ABC Fun: W is for Whale Spouting Water - Hands-on Learning & Crafts

It's been awhile since I've blogged one of our ABC Crafts
(summer has been so busy)

but this one was too cute not to share with you!

The Lil Divas really got a kick out of how it turned out.

First, we spent some time on the letter Ww.

Hands-on Letter Play:
I had the Little Divas construct the letter out of our: 

Wikki Stix Alphabet Fun Cards

our foam shapes from the fun intercative book:

How to Build an A

Note: The girls have loved working from this book since we bought it in December-
if you have a toddler and/or preschooler I highly recommend it!

and even some craft sticks at the Oldest Diva's insistance

Letter Recognition Fun:
We use these super & simple letter finding sheets from BeginningReading.com.
The Lil Divas find the target letter (W&w)
and stamp them with our Do-A-Dot Rainbow Markers


Handwriting Practice:
Then, the Lil Divas worked on writing the letters W and w.

I had them finger write the letters W & w in water -
actually it was blue paint in a ziploc bag but they seriously LOVED this activity
and I did not get pictures :( my camera battery was dead!

We also used this simple handwriting sheet from First-School
to practice writing the letters. It coordinated with our theme perfectly.

Phonics Fun:

The Lil Divas sorted picture cards into Ww and Not Ww.
I found them on SuperTeacherWorksheets.com.

The Craft: W is for Whale Spouting Water

This was a hybrid of our Ocean & Water Themed Fun the past few weeks.


What You Need:
white and blue cardstock or heavyweight construction paper
blue tissue paper strips
gray paint (we mixed black & white)
wiggly eyes
glue

What We Did:
I used a block W template I had -
 I've had it forever so the original source is long forgotten but these are easily found online

Then I made a whale head & tale to fit the letter.
This is also easily done
(mine is far from perfect but if you need the template just ask & I will gladly share it)

The Lil Divas painted the W and the whale parts using gray paint & sponges

After allowing ample drying time -

cute out all pieces and glue to form a whale.

Note: ours painted papers did roll up a bit so

I put them between some heavy books and they were good as new

I let the Lil Divas decide where they wanted to put the head & tale pieces.

For the souting water I used blue tissue paper and we cut a few strips and glued it under the head so it looks like water was shooting out from the top of the spout. Cute!



Book:

Hope you enjoyed our Letter W craft!
Bern

Ocean Theme: Easy Handprint Fish

We LOVE Handprint Crafts (ok, really I do but the Lil Divas are always ready to comply!)

For our Ocean Theme I just had to make these adorable handprint fish.

I fist made these over 11 years ago with my very 1st preschool class!

It was a hit then & it was a hit now with my Lil Divas.

The Craft: Easy Handprint Fish

What You Need:

varied color paints

paint brushes

white paper

black permanent marker

What We Did:

1. Each Lil Diva decided what colors she wanted to use for her fish.

I was thinking 2 but they opted for the full rainbow, haha!

2. To make the fish paint the bottom of the palm nearest the wrist as the face in 1 color

Then, paint the remainder of the palm in another color.

Finally, paint the fingers in alternating colors.

(see pic below)



2. Make your handprint & allow drying time

3. Once the print has dried add an eye & mouth using black permanent marker.

I added their names & the date to our finished picture as well.

The Oldest Diva opted to make 1 rainbow fish and 1 clown fish -

She added air bubbles using her pinky dipped into blue paint - a fun little detail



These came out so cute & are really easy to do!

If you have younger kids I suggest using a minimal amount of colors -

the most time is spent painting their hands so if they are squirmy you will want to choose only 2 colors.

For more fun handprint & footprint crafts check out our:

Hand & Foot Print Bumble Bee

Hand & Finger Print Bunnies

Handprint Polar Bears

Handprint Leprechauns

Footprint Penguins

Books:

Enjoy,

Bern



Ocean Theme - Easy Paper Towel Roll Octopus

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!

For more fun TP Roll Crafts check out our:
TP Roll Rabbit
TP Roll Bumble Bee

Enjoy,

Bern

Ocean Theme - Tissue Paper & Foil Rainbow Fish Craft

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!

Bern

Mr. Seahorse - Eric Carle Inspired Watercolor Seahorse Art for Little Hands

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

Bern
Linking to STart, Sharing Time,  Get Crafty,  Read, Explore, Learn , For the Kids Friday,  Preschool Corner, Feed Me Books Friday  , Fun for Kids Friday , It's Playtime , Made by Little Hands Monday,  Creative Juice Thursday and Monday Playdate.