Letter of The Week I

Island I !

When I asked my son what we could make with the letter I he suggested an igloo, which excited me that he knew that igloo started with I but being July , I suggested we make something less wintery. Not sure that the island looks like and I , it sorta looks like just a palm tree but the lesson did the trick my little sponge has been saying " I igloo, I island" .

1. Gather your materials. You will need 5 different colors of construction paper paper, glue, crayons or markers, and scissors.
2. Start by writing a large upper case I on the brown paper.
3. Have your child color the I. My son was in a monochromatic mood, matching most of his crayons to the paper.
4. While they do that draw some palm leaves, waves and a sun.
5. Have them color those as well.
6. Cut everything out.
7. Glue the waves on first
8. Add more glue
9. Add the I
10. Add the leaves
11. Add the sun
12. Let dry.

" An Island in the Soup " by Mirelle Levert is an award winning book , and it's easy to see why. The story follows a little boy who refusing to eat imagines a fantasy world in his bowl of soup, it rains peas and carrots and he encounters a bad fairy but in the end he eats his delicious soup. The illustrations are perfect although the bad fairy's unibrow is very very frightening!


"It's Mine!" by Leo Lionni is one of my favorite books to pull out when I hear those words... which I have recently. The story is about 3 frogs who all live on a small island, and fight all the time. They take turns claiming this or that never sharing with each other. When a flood comes they learn that they need to rely on each other and share in order to survive. After they learn their lesson they see that the island is a happier place to be when all their energy isn't spent fighting and screaming "It's mine" to each other.



"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 !

Letter of The Week Z!

Zoo Z !

Has your summer already gotten busier than you thought possible? Well this week's letter of the week activity is easy, fun and fast to do! When I am trying to save time or mess with a craft I grab stickers, my son loves them , peeling them off is great fine motor and on a busy day where I don't want even more mess to clean they are a perfect choice for art time!

1. Gather your materials. You will need a piece of white paper, a piece of construction paper, animal stickers, a crayon( or marker), scissors and glue. * Our stickers were a little small but the only ones we had on hand, if I did this again I would use much larger ones.
2. Start by drawing a large uppercase Z.
3. Hand it to your child and have them practice making straight lines, my son did a few before the urge to draw in circles overtook him. That's fine the straight lines are good writing practice but at 2 I am not worried with specifics . The lines straight or curves will be the cage bars.
4. Add your animals to the cage. I encouraged my son to put the animals inside the Z, most got in. This adds a quick in vs out lesson in opposites.
5. Cut out.
6. Add the glue to the construction paper.
7. Add your Z and let dry.

Books!

" Inside a Zoo in the City" by Alyssa Satin Capucilli is a rebus read along , so children who can't read words yet can help read this with pictures put right into the text! The story is repetitive and builds with one animal and page at a time. Preschoolers love these books and the repetitive nature of it makes it interactive and fun!

" 1, 2, 3 To The ZOO" by Eric Carle is fun counting book perfect for toddlers. Actually as I type this my toddler is reading it. There are no words, just pictures and numbers and that makes it perfect for toddlers who are just learning both numbers and animals because parents can read it slowly counting , naming the animals and making the animal sounds, or more quickly just counting!


"Peek-a-Zoo!" by Marie Torres Cimarusti is a vibrant lift the flap book that goes through sounds different animals make while playing peek a boo with the reader. What I like about this book is that the flaps offer a chance for your baby or toddler to anticipate what animal it hiding as well as the sound , so it grows with them. Also the flaps are large enough that little hands can grab them and won't get frustrated.

Pop over to FamilyEducation.com ! And read my reviews of even more Zoo books.

Letter Of The Week O!

Owl O !

When teaching I always did octopus O, but we've already done that here at No Time For Flash Cards. After a few flips through the kids dictionary for ideas for the letter O I laughed at myself for never doing an owl before! I was more excited when my son was eager to do a craft after such a busy day. When it was all done we both couldn't wait to show it off , my son to his dad and me to all of you! .

1. Gather your materials. You will need 3 different colors of construction paper, 1 sheet of white paper, some brown paint, 2 googly eyes, glue, a marker and scissors.
2. Start by drawing a large uppercase O on the white paper.
3. Have your child paint it. I had to include this picture he was just starting to paint but was ecstatic that he made a happy face .
4. While your child paints, cut out a large triangle and 2 feet from one color.
5. Cut out 2 circles with the other paper. Scrap paper would work great for these pieces.
6. Cut out the painted O and glue onto the 3rd piece of paper.
7. Add glue to the top of the O ( you can see the smears where he added extra glue, just wipe any spills with a paper towel ) .
8. Add the triangle
9. Add more glue
10. Add the circles
11. Add the googly eyes.
12. Add the feet- we stuck them under the O but over is fine too. Let dry.

Song!

The Little Brown Owl

Hoo Hoo
Went the little brown owl one night
Hoo Hoo
Went the little brown owl,
Hoo Hoo
Went the little brown owl one night ,
And they all went hoo hoo hoot!

