Archive for March 2009
” My Friend Rabbit “ by Eric Rohmann is a cute book with award winning illustrations that follows a mouse and a rabbit who remain friends despite the rabbit’s uncanny ability to get into trouble. The little rabbit means well and his heart is true, the limited text and descriptive illustrations make this book great for a wide range of age groups and my son loved the Rhino!
” That’s not my bunny, it’s tail is too fluffy!” by Fiona Watt carries on the theme of the art project , exploring the sense of touch with all different textures. Great for the under 2 crowd!
” Knuffle Bunny” by Mo Willems is hilarious and heartwarming all at the same time. The story is about a lost bunny, and a dad that can’t quite understand what his toddler is trying to “say” to him. Luckily the mom speaks ” toddler” and dad gets to be a hero by reuniting his daughter with her beloved bunny.
“Runaway Bunny” by Margaret Wise Brown I am trying to find the right way to say how much I dislike this book I know many love it but I just can’t get on board. A few years ago my assistant teacher and I used to call it “Run bunny run!” because this poor bunny is just trying to get some space from his mom. I know that some people adore this book and think that the sentiment of security is the one to focus on but I can’t write that I love it when I don’t.
” Goodnight Moon” by Margaret Wise Brown is a classic for a reason. My son has loved it since day one and it really does a great job of calming before bed, like all great bedtime stories should. As a teacher I hated this book probably because it’s not a great book for groups I admit I was wrong, this is a gem !
These simple shape activities have been a favorite of my son for a while now, so it was only fitting to match it up with his other favorite thing- a garbage truck. I don’t know about your child but my son is nuts about these wonders of public sanitation. Luckily if we sleep in on garbage day there are hundreds of garbage truck videos on youtube. Did you know that garbage trucks in Japan play music, I know because I have seen them on youtube, many many times!
- Gather your materials. You will need some plain construction paper or cardboard ( such as a cereal box) , some green markers or paint, some black and brown construction paper, scissors and glue.
- Draw one large square, one small square and an obtuse triangle on your cardboard.
- Have your child color or paint the shapes green, point out the shapes and label them for your child. We used markers because we were taking a break from paint eating .
. *Side note – all parents get frustrated with their kids at times, if you know your patience isn’t at your all time best, or even good take steps to make the craft or lesson less stressful for everyone involved. My son really wanted to make this before his dad got home so instead of getting frustrated at the paint eating, I offered him markers. It worked well for everyone and we had a peaceful time making the garbage truck. - While they are coloring the shapes, cut out 3 large circles from the black paper.
- Cut out the truck shapes
- Grab the brown piece of construction paper and the glue!
- Add the large square, small one and triangle, so the triangle is only touching at the top.
- The glue for the wheels- you can add the glue as a guide for your child.
- Pop the wheels on and let dry.
Books!
by Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha is my favorite garbage truck book , and yes I have read a lot. Mr. Gilly is a hard working garbage man with one task, to clean up Trashy town. The text is so melodic I find myself singing while reading ” Dump it in, Smash it down, drive around the trashy town” . It’s not all trashy time for Mr. Gilly though, after a hard days work cleaning up Trashy town he gets into his bubble bath ! My son loves that this big garbage collector has a bath just like him. Super sweet and colorful book that explains garbage collection is a nice way.
” I Stink” by Kate and Jim McMullen was the bain of my existence in my Pre-K class, the kids loved this book and I really liked most of it, but there are some gross things in it like puppy poo, dirty diapers and kitty litter but we put all those things in the garbage so they are totally appropriate. Just know that they will also get a group of 4 and 5 year olds giggling and repeating the words for days on end. Overall though the book is effective and I own a well read copy. The garbage truck is sarcastic and rough, and the alphabet of garbage is creative.
“I Am A Garbage Truck” by Ace Landers is my son’s favorite toy right now, he kisses it good night and it’s the first thing he asks for when he gets up in the morning. The book itself is okay, the story is a little disjointed, when my husband read it to him for the first time he looked over at me in my son’s bed and said ” Am I reading this the right way? It seems like I should have started from the last page?” my son didn’t care, he loves the illustrations and the way the book is in the shape of a garbage truck. I like that it covers both garbage and recycling!
