Call for Ideas—DeadlineOctober 31

The Chapters

These are the “working” chapters

1. Dig into the Past

  • Ancient Egypt

Pyramid Party Family Program, Kick-off?

Mummies, tombs, etc.

  • Rick Riordan—Red Pyramid, etc.
  • Other Digs: Stonehenge, Chinese Terra Cotta Figures, Pompei etc.
  • Labyrinths
  • Dinosaurs (only for Primary if you do one), Fossils—Jurassic…
  • Archaeology

2. Digging Up Trouble

  • Mischief Makers, Tricksters
  • Mysteries related to earth
  • Gnomes, Elves, Trolls, Fairies, or Goblins—creatures who are known to live underground/in mountains at least in some legends. Books:.-Sea of Trolls? Norse trolls (I keep thinking there should be something we could do with those funny garden gnomes)
  • Underground worlds in fantasy, etc. (Nightshade City by Hilary Wagner, Firewing by Kenneth Oppel, The Search for WondLa by Toni DiTerlizzi, The Folkkeeper by Franny Billingsley, Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins, City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau, etc) Book club or program based on a book.
  • Dig It Up! Hunting for Treasure, Pirates and treasure
  • Create your underground world

3. Dig into Life Underground

  • Worms. Worm composting (if not done in Dig It gardening chapter)
  • Moles, Meerkats, miceprairie dogs, ground squirrels, foxes, bears, etc.
  • Ants, ant farms,
  • Burrowing Owls
  • Underground insects
  • Sea turtles who bury eggs in sand, crabs, etc. endangered species angle;Sand critters
  • Animals that Dig
  • Kangaroo Rats/Pocket Mice
  • Fiction: Fantastic Mr. Fox, Redwall series, Watership Down?, Hoot by Carl Hiaasen

4. Just Dig It!

  • Gardening, (Great Big Enormous Turnip --Creative Dramatics? Jack and the Beanstalk? Puppet Show?), root vegetables, Terrariums,
  • Get Dirty—All About Dirt, Composting
  • Possibly something with sand castles?
  • Earth Diggers (Big Machines) family program? Or put this with Early Lit Manual

5. Digging Deep Down/Deep Down Explorations

  • Caves ( I have 2-3 booklets of word puzzles, stuff on caves from a recent vacation) Spelunking/ what lives in caves, Cave Men, Pretend you are a cave painter
  • Sewers, Fear Factor type program for tweens? Rats?
  • Tunnels, Subways
  • People Who Work Underground (Dirty Jobs Program?)—miners, subway workers, etc
  • Rocks and gems, etc. treasure hunt, crystal growing
  • Digging for Gold
  • Volcanoes
  • Earthquakes

Other ideas: Digging for facts trivia game, time capsules