Candy c

I had to do it! I believe in jumping on experiences to solidify learning, making the learning memorable and giving your child something concrete to attach to it.  This letter of the week activity is timely, and my son was excited to open the candy packages , test a few pieces but glue most on.  I liked it because it also gets rid of some of the hard candies I am still uncomfortable giving him.  Don’t miss the link to another great learning with candy activity from my FamilyEducation.com blog.

1. Gather your materials. You will need 2 pieces of sturdy construction paper, white glue, candy , scissors and a marker.
2. Start by writing a lowercase c ( although this could easily be used for an uppercase craft as well). For letters like c where the letter is similar in both upper and lowercase I try to make the letter small to convey the proper shape to my son. These pictures are close ups but the c actually only took up 1/2 of the page.
3. Add your glue. I was told rather forcefully that this was NOT my job, it was his and my job was to take pictures. He’s going to be fun at 14.
4. Unwrap your candy.
5. Start adding your candy to the glue. Add more glue if necessary.
6. Let dry. We did this in the morning and went out and let it dry for a few hours. Between the glue and the sugar dissolving into it it’s strong once it’s dry. Except for Runts- which all resisted gluing ( makes you wonder what’s in them… a lot of wax perhaps?).
7. Cut out and glue onto the other page of construction paper.

Book

Harriet’s Halloween Candy by Nancy Carlson is the perfect after Halloween read. Harriet is a puppy who after tick or treating is excited about all her candy. She is also very protective of it and doesn’t want to share it with anyone, especially her little brother Walter who was too little to go out trick or treating. She hoards her candy, sorts it and of course eats it. She also hides it, until she runs out of places for it to go , and decides to try to eat it all. A cautionary tale for young children for sure!  My son liked it and he said to me ” Mama I will share my candy with you so I don’t get a tummy ache!” .

Tip about reading holiday books. Kids love to review their experiences with special events like Halloween, going to the pumpkin patch etc… so don’t rush to put away the Halloween books just yet. Now is a perfect time to read them and talk about your child’s experiences. Often times preschoolers will enjoy reading these books even more now , after having the experience to back it up.

Candy Alphabet!

Pop over to Craftitivity Corner on FamilyEducation.com to see how we used our Halloween candy to play with the alphabet!