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- Gather your materials. You will need some paint, white felt, glue , a cleaned out single serving container and scissors.
- Start by squirting some paint in the container,
we used red and yellow to make orange. For a fast craft like this I try to add in a color mixing lesson . My son has always loved this, if your child isn’t into it don’t push. 
- Put the container aside to dry. Make sure it’s not too full with paint. I had to scoop some out and we did some finger painting after with it.
- While that is drying – draw an outline ( although if you are good with scissors just wing it) of a fried egg.
- Cut out.
- When the painted cup is dry, add glue around the edges
- Press down on the felt, let dry.
- Get cookin’
Song!
This song was a favorite of mine in Brownies, don’t know why but kids love it!
Fried Ham
Cheese and Bologna
And after the macaroni
We’ll have fun with,
Pickles and pretzels,
and then we’ll have some more fried ham,
Fried ham , fried ham , fried ham!
Pinching Pom Poms
- Gather your materials. You will need a divided chip and dip platter or individual bowls. Some scrap paper that matches your pom poms, some tape and ice tongs.
- Cut the paper into pieces that fit into the platters sections, leave the middle blank, it will be the starting point for the pom poms.
- Place the pom poms into the middle
- Start matching, if the tongs are frustrating them , have them do it with their hands.
Easter Egg Match
- Gather your materials. You will need some cheap Easter eggs, a bowl for the eggs to start out in, one container for each egg( mine are old blueberry containers) and matching paper for each color of egg.
- Cut the paper so they line the bottom of the small containers.
- Invite your child to come to the table and start matching.
- Praise and celebrate their success !
Toss & Match
- Gather your materials. You will need some colored bean bags, and some colored construction paper. You could also use laundry baskets with colored towels in them for a target or anything that is obviously the same color.
- Start tossing the bean bags to the target.
Toddlers will probably walk up naturally but older children can be challenged to throw the bean bag from a distance, just pop some painters tape on the carpet for them to stay behind.
- Start with just a few colors for little guys and work up to many for older children.
- Gather your materials. You’ll need 2 pieces of construction paper, red and yellow tissue paper, crayons, scissors and glue.
- Start by drawing a volcano o the brown construction paper. If your child is able have them do this.
- Color the volcano. We used crayons but markers or even paint would work.
- While they color jaggedly cut out the tissue paper.
- Cut out the volcano.
- While you are cutting it out you can use this time to have your child practice cutting too. This has been a favorite part of art time at our house lately. I hand my son some play scissors ( ours are simple plastic ones- they cut but aren’t sharp) and some scrap paper and he loves it.
- Time to glue!
add glue to the 2nd piece of construction paper and glue your volcano down.
- Next add the glue for the lava.
- Add the tissue paper- no need to be careful just smack it on!
- Let dry.
Science Experiment !
I’m sure you remember this from childhood, I know I do, especially the time I used red food dye , in the days before magic erasers. When we do this at home we normally do it in the sink to avoid too much clean up. I couldn’t get good pictures in the sink so the container worked in a pinch, although I have to admit I was worried it would overflow.
- Gather your materials. You will need a clear jar, baking soda, vinegar and if you want red sanding sugar makes great lava.
- Add the lava to the jar.
- Pour the baking soda into the jar- we used about 1/4 of a cup which was enough for two eruptions. Stir of shake the jar with the lid on to mix the baking soda and the sanding sugar.
- Add the vinegar ( again about 1/4 cup).
- Erupt !
- Be prepare for your child to beg for it again and again. Have extra vinegar ready!
Books
“An Island Grows” by Lola M. Schaefer is so pretty it reminds me of what the store Anthropologie would look if it was a children’s book about how islands are formed. It’s part antique fabric, part funky modern floral patterns… this was the book that I was saying “Whoa” each time I turned the page. It does a great job explaining how islands grow from under water volcanoes too !