But we all know owls go ,
la di da di da!
la di da di da!
la di da di da!
We all know owls go
la di da di da
they don't go hoo hoo hoot!

Books!

"White Owl , Barn Owl" by Nicola Davies is a really informative sweet book. Although the story is fiction this book is packed with information on every page. The book follows a little girl and her grandpa as they put a nesting box high in a tree for the elusive Barn Owl. They wait and wait and their patience is worth it when they catch a glimpse of the beautiful bird. My son sat for this whole book, listening as I read the facts along with the story. The simple but magical illustrations by Michael Forman were a perfect compliment to the text.

" The Owl And The Pussy Cat" by Edward Lear and Stephane Jorisch . The classic poem is brought to life with whimsical but pretty illustrations. The story of true love sailing off on a beautiful pea green boat is a classic for a reason, it's melodic and will appeal to children in many age groups. I had to memorize this in grade 3 for Madame Griffin and still hold it dear to my heart!

"Owl Babies" by Martin Waddell was an instant hit with my son. I knew it would be, much like little Bill the smallest of the three baby owls my son is fond of saying "I want my mommy". The three birds are distraught when they discover mama owl is not there. I love how they huddle together, and think a lot before mama Owl returns non- challant about the fact that she'd returned. The illustrations of the owls are so expressive , which with very few facial features is impressive. Patrick Benson did a wonderful job bringing all three owl's personalities out visually as well as making the setting ominous without being frightening to young readers. Great book!

Letter of The Week V!

Vase V !

I was trying to decide what to do for the letter v and my brainstorming produced 2 things, vulture and vase. There wasn't really a competition, my son is familiar with vases and I wasn't sure how to make a vulture in the shape of a V anyway. I think I made the right choice!

1. Gather your materials. You will need 4 pieces of construction paper ( the green piece can be a small scrap), some markers or paint, scissors and glue.
2. Start by drawing a large uppercase V, ours filled about 2/3 of the page.
3. Hand the V to your child to decorate with paint or markers.
4. While they paint, draw some flowers. If your child is able to have them draw the flowers.
5. Paint the flowers.
6. While they are putting their own mark on the flowers, cut out some stems from the green paper.
7. Cut out the V when it's dry.
8. Cut out the flowers. I asked my son how many and to pick which flowers he wanted.
9. Glue the V on with the stems underneath.
10. Glue the flowers on and let dry.

Books

"The Reluctant Flower Girl" by Lynne Barash is a sweet story about two sisters. One is getting married and the other is trying her hardest to stop the wedding. April doesn't want her older sister to move out of the house and get married, so she tries her best to make the groom to be go away. I laughed loudly when April tells the groom to be that the bride still wets the bed! He takes all the antics well and never gets angry which I found refreshing and even teases back in an appropriate way. It's a cute book and in the end it's April the flower girl who saves the day.


"The Boy Who Grew Flowers" by Jennifer Wojtowicz is one of those books that stays with you. Rink is a little boy who's family is strange, Rink is no exception, with every full moon he sprouts flowers , from his head. At school he is an outsider and only when a new girl comes to school does he make a friend. He reaches out to her because she too is an outsider, not at school, in her own family. In the end the kindred spirits celebrate their uniqueness. This odd romantic story will warm your heart and serves as a great lesson about how we all feel different and like an outsider sometimes. The illustrations by Steve Adams will stun you, they were so vibrant and paired so perfectly with the story. Wonderful!

Letter of The Week U !

Unicorn U !

There isn't much you can do with U so you can imagine my excitement when my son got attached to a stuffed unicorn at a toy store this past week. We put it back on the shelf with minimal fuss and went to the library to find some books, and home for this craft! I am always asked in which order do I teach letters, and my answer is random. I reinforce letters through crafts and play based on what my son is into, he makes better connections that way and in my experience linking it to a real experiences like the unicorn in the toy store, enables much deeper learning.

1. Gather your materials. You will need at least 2 different color pages of construction paper, we used the colors that we remembered from the toy unicorn but any colors will do. Glitter glue, scissors, a marker and some sparkly sticky back foam ( optional).
2. Start by drawing a large uppercase U
3. You can have your child color it if they want or just cover it in "goop" by son's word for glitter glue.
4. Spread the glitter with your fingers. If your child is able they can make little Us in the glitter glue with their fingers. Let dry.
5. While they do that or while the U is drying and they are washing their hands ( aka playing in the sink) draw a unicorn head . Add an eye with marker, cut out. I used a 3rd piece of paper for the head, my son was adamant that it needed to be purple. However if you could fit it in the same piece as the U if you want to conserve paper.
6. Cut out your U and glue it to the 2nd piece of paper.
7. Add the head.
8. Cut out a horn from your sparkly foam- if you don't have foam you can use more paper and add sparkles to it. I was too impatient to wait for more sparkles to dry and my son was still playing in the sink!
9. Add your horn and let dry!

Books!

