Bb is for Bat and more Batty Activities...

 

We made this simple bat craft and had fun flying around the house! 

 

Above you can see how the parts that I cut out for little man. I guided him as he glued them together.  After making our bats, I thought that this would be cute attached to a toilet paper tube.  You could have them paint it black first. Just a thought. 

Other activities..
We focused on the letter Bb and the sound it makes.  Sing a song.. Bb is for bat.. ba ba ba, Bb is for bat... ba ba ba.

Read a bat poem/song..

Bats Are Sleeping
Tune: Frere Jacques

Bats are sleeping
Bats are sleeping
Upside down.
Upside down.
Sleeping in the morning sun.
Waiting for the night to come.
Then they'll fly all around.
Then they'll fly all around.

Read a book.. my favorite.. Stellaluna

 

Pretend you are a bat. Be prepared to hear the kids squeal as they see a grown person flapping their wings and running around.

Learn about bats.  When do they sleep?  What do they eat?  What other animals are similar to bats?  How are they different.

So many more bat ideas here... Going Batty from Kinder Korner.

For older children..

My kids (8 and 10) love to research animals.  They would enjoy learning more about different types of bats and then using this info to create a PowerPoint slide show.

The following are  links to bat websites...
KidZone: BAT FACT INDEX
Smithsonian: Bat facts
Bats4Kids.org
Discovery Kids: Are bats really blind?

Write a poem or funny story about a bat?  Write an interview for a bat.. what questions would you ask a bat?

Read Stellaluna with older children and then watch the cartoon.  Have them compare and contrast the movie with the book.  Which did they like better and why?



Enjoy!
Jen

Little Quack Counts and Activities

Little Quack is an adorable and curious little duckie!  In the book, Little Quack Counts by Lauren Thompson, Little Quack explores things in his world around him. He counts ladybugs, fish, dragonflies, and bees.  The book takes a fun twist when he counts the bees!  Perfect beginner book for babies and toddlers or those just learning to count.

Activities

Little Quack Craft: After drawing Little Quack on paper for the kids, I had markers and crayons available for them to color.  Paint would also be a good option.  I talked about how the duck is yellow with an orange beak.  Next, we pasted a feather on Little Quack.

Explore Feathers: After creating Little Quack, the kids (ages 13 months and 2.5 enjoyed exploring and playing with feathers).  Little man liked fitting as many feathers as he could into a small bottle.  Great sensory activity for little hands.

Color Fun:  We had a yellow day... being Little Quack is Yellow!  We talked about the different objects that were yellow.  Also, played with yellow pom poms- transfer activity.  And of course we had to play with yellow Play-doh! 

Fun day for the little ones with lots of beginning learning!

Jen

The Foot Book and Activity

After reading The Foot Book by Dr. Suess, Little Man and I had fun exploring all kinds of feet!!

I found these wonderful animal feet cards at kidz club (love this site) and made this file folder activity.  You can also go to the site and print them in black and white for coloring.

I decided not to cut out the animals. I pasted them on the inside of the folder.

On the back of the folder, I made a pocket for storage for the feet.  (After printing out the feet, I glued them on colorful cardstock.)

A fun activity that is easy to store and pulled out when we study animals or visit The Foot Book again.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot.. I also traced Little Man's feet and let him decorate them!

For more fun with FEET...

1. Feet crafts.. make a chick, butterfly, or bumble bee!
2. Ff is for fish, fingers, and feet!
3. It's Jello Time... walk in Jello??
4. The Foot Book Printables and Teaching Ideas-
    www.apples4theteacher.com.

“In the house,

and on the street,

how many, many

feet you meet.”

Dr. Suess

Chameleon Themed Books and Activities

My children have always been fascinated with chameleons! When peanut was just 2, she would ask the librarian for the same Chameleon book weekly- Chameleon, Chameleon by Joy Cowley.  She adored the photos in this non-fiction book and would "read" along with her favorite parts.

Little man has been fascinated by the chameleon characters in his fiction books: The Mixed up Chameleon by Eric Carle, A Color of His Own by Leo Lionni, and Chameleon's Colors by Chisato Tashiro . 

Chameleon isn't happy with being a chameleon and wishes to be like other animals, even humans.  We enjoy seeing him get mixed up as he wishes to be a flamingo, a deer, and more.  At the end of the story it teaches a great lesson about being happy with just being you! 

Activities

1. Act out the story with...

The Mixed Up Chameleon Story Patterns from Kiz Club

2. Paint a chameleon
Art Project by in His grace

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"Parrots are green, elephants are gray, pigs are pink." But chameleons change color wherever they go. "On lemons they are yellow. In the heather they are purple." One chameleon is not pleased with his changeable appearance. He thinks, "If I remain on a leaf, I shall be green forever, and so I too will have a color of my own."

