Monday, January 24, 2011

"The ABC Bunny" by Wanda Gag


"An unfortunate accident with an Apple drives Bunny from Bunnyland to Elsewhere. Every letter in the alphabet is represented in Bunny's journey, through what he eats (Greens), to whom he meets (Insects, Jay, Kitten, Lizard), and then a little sleep (Nap), to Tripping back to town, right side Up and Up-side- down." ~ Barnes & Noble overview

This was such a fun book to row because there were so many activities we could do with this book.  Aubrey had a great time gathering items from around our school and play rooms that started with the given letter of the alphabet.
She found tons of things that started with the letter "P."
The final product was a table full of alphabet toys - and a very happy little girl.
Aubrey did self-correcting puzzle pieces that matched upper and lower case letters to a picture starting with that letter. 
The lapbook activities came from Homeschool Share and ???.

Aubrey did letter writing and word searches for the letters "E" and "F" from First-School and a phonics worksheet from ???.

After lunch, Aubrey wanted me to take a picture of the letters she had arranged in order.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

"Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats


"Waking up to a world of snowy white-what could be better? Young Peter can't wait to jump in his snowsuit and run out to explore. There are snowmen to build snowballs to pack, mountains to climb and snowbanks to collapse in-to carve a snow angel! And when the day is done, there's a dark night of dreams and drifting snow, and a new snowy day to awake to." ~ Barnes & Noble Overview
"A little boy celebrates the snow-draped city with a day of humble adventures--experimenting with footprints, knocking snow from a tree, creating snow angels, and trying to save a snowball for the next day." ~ Amazon Editorial Reviews

It's not often that it snows 5+ inches in Georgia.  But it did this year.  There couldn't have been a more perfect book to row than Snowy Day.
Just for fun, we painted snow cakes (molded snow and watered-down paints).


Then we tried to duplicate one of the pages in the book which is illustrated in water colors and small pieces of colored paper.
Addison practiced painting, cutting, and gluing, too.

Aubrey did the lapbook lessons found on Homeschool Share,
coloring, handwriting, and word search worksheets from First School, and an animal tracks checklist from Nature Detectives.

We did an awesome science experiment (thanks to an idea from a veteran homeschooling mom). [How to make snowflakes video]
We made snowflakes - - they turned out great!

Outside, Aubrey walked with her toes pointing out, then with her toes pointing in, just like Peter did in the story.
Aubrey made a track in the snow using a stick and snow angels, just like Peter.

Lastly, around day 4 of the snow, the girls did some snow painting using food coloring, paint brushes, and spray bottles.....
Addison had a little mishap with one of the spray bottles....but isn't she cute!