1. Gather your materials. You will need some heavy weight construction paper or cardboard ( I am using a cereal box) , red markers or paint, some green paper, glue , scissors and some rice. We used forbidden rice, it’s black, but any rice , dried beans or seeds will do!
2. Draw a simple strawberry shape on the cardboard.
3. Have your child color or paint the strawberry. Let dry if you are using paint.
4. While your child colors, cut out a stem from the green paper.
5. Grab the glue! My son is always excited when I let him loose with the glue. Put it all over the strawberry.
6. Add the rice, do not just dump it on, encourage your child to pick up the rice one and a time. You’ll sneak in a great fine motor workout for your little one.
7. Add the stem and let dry.

” Eating the Alphabet” by Lois Ehlert is an alphabet book extraordinaire! Wonderful paintings of fruits and vegetables seem ultra simple and it is but somehow the way the author has pieced this simple book together is brilliant. Maybe it’s that children learn about food at the table multiple times a day and feel proud being able to identify not only some of the letters but some of the pictures too! From a teaching standpoint I love that there are both upper and lower case letters on each page! This book will grow with your child, and beware it will also make you
hungry!

“The Little Mouse, The Ripe Red Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear” by Audrey and Ron Wood is a fantastic book that children adore! The story not only unique in that the narrator speaks directly to the mouse , it’s illustrations will enchant your child’s imagination and make the most overtired parent smile. The little mouse is trying to keep the strawberry away from the bear, and his adorable attempts to hide it make my son laugh every time! Great book!