classroom activites for Dr. Seuss week

pool noodle sculptures

magnetic fishing

crazy straw and felt fine motor

sock matching/sorting

green eggs and more sorting and matching

cork and button building fun

fine motor connectors

blue sand and Dr. Seuss erasers

dry erase Cat in the Hat hats

Going on a Bear Hunt: 8 fun activities

There should have been 9 up there but I totally missed our scissors work project. But here ya go, 8 fun activities to go along with We're Going on a Bear Hunt.

1. Hands on story retelling using found photos, a cookie sheet, and a plastic toy bear. The children loved this and it is a great tool for sequencing and memorization.

2. Landscapes using paint and other elements.

3. Painting with natural elements.

4. We're Going on a Bear Hunt Discovery Bottles. Great for retelling the story, sequencing, and investigation.

5. Natural Elements for the play dough fun and for painting on.

6. Classroom Bear Hunt. Set up areas for the grass, river, mud, etc. We taped streamers to the sides of our train table and used colored carpet squares along with tactile sensory bins. Our cave was our playhouse covered in blankets with a large stuffed bear inside. During our walks to and from the playground we would recite the sounds for each element and use our bodies to act out the parts. Fun!

7. Nature walk bracelets. We did not go on a bear hunt as some of the children voiced concern over finding a real bear (we do have bears in our community) so we went on a nature walk looking for tall grass, forest sticks, mud, and flowers instead.Then we ran like silly all around the play field looking for dandelions and chasing grasshoppers.

8. Painting and washing rocks because water play is a favorite thing with many three year olds.

Loose change

It's raining outside this morning and I think perhaps a nice indoor, quiet, no mess art activity would be great for today. Still have a pile of nice shiny coins from earlier this week? Do they still smell like ketchup? Well, dump out your coin purse, jar or whathaveyou and have your wee ones make some coin rubbings! You could do this on regular printer paper and cut for cards or you can try this using large sweeps of paper to make custom gift wrap or you may even want to do this with tracing paper and turn their art into suncatchers of a sort. The thinner the paper the better the rub!

what you need:
*crayons from the bottom of the box sans paper
*thin paper like printer or notebook in light colors
*coins of all kinds
*splat mat, plastic tray, cookie sheet or cardboard
*masking tape or your favorite sticky stuff
*play-doh (optional)

scrumdilly-do it!

The easy way would be to toss a handful of coins onto the tray or cookiesheet, place paper over and rub. This is great for kidlets 7 and up. Wee-er ones (say 4-7)may get frustrated with the coins moving all over the place. For them I would add a small ball of play-doh to one side of each coin and have your kidlet pres the mdown onto theur work surface.

The dough should stick just enough to act as an anchor. Place sheet over the coins and tape down the top edge.

Place crayon lenghtwise onto paper and rub, rub, rub away!

Coins, colors and paper can all be shifted and moved about to produce a super nifty picture!

When that gets old, your kidlets may enjoy pressing their coins into the dough to see the imprints they leave. Play the compare and contrast game, sort the coins by likeness, make charts, have fun!

Don't forget to check out my book list and my fun list, they;re all about fun with coins! Happy Friday folks!

Another NAME book & some fun!

Not So Fast Songololo

Written and Illustrated by Niki Daly

Published by Aladdin Books 1985

I really adore this book! It has story, style and generations of love and helpfulness. Malusi heads out to the city with his Grandma Gogo. She is a lady who takes things slowly as does Malusi. Together they make a great pair. When Malusi sets his eyes on a pair of red sneakers and Gogo gifts them to him it is all he can do to take is slow with his Gogo.

I chose this book for names because it talks about nicknames and the power of love and family. It may be a little long for your young three year olds but I think it is the perfect length for five and six andmaybe even older. Have them read to you!

scrumdilly-do it: Shoe Painting

Get out yer kidlets oldest stinkiest pair o' shoes and have them make a walking picture. Spread out large large large sheets of blank paper, giftwrap or an old sheet and secure it with masking tape.

Have your wee ones put on their sneakers and paint the bottom of one shoe with oooey gooey acrylic of biocolor.

Once done, help them up and have them "walk a picure" on the paper! Let dry and display!

