Archive for September 2009
Flash Card Garland
See flash cards are good for something! When a friend asked recently if flash cards were good for anything, I jokingly replied with ” You could make a craft with them!” and so this idea was born. Flash cards aren’t inherently bad, if you play, create or need them to accommodate disabilities they can be fun or even crucial. However sitting and teaching the average preschooler with them just isn’t the best way, rote memorization and learning are not equal. So if you have some don’t throw them away, make this and dress up your playroom or kids bedroom .
- Gather your materials. You will need flash cards, some card stock ,double stick tape, scissors , ribbon, and a hole punch.
- Start by deciding on a pattern for your paper. My son helped me and we took the opportunity to talk about patterns.
- Cut the paper to size.
- Attach the flash card on the paper with the double stick tape.
- Punch two holes at the top.
- Repeat 25 more times.
- Time to start lacing the cards on. I used just over 9 feet of ribbon. I left extra on both ends just in case. This is not a fun part of the craft, I forgot G and had to re-lace H-P.
- Tie bows at the end of the ribbons once all the letters are laced on.
- Put it up. My playroom is too small to allow me to get a good shot of the whole thing!
For another fun alphabet activity check out what I posted today at
Drinking Straw Truck
This was a collaborative effort, my son was watching a show about the Three Little Pigs and the one pig with a straw house sparked his interest in making something with drinking straws. So his first request was a train, but we didn’t have enough straws so we settled on a pick up truck. This does require some prep but I love how it turned out. The placing of the straws is tricky but it’s a great lesson in fine motor and patience!
- Gather your materials. You will need drinking straws, 2 pieces of construction paper, a marker, crayons, scissors, glue and 2 milk caps.
- Start by drawing a truck on a piece of paper, if your child is able to have them do this. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect, mine certainly isn’t, as long as your child knows it’s a truck you are set.
- Give your child the 2nd piece of paper and explain the truck needs a road. We used black paper and white and yellow crayons.
- While they are doing this ( or before you even invite them to the table) cut the straws to fit over the truck, I did the cutting them made three piles, the hood, the cab and the bed.
- Add glue, a lot of glue.
- Spread said glue around.
- Add the straws. We did them by group, and I showed him how to do it for the first , then he did the rest. This is tricky so I find if I prepare him for it to be delicate, and tricky he doesn’t get frustrated when it’s hard. I tell him over and over how tricky it is, but that I know he can do it, and it’s okay to ask for help, even mommy thinks it’s hard. It works for us ( most days).
- Keep adding them until the picture is covered.
- Add the milk lids for wheels and let dry. It takes ages to dry.
- Cut out and glue onto the road way they made.
Books
“The Three Little Rigs” by David Gordon is a fresh twist on the classic Three Little Pigs with trucks instead of pigs. My son ate this book up, he loved it. The “wolf” in the story is a wrecking ball that smashes and crashes the Little Rigs garages , I thought he was a little scary but after reading the book I asked my son his favorite part and sure enough he said the wrecking ball. I loved the illustrations and was not surprised one bit to read that the author/illustrator has done work for Pixar.
“Trucks Whizz! Zoom! Rumble!” by Patricia Hubbell was another hit with my son. The book is about all the trucks that one can find on the road, from armoured trucks to diggers and of course garbage trucks! My son is a huge garbage truck fan and was elated when there wasn’t just one but two in this book! The text rhymes and chugs along well with the whimsical collaged illustrations by Megan Halsey. Many of the drivers in the book are animals and when I asked my osn if elephants really drive trucks he looked at me seriously and said ” Sometimes they do! ” , regardless of my son’s take on reality he really enjoyed this book and if your child is as into trucks as he is they will too.
“When Daddy’s Truck Picks Me Up” by Jana Novotany Hunter is not so much a book about trucks as it is about trust in your parents. A little boy is excited to see his dad who is a truck driver and away from home often, today is the day he comes to preschool to pick him up, or maybe not. What I like about this book is that your child gets to see that the dad is eager to get to the school to see his little guy as much as the littl eboy is eager to see his dad. Sadly sometimes even when arents try to get there on time they just aren’t, but that doesn’t mean they won’t get there as soon as they can and still love you . I can say that in all my years of teaching classes a late parent was almot a daily event, and while it was nothing to us teachers a young child is thrown for a loop! I think this book is a wonderful resource for parents to talk about the possibility of this happening.
Door d !
Sometime a craft really makes you proud, I know this isn’t rocket science but I was pretty excited when I thought of this , it reminds me of the lift the flap books that my son still loves and has since he was a baby. Inside the door we hid a dinosaur! Even with it’s novelty the craft is fast and easy .