"Claire and the Unicorn happy ever after" by B.G. Hennessy is a fantastic book. It was too long for my little man, but after he got up to play with his trains I was still enthralled by the magic world inside the pages. The story is compelling. Claire is in bed reading with her dad when the fairytale they are reading ends with "happily ever after" and she wants to know what that means. Her dad tells her to think about it and tell him in the morning. Well that night her stuffed unicorn and she go on an quest for the answer. The illustrations by Susan Mitchell had me drooling and from time to time my son would return to look too. There is one page with a library fairy and his library and almost cried it was so enchanting! This book is on my must re read to my son in a few moths list for sure.


"The Midnight Unicorn" by Neil Reed made me cry. I don't know why but i was so touched by this book. A little girl goes to the park with her dad, and not for the swings or slides, but for a statue of a unicorn she loves dearly. The unicorn comes to life and they go on a far off adventure with her dog trailing behind. The dad in this book comes across as so kind and gentle and I kept waiting for the unicorn to be her mom who had passed away. I am not sure why I thought that and that isn't what happens but the love between the girl and this mythical creature was so strong my mind jumped ( incorrectly) to that conclusion. It's a beautiful book and worth a look!


"Unicorn Dreams" by Dyan Sheldon and Neil Reed is another wonderful book about imagination and belief. Dan is a little boy who sees a unicorn and gets a lot of slack from his teacher and classmates about it. He never seems too bothered by them laughing at him or calling him "Dreamy Dan" . When he gets a chance to tell them a story in class he tells them all about his unicorn and they become believers too.

All three of these books were great but too long for a toddler- do you know a book about unicorns that is a short enough for kids under 3? Tell me about it!

Letter of the Week Q !

Quinoa Q !

This isn't the prettiest project ever but the tactile element of the quinoa was a big hit . If you are not familiar with quinoa, it's a yummy grain that is similar to cous cous but healthier for you! We love it and it also makes a great addition to a sensory tub , it's small, soft on little hands and not nearly as hard on your feet as lentils. You will want a broom or dust buster handy after this craft.

1. Gather your materials. You will need 2 pieces of construction paper, markers( or crayons), glue, scissors and dry quinoa.
2. Start by drawing a large uppercase Q on one piece of construction paper.
3. Have your child decorate it with markers if they choose. This is a time when you can talk about the letter, making it's sound, talking about upper vs lowercase. Or just letting your child get into coloring. My son was doing this while his dad had lunch and narrated every step to dad at the other end of the table.
4. Cut the beautiful Q out.
5. Glue onto the 2nd piece of paper
6. Add more glue! We took turns , he made puddles of glue and I made a thin line.
   
7. Add the quinoa - before sprinkling it on, give your child some time to play and feel it. We talked about how it is dry and not cooked yet, we don't eat it like this. My son made the connection that it's like rice and I had a proud mama moment.
8. Let dry.

More Alphabet Books!

"Alphabetter" by Dan Bar-el and Graham Ross is another great alphabet book for you to check out. Each letter is represented by a child who has something that starts with the same letter as their name but doesn't have what they want which starts with the following letter. It's such a cute gimmick and so effective while reading that it's not a gimmick at all! At the end of the book all the children pass the items back down the alphabet and everyone gets what they want. Awesome book for toddlers on up !


"The Alphabet From A To Y With The Bonus Letter Z" by Steve Martin was introduced to me by Rebecca when she sent it in for this post . When I saw it at the library I grabbed it and so glad I did. It's a fun book with silly rhymes for each letter and I was surprised that my son sat all the way through it. It's a pretty long alphabet book for a toddler. I liked the details in the illustrations even if the sometimes gross humor was not my favorite, but kids will love it !


"All Aboard : A traveling alphabet" by Bill Mayer was more fun for my husband and I than for my son but that's not a bad thing. It's a book of pictures, with hidden letters in them. For example the letter O is overpass with loops of road and hidden in it is an O. Some letters were easy to find some were hilariously hard. We read this to my son tonight at bedtime and while we stared at the letter H ( highway) picture debating where the h was, he fell asleep between us in his bed. This is a great alphabet book for families with children just learning and those who have mastered the alphabet. Oh and the debate was settled , we were both wrong. The final page highlights the letter in each picture in a compilation of the whole alphabet.

Letter of The Week F !

Flag F

I thought it appropriate to do something in honor of Memorial Day. This requires some prep but the added bonus of a simple patterning lesson was the best part.

1. Gather your materials. You will need 4 pieces of construction paper ( 2 whites, red and blue), scissors, glue, a star paper punch and a marker.
2. Draw a large upper case F on your blue paper.
3. Layer your red and one sheet of white paper with your f and cut out. You only need to cut 2/3 of the way up on the red and white. Save the rest for scrap. This is just a trick to make sure the strips fit the blue f without any trimming.
4. Punch some stars out of the white scrap.
5. Cut the red and white paper into stripes.
6. Glue the F on the 2nd piece of white paper
7. Add your glue!
8. Start adding your stripes, when we did we chanted "Red , white, red , white..." and soon I was able to ask what next and the pattern had stuck . Obviously older children would be able to do this sans the chants!
9. Add more glue at the top of the f.
10. Add the stars. Let dry.