Read to find out what this chameleon discovers! Another sweet story about accepting who you are. Great for teaching colors and camouflage science concepts.

Activities

1. Explore camouflage with this cool activity!

Colorful chameleons activity by Helping Little Hands

2.  Play a game.

Camouflage Chameleon Game by Bright Hub Education

3.  Toddler Activity
After cutting out a variety of different colored chameleons, have your child match colorful pom poms to the different chameleons.  For fine motor fun, provide plastic chop sticks. (If creating the above game, the chameleons can be reused for this activity.)

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What a fun story written by the Japanese author, Chisato Tashero. We love the colorful illustrations of the different animals yearning to be different colors and patterns.  What happens when all of the animals turn different colors?  Read to find out how the problem in this story is solved! Great story to be combined with the above stories of self acceptance and differences. 

Activities

 

1.  Make a Chameleon Puppet

Toilet Paper Roll Craft from DTLK

-just add a popsicle stick to make it into a puppet

2.  Explore Culture
Teach your child about Japan. Read a book or explore online.  Next, share on a  map Japan's location in relation to our country.  Share simple phrases in Japanese.

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More chameleon themed printables/activities-

ABC matching chameleon cards from The Virtual Vine

Chameleon Party Blowers from Disney Family

Books we'd like to explore...

So much fun.. looking forward to doing lots of chameleon activities with my kiddos... hope you'll join in on the fun!  Leave a link in the comments if you have a post or a fun idea!!

Enjoy your day!
Jen



The Kissing Hand

Do you have a little one going off to school for the first time.. either Preschool or Kindergarten?  If so, you'll have to share this lovely and sweet story.. The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn. It was very helpful for peanut in her early years.. she would often need a "kissing hand" before leaving Momma.







After reading the story, kiss your child on the hand and talk about how much you love them.  Next, create Chester Racoon together.

Printables from Make Learning Fun:

Kissing Hand Cut and Paste

Isn't he super cute?

If you'd like more ideas, be sure to visit Busy Teacher's Cafe!  So many ideas, activities, links and printables!!

the Purl bee

                                                                                              

And wouldn't these little hearts be adorable to send off to school with your little one.. maybe to put in a lunch box or backpack.  The little pocket would be cute for a note or treat!

11 more days... my kids have started their back to school countdown!  Off to 3rd and 5th grade.  Where did my preschoolers go?  Yikes! Boy are they going to miss their little brother.. he just might have to give them a kissing hand.

Jen

Ice Cream Activities

Recently, I posted my ideas for an ice cream week with the kiddos!  Well, we had fun testing ice cream, making a craft, reading an ice cream mystery and more.  Take a peek.....

Ice Cream Craft

Materials: ice cream template, tissue paper, markers, stickers, scrapbook paper, scissors

Ice cream Word Search

Materials: Word Search, pencil, and ice cream for eating!

Literature:

The Ice Cream Mystery by

Gertrude Chandler Warner

Should I Share My Ice Cream?

by Mo Willems

Ice Cream Taste Test

Images courtesy of DailyClipArt.net

Choose a variety of ice cream flavors for your kiddos to try!  Blind fold them or have them close their eyes.  Which flavor is their favorite? Can they guess the flavor? 

We tested the following flavors: Spumoni, Rasberry Chocolate Chip, and Pecan Turtle Trail

For more ideas for an ice cream taste test, visit No Time For Flashcards: 5 Senses- Ice Cream Taste Test

We're not done celebrating the joy of ice cream just yet. 

Stay tuned for more ice cream fun!

Jen

Clouds, Clouds, Clouds..

Our favorite cloud book...

Cloud books that we wish to explore...

Activities for Toddlers/Preschoolers

-Ideas for using Little Cloud in the classroom from The Official Eric Carle Website

-Make a Cloud Puppet

-Sing a song...

Clouds are Floating

(to the tune of Frere Jacques)Clouds are floating, clouds are floating,

Up so high, up so high,
Floating up above us, floating up above us,
In the sky, in the sky.

Activities for Older Children

-Discover and Observe Clouds

"Take A Cloud Walk teaches you how to identify the clouds in the sky, take field notes, and write a journal. Here you can even learn how to write your own book!"

Recommended for Grades 5-8- Free download for educational use.

Learn about different clouds from Enchanted Learning.

Study Weather Map Symbols



Enjoy your day,
Jen

Happy Easter- Storytime and Activities

Our Easter book collection is filled with many, but one of my favorites is Happy Easter by Kurt Weiss. The storyline is cute, but more than anything, I adore the illustrations. 

With colored paper, a marker, scissors, and my handy dandy little laminator, I made these centers for Little Man to go with this delightful story.




MATCH THE BABY CHICK WITH THE MATCHING COLORED EGG

 

COLORED EGG PUZZLES

 

Just a little Easter fun while we practice our colors, matching, thinking, and fine motor skills!

Jen