Archive for July 2009
This was one of those crafts that I was giddy about doing as soon as the idea came to me. I bought these bandages for my son to play doctor with but forgot I had them. While brainstorming and playing with them in my hands I realized they’d show up great on black paper! My son had no interest in doing this, he just wanted to cover himself with the bandages and ask for kisses, but I know other kids will love it.
- Gather your materials. You will need 2 yellow bandages for each bug and one of another color, we chose orange but any color with enough contrast will work. You will also need 2 googly eyes for each bug, a yellow and a white crayon and glue.
- Start by drawing your night scene, a moon, some stars!
- Open your bandages.
- Stick the bandages you are using as bodies on first.
- Next criss cross the yellow bandages over the body to make wings.
- Using the yellow crayon make antennae
- Add the glue for the eyes and add them.
- Let dry
Lyrics
The little caterpillar snuggled on a leaf,
Spun a little chrysalis and then fell asleep,
While she was sleeping she dreamed that she could fly,
When she woke up she was a butterfly!
Bug Books
” The Very Grouchy Ladybug” by Eric Carle is more than a cute book about a crabby bug. The Lady bug is looking for a fight and each hour she finds a bigger and bigger animal to fight with until she is unintentionally slapped by a big whale’s tail! I loved using this book to teach telling time, as there is a picture of an analog clock on each page. I would use a play clock and as I read each page ask one child to come and set our classroom clock. Also don’t be put off by the fact that the lady bug tries to pick fights, no animal takes her up on her offer and you can spin that into a great lesson about not giving into people who are trying to pick fights.
” Two Bad Ants”by Chris Van Allsburg is a very interesting story of two ants who decide not to return to the colony and hang out in a sugar bowl eating instead. Of course nothing is as it seems and they have quite an adventure trying to avoid all the dangers of a kitchen, realizing in the end that being a part of a colony isn’t so bad! This is a cute book for older preschoolers who will love trying to guess what each new adventure the ants face really are- they include a toaster, hot coffee and an electrical outlet.
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- Gather your materials. You will need 3-4 pieces of construction paper, crayons, scissors and glue.
- Write a large uppercase H on one piece of paper and set aside.
- Trace your child’s hand on the other pieces of paper. This was the best out of 5 photos I tried to take.
- If you have a wiggler like me trace it just once, cut it out and use that one as a stencil.
- Have your child color the hands.
- Cut them out.
- Cut the H out and glue onto the remaining piece of paper.
- Add glue for the hands.
- Add your hands and let dry.
Books
“Is This My Nose?” by Georgie Birkett is a board book that is perfect for babies and toddlers. The text is short and repetitive and asks the reader to find different body parts and praises the when they do. I read this to my son tonight expecting him to proclaim it for babies, instead he lit up and showed me happily where all the body parts were. He loved it.
“Here Are My Hands” by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault is another book that takes the reader through different body parts and what they do. We enjoyed reading it and taking time to do the things that each body part was assigned to do. The page with ears bugs me though, I understand that saying ears are for washing and drying is a cute take on “wash behind your ears” but even at 2 my son looked at me and said ” No ears hear!”. Over all though we enjoyed this book and the big illustrations by Ted Rand that span two pages.
I love finding a blog that is like reading an email from a friend , intimate, funny and filled with bits and pieces that make you nod your head in agreement while reading. A Very Good Year is a great read. Tatiana writes about her life as a mom but does it with such honesty and humor that I am equally moved by both the funny and touching ones. She has a way of making her readers feel connected to her experiences and finding the profound in the mundane.
“Spike” by Paulette Bogan is a funny story about a dog who is having a mid life crisis. Spike is bored with his life , all he does is regular old dog things and when his owner leaves the gate open he creeps away for some adventure. Spike like most of us who go off on adventures looking for something new finds out that really home is where the heart is and he really does love being a dog. My son loves this book especially the part when Spike tried out being a chicken and breaks all the eggs.
“Corduroy” by Don Freeman is a classic in every way. I have been waiting to introduce it to my son because I knew my heart would be broken if he didn’t like it. It’s one of my very favorites from childhood and the simplicity of the story makes it as relevant in 2009 as it was when it was first published in 1968. I remember being amazed by the thought of a stuffed bear coming to life and exploring a department store at night after it closes. The real message though is captured by the little girl and her statement that she loves him just the way he is even with a missing button, but she is fixing it to make him more comfortable. What a fantastic and vital message for kids! My son loves this book and I won’t pretend that I had dry eyes when I finished reading it to him and he looked at me and asked ” Read this one again?”.
“Cowboy Small” by Lois Lenski is a cute cowboy book for the younger set. We have the board book edition and it’s been loved for a long time at our house, although since our return from the Calgary Stampede it’s been read constantly. The text is simple, the drawings are charming and the book covers all the basics of what a cowboys does day and night. My son loves that Cowboy small has a guitar, and is pretty fond of the part when he gets bucked off a bronco as well.
“Angela’s Airplane” by Robert Munsch captures children’s fantasies about flying planes and adds in a cautionary tale about what could happen if the fantasy became reality. Angela finds her way onto a plane and starts pushing buttons, before she knows it she is in the air alone. The plane crashes but she is ok, and promises to never fly another plane. Do you think she keeps that promise? My son adores this book and while you may think that the crash would be scary for kids it’s not , the ridiculousness of a 5 year old flying a plane makes the crash equally as fictional though effective in opening a dialogue about touching buttons you shouldn’t!
The last ransom note I got was from my sister and made out of my New Kids On The Block posters, I was crushed but it was payback for ruining her Barbie lipstick years earlier. There is something so fun and visually interesting about the ransom note style, and it’s a great activity for school age kids . They can add their own messages, or keep it simple. This was always a hit with the after school kids I worked with. It’s time consuming too ( a plus on rainy summer days).
- Gather your materials. You will need a few magazines or old catalogs,a marker, scissors, glue , and some construction paper. I like using 2 colors for contrast but one is fine.
- Start by writing out your name and what else will go on the sign. It is really helpful to be able to simply lay the cut out letter on the written on to see what you need to search for in the magazines/catalogs.
- Cut out all the letters
- Glue them onto one sheet of construction paper. Do not worry about the paper dimpling it all adds to the overall effect.
- Make a box around each one, no need to be perfect, irregular looks better I think.
- Cut out.
- Glue onto the 2nd piece of paper. It will be strong enough to be a sign to let everyone know who’s room it is ( and probably to keep out, knock or no girls allowed…).
