The Mom I Want to Be

Ripe avocado pit

3 toothpicks

Glass of water

 

Stick toothpicks into middle of pit, spacing so that pit can balance inside the rim of the glass, large end down. Fill glass with enough water to cover bottom of pit. Place in warm spot-not in direct sun. Replace water as it evaporates.  When a good root system has formed (1-3 months) pot seed in 6 inch pot filled with potting soil. Move plant to sunny location. Keep moist, but not soggy.

The Letter S is a very unreliable letter that often makes sounds other than the base /s/ sound:

     /s/ as in snake

     /z/ as in was

     /sh/ as in sheep  

 

1. Present a capital and lower case S to your child.  See if she knows the name of the letter and the sound it makes.  Give examples of S words, such as seaweed, salt and Sunday.  Pretend to be snakes and hiss the s-s-s-s-s sound.

 

2. Read Stone Soup; Do a Stone Soup Activity (or two!)

 

3. Go on a scavenger hunt around the house to find items that start with S for the S bag this week.  You might find a snake, scarf, sponge, star, sand, snail, stamp, sock, string, shoe, soap, spoon, etc.

 

4. Create an S collage.  Have your child search through magazines for S words, and glue them to paper for his alphabet book.

 

5.  Provide an S, cut out from scratch art paper.  Have your child use wooden sticks to make designs on thier S’s.  Glue to an 8½ x 11” piece of paper for their alphabet book.

 

6. Provide a worksheet with a line of S’s to trace across the top and a blank spot below, snow man hat pattern, 3 white circles each a little larger than the next, black construction paper, markers and glue sticks.  Invite your child to make a hat with the construction paper, and then create a snow man by gluing the circles and hat to the page.  Decorate with markers, adding face, scarf, and stick arms.

 

7. Other activities:  Make “Stone Soup”; pretend that Styrofoam balls are snow balls and toss around to music; Mix sand into paint and make sand paintings; talk about things that make us smile; Play Red Light, Green Light using a large stop sign; make stained glass windows with clear contact paper, black construction paper cut into thin strips and tissue paper;

 

Bagel Snake

Square-shaped snacks
Star-shaped snacks
Strawberries
Snail Sandwiches
Strawberry Mice

The Reason for the Pelican

 

The reason for the pelican

Is difficult to see:

His beak is clearly larger

Than there’s any need to be.

It’s not to bail a boat with—

He doesn’t own a boat.

Yet everywhere he takes himself

He has that beak to tote.

It’s not to keep his wife in—

His wife had got one, too.

It’s not a scoop for eating soup.

It’s not an extra shoe.

It isn’t quite for anything.

And yet you realize

It’s really quite a splendid beak

In quite a splendid size.

 

John Ciardi

The letter Q is an extremely reliable, but redundant, letter.  It does not make its own unique sound — it makes the /kw/ sound as in queen.  This makes it a difficult letter for children to sound out.

 

1. Present a capitol and lower case Q to your child.  See if she knows the name of the letter and the sound it makes.  Show your child a quilt and how it is made up of separate pieces sewn together.  Explain that like pieces of a quilt, the letter Q is “sewn” together with another letter “U”.  Give examples of words that start with Qu, such as quack, quit and

 

2. Read The Keeping Quilt

 

3. Go on a scavenger hunt around the house to find items that start with Q for the Q bag this week.  You might find a quilt, queen, quartz, quarter, question mark, q-tip, quiver, etc

 

4. Create a Q collage.  Have your child search through magazines for Q words, and glue them to paper for his alphabet book.

 

5.  Q-Tip Printed Q’s.  Provide a Q pattern, taped to waxed paper for easy cleanup.  Place small amounts of paint on a paper plate or in small cups.  Have your child use a q-tip as a paintbrush.  When dry, glue to a sheet of 8.5 x 11” paper for their alphabet book.

 

6. Provide a worksheet with a line of Qs to trace across the top and a blank spot below (you can write in a grid pattern or use the sheet in the book if desired), 1” squares of different colored construction paper, markers and glue sticks. Have your child decorate the squares, and then glue them to the page to create a quilt.