Books

"Alphabet Soup: A Feast of Letters" by Scott Gustafson is a treat! I read a lot of alphabet books and this one stands out for so many reasons. Otter is hosting a potluck and his animal friends are all bringing something to share. Each page is devoted to an animal with a coordinating food item and more. This book is reminiscent of Graham Base's Animalia but mush more toddler friendly. Where Animalia is great for older children because it's so full of detail, this book brings it down a notch but still enchants you with stunning illustrations and fantastic coordinating text.


"M is for Music" by Kathleen Krull is a wonderful book, however it's style and illustrations by Stacy Innerst while funky aren't as literal as I had hoped. This isn't an issue for older children at all, and I really enjoyed the book but the nuanced illustrations were just too hard for a toddler to make the connections . My son still liked many of the pages especially the G is for guitar one. I would use this book for teaching about music more so than as an alphabet book teaching letters.


"A is for Zebra" by Mark Shulman is a fun and unique alphabet book. Perfect for children who have mastered letter recognition and are up for a fun challenge. The trick is that each letter is represented by the last letter of the coordinating picture . A is for zebra ! You will have fun finding the letter on each page as well as items in the adorable illustrations by Tamara Petrosino.

Letter of The Week K !

Key K!

Driving back from music class Thursday I asked my son what letter he wanted to do this coming week. I like doing this because it gives him a chance to think about letters, he will suggest one, I ask him what craft we made for that and together we brainstorm. After many W suggestions ( his favorite letter) we settled on K !

1. Gather your materials. You will need 2 pieces of construction paper, some paint ( we used roller paints because it had been a while, but use whatever you feel like, crayons or markers work too! ) , some sticky back foam, scissors and a marker.
2. Start by drawing an uppercase K on one piece of paper.
3. Next draw some keys on the back paper of the sticky foam. Do not worry about perfection, as long as your child can tell they are keys you are a ok.
4. Cut out
5. Invite your wee one to come and decorate the K, ask them what letter it is and if they are at the stage where they are starting to learn sounds, see if they know the sound. Be relaxed , at this stage we are introducing and exposing kids to this not testing them. There is no pressure and if this causes anxiety in your child - drop it. They have lots of time for school pressure , let's keep learning fun as long as we can!
6. Hand your child the keys and let them play with them, while the paint dries. We pretended we were robots and needed the keys to power up and power down.
7. When the K is dry cut out and glue onto the 2nd piece of paper.
8. Peel off the backing , and stick the keys onto the K.

Letter Discovery Box

The objective of a discovery box is to introduce your child to a selection of things with a common theme. As they dig through they feel as though they are the explorers finding these amazing things! Depending on the theme you can put all sorts of things in to find. For letter of the week find household items, and familiar toys that they can identify, and connect to the letter they are learning. Older children can be challenged by putting objects that do not start with the letter and have them sort them into two piles.

Letter of The Week X !

Xylophone X !

Music is a big passion in our family, my son is nuts over Jazz and can be found playing air upright bass intermittently throughout the day. He recently discovered the xylophone and loves it. So keeping with that I decided to do Xylophone X today for our letter of the week. Not like I have many other choices for this letter anyway. It's a huge bonus if you can tap into your child's passions. No matter what the lesson is about, counting, letters, colors... if it includes something your child is into they are more likely to be more fully engaged and retain the lesson.

1. Gather your materials. You will need 2 pieces of construction paper, some markers, 5 colors of foam ( more construction paper would work too), glue and scissors.
2. Start by drawing a large X on one piece of construction paper.
3. Have your child color it if they want. The audience of garbage trucks is optional.
   
4. While they are coloring cut out 4 strips of foam, each slightly smaller then the previous.
5. Cut out small squares of foam - please skip this if you have a young toddler who still likes to eat things.** you should cut out your X here, I had a momentary lapse and forgot, trust me it's easier if you do it now, glue it onto your 2nd piece of paper.
6. Add 4 long lines of glue
7. Add your foam bars
8. Add dots of glue on each end of each bar
9. Add the tiny foam squares.
10. Let dry.

* If desired you can make small mallets and glue them in the extra space of the X. I had them cut out but as you may be able to see in some pictures, my son had his garbage trucks watching art time and ready to go. At this point was more into filling them with foam scraps than doing any more art.

Books!

"I Know A Shy Fellow Who Swallowed A Fly" by Barbara S. Garriel was an instant favorite with my son. The text is a reworked version of "An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly" but this guy has a hankering for musical instruments. My son giggled through the book, and was very adamant that no one could swallow a harp but this fellow did ! I liked this book because it's a fun and absurd, as well as educational. If your wee one is as into instruments as mine, you have to read this book.


"Meet The Orchestra" by Ann Hayes is a good resource for teaching about musical instruments. The book goes through many instruments found in an orchestra with a sizable description for each. Animals are used for the musicians and my son thought that was funny and actually learned a bit about them as well. It was really too long for us to sit and read cover to cover but it's easy to break up and read one or two instruments at a time if it's too much for your child in one sitting. Also there is some figurative language that young kids will not get at all. Helpful for teaching but I don't expect it to become a favorite to snuggle up with.