You can also give their shoes a good wash and have them paint the entire pair for some fashionable fun later!

scrumdilly-do it: Nature Walk Bracelet

Take a nature walk if the weather permits. Wrap a piece of 2 inch wide masking tape, sticky side out around yer kidlet's wrist.

As you walk about your neighborhood have them scavenge bits o' nature to stick on their nature bracelet. Make sure to encourage found nature and not the plucking kind unless it is from your own yard. 

Once home you can dettach the bracelet, cover with clear packing tape or contact paper, punch a hole at the top, add yarn or ribbon and turn it into a bookmark or window hanging. Really, the possibilities are endless!

Make a paperbag book!

Just what you need to hold all those Valentines your kidlets made for you. Fun, easy and age adaptable, pull out some lunch baggies and go to town!

What you need:

*lunch sized paperbags
*scissors
*hole punch, paper punches
*crayons, markers, rubber stamps, ink, stickers and/or paint
*glue or gluestick
*sewing machine, brads or staples for binding
*anything else you can think of for decorating!

How to:

1. Gather your materials
2. Cut out the bottoms of 3 or more paper bags. This may be frustrating for younger kidlets so you may want to start the cut for them and of course do all the cutting for wee wee kidlets.
3. stack bags on top of each other and fold in half
4. Bind your book any way you like. There are oodles of options
5. Add a button closure or perhaps a flap to help keep the book closed
6. Decorate, decorate, decorate
7. Stuff and take a looksie!

You can use regular grocery bags to make BIG books to hold your kidlets artwork. You can also moit the removal of the bottom and bind the bags together to make a LONG book. Paperbag books make for great storage of flat collections. Make it a family tradition to make a book at the end of each summer to comemmorate the year. Make a book because it is fun...you don't really need a reason, do you?

RAK week & Valentine's countdown

 With this nifty project you can RAK someone AND send them some Valentine's Day cheer! Introducing Shortbread Necklaces! If you are pressed for time, store bought sugar dough will work also, maybe even better but the shortbread is a bit tastier!

The cool thing about making shortbread is that anyone can do it. Write out the recipe on large flash cards and you've got yourself a fun math lesson for yer kidlets! Another nifty thing is that since there is no egg in the dough, your wee ones can sneak all the dough they want and not get sick...well...relatively speaking. Shortbread can be VERY flakey so the more you handle the dough and the thinner you roll it out, the less crumbly it will get. My basic shortbread recipe is as follows:

*2 sticks of butter, softenned almost melted

*1 3/4 cups of powdered sugar

*2 cups flour

*1 tsp pure vanilla extract

*additional seasonings like cinnamon, ginger, black pepper to taste...go to town!

Mix the butter and sugar first, add the vanilla and spices next then the flour. Kidlets can do the first part with a wooden spoon and mix in the flour with CLEAN hands. It is like play dough, they will LOVE it! Once the dough is mixed, loosely wrap it in a floured dishtowel or wax paper and stick it in the fridge for about 10 minutes to firm up. Roll it out on a floured surface and let the fun begin!

Roll out the dough so that it is less than a 1/2 inch thick. Cut out your heart shapes using different sized cutters:

Add your sprinkles and whatnot...you can even have yer kidlets "paint" the dough with food color if ya like and then "punch a hole in the center of the cookie using a straw.

Arrange them on a cookie sheet and bake in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes. The thinner your cookies the quicker they bake so keep an eye on them:

Remove from the oven, allow to cool. If the holes have closed up a bit you can widen them using a chopstick. Be gentle. the warm shortbread is pretty delicate. Once the cookies have cooled, thread 2 or 3 onto a skinny ribbon, red & white twine or a licorice whip. Wrap 'em up in a trusty chinese take-out container that has been decorated by yer wee ones and deliver pronto! You may want to make extra's for yourself..these cookies are YUMMY!

Stay tuned all week for more lurvely crafts for you and yer wee ones!

Howdy Neighbor!

February 7th is "Wave all your Fingers at Your Neighbor" Day. I like to call it "Howdy Neighbor Day!" So, without further ado I bring to you an idea for a nifty gift to make for your neighbor or anyone else you feel the need to say "howdy" to. All craftiness here is do-able for kidlets of all ages and of course can be vamped up for us grown-ups.

