We are officially on vacation which means no crafts but we did do some fun activities before we left in preparation of one of our 1st stops - The Georgia Aquarium! :)
We did a mini ocean theme in between my packing, shopping and working - I planned so much more than we got around to doing so we will most likely pick up where we left off when we get back home but for now you can take a peek at the fun we did get have!
Craft - Easy Paper Towel Roll Octopus:
What You Need:
paper towel roll
(you can do a TP roll but the length of a paper towel roll gives nice long tentacles!)
paint
brushes
What We Did:
1. Paint your paper roll completely and allow to dry
(we did this project over 2 days)
2. Once your tube is dry cut lengthwise to make 8 tentacles
3. Using a pencil or marker roll each strip and then unroll so that it has a slightly curved look
4. Add dots to each tentacle - we used glitter paint but you can use marker, dot stickers, etc.
5. Add wiggly or draw eyes and a mouth & voila -
you now have a cute lil octopus friend!
Books:
If you know of any other fun octopus books be sure to comment & let me know!
I have always loved the book Rainbow Fish (though I know some people don't) - not only is it sparkly, with a beautiful fish for a main character - even though he is rather conceited in the beginning. I have always found that if told the right way it can help teach children about the importance of sharing, thinking about others and being a good friend. It really is all in the telling and what you decide to focus on.
I know there has been much debate on the fact that some think it actually has a poor message about buying one's friends, etc but personally, I am always suprised at how people either love or hate this book. I look at it from the view point of the child and frankly they always seem to find it mesmerizing and quite engaging. As a parent and an educator - every time I have read this book to children it has generated wonderful discussion on being selfish, not being a good friend, etc. The Lil Divas and I had a wonderful talk about being mean, not caring about others feelings and not being a good friend/sister. It was fabulous.
The Book:
The Craft:
What You Need:
white cardstock
tissue paper (various colors)
aluminum foil
glue
scissors
wiggly eye
black marker
What We Did:
1. I drew a fish template and cut one out for each Lil Diva using cardstock (it is thicker & more durable)
2. I also cut out tissue paper pieces for the tail, face and fins (I simply traced over the template) and the Lil Divas glued them on in the appropriate places.
3. I pre-cut various colored tissue paper scales and the Lil Divas glued them on - varying the colors throughout and adding a few foil scales here and there.
I encouraged overlapping so that the fish was completely covered in tissue paper scales.
4. We added a few foil strips here and there for a more glittery/sparkly effect. The Lil Divas opted to make Rainbow Fish before he gave his scales away. You can also only use 1 foil scale to make the other version.
5. Add a wiggly eye (or draw one) and draw a mouth/smile using black marker and voila - you have a stunning Rainbow Fish!
They turned out so cute & they were really easy to make! :)
What is your take on the book Rainbow Fish? I am always curious to hear what other's think about this book!
With my oldest Diva starting Kindergarten in August (gasp!) I have been focusing on teaching her to read. We have been working on developing her phonetic skills and of course recognizing and reading sight words.
Why do we focus on teaching children sight words? It's quite simple - sight words are common words that appear again and again in children's reading material. Some sight words can be decoded using phonics (i.e. sounding them out) but some can not. Knowing these words by sight is crucial to reading fluency and ultimately aids in comprehension.
I was drawn to BOB Books through word of mouth and online success stories. Once I looked into them and found they had been written by a teacher for her young preschool aged students - I knew I had to try them! If you do not know the BOB Story take a moment to read it. It is quite inspiring how these little books all began and how they have remained a family managed business. I have been corresponding with Lynn the eldest daughter of THE actual "Bob" behind the BOB Books and their current Managing Partner for months and she has been absolutely wonderful to work with - this speaks volumes about both the company and their products.
Our Introduction to BOB Books:
I have successfully been using BOB Books with the Lil Divas for the past few months. We began with the Beginning Readers (Set 1) which is a great place to start with early readers. The books in this set slowly introduce new letter sounds using consistency and repetition.The set begins with four letters in the first story and gradually introduces new sounds. Each story features simple yet engaging characters/illustrations and makes use of a combination of short vowel and three-letter words in simple sentences and repetitive text.
The Lil Divas have both had great success with these books at their own rates. It has become part of our nighttime routine to have them read to me a BOB book each night after our mommy led storytime. The pride they feel after completing a book "on their own" is absolutely priceless! It has really sparked their desire to read and helped build their confidence.
Considering our success with the Beginning Readers we were all excited to be able to review BOB Books Sights Words Kindergarten & First Grade. It seemed they would be a natural fit with everything we are currently working on. Once I received the books I looked them over and pulled a few books focusing on sight words that the Oldest Diva has already learned in order to introduce the new sets to her.
She was eager to read the books when I presented them to her and once again we were not disappointed. The Sight Words books contain the same characters she is used to from the Beginning Readers Set and with their consistent short vowels, simple/short stories and picture clues she can either sound out or decode most of the story which means a positive reading experience.
Inside each box you'll find ten books which are each 12 pages long. The books are numbered and color coded like the other sets. All the stories are told using three and four letter words and each introduces the reader to three new sight words. The books make use of consistent short vowels, picture/context clues and simple sentences which are ideal for beginning readers. Each book set introduces young readers to 30 sight words.
The sets also include 30 double-sided sight words flash cards with sentences and illustrations from the books. The flash cards are color coded so you can easily figure out which to use with what book. These would be great to use in games, review or offering a little extra practice of books already read.