"Zin Zin Zin ! A Violin" by Lloyd Moss is a big hit at our house and if you have a child into music or musical instruments this is a great book. You count the instruments as they come on stage for a performance and not only is this a great counting book, but it introduced musical instruments in it's rhyming text and super fun pictures. I am biased though my little man is really really into instruments and loves this book. The day we bought it I had to sit in the back with him on the way home from the bookstore because he couldn't wait to read it .

Additional Alphabet Activity

Letter

Lacing Card

Click here for the full how to.


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Letter of the Week A !

Alligator A !

This is a pretty classic letter of the week idea, but my son and I were both so excited about how cute the alligator turned out to be. The foam teeth and googly eyes really helped turn the A into an alligator. Don't miss the additional activity for more ideas about how to incorporate letters into playtime.

1. Gather your materials. You will need 2 pieces of construction paper ( different colors), 2 googly eyes, some white foam or paper will do, glue, scissor and markers.
2. Draw a large upper case A on one piece of construction paper. I added two triangles on one side of the A for eyes.
3. Give your child the A and have them color it to their liking. We have been talking about inside vs outside a lot this week so I shouted out "Inside the A" and 'Outside the A" and my son obliged, it made it a little silly but fun.
4. While they color cut out some triangles for alligator teeth.
5. Cut out the A
6. Glue it on the 2nd piece of paper.
7. Add glue to the eyes ( you can see where we had glue all over above the eye, no biggie, just wipe it)
   
8. Add the googly eyes
9. Add dots of glue for the teeth
10. Add the teeth. Let dry.

Books!

"SNIP SNAP! What's That? " by Mara Bergman was a great library find. The book is about an alligator who sneaks into an apartment filled with three very terrified children. I love that the story changes when the children decide to stop being afraid and to fight back. My son really enjoyed the book, he liked he use of onomatopoeia throughout and the exaggerated illustrations of the alligator. After we read it at lunch he asked for it to be his nap time book, and again for it at bedtime. That is a good review from a 2 year old!

"Alligator Alphabet" by Stella Blackstone and Stephanie Bauer. I was so excited to find this book because just this week my son started pointing out lower case letters in text. This book is a beautifully illustrated book with each letter represented on it's own page. Pretty standard right? Wrong, although the text below the illustration had both upper and lower case letters, the main illustration is only the lower case letter. This is perfect for children like my son who are just starting to learn their lowercase letters.


"Alligator Baby" by Robert Munsch is a ridiculous story that will have your child laughing and screaming "No no that's not a people baby!" The story is about a family who brings home the wrong baby, over and over again. Finally the older sister takes things into her own hands and saves the day. Kids love this story, it's not the best bedtime book though, my son was very very hard to settle down after laughing so hard at this one.

Additional Activity

Cookie Sheet Letter Board



Looks simple doesn't it? It is. All I did was buy $1 magnetic letters at Wal-mart and grabbed a cookie sheet from my pantry. My son has been playing with this on and off for days. Here are some of the fun things we've done.

• All the letters on the sheet- take turns finding a letter and taking it off
• All letter off the sheet, taking turns finding a letter and putting it on
• Grouping the letters by color
• Counting the letters as we put each on , and taking them off again.

Of course we labeled each letter as we did this. It is definitely simple but it was also a lot of fun.

Earth Day Inspired - Letter Of The Week !

Tree T !

So this was not quite what I imagined in my perfectly optimistic head, but my son liked it, after doing it we were reading a book that had trees in it and he said "Look mama, T for Tree!" I wanted to make it from mostly recycled materials, to stick with the Earth Day theme we will be doing all week. Below I have linked a reader submitted spring tree craft that would be a great add on to this activity!

1. Gather your materials. You will need a cardboard egg carton, green and brown paint, glue, scissors, a marker and a large piece of construction paper.
2. Start by drawing a large T on your paper.
3. Cut a long piece of the cardboard off the top of the egg carton for the trunk.
4. Paint the trunk brown
5. Paint the bottom of the egg carton green, for older kids I would cut them before painting, but little guys need to have a larger object to paint.
6. Let the paint dry.
7. When the paint is dry enough to handle cut the egg carton into "Leaves" aka smaller pieces.
8. grab the glue and add glue to the bottom of the T
9. Add the painted trunk
10. Add glue to the top
11. Add the egg carton leaves.
12. Let dry.

Books!

" the alphabet tree" by Leo Lionni is a stunning book. The book is all about letters that come together to make words and then after a caterpillar informs them that they need to say something they join together to make sentences. Up to this point the book is a brilliant teaching tool , but for me the best part is yet to come. When the words get together they decide to say " Peace on earth goodwill toward all men" and then the caterpillar asks them to jump on his back so he can take the words to the president . Considering it was written in 1968 it's quite the statement. A fantastic activity to do with your child after reading this would be to ask them what they would write to the president ? For younger children using letters on leaves you could spell out easy 3 letter words like they do early on in the story. All in all a brilliant book.