Surprise your neighbor with a felty doorknob hanger. I used to make these for my teachers when I was a kid and yes this was in the seventies. I apologize for not having a template for you but I am not quite the computer savvy dilly girl but I'm sure you are all cafty enough to make up your own. I kind of winged mine but you may want to play around and draw a template first on scrap paper. Regular sized printer paper works well. I often use pages from magazines I'm tossing for patterns. Orientate your paper so that is it horizontal and mark out about 4 1/2 inches or so from one side and cut into a rectangle. From there you can create a keyhole shaped (or not) pattern for your felty piece. Have fun!

Gather your materials:
*felt
*scissors
*tacky glue or craft glue
*sequins, glitter, glitter glue and all that jazz
*paint and other collage-y fun
*needle & thread if yer kidlet can sew

limit your supplies to your kidlet's age and what they like best to use. Only put out what they can handle and of course you do all the scissor work if they are really young.

Cut out your basic shape and cut a small X into the top of your felt piece. This will be where you slip it over the doorknob. The remaining area is where your kids can go to town.

Decorate to your heart's content. Kids can paint, glue and/or sew their design on. Set aside to dry and sneak it onto your neighbor's frontdoor when they aren't looking with a little note about how they make your day better. Everyone loves a little love. Wouldn't you?

It's Australia Day!

Hi folks! Today is Australia Day for all my friends down under! In honor of Australia Day I bring to you two book recommendations and some pretty pics on how to make your own fairy bread!

First up, one of my favorite stories by the ever fabulous redhead Mem Fox:

Koala Lou

Written by Mem Fox

Illustrated by Pamela Lofts

Published by Voyager Books

Not really a tribute to Australia but an honorable mention is Alexander & the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day!

Alexander & the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day!

Written by Judith Viorst

Illustrated by Ray Cruz

Published by Aladdin

For Fairy Bread you will need:

*soft white bread (though I prefer squaw bread)

*soft butter, margarine or clotted cream

*a bevy of sprinkles, jimmies and sugar

*large sized cookie cutters, about the size of a slice of bread

*a clean surface or splat mat

Maggie, the wee one who first introduced me to fairy bread likes to flatten her bread first by smashing it with her wee fists. So, after flattening you will want to butter your bread slice liberally. Give the kids plastic knives and they can do it all themselves! After buttering, have a go with all the sprinkles and such:

Cut out with yer cookie cutter...

...and, enjoy!

Happy Australia Day everyone!

Happy Pie Day!

Yup, today is pie day and while I am indeed baking a pie today, at some point, do not have any purdy pictures to share, nor do I have any of the Pie Books I recommended on my LISTMANIA list...drats! Wait, here is an okay pic of a tart I made, this could work! So, for now, take a gander over to my Kaboodle page for some linky-dinks for some pie crazy fun and here are a few ideas you could try for today with yer wee ones.

*Make some pie crust! Here's a vegan recipe that is easy and fun and yer kidlets can play with it like play dough. You can roll it out and they can make wee little pie crust cookies that would be yummy with jam. You can also make wee tarts by folding the dough up and over a dollop of jam or preserves...yummy!

*Have any aluminum pie pans? set them out with an assortment of collage materials and let yer wee ones make a wall hanging. Once everything is dry, add a picture hanger to the back and viola! Instant art!

*Make a shaving cream pie! Cover the play area with a splat mat or vinyl table cloth, pull out yer alluminum pie pans (you can also pick them up at the supermarket for cheap or save them from previous pie fun), add a little shaving cream and a few other washable toys and such and let them have a go at it. A Place of Our Own mentions using food color. I would recommend using Liquid Watercolor. A little goes a LONG LONG way and you can go in as a group to purchase all the colors and then split them up into smaller portions using the nancy bottles. Seriously, this stuff lasts a long time!

*If the weather permits, make mud pies! You can make them indoors if you are very brave but outdoor play is always a plus!

Okee doke, folks! That's all I have for now. Tomorrow, make sure you pay someone a compliment. After all, it is National Compliment Day!