Penguin Activity Game: DIY Toddler Activity

When I first came across this "Feed the Penguin" game I was so excited to make it!  My son is totally into Penguins, thanks to the Swedish clay-mation show Pingu.  I also loved that you can use the fish for learning.  Since associating letters with words that start with the letter is a lot of fun for Liam (my son) right now, I decided to go with ABCs but you can also use numbers or shapes or words or pictures or whatever you can possibly come up with.  Admittedly, this activity did require a bit more parental help than some of the other projects that we have done, but my son was still able to be a constant part of the process and he has had SO much fun with the actual finished product.  I hope that you can enjoy it as much as we have so far!

Supplies:
Cardboard Box (about Graham Cracker box sized)
Construction Paper (Black, White, Orange)
Goggle Eyes (2)
Scissors
Tape (use good quality tape so that your wings stay attached)
Glue
Knife
*Optional: Glitter Glue (My son loves this stuff so we wrote out letters using it)

Directions:
Wrap the black construction paper around the box and tape it on. I only used 1 piece, so it didn't cover the top, bottom or the back of the box. But you can if you want to. 
Cut an oval shaped hole for the mouth with the knife.  Initially I tried to use scissors, but a knife worked SO much better. It doesn't have to be perfect, just big enough for the fish to fit in.  (You'll want to leave paper off the top of the box so that you can get the fish out after they get fed to the penguin.)
For the beak, cut a square out of orange construction paper. Then cut an oval shaped hole in the middle.  I found this was easiest with measuring it close to the hole that had previously been cut for the mouth.  Tape the beak onto the penguin.
Glue 2 googly eyes on the penguin (or cut eyes out of paper and glue them on).
Cut out a white oval for the stomach and glue it on.
Cut out 2 orange feet and glue them onto the bottom of the box.
Cut out 2 black, oval flaps for the wings and tape one on each side.

For the FISH:

Just draw a fish shape (easiest to draw an oval body with a triangle tail attached) onto a piece of paper and cut it out (Make sure it's small enough to fit in your penguin's mouth). Then use that fish as a template and draw some more fish on a piece of construction paper. Then place 2-3 MORE pieces of construction paper underneath and cut out the fish. (Saves time cutting out 3-4 at a time!)
Once you have all your fish, get a black marker and draw a dot for the eye and a little smile on each fish.
Then draw on whatever concept you want to teach: SHAPES, NUMBERS, LETTERS, MATH, WORDS, etc.  Because we used Glitter Glue to write out letters, I let them sit over night to dry completely. 
*Optional: For extra durability you can laminate (or use contact paper on) the fish so you can use them in other games later

Get your supplies out (don't mind the paint haha)

Wrap your box in black paper

Cut a mouth hole in the box with a knife

Cut a an orange square and an oval middle for the mouth and tape onto the box for the beak

Glue the Googly Eyes on

Showcase your gluing skills with glee

Clean up any excess glue

Cut an Oval out of white paper for the belly and glue it on

Check out how awesome it is looking so far

Cut out little orange feet

Glue the feet onto the bottom of the box

Cut out 2 long ovals for the wings and tape them on

Check out the finished penguin box in all it's glory

Cut out your fishies! 

Draw on an eye and a smile and write on whatever you would like, we did letters

If you would like to see our past DIY activities, check them out here:

Kool-Aid Dyed Pasta

Cardboard Owls

Alphabet Train

Make Your Own Rainstorm

Orange Sugar Scrub

Meditation Bottle

DIY: Activities for Toddler Part 4

As I sit here on a Friday night planning on fun things for Liam and I to do I always turn to my DIY lists and try to choose at least 1 activity a weekend.  Since we were able to accomplish a couple, it was time to find some new activities to add to the list.  I am still working on a few oldies but I found some spectacular new goodies :)  Enjoy!  Please feel free to add any suggestions you have so that we can try them out!

Bunny Collage

www.busybeekidscrafts.com

I love how simple and adorable this is!  Plus the supplies are easy to come by and uses stuff we already have around the house :)








Supplies:
Construction Paper
White Paint
Q-Tips
Shallow container/paper plate
Cotton Balls
Scissors
Glue
Black Marker

Directions:
Cut out a green strip of "grass" and glue it onto a piece of sky blue paper.
Pour some white paint into a shallow container or paper plate. Make your Bunnies out of two thumb prints. One for the head, and one for the body. Make as many bunnies as you'd like, anywhere in the meadow.
Break off the ends of your Q Tips and glue them on top of your thumb prints to make the bunny's ears. Glue on a small wad of cotton ball for the tail.
Cut out a sun from yellow construction paper and glue in on your scene. When the paint is dry, draw on the eyes, nose and whiskers.
Other options to add to your collage are green pieces of tissue paper stuck on as grass, or cotton ball clouds, be creative!