"Chicka Chicka abc" by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault is a favorite. A lot of parents are familiar with Chicka Chicka Boom Boom but not this shorter board book version that is perfect for young toddlers . I started my son with this one and moved on to Chicka Chicka Boom Boom at about 2. The colors are so bright even the youngest of babies will like it and the rhythm of the text will keep toddlers going too!


"Up , Up, Down" by Robert Munsch is a cute and funny story about a little girl who climbs and climbs and falls and falls! She decides to climb to the very top of the tree. This time she doesn't fall and doesn't come down until it's time to lecture her parents withe their own words. Kids love this book, it's silly , it's about climbing and has giant band aids in it, what kid wouldn't love it?

Additional Activity
Sent In By You


Isn't this beautiful?
Bring a little of the outdoors in , and reuse bubble wrap with this adorable spring bud craft !
Pop over to The Entertaining House for the full how to.

Letter Of The Week S s !

Seahorse S

This craft can be used for letter of the week or as part of an under the sea theme. Living by the ocean we are always finding and learning about things in the sea. Seahorses are favorites in our house and this was surprisingly easy to make !

1. Gather your materials. You will need 1-2 full size pieces of construction paper ( two if you want to mount the finished seahorse on some paper), water colors, paintbrush, some water, glue, sparkles, scissors, a googley eye and some scrap paper.
2. Start by drawing an S on your paper, I used the seahorse on "Mister Seahorse" below as a guide, but a regular upper case S would do the trick.
3. Hand the letter over to your child to paint with water colors.
4. While they paint cut the scrap paper into little fin shapes, we did some triangle and some trapezoids.
5. Set the S aside to dry and hand your child some glitter to use on the shapes. Let dry
6. Glue the googley eye on .
7. Glue the shapes onto the S
8. When everything is dry cut the S out and glue onto a 2nd piece of construction paper.

Books !

" Secret Seahorse" by Stella Blackstone is a fascinating and beautiful board book. The story follows a little seahorse that hides on each page as it makes it's way along the ocean back to it's family. The illustrations are felt, fabric, sequins and other fun and very beautiful hand stitched creations. I am never ready for the next page because the previous has so much to look and marvel at. Kids like finding the seahorse on each page too!




"Mister Seahorse" by Eric Carle is a story about the more involved fish fathers in the sea. Mister seahorse isn't the only fish that takes care of his eggs until they hatch , in the book we meet other dads that do too. I didn't realize how many people don't like this book until I read some reviews on amazon when ordering the book a few months ago. Many parents are off put by the father fish who announces he is "babysitting" his own baby fish. It never really bugged me even though when a parent says that in real life it irks me. All the positive daddy fish outweighs that one comment for me.

Letter of the Week Repost !

Rabbit R !

This was originally posted this past fall but after a long weekend filled with visiting grandparents, we had no time for a new letter activity. This one is perfect considering Easter is just around the corner. Don't miss the link at the end of the post, it will take you to all the Easter crafts so far from this year and last.

1. Gather your materials. You will need 2 pieces of construction paper, a pipe cleaner, a marker, glue , scissors and some paint.
2. Draw a large R and some rabbit ears on your construction paper.
3. Have your child paint the R and the ears. While painting my son sounded like a pirate repeating " Arr!" over and over while hitting the paint dobbers onto the paper.
4. Cut the R and ears out, snip the pipe cleaner in half and twist to make whiskers.
5. I made a R out of glue and then my son was able to match up where his R was supposed to go on the paper.
6. Add the ears and whiskers on. My son was patting the ears on so fast you can barely see his arm!
   
7. Let dry!

Song!


Little Bunny Foo Foo

Little bunny foo foo ,
hopping through the forest,
scooping up the field mice ,
and bopping them on the head!

Down came the Good Fairy,
and she said ,
"Little bunny foo foo, I don't want to see you,
scooping up the feild mice and bopping them on the head!
I'll give you three chances before I turn you into a gooooooon!"

• Repeat until no more chances!

Click Here
For a full list of our Easter themed acitivities

Letter Of The Week E !

Easter Egg

E !



I haven't done too many Easter crafts but I couldn't help but do this very obvious letter of the Week Activity! I like using water colors because even harsh reds and greens looked muted when they are done with water colors.

1. Gather your materials. You will need 2 pieces of construction paper, some fancy card stock( or regular old colored paper of any sort) scissors or a oval paper punch, glue, water colors and a marker.
2. Write a large uppercase E on one piece of construction paper.
3. Have your child paint the E to their liking with the water colors.
4. While they are painting cut out multiple eggs from the fancy paper.
5. When your little Picasso is done add the glue.
6. Add the eggs, my son was so speedy with this I barely got a photo!
7. Let dry
8. Cut the E out and Glue to the 2nd piece of paper.

Letter of The Week Mmmmm !

Marshmallow M !

This project is much more a counting activity than art, my son was offered to color or paint his paper but declined ( he saw the marshmallows) so instead we counted our hand fulls of marshmallows before placing them on the glue . Many were eaten but lots of fun and learning was too so I didn't mind too much.

