Letter Of The Week ! Ss !

May 19, 2008

The letter S is pretty distinctive and often one of the first letters many children I have taught can identify, this is a fun easy craft using the letter S.

Gather your materials. You will need 2 pieces of construction paper, some paint, scissors, some black and white paper or foam, glue, and a red pipe cleaner.
Draw a thick S on a piece of construction paper.
Mix some paint colors together, you don’t need to do this step but I have been noticing since doing this my son has been naming colors more accurately. I ask him ” Which color should we use?” while holding 2 or 3 for him to choose from. It could be a coincidence but it takes an extra 30 seconds so I think it’s well worth the time!
Paint your S, you aren’t going to cut it out until it’s all dry and this makes it less frustrating for little ones who are less able to stay within the S.
While your child is painting cut out 2 black circles of paper or foam sheets, and then small white diamonds and glue together. Of course you can use googley eyes if you want to skip this step.
Let the snake dry.
Glue the eyes on.
Add a tongue, I am using a pipe cleaner but red paper glued on would work great too.
Glue the S onto another full piece of paper for strength, without it the S will be ripped in no time.

Books!

” Hide and Snake” by Keith Baker is a fantastic book for a wide range of ages. The story follows a snake that hides in multi colored places. It is not too easy to find the snake , but easy enough that this won’t frustrate your child. With older children this book can open a dialog about camouflage and how snakes use it for protection and hunting. Younger children love books likes these because they can stay “busy” while you read the fun rhyming text.

” The Greedy Python” by Eric Carle is a fun fable about a snake that is so greedy and keeps eating and eating that eventually he eats everything, even himself! Kids love this silly story!

Additional Activities

Magnetic writing boards

I love this toy, so does my son. You can use it in so many ways and for those of you afraid of unleashing your children with crayons and markers this makes no mess. My son loves to have my husband or me write a letter of the alphabet then he scribbles over it until there is no more space on the screen.

An activity I enjoyed doing with a student who loved this was to play restaurant, she was the waitress and would take my order. I would order letters, shapes, and numbers and she would write them down on the board. Older children enjoy playing hang man on this toy too!