 Salt Painting

http://jugglingwithkids.com

This is a great and easy way to have a fun painting time at home with not too much of a mess.  I have seen a lot of people try this and similar things out in the past and have been wanting to try it with Liam since he is totally into creating different works of art. 
I keep wanting to do this one and find that I need to buy salt haha.






Supplies:
-Construction paper/cardstock
-Paintbrush and/or medicine dropper
-Colored water (we used about a tablespoon of water with 6-7 drops of food coloring)
-Salt
-Glue
-Little bowls for colored water


Directions:
Have your child draw a picture with glue.Then sprinkle the glue with salt.  We did this on top of a piece of cardboard, but a baking sheet will work well too. Next have your child take a paintbrush or a medicine dropper and drop colored water, one drop at a time onto the salt.
Some tips: Make sure they lightly touch the salt with the brush.  It also helps to have a bowl to clean the brush in between colors...otherwise you lose the colors start blending together and you lose the vibrant colors because they become murky. 

 Feed The Penguins Learning Game

 

littlefamilyfun.com

I can't lie, I am very excited about this activity.  Liam also has an obsession for the Swedish clay-mation show Pingu.  So he is totally into penguins.  Also we can throw learning in with counting and letters on the fish :)  What a spectacular idea. 













Supplies:
Cardboard Box (about Graham Cracker box sized)
Construction Paper (Black, White, Orange)
Goggle Eyes (2)
Scissors
Tape
Glue

Directions:
Wrap the black construction paper around the box. I only used 1 piece, so it didn't cover the top, bottom or the back of the box. But that's ok. :)
Cut an oval shaped hole for the mouth. It doesn't have to be perfect, just big enough for the fish to fit in.  (You'll want to leave paper off the top of the box so that you can get the fish out after they get put in.)
For the beak, cut a square out of orange construction paper. Then cut an oval shaped hole in the middle.  Tape the beak onto the penguin.
Glue 2 googly eyes on the penguin (or cut eyes out of paper and glue them on).
Cut out a white oval for the stomach and glue it on.
Cut out 2 orange feet and glue them onto the bottom of the box.
Cut out 2 black, oval flaps for the wings and tape one on each side.

For the FISH:

Just draw a fish shape onto a piece of paper and cut it out (Make sure it's small enough to fit in your penguin's mouth). Then use that fish as a template and draw some more fish on a piece of construction paper. Then place 2-3 MORE pieces of construction paper underneath and cut out the fish. (Saves time cutting out 3-4 at a time!)
Once you have all your fish, get a black marker and draw a dot for the eye and a little smile on each fish.
Then draw on whatever concept you want to teach: SHAPES, NUMBERS, LETTERS, MATH, WORDS, etc.
(Optional): For extra durability, laminate the fish so you can use them in other games later! (I actually just used clear contact paper).

Jello Ocean Bath

growingajeweledrose.com

 

 

 Messy activities in the bath are such a fantastic idea.  You get to be all messy and yet you don't have a huge mess to clean up!  Also if the mess is too much, just rinse it out and then wash your child up as they are already in the bathtub playing!  Liam loves the bathtub anyway, so I know he would love this activity!  I have found it to be quite the ordeal to find blue raspberry jello, so I am still in search mode.










Supplies:
4 Boxes Blue Raspberry Jello
Small bag of Smooth Round Stones (Such as used for candle accents)
Variety of sea life toys

Directions:
Let the jello set up.  Put it into the bottom of the tub and add some warm water to make the bath warm enough to play in.  Add the stones and toys and let them get in and have a ball.  This makes for a great sensory and learning experience!


If you would like to see the past DIY activities that we have completed together, check them out here:

Kool-Aid Dyed Pasta

Cardboard Owls

Alphabet Train

Make Your Own Rainstorm

Orange Sugar Scrub

Meditation Bottle

Accelerated Reading Program

Earlier today I came across an article from a teacher's point of view about the Google funded accelerated reading program and the effect that it is having on students and libraries and general interest in books by youth.  Jen Marten's stance was against the accelerated reading program saying that it is segregating students based on reading level and locking them into that level in a way that it is becoming detrimental.  Some examples that she cited were children being forced to carry reading level cards and show it at the library, being only able to check out books within their reading level (which is tested for).  Also of teachers receiving reprimand for having books in their classroom that did not fit into the level of the students.  She also goes on to say that the money could have been better spent in actually purchasing books and funding libraries, librarians and book exchange programs, which is always a great idea in my opinion.  I feel very passionately about reading and about my son's interest in reading here is what I had to say:

Admittedly I am not completely up to speed on the Accelerated Reader program, but I am horrified of what I do know about it. Why are we trying to squelch the thirst for knowledge??? I read all kinds of book that may have been "above" or "below" my level, but I learned so much about myself, about life, about the world around me! Volumes of knowledge that a small town Montana girl might not have otherwise learned away from big city life or the travel to countries around the world. Reading something that interests us is such a BIG deal in SO much of the development of our minds and brains no matter what age! I am sad at anyone who does not find reading enjoyable because that have experienced something that sapped the joy out of it for them, something like a stupid forced leveling program. It is easy to gauge your own progress, if you can't read it try a little lower level but no one should be bound within those constraints. I hope no one EVER takes the joy of reading from my son, or they will know my wrath!