1. Gather your materials. This is an easy project all you need are some mini marshmallows, 2 pages of construction paper ( one will do the trick though) a marker and some glue.
2. Start by writing an uppercase M on the paper.
3. Add glue to it, now older children can add the glue to the M, I offered this job to my son but he declined saying "no no I do marshmallows" .
4. Add the marshmallows. The way we did it was I gave him a handful, he counted them as he put them on 1, 2, 3, 4,5, 6 for example and then he got to eat the last.
5. Keep going!
6. Let dry.
7. Cut out and glue onto a 2nd paper to make it sturdier if you are displaying it.

Big and Little
Marshmallow Sorting

This is a simple but effective sorting activity , my son loved it and woke up asking to do it this morning, although I suspect he just wanted another marshmallow! This idea can be used with any object that you can find 2 sizes of. My son also loved squishing the large marshmallows, in his hands so there is a sensory aspect to this too! I know these sorts of activities can seem boring to adults but they are really very useful and kids gain a lot from them.

1. Gather your materials. You need a divided tray ( thank you dollar store) or 3 separate bowls. Large and small marshmallows. I also added in the words Big and Little in the correct sections of the tray.
2. Show your child how to put the little marshmallow where is says little, and repeat for the big marshmallow.
3. Place all the marshmallows in the center piece or middle bowl and ask them to find the right place for little and big marshmallows.
   
4. Sort !

Letter of the Week G !

Green Grass G !

When I think of spring I think of the flowers and the grass peaking from the snow, for the letter of the week we are going green and celebrating spring !

1. Gather your materials. You will need 2 pieces of construction paper, some green markers or crayons, green Easter grass , glue and scissors.
2. Start by drawing a large upper case G
3. Have your child color the G with the green markers.
4. Next add the glue !
5. Add the grass- I pulled some of the grass apart to make it easier for my son to glue it on.
6. Keep going until it's covered. Let dry
7. Cut out the G and glue it onto the 2nd piece of paper.

I was really surprised by how much my son loved this, I thought he would enjoy it but we ended up playing with the grass for a long time after the craft, and I am trying to think up ways to using it later in the week!

Book!

"Stanley Mows The Lawn" by Craig Frazier is such a visually stunning book, I love the color green and my eyes were in heaven looking at page after page of the different hues, perspectives and uniquely Frazier illustrations. The story holds up well too it's simple but effective. My son loved Hank the snake who inspires Stanley to mow the lawn in a new and creative way and begged for more as soon as I closed the book!

Don't forget to enter the Music Together , Family Favorites CD giveaway I am hosting over at Blissful Kids !

Letter Of The Week S s !

Star S !

Stars are my favorite shape and I couldn't resist making our letter of the week into a starry creation, we were also eager to test out our new glitter. This craft is a great add on to a shape or better yet a space theme! Bet you thought it was going to be a shamrock S , not today but we still have a few St. Patrick's Day activities to come !

1. Gather your materials. You will need 3 pieces of construction paper ( 1 black, 2 neutral) , markers, glitter paint, scissors and glue.
2. Start by having your child paint the black paper with glitter glue.
3. While they do that draw a large S on the lighter paper
4. On the 2nd piece draw some stars. I used a cookie cutter for one, and free styled the others, hmmm perhaps I should have traced the cookie cutter for all of them !
5. Time to color the S, use the markers. We didn't use the glitter but you can if you want .
6. When they are done with the S, add glitter to the stars. Our glitter was a little hard to get out so I squeezed and my son smeared.
7. Let everything dry.
   
8. Cut out the S and glue it onto the black paper.
9. Cut out the stars
10. Add them to the S
    
11. Let dry.

Books!



"Draw Me A Star" by Eric Carle is often not read in classrooms simply because of a beautiful depiction of a naked man and woman. It's not what most parents expect to find in an Eric Carle book but it is very fitting in this beautiful and really touching book. The story although very similar to a biblical creation story isn't necessarily reflective only of a christian view point , rather as I read it is was the author's own creation. It begins and ends with a star , and hits all the right points in between.



" How to Catch a Star" by Oliver Jeffers is a sweet story about a little boy who wants a star of his own. I loved the bright and simplistic illustrations and the message about holding on to your dreams, working for them and figuring out that sometimes things come to you in packages you don't expect! Great book!

Letter Of The Week N !

Number N

My son is way into numbers right now, it was letters for so long I was starting to think he would never be into anything else! Wrong. Now he points out numbers at the grocery store, numbers in books, everywhere we go. I am not sure when I will stop hearing "More numbers, more numbers mama!" so I am running with it and here is out letter for the week!

*

Gather your materials. You will need some heavy paper or cardboard, small pieces of paper, one piece of construction paper, marker, glue, paint and scissors. I am using the do a dot paint because the paint goes on really light and you can glue on it without waiting. Always good with toddlers! Start by making a large uppercase N on the cardboard. Don't worry if it's perfect, as long as your child can tell it's an N, it's doing it's job. Invite your child to art time and have them paint the N, I try to have everything laid out so it's enticing and organized when my son comes to see what we are doing, on those days everything really does go much more smoothly. While they paint write numbers on the small pieces of paper, I am using some scrap card stock, which will hold up to being glued better than thinner paper.If your child is able to , have them write the numbers themselves. Add whatever numbers your child is interested in. Grab the glue. Add your numbers and label them as your child adds them. Let dry. When dry cut the N out and glue onto the construction paper.