 

7. Other activities:  Talk about Queens and what they do; Pass around a quarter, ask what they would buy with it; Set out a number of stuffed toys, when child turns around, cover one with a quilt and see if she can guess which is missing; decorate felt or paper square, then assemble to form a quilt; Play a noisy – quiet game; play the TMBG song – “Q U”; Make quesadillas; Make a paper plate or paper bag quail

 

 

We keep a box of small, nonworking appliances, such as an old telephone, answering machine, radio, etc. Then when my kids get bored, I have them choose one of the appliances and take it all apart, and then try to put it back together again. If they get it together and there are some extra screws or small parts left over, we just put them in a small recloseable bag and tape it to the appliance. Then the next time they take it apart, they may be able to figure out where the “extra” pieces were supposed to go!

Oh, Where do the Fairies Hide

 

Oh, where do fairies hide their heads

When snow lies on the hills,

When frost has spoiled their mossy beds,

And crystallized their rills?

Beneath the moon they can not trip

In circles o’er the plain;

And draughts of dew they cannot sip,

Till green leaves come again.

 

Perhaps in small blue diving bells,

They plunge beneath the waves,

Inhabiting the twisted shells

That lie in coral caves.

 

Perhaps in red Vesuvius,

Carousals they maintain;

And cheer their drooping spirits thus,

Till green leaves come again.

 

When they return there will be mirth,

And music in the air,

And fairy wings upon the earth,

And mischief everywhere.

 

The maids, to keep the elves aloof,

Will bar the doors in vain;

No keyhole will be fairy proof,

When green leaves come again.

 

 

Thomas Haynes Bayly

1. Present a capitol and lower case O to your child.  See if she knows the name of the letter and the sounds it makes.  Explain that it’s a letter that sometimes makes the same sound as its name.  Give examples of long o words such as ocean, only and oatmeal.  See if she knows the other sound that it makes.  Provide examples of short O words, such as octopus, owl and onion.

 

2. Read The Big Orange Splot

 

3. Go on a scavenger hunt around the house to find items that start with O for the O bag this week.  You might find pctopus, owl, oatmeal, orange, oil, overalls, onions, olives, etc

 

4. Create an O collage.  Have your child search through magazines for O words, and glue them to paper for his alphabet book.

 

5.  O Filled O’s.  Provide an O cut from orange construction paper, and a sheet of hold reinforcements.  Have her decorate the reinforcements, and then stick them to her O. When done,  glue to a sheet of 8.5 x 11” paper for their alphabet book.

 

6. Provide a worksheet with a line of O’s to trace across the top and a blank spot below, octopus patterns, googly eyes, markers and gluesticks.  Color the octopus patterns.  Glue the octopus head and legs to the sheets.  Count together to make sure they have 8 legs.  Attach googly eyes with glue.

 

7. Other activities: Mix red and orange paint to make orange and paint; have oranges at snack time; eat oatmeal and orange juice for breakfast; Sing “open them shut them”; make an owl paper bag; Marshmallow Octopus

 

Card stock in assorted colors

Scissors

Hole punch

Glue

Paper fasteners

Yarn or embroidery floss for a giraffe mane and tail

Flexible straws

 

Cut out the shapes as shown from card stock. Punch holes in the head for an eye, a nostril, and a mouth. Next, punch holes in both movable leg pieces where they will join together at the knees and attach the joints with paper fasteners. Glue together all the body parts. Then punch holes along the neck and at the back of the body for attaching strands of yarn or embroidery floss to create the giraffe’s mane and tail. Cut out a pie wedge from each foot. For a cool spotted effect when the giraffe is backlit, randomly punch holes through the body and neck. Glue a straw holder to the back of the body. Use another straw to support the neck, if needed.

 

 To cast shadows with your action puppets, simply hold the critters up in front of a desk lamp or flashlight pointed toward a wall. Then have someone turn off any other lights and let the show begin.

 

Horns: 3/4 x 1/4 inches

Mouth & Ears: 1 3/4 inches

Face & Knees: 3 1/4 inches

Legs: 6 1/2 inches

Feet: 1 3/4 inches

Body: 2 3/4 inches

Neck: 1 1/4 inches