Archive for August 2009
This craft was not planned at all, we finished our favorite apple juice at lunch and while sitting there eating we brainstormed what we could make with the bottle. This is the first time my son and I have really brainstormed together, with a concrete focus. First of all I am taken aback by how old he is getting and 2nd he had great ideas. We thought of a garbage can, a bird feeder, a worm house and then settled on this rocket! So my challenge was what could we use to make it a rocket, here’s what we did.
- Gather your materials. Some are missing from the picture because this craft evolved as we went, but I’ll list them all even those that aren’t pictured. You will need a clean juice bottle, 2 toilet paper rolls, some red, yellow and orange foam ( paper would do), some crayons, some recycled bottle caps, a paper grocery bag, some sparkles, a washed out applesauce container( single use), scissors, white paint and a hot glue gun and glue.
- Start by pouring sparkles into your bottle ( totally optional) I was hoping to go for a sparkly effect and in some parts it is but it didn’t turn out as metallic as I’d hoped.
- Add your paint, yes you need a lot.
- Pop the cap on tight and shake to cover the inside.
- Let dry in the hottest place you can find, it can take a while.
- While that is drying color your toilet paper rolls with crayons.
- Next cut a small square out of a grocery bag or other scrap paper and color it.
- Cut it into 2 triangles for wings.
- Cut the foam into flames .
- Tape them into the bottom of the toilet paper rolls , layer them for effect.
- When the bottle is dry, it’s time to warm up the hot glue gun. I burn my self every time I use it so please make sure your child is not within touching distance.
- Glue the rolls on the back.
- Glue the bottle caps on the front.
- Glue the wings on.
- This was an after thought but I grabbed an applesauce container and glued it on the bottom so that the flames of the rockets ( aka the toilet paper rolls) don’t get in the way of the rocket standing up on end.
- Play !!
Song!
we’re going to the moon,
hurry and get ready
we’re going to blast off soon,
put on your helmet
and buckle up real tight,
cause here comes the countdown
so count with all your might!
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1,
Blast off!!
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Click Here to Watch !
- Gather your materials. You will need 2 large leaves with stems, some cardboard, markers, tape, glue and googly eyes.
- Start by drawing a butterfly body on the cardboard.
- Have your child color it – red was the only color he wanted to use today.
- While they are coloring snip the stems off the leaves, don’t loose the stems they will be made into antenna in a bit.
- Cut the body out.
- Tape the antenna on underside of the head.
- Tape the leaves on as wings. Tape works way way better than glue since the leaves can still have some moisture , they can take forever to dry sometimes.
- Glue the googly eyes on add a smile!
Books
“Lucky Leaf” by Kevin O’Malley is a funny book about a boy kicked outside and off his video game by a parent and his quest for a lucky leaf. He waits and waits for the last leaf from a tree to fall, even after his friends give up and go home. The story is cute and my son thought it was funny. I liked the comic book format of the illustrations and the little boy’s dog has some pretty funny facial expressions throughout.
“Autumn : An Alphabet Acrostic” by Steven Schnur is a lovely book that is also a wonderful introduction into this form of poetry for young children. Each page has a poem about the season, from Acorns, to Owls to Pumpkins. Each letter of the words are a jumping off point for a sentence in the poem. The beauty of this book is that it reads well traditionally as well as individual poems which really makes it two books in one.
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School starts in less than a month for my little guy and I know we are among the very latest to go back to school, or rather go to for the first time ! This is a fun craft that can be adapted easily for any age or ability. Beginners can finger paint the apple and skip the collage, older children can be challenged by finding the red paper in magazines and cutting them out , instead of the construction paper. If you ever need to have on one my crafts simplified or modified for older children never hesitate to contact me , I’m happy to help.
- Gather your materials. You will need some heavy paper ( a paper grocery bag is perfect), a red marker, red paint, glue, red construction paper, kid scissors, and some brown and green construction paper. I have felt shown in the picture but decided to use paper for the leaf and stem instead.
- Start by cutting open the bag and drawing an apple with your marker.
- Have your child paint the apple .
- While they do that get the red construction paper ready to cut. Older preschoolers won’t need to have strips cut but children who are still mastering scissors can be helped by cutting strips that are only as wide as one cut, so that when they close the scissors there is no dangling or frustration. Immediate results are important when toddlers are learning a skill we want to encourage them to practice, and do again.
- Cut!
This is the only pic I have because it took me holding the trip to get my son to cut it properly, we got into a great groove- about half the cutting were done by him with my help, I did the rest.
- Add glue
- Add your cut pieces.
- While they are adding the cut pieces, cut out a stem and leaf from your green and brown paper.
- Glue them on ( my son was outside by this point!) Let dry.
- Cut out and share with your favorite teacher at home or school.
Books
“The Red Apples” by Pat Hutchins is a simple but effective and delightfully bouncy countdown book. The tree starts with 10 red apples but one after another farm animal swipes an apple , despite the farmer’s protests. The sing song rhymes are fun to read out loud and my son enjoyed announcing the numbers as we counted down. The illustrations look like wood toys and I thought they were charming but my son told me he was scared of the farmer’s wife!
” How to Make an Apple Pie and see the world” by Marjorie Priceman cost me a total of 15 cents at a thrift store. It is worth so much more than that. This book is a gem! Perfect for older preschoolers who are getting a sense of the world beyond their own home and city, this book takes you on a ride around the world! You follow the little girl to Italy, France , Sri Lanka, England, Jamaica and back to Vermont! As soon as I read this my mind was racing with classroom activities ! I will be posting some soon. I LOVE this book, I just wish I had read it when I was still teaching it would have been so much fun to teach geography with!
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- Gather your materials.
You will need a 2 contrasting pieces of construction paper, a fish Jar lid stamp ( make your own- instructions) , stamp pad,a marker, scissors and glue.
- Start by writing a large F with the marker.
- Have your child make waves with the marker. I think this was his favorite part. He’s been drawing waves all day since.
- Press your stamp on to the pad.
- Press!
- When you are done with the fish, cut out.
- Add glue to the back of the F
- Glue onto the other piece of construction paper and let dry.
“Rainbow Fish A, B, C” by Marcus Pfister is hard to write a review about. All it is is the alphabet with Rainbow Fish illustrations. My son enjoyed pointing out the letters but as a book there wasn’t much to it.
“Ten Little Fish “ by Audrey and Bruce Wood was another cute find this week. The book is a rhyming countdown story about 10 little fish and what happens to them one by one. The illustrations look like an animated movie, and the rhymes are well thought out. My one wish is that the numbers were shown as digits not simply words, so that younger children who can recognize the numbers in digit form but not yet by reading the word could more easily follow along. The ending made me giggle, and you’ll have to grab the book to find out why !
