Archive for January 2009
Paper Towel Roll
Snowmen!
I saw these a while back on Just For Fun and emailed Sandy right away to see if she would like to share these with me! Are they not adorable? I love them ! The holidays are over and we have a long winter ahead of us, so cheer yourself up with this awesome little craft!
Snowmen!
I saw these a while back on Just For Fun and emailed Sandy right away to see if she would like to share these with me! Are they not adorable? I love them ! The holidays are over and we have a long winter ahead of us, so cheer yourself up with this awesome little craft!
For the full how to check out
Winter W !
Letter Of The Week is back! My goal with these activities is to have fun while introducing letters, research suggests that parents and teachers need to make sure that letters are taught in context! So don’t worry about following some list, follow your child! Provide a print rich environment, point out various letters throughout the day, and capitalize on their interests , if they are enjoying themselves it will stick! I chose to start with W because it’s my son’s favorite letter and the day we did it we were snowed in!
- Gather your materials. You will need 1 piece of blue construction paper, 2 pieces of white paper, a white crayon, glue, scissors and some white pom poms.
- Draw a large W on your blue construction paper.
- Have your child color the W with the white crayon. We opened the blinds to look at the snow for some inspiration!
- While your child is coloring, cut out some small snowflakes. If they are able have your child do this step!
- When they are done coloring, add some glue.
- Add the snowflakes.
- Add some “snowballs” – pom poms!
- Let dry.
- Cut out and glue or tape onto the 2nd white paper.
Books!
“Animals in Winter” by Henrietta Bancroft is part of the Let’s-Read-And-Find-Out Science series and it doesn’t disappoint. I love this series and when I find stage 1 books I am always excited. Non fiction books for 2-5 year olds are hard to find but every single book in this series has been a gem. This book explains hibernation, seasonal migration and why some animals don’t do either of those things! Great illustrations round out this great read!
“Holly’s Red Boots” by Francesca Chessa was a delight to read. Holly wants to go outside in the snow but can’t find her boots. It’s a cute story and the pictures are scrumptious! My son loved that the dinosaur was wearing her boots and wanted to read that page over and over. I also loved that when she does go outside her mom has her baby sibling in a baby carrier! Fun book!
Toilet Paper Roll
Airplane !
Toilet paper rolls pile up quickly in a busy house, so rescue a few from the recycle bin for this fun and easy craft! It’s not the cutest craft we’ve made but as soon as the glue dries it will become a favorite toy!
- Gather your materials. You will need a toilet paper roll, a cardboard box ( a cereal box works great) , some paint, glue, scissors and marker.
- Draw the wings and tail of the plane on a piece of cardboard.
- Mix a few colors of paint, this is always one of the favorite parts of art time with my son.
- Paint the toilet paper roll. Let dry.
- Paint the wings and tail . I don’t cut them out before painting because it is much easier to paint it as one big piece. Let dry.
- Cut the wings and tail out.
- Cut a notch in the end of the paper towel roll, slide the tail in , glue the wings on and your environmentally friendly plane is done!
Books!
” Planes” by Byron Barton is a basic little board book that kept my son’s attention long enough to read it. It’s nothing special but when a child is into planes, or going on a plane ride this is a masterpiece and will fit the bill!
“Amazing Airplanes” by Tony Mitton is a little long for toddlers but a fun and fact filled book all about plane travel. The rhyming text is engaging and surprisingly educational. I really like this book. The illustrations by Ant Parker are really fun too!
” Planes” by Anne Rockwell is another book that won’t jump off the bookshelf at you but if you have a little one that points up to the sky declaring “Plane! Plane! ” every time there is any sound they will love this book.
Yogurt
Finger Painting
Finger Painting
This was originally posted last year, but it’s a wonderful multi sensory activity. Your child will have fun squishing, smelling tasting and mixing the colors. Have a great weekend, a new round of letter of the week will start on Monday!
- Gather your materials. All you need is yogurt , some small containers, a cookie tray or plate and food coloring.
- While you are mixing the colors you can ask your child how many drops of red it will take to make pink, or what will happen if you mix blue with red?
- Put a dollop of yogurt on a tray, plate or cookie sheet and let them swirl it, see if they can write their name in it, or make shapes. Younger ones will be more than happy just to wiggle their fingers around in it.
- Eat your art when you’ve had enough fun!