- Gather your materials. You will need 2 pieces of construction paper, some crayons, scissors, a marker, glue and a sticker or two.
- Start by writing a lowercase d on one piece of paper.
- Have your child color the d. My son discovered he can hold multiple crayons in one hand for maximum coverage!
- Cut out the d and cut the inner circle on 3 sides. Leave one side attached and fold carefully back.
- Glue the d back on. My son was insistent that he do the gluing , I wanted to do it so it didn’t get on the flap but conceded to writing x where he needed to put it. He did great and I was reminded yet again to chill out.
- Place it on the 2nd piece of paper.
- Add the sticker, you could also add a door knob, my wee one declared ” No door knobs mama, you’re silly” a hole punch dot would be perfect if you want one.
- Let dry!
Books!
” Dogabet” by Dianna Bonder is a fun playful alphabet book, perfect for animal lovers. We love dogs in our house so this was a sure fire hit, but even if you can’t tell a foxhound from a poodle you will like the busy pages and cute alliterative text. Each page is devoted to one letter and a corresponding breed of dog, our favorites were the Otterhounds with their oboes and the purple Pugs. Also at the back of the book there is a guide to hidden images on each page that all begin with the proper letter, as well as a cat and bone. My son loved this book and playing “detective” with it.
“Sleepy ABC” by Margaret Wise Brown . I had never read this book before, and although I have a legendary hatred of Runaway Bunny I generally love this author, I can’t get enough of The Big Red Barn right now. I like this book, and the illustrations will zip you back in time for sure. Unlike many alphabet books it has a great rhythm for reading it all without breaks. My one complaint is that the child is tucked into bed then a few letters later is out listening to a story from another woman not their mom. I am not sure perhaps those are different children, didn’t bug my son one bit, but left me wondering. Like it’s title suggests it’s a good alphabet book for a bedtime read, it even ends with something I say often ” Go To Sleep!”.
“ABeCedarios : Mexican Folk Art ABCs in English and Spanish” by Cynthia Weill and K.B.Basseches , wood sculptures by Moises and Armando Jimenez. This is a simple but amazing book. The text is simply labels in both English and Spanish for the bright and wonderful photographs of the matching sculptures. I loved that for X the sculpture is of a mythical animal and the book asks the reader to make up a name begining with X, very clever!
Gratuitous Picture of My Son
Letter of the Week will be up tomorrow!
I packed up my monster yesterday and we went into the city and to the Seattle Art Museum. I’ve taken him to galleries and to kids museums before but this was his first time checking out a museum with diverse and masterful works . I was giddy with the thought of him seeing a real Warhol, I was in my 20s before I got to. After our art project I have tips below on how to make field trips like this work for toddlers. Of all the awesome art we saw yesterday the one that he enjoyed and was the easiest to adapt to our needs was Sea Change by Jackson Pollock .
- Gather your materials. You will need some paper, canvas or cardboard. We used cardboard because you need to have a fairly large piece and it’s all we had. You will need paint( I thinned ours just a tiny bit with a few drops of water) , a plate and some paint brushes.
- Start by laying your canvas down with some extra paper or cardboard , this is messy.
- Pour your paint onto a plate – we just used one plate but you can do different ones for each color.
- Dip your brush in and fling it on. To get my son to use the right flinging action I told him to put a spell on the canvas, and it was perfect. We both flung the paint on.
- He took my brush and put a double spell on it too!
- Then we reached for the paint jars.
- Let Dry.
This is a true lesson, while doing this we talked about the painting we saw and how Jackson Pollock made it. I asked him if this was as big as the painting we saw and other little questions to make connections to the field trip and this activity. Most of all though we had fun putting spells on the canvas.
Tips for Successful
Museum Field TripsFeed them right before you go , hungry = cranky.
Have realistic expectations. We lasted almost an hour.
Don’t linger , accept that you may not have time to read the info for the works, at least I didn’t. After getting home and my son was napping I went on the museum’s website and caught up on what I missed.
If they really like a specific work of art go back to it, many times if need be. For me today was a chance to teach my son that art isn’t just in books . That people can experience it collectively, and it’s not static. That sounds lofty but it’s absolutely attainable if you break it down. By returning to a painting he liked ( Target by Jasper Johns) three times I was trying to foster a desire and love of seeing art in person. I want him to like art and museums and so following his lead was helping attain that.
When they say loudly that they are done, head for the elevators. This was the only time I shushed him today but it was clear to me and the 4 others looking at the alter pieces it was time to pack it in.
Have fun !
