In the Tall, Tall Grass

by Denise Fleming

Materials: Magnifying glass; paper; pen/pencil

Activities: Show your child how to hold and use the magnifying glass. Go outside and see what all can be found on the ground, in the grass, dirt, sand, or on the pavement. Use the magnifying glass to see small items like seeds and ants. Be sure to lift rocks to if there are any additional creepy crawlies that live/hide underneath.

• Write down everything your child notices so that you can keep track of all the wonders. Use the notes later to talk about specific details of the adventure.
• Have your child draw/write about what s/he sees.
• Count the number of ants, leaves, etc. that your child finds in an area.
• After your exploration, work with your child on creating a chart to graphically represent the number of each item found.

Developing Skills: Observation, early science concepts, counting, memory skills, writing skills.

Book cover copied and pasted from: http://www.amazon.com/Tall-Grass-Owlet-Book/dp/0805039414/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1314310676&sr=1-1

King Bidgood's in the Bathtub

by Audrey Wood

Materials: Variety of water safe toys.

Activities: Play in the tub! See what sinks, see what floats. See what scenarios can be acted/played out in the water.

Tip: Try not to have so many toys that your child becomes overwhelmed, is unsure what to play with, or how to play. If possible, stick with themes so your child can start learning how to categorize. For example, one theme can be "pond" where you have ducks, frogs, fish, dragon flies, etc. Another theme may be "boats" or "fish" or "things that hold water." Think outside the box like King Bidgood and have food (plastic), warriors, or something different. Give your child plenty of time to play and supervise him/her closely.

Book cover copied and pasted from: http://www.amazon.com/BIDGOODS-BATHTUB-Bidgoods-Bathtub-Hardcover/dp/B0047CF1SS/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8qid=1314310153&sr=1-4

The Carrot Seed

by Ruth Krauss

Materials: Small, clear drinking glass/cup; a lima bean; paper towels (enough to loosely pack the cup); spray bottle filled with water

Activity: Loosely pack paper towels in the glass/cup. Place a lima bean between the paper towel and inside of cup. Make sure the lima bean is placed in such a way that you can see it easily. Spray enough water inside the cup to moisten, not soak, the paper towels. Set cup in a sunny area and spay as needed to keep the paper towels moist. Inspect the seed daily to see it start to sprout.

Developing Skills: Observation, early science concepts.

Tips: For more at home learning experiences with seeds, check out http://www.angelfire.com/la/kinderthemes/pscience.html

Book cover copied and pasted from http://www.amazon.com/Carrot-Seed-60th-Anniversary/dp/0064432106/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1314309515&sr=1-1

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

by Bill Martin, Jr. Materials: Large metal cookie sheet; magnetic letters; palm tree cut out.

Activities: Tape the palm tree cut out to the cookie sheet. Select activities that match your child's ability. Have your child select letters to "climb" up the tree.

• Have your child select each letter as you read the story.
• Select letters that may have more significance for your child such as the first letter of his/her name or other family members' names.
• If you magnetic letters are different colors, have your child select letters of a certain color.
• Choose letters that will spell simple words like "cat" so your child can see the letters together as a word.

Developing Skills: Letter recognition, shape differentiation.

Book cover copied and pasted from: http://www.amazon.com/Chicka-Boom-Anniversary/dp/1416990917/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1314308597&sr=1-3

Dinosaur Roar!

by Paul & Henrietta Stickland

Tip: Learn the correct names for the dinosaurs and use them when interacting with your child. Children will naturally look for the physical characteristics that distinguish one dinosaur from antoher. Early exposure to these difficult words also makes it easier for children to knwo and use them correctly later on.
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Activity #1

Materials: Dinosaur figurines; play dough (store bought or homemade)

Spread the play dough out thin to be a walking surface for the dinosaurs. Using the figurines, maek tracks in the play dough. Compare teh tracks of different dinosaurs, count the number of prints, experiment with amount of pressure applied to make make deep and shallow tracks. ___________________________________________________________________
Activity #2

Materials: Dinorsaur figurines; dirt, rice, sand, or some other material to "bury" dinosaurs; shovels or spoons.

Bury dinosaurs in dirt, rice, sand, etc. Encourage your child to be a palentologist by digging for the dinosaurs.


Book cover copied and pasted from http://www.amazon.com/Dinosaur-Roar-Picture_Puffins_Stickland/dp/0140568085/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1314288783&sr=1-2

Jump, Frog, Jump!

by Robert Kalan

Materials: Paper, fabric, or carpet remnants (to make lily pads); scissors; plastic frogs, bean bags, or similar items (to be the frog).

Activity: Cut paper, fabric, or carpet remnants into lily pad shapes or circular shapes about 8-12 inches in diameter to make "lily pads." Spread lily pads out on floor or outside on the ground. Have your child help the "frogs" jump by tossing them onto the lily pads.

Developing Skills: Hand-eye coordination, large muscle control, small muscle control.

Book cover copied and pasted from https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/jump-frog-jump?store=book