Monster Manners
written by Joanna Cole, illustrated by Jared Lee
published by Scholastic
Scholastic Reader (level 3)
Rosie Monster looked like the perfect little monster. Her only problem? She had terrible manners, terrible monster manners. She was too friendly, too polite, too nice. Rosie asked her friend Prunella to teach her how to be a better monster. Prunella shoes Rosie how to make monster faces, how to order in a restaurant, even how to behave when visiting friends, but Rosie’s manners don’t improve. Then something occurs that only Rosie’s not so monster manners can solve and her parents realize they’re lucky to have her, just the way she is. Children will enjoy this mixed-up manners tale and the delightfully rude lessons taught by Prunella. There’s a page of fluency words at the end of the book for young readers. *Reviewed by Carrie Anne
Clyde Monster
written by Robert L. Crowe, illustrated by Kay Chorao
published by Puffin
picture book (age 2-5)
Clyde was young but growing. He loved his mom and dad. When not at home he loved to spend his day in the forest doing summersaults. But when it came time to go to bed Clyde was afraid, afraid of the dark, afraid of people. You see, Clyde is a little monster who is afraid of people hiding in his room, under his bed, behind his chair, waiting to scare him. This is a wonderful tale of childhood fears of the dark. As parents we know that monsters aren’t real, but that doesn’t make our children’s fear of them any easier. Clyde and his family discuss his fears: “Would you ever hide in the dark under a bed or in a closet to scare a human boy or girl?” “Of course not!” exclaimed Clyde. The monster perspective makes this story more approachable to discuss your own child’s night time fears. *Reviewed by Carrie Anne
Go Away, Big Green Monster
written & illustrated by Ed Emberley
published by Little Brown
picture book (age 3-8)
A Caldecott Medal winner
Through the use of die-cut pages, a scary monster is created page by page. But once the monster is complete the reader tells it “You don’t scare me! So go away…” Now each page removes a piece of the scary monster until the end “and don’t come back.” As the child creates and then destroys the monster in the book, page by page, they see that the monster isn’t as scary as they thought. This great interactive approach gives children control of the monster and hopefully helps them to understand and control their own fears. *Reviewed by Carrie Anne
“The Very Worst Monster” by Pat Hutchins will give you and your child a good laugh. Hazel is a horrible monster but all her family is so busy oohing and awing about how horrid her baby brother is no one notices her. This is a cute story about siblings but these siblings are competing to be the very worst monster! My son thought the monster’s antics were hilarious and I thought the sentiment about siblings was sweet. Cute book!
Big Lips and Hairy Arms
written by Jean Jackson, illustrated by Vera Rosenberry
published by DK Publishing
picture book (age 4-8)
Two monster friends, Nelson and Thorndike, are enjoying a cold and windy evening together when they are interrupted by a mysterious phone call: “I have big lips and hairy arms, and I’m only five blocks away!” The two friends try to distract themselves with caterpillar crisps and a game of Pin the Teeth on the dragon, but as the calls continue, with the caller getting closer to the house, they become a little worried. In the end everyone is pleasantly surprised when the mystery caller is revealed. Children will enjoy the suspense and delight when the mystery guest is revealed. be . The colourful illustrations aid in keeping the story from getting to scary. * Reviewed by Carrie Anne
“Twelve Terrible Things” by Marty Kelley is horrifying to me, yet my son loves this book. He must have slipped it in our library bag because I have no recollection of choosing this book, and I didn’t pre read it when we got home. By then it was too late, my son was hooked on the dark humor this book delivers. The book offers up 12 terrible things, like a scary clown, a goldfish on it’s way down the toilet and monsters under the bed . The illustrations are all from the reader’s view point so the scary things are looking right at you! I am easily scared , I can’t watch horror film trailers without getting nightmares. I screamed twice reading this , my son just wanted “more more!” . I really don’t recommend this book for young kids although some older ones who like scary things will love it.
“My Monster Mama Loves Me So” by Laura Leuck is more my kind of monster book for kids. Imaginative illustrations by Mark Buehner kept my little man pointing out spiders, bats and owls and he loved counting the extra eyes and arms on the monsters. The story is really sweet too. It’s all the things a mama monster does throughout the day with her little monster. It’s a sweet message about how love can be an action as well as a feeling!
My Friend Monster by Elanor Taylor is a sweet and not at all scary look at a friendship between a little fox and the monster who lives under his bed. The monster was left behind by a previous owner of the house that the little fox moves into. This is a sad monster but with a little time and patience the monster and the little fox make new friends and all is well. The monster even gets his own bed in the little fox’s bedroom so he doesn’t have to live under the bed anymore.
When A Monster is Born by Sean Taylor is funny, my son didn’t find it as funny as I did but he still laughed and didn’t seem scared any of it. The story is about a monster and all the life changing choices he faces every day like whether to eat a principal or run through a wall of a school. This book feels like a choose your own adventure book, it’s fun , repetitive and silly. There is quite a bit of talk about monsters eating people , though nothing too gory.
When A Monster is Born by Sean Taylor is funny, my son didn’t find it as funny as I did but he still laughed and didn’t seem scared any of it. The story is about a monster and all the life changing choices he faces every day like whether to eat a principal or run through a wall of a school. This book feels like a choose your own adventure book, it’s fun , repetitive and silly. There is quite a bit of talk about monsters eating people , though nothing too gory.
Leonardo the Terrible Monster
written & illustrated by Mo Willems
published by Hyperion Books for Children
picture book (age 4-8)
Leonardo is a terrible monster. His attempts to scare people only elicits giggles. Then Leonardo has a idea. He decides he’s going to find the most scardy-cat kid in the whole world and scare the tuna salad out of him. But when he does, he doesn’t feel so great. Now he has a new idea, instead of being a terrible monster he will be a wonderful friend. This is another wonderful tale by Mo Willems. The large book format allows for great use of space around his images and words. Mo Willems has the ability to write wonderful children stories that entertain both children and adults alike. * Review by Carrie Anne
“Go To Bed Monster” by Natasha Wing is a book anyone who’s ever struggled with bedtime will instantly relate to. The little girl in the book Lucy isn’t sleepy so she draws a monster but soon his refusal to go to bed even after she is sleepy backfires. I like this book, and despite his refusal to believe the monster was a monster not a dinosaur my son really likes this book and it got read 5 times today!
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