I got another take on it from a friend with a school age son: "Yep, is called AR and they do testing on the books they read, too. The more AR points they get, the higher their level and they get prizes at Ian's school. My son actually does really well with it, but I'm sure it'd like anything else education related where something might work great for one kid and not another. At school, he chooses books that are his level. At home, though, his bookcase has a huge variety and he can choose whatever he wants. It's one of those things where you can't fully leave it in the school's hands."  "
Though, my son is still very young and his reading level is low. I'm sure the challenge will be greater as he gets older and books get more difficult and longer and the time he has to invest in a book gets more significant."

She brought up a great point that parents need to take more responsibility and not rely on the school to do everything in the learning of their children so I said:
I agree with you that you need to provide them with books at home! Liam and I read at least 1 book a day but usually 3 (of course we are talking toddler size) but Liam LOVES reading (and licking various objects on the pages haha). I prefer the Book It! Where you got points per pages! So the level was more flexible! Except that I remember getting banned from anymore points. I seriously won soo many personal pan pizza I got sick of them.
I was picturing more of a middle school and up age, when kids really start to get labeled, separated and embarrassed by different knowledge levels. If you are higher or lower you are abnormal at school 

This brought up more about labeling from another friend with school age children:
"My son is in third grade and they get "labeled" now. I feel horrible for the kids that are struggling and are not encouraged to read. I'm fortunate to have a book worm. As a result, he has strong writing and grammar skills."

So I guess the key to combating as many negative effects of AR (Accelerated Reading) is to do what you can as a parent to instill a love of books in your children at an early age.  Books are a staple in my house and that will not change.  I wish I had more time to read "mommy" books as opposed to the majority of the time just getting into Liam books.  But I share a love of reading with my father and I love being able to talk about a book together and to trade books and discover new topics and authors and stories together.  I sincerely hope that I can share that with my son as well when he gets a little older!  

What is your take on the accelerated reading program?

If you would like to read the original article it can be found here:
Dear Google, You Should Have Talked to Me First  

Liam in a book nook

Reading at the library

  
 

 

Alphabet Train Kid's Activity!

Today was a great day to try out one of the DIY activities that we have been looking at.  I have been wanting to try the one that is called the Alphabet Train!  I though that it would be a lot of fun and also a great learning experience for my son Liam.  It is really easy to do and requires minimal supplies.  You generally just use things around the house and the possibilities are endless.  You could come up with all kinds of different combinations if you played it 100 different times.  This took up about an hour to an hour and a half of our time go through the letters and looking around the house (mostly Liam's playroom and bed room) for stuff that we could use. 


Supplies:
 26 Sheets of Construction Paper (any paper will do)

Items from around the house that start with all of the letters in the alphabet!  

Directions: 
Draw Letters onto the paper and lay out the paper in a "train"!  Now go around and find the items that match up with the letters.  (We also added Letter flashcards so that it gave my son the opportunity to match up the letters from the flash cards with the letters on the paper and give him an idea of where to go from).  I would try to think of things around the house and send him in search of them!  This was so easy and so much fun!  I definitely recommend it to anyone with a child that likes to do things associated with the alphabet and it provides for a wide age range.

Set out the letters into a train, which can be quite fun

 Add the flashcards

Now go around the house to find stuff to place on each paper 

 Now you have the train all set up and you can go back through the letters for fun & learning

 Here are the items we used for each letter in case you are needing a place to start! 

A is for Apple, Asparagus, Airplane

B is for Butterfly, Bubbles, Binoculars, Book

C is for Crab, Car, Carrots, Camera

D is for Duck, Dog, Dolphin

E is for Elephant, Eeyore, Eyes

F is for Firetruck, Farmer, Fork, Flashlight

G is for Glove, Ghost, Glasses, Giraffe, Gas Station

H is for Hat, Helicopter, Hippo, Heart, Hammer

I is for Ice Cream

J is for Jack-in-the-box, Jam, Jack-o-lantern

K is for Kite, Key, Knife, Kale

L is for Lamb, Lion, Leaf, Lotion

M is for Mouse, Milk, Mouth, Moon, Monkey

N is for Nest, Nose, Nut

O is for Owl, Octopus, Orange

P is for Penguin, Phone, Pumpkin, Panda, Pear, Pepper

Q is for Quilt, Queen

R is for Rainbow, Rooster, Rabbit, Radio

S is for Star, Snake, Shark, Seahorse, Sun

T is for Train, Tiger, Tea, Tambourine

U is for Umbrella, Unicorn

V is for Violin, Van, Vacuum, Vitamin

W is for Whale, Whistle, Wasp, Worm, Watermelon

X us fir Xylophone

Y is for Yo-yo, Yogurt

Z is for Zebra