Sight words introduced in the Kindergarten set: a, as, can, did, down, fly, get, go, goes, had, has, home, in, is, jump, look, not, off, on, over, ran, saw, see, she, some, they, to, was, went, who.
Sight words introduced in the First Grade set: after, are, ate, before, bring, come, find, good, he, into, like, little, long, make, my, new, now, old, play, pretty, said, she, than, that, too, under, what, will, with, you.
Our Impressions:
BOB Books have really made my young readers feel confident while learning to read. The way the Sight Words Sets introduce sight words in conjunction with simple sentences utilizing short vowels, repetitive text and picture clues make for a successful reading experience. My Oldest Diva's fluency and comprehension have improved by leaps and bounds in the past few weeks and we couldn't be happier or more proud of her effort.
Here is a short video of her reading one of the BOB Books Sight Words
Kindergarten Set books - Who? (turn up your volume!)
I know the BOB books we have used have really made a huge difference in my Lil Divas learning to read which is why I am so excited that the generous people at Scholastic and BOB Books Publications, LLC are giving away two sets of BOB Books Sight Words Kindergarten and First Grade here on Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas blog! :)
**************************
Buy It: Purchase BOB Books Sight Words Sets via Amazon, Costco, your local book sellers and Educational/Teacher Stores.
Subscribe to Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas emails (+2) leave 2 comments
Make a comment on any non-giveaway post on Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas Blog and leave a link. You can do this for up to 5 posts but please note that comment must be dated after the start date of this post - not valid on previous comments. (+2) leave 2 comment.
Tweet about this giveaway & leave a link - can be done 1x a day!
Tweet: #Win @BOB_Books Sight Words K & 1st Grade Sets w/@Momto2PoshDivas
Giveaway Rules: Giveaway ends 7/21/2011 at 11:59 (PDT) Winner will be chosen via random.org. & contacted via email if an email is given . Winner will have 48 hours to claim their prize.
Disclaimer: I received the BOB Books Sight Words Kindergarten & First Grade Sets for the purposes of trying them out for this review. That being said, this review is my 100% honest opinion of this product - I am not paid for my reviews or optinions! They are 100% mine! Please remember that your opinions and tastes might differ from mine.
During our Eric Carle themed week we read The Very Clumsy Click Beetle (this would also go with a bug/insect theme). This was another Eric Carle book I had not yet read with the Lil Divas but was anxious to expose them to. Why? I love the simple and straight forward message of the story about not giving up - to keep working, trying and practicing and you will succeed. :)
I also had plans of making our own fun & interactive click beetles - I just knew they would be a hit with the Lil Divas and I was right!
Craft: Easy & Fun Clicking & Flipping Click Beetles
What You Need: white oval template tracer for older children or cut-out for younger children markers/crayons/colored pencils for decorating Tacky Glue wooden clothspin wiggly eyes
What To Do: 1. Have child trace oval shape onto white paper - for younger child you can either assist or do this step yourself
2. Decorate oval (click beetle's body) as desired
3. cut-out shape - this is great fine-motor practice!
4. Add wiggly eyes using tacky glue (or use a glue gun). This helps to ensure they will not fly off during all your flipping fun! Of course, you can just draw them on but we LOVE our wiggly eyes.
5. Attach wooden clothspin to underside of click bettle/oval. The closer to the edge of the body the easier it is to click & flip - we learned this the hard way when my youngest was adamant about having hers more in the middle & it is harder to flip - though it does still work!
6. Have fun clicking & flipping your click beetles! The Lil Divas enjoyed doing this along with the click beetle in the story as we re-read the book.
*Just as in the story - sometimes the click beetle lands on his back and other times he lands on his feet!*
Mister Seahorse is another wonderful book (both visually & literally) by Eric Carle that we had yet to read. This one is all about the daddy caretakers of the sea.
I had no idea there were so many - I learned quite a few new things from this book myself! This would be a wonderful addition to any Eric Carle study or Ocean/Under the Sea Theme - there is quite a bit if science to learn here and it would be a perfect springboard for more detailed info or books.
The Lil Divas loved the transparent overlays - it made for a fun interactive read as we explored the camouflaged overlay in search of the the various fish. We picked this up from the library but the Lil Divas are begging me to purchase our own copy - I think that says it all!
Our Craft - Watercolor Seahorse Art
One of the reasons Eric Carle books are so appealing to children is that they are visually stimulating. I love his use of color and I wanted to try and capture that in our art.
What You Need:
Seahorse template - my dad made ours but I found a printable one on making learning fun
blue construction paper (background)
white constuction paper (for spikes & fins)
watercolor paints
glue
wiggly eye
black marker
What To Do:
1. Use watercolors to decorate the seahorse template - encourage the use of different colors and strokes
2. Once the seahorse is completely colored put aside to dry
3. On the blue paper you will make background - we opted to make squiggly lines and dots as in the book
4. Then we painted various lines on white paper to use for the spikes and a yellow square with orange lines for the fins.
5. Glue the seahorse onto the bacrground paper.
6. Cut out 1 fin for each seahorse and various spikes in each color and glue them on as desired.
7. Add a wiggly eye (can also be drawn on) and a smile to finish the seahorse.
Behold your wonderful watercolor Eric Carle Seahorse! These came out so lovely and they were so simple to create!
Are you working on Eric Carle related activities? I'd love to see - link up your posts below if you'd like to share. You can check out our other Eric Carle activities & crafts here ---> Eric Carle Theme