Books

" 1, 2, 3 To The ZOO" by Eric Carle is fun counting book perfect for toddlers. Actually as I type this my toddler is reading it. There are no words, just pictures and numbers and that makes it perfect for toddlers who are just learning both numbers and animals because parents can read it slowly counting , naming the animals and making the animal sounds, or more quickly just counting!" Daddy Hugs" by Karen Katz is a cute little counting book for toddlers. I gave it to my husband last year for his first father's day and my son hated it. However in the year since it's become a favorite and nothing beats a board book for when toddlers get to that destructo stage.

" Construction Countdown" by K.C Olson is a counting book that uses backhoes, dump trucks and cement mixers among other things to count. Before I even closed the book my son was signing for more. I read it 4 times since getting it out of the library today. A huge hit here!

Letter Of The Week and More !

Heart H !

How could I not do this? I already did a heart H previously and was just going to repost it but when my son woke up from nap early ( don't you hate that?) he asked for art so we made a new one, he was pretty little when we did the last so it was fun to do a slightly different version with glitter foam.

1. Gather your materials. You will need 2 pieces of construction paper, some foam sheets, glue , markers and scissors.
2. Draw a large H on one piece of construction paper.
3. Have your child color the H if they want, mine was eager to glue so we skipped it.
4. While they color ( if they color) cut out some hearts from the foam sheets.
5. Time to glue !
6. Add the hearts. We talked about the big and little hearts and how we wanted to keep them in the H, not out of the H. I have been sneaking in these little lessons while doing art. If they get frustrated with you drop it but if you get a dialogue going, run with it! Let dry.
   
7. Cut out the H
8. Glue on to the 2nd piece of construction paper.
9. Show off your awesome work !

Additional Activities

Heart Match


Sorting, classifying and matching objects are all skills that parents probably see their children doing naturally. These are all skills we want to encourage as they are important foundations for math, logical thinking and problem solving. Here is a super quick and easy activity we have been having fun with all weekend.

1. Gather your materials. You will need some fun paper, I am using card stock I had on hand, but if you are doing this with a toddler I would stick to solid colors. The patterns were tricky for my son at first. We want it to be challenging but not frustrating. You will also need a heart paper punch or scissors and a tray or dish with multiple compartments. I got this one at the dollar store for 99 cents !
2. Make multiple hearts in the different papers. If your child is very young start with 2 colors, and add more for older , more experienced kids.
3. Take one of each color/pattern and tape it to the bottom of the container as a guide for your child.
4. Invite your child up to test out the fun . * Since making this early on Saturday it's been played with 5 times, definitely worth it!

Letter of The Week L l !

Ladder L !

Last night at dinner I asked my son what letter we should do tomorrow, he immediately said L. So I was thinking of more figurative things like love for valentine's day but that's hard for little guys to understand. My husband put down his fork and said "Ladder" well this morning at church, my son pointed at a ladder and remembering the conversation at dinner said " Ladder L !" So here it is !

1. Gather your materials. You will need 3 pieces of construction paper, some markers scissors and glue.
2. Start by giving your child a piece of construction paper to draw on. Older children can draw flames, or a fire engine or perhaps a construction site. Little ones can just explore with markers. My son drew legs. Don't ask- another recent obsession.
3. While they color, draw a large L with the red paper. Add a some legs on either end of the L.
4. Cut some rungs out of the black paper.
5. Cut the L out and glue it on the drawing when your child is ready. For us that was about 30 minutes after he finished drawing since he needed a break to play with is firetrucks. This is normal, I just go with it, he always comes back sooner or later.
6. Add the glue to the L for the ladder.
7. Add the rungs.
8. Let dry!

Song!



I'm a big red firetruck, firetruck, fire truck!
I'm a big red firetruck , I come to the rescue!

My lights flash on and off, on and off on and off!
My lights flash on and off to say I'm on the way!

My ladders stretch way up high, way up high, way up high!
My ladders stretch way up high, up to the sky!

My hoses spray the water out, water out, water out!
My hoses spray the water out , until the fire's gone!

Books!

"The Little Fire Engine" by Lois Lenski is a simple little book about a fire engine that goes to put out fires. Nothing special but every time my son sees it at the library he won't let it go. In 6 months we've taken it out 4 times. I think the bright retro illustrations ( it was originally published in the early 60's) and the simple text is what makes it so appealing.


" Fire Engines" by Anne Rockwell is the current favorite at our house. I found it at a thrift store for twenty five cents and I am definitely getting much more than my moneys worth! It's a cute book with easy text and cute cartoon dalmatians as fire fighters. I particularly love that there is a fire boat in the book since we often see those around here. Cute book for fire engine lovers!