"There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again."

Friday, August 29, 2008

Big Yellow Bus and Cupcakes Too

In keeping with our "Wheels On The Bus" theme we pulled out our own Yellow Bus (I really think it would be fun to make one out of a refrigerator box).


We are going to have fun acting out the Wheels On The Bus song, and later we'll drive the Big Yellow Bus to the kitchen for Yummy Yellow Cupcakes. This will give us the perfect opportunity to talk about the letter Y and review the color Yellow. You can find my favorite recipe for cupcakes on my other blog Fancy That. This a super easy recipe that starts with a mix, but is Oh so Yummy.



Friday Foto Finish Fiesta

Candid Carrie is hosting a photo show and tell of sorts. This is one of my favorites, it's my daughter and 3 nieces at the zoo. Looks a little like Planet Of The Apes, don't you think?


Have a delightful day!!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Wheels On The Bus --- Snack

The other day i posted an activity based on the book and song "The Wheel On The Bus", today I would like to share a fun food activity.

You will need:
graham crackers (for bus)
golden graham cereal (for windows and door)
teddy grahams
yellow frosting
small Ritz crackers


I could give you the procedure step by step, but it's easy and I'll just share some photos. My 3 year old, 11 year old and her friend all made one. The buses required several paint jobs, and window replacements (somehow the frosting and windows kept disappearing from their buses).




ENJOY!!

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Library Day

Today was library day. We go on other days as well, but Tuesday is Children's Story Time. My son is 3 and we've just started going to these story times. He loves books, and he loves the library, but story time he's not so fond of. The Librarians do a great job of providing a balance of age appropriate songs, movement, and stories, but my little guy is more interested in playing with the trains, puppets, blocks, puzzles...

My first instinct was to insist that he take part in the story time. But then I stopped and thought "he just turned 3, is it really that important the he take part in story time today". So I let him play with the toys and interact with the one or two other children that were not taking part in story time. The time he spent playing was no less meaningful than story time. Building with blocks, putting train track and puzzles together all require critical thinking skills, and puppets provide a great opportunity to improve language skills. Yes, story time does foster a love of literature, and it is important that children learn to take part in group activities. In time, I will insist that he take part, but for now I'm going to allow him to explore the library, make friends and move into story time at his own pace.

Have a Delightful Day!!

Friday, August 22, 2008

The Wheels On The Bus

This is an old standby. Nothing too original, but always fun for little ones.

The Wheels On The Bus is a great song, but can also be found in several different book versions.

We checked Raffi's Wheels On The Bus out from the library. We sang the song, and listened to the song on CD. Now when we read the book together my little one can "read" right along with me.

This is a great opportunity to check out all of the yellow school buses. We look for buses as we drive around town, and talk about the color yellow. For fun we finger painted with yellow. I then drew a bus on the painted yellow paper, cut it out, and added wheels (complete with brads so the wheels go "around and around").



Stay tuned for more bus activities, stories, and songs.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

5 Little Monkeys...

What could be more fun than 5 little monkeys? Well, 5 little monkey puppets of course.




This is a super easy project and kids love it.



Here's what you need:

  • Brown construction paper
  • Scrap paper (for hats...)
  • Crayons or markers
  • Craft sticks
  • Glues stick
  • 2 circle shapes to trace (one should be slightly larger than the other)

Here's what you do:

  • Remember this is for fun, your little one doesn't care if your an artist.
  • Trace 5 large circles, and 5 smaller circles. Cut them out.
  • The smaller circle is the nose and mouth piece of the puppet. The larger circle is the actual face.
  • Find where you are going to need to place the smaller circle on the larger circle, and draw an x on the larger circle (this will help your child know where to place the glue it will be covered by the smaller circle).
  • Cut out ears from the left over brown paper. You can draw an x as a guiede for glueing with these as well.
  • Okay be brave it's time for the glue. Show your little one how to smear the glue on the x and then place the smaller circle on top of the glue.
  • Now it's time for the fun stuff draw on eyes, nose, mouth...use scrap paper to make hats or other accessories.
  • Glue your little monkeys to the craft stick and have fun acting out the story!!

Have fun, and delight in the day!! DeeLight