Search Results for: Read.Explore.Learn.

Read.Explore.Learn.- Big Bear Hug Based Activities

April 20, 2012 By Deirdre

Welcome to Read.Explore.Learn.! This meme was designed to be a place for you to share the learning opportunities, crafts, field trips, and other activities you have done this week that tie-in to children’s books. I look forward to seeing ways you have learned with and explored books.

Steps:

Link your activity below.

Please place the Read.Explore.Learn. badge on your post or create a link back to this meme.

Please try to visit at least three of the other people that have placed links below and leave a comment. I will visit each of you and leave a kind comment.

If you are not linking up an activity and are just visiting, please try to stop by a few of the links below.

My Book Tie-Ins of the Week:

I love the Big Bear Hug by Nicholas Oldland. It is my favorite new library book. JDaniel likes it too, but it isn’t his favorite and I am not sure why. He loves to give hugs and so does the bear in this book.

Bear is a hugger. He hugs everything and everyone he comes across. He freaks out a rabbit by hugging him when the rabbit thinks he is going to eat him. He tries to hug a moose, but his arms don’t reach around him. He hugs small birds, smelly skunks, and scary snakes too.

Bear’s favorite things to hug are trees. He just loves trees. He hugs trees that are big, little, apple, peach or pear. He will hug trees of every kind everywhere around the woods.

One day a man came to the woods and tried to cut down a wonderful tree. Bear freaked out about the idea of cutting down a tree. At first, he wanted to kill the man, but he decided he is not that kind of bear. Bear ended up doing what he loves to best and freaked the man out. The man runs away after bear hugs him.

With the man gone Bear does what he loves best to the tree. He hugs it.

What did we do after reading the book?

Tissue Box Bear and Story Retelling

JDaniel and I found pictures on the internet that matched many of the things the bear-hugged. After printing them out, JDaniel used watercolors or markers to color most of the pictures.

When the pictures had dried we used them to retell the story. After our retelling time, JDaniel stored the stick puppets in the tissue box the bear is hugging.

Reviewed Items to Recycle

I found a wonderful chart on the internet that displayed the items that can be recycled and lists the ones that you can not recycle. We did two activities with the chart.

The first activity involved using chopsticks to pick up things that should be recycled and placing them in the bear tissue box. I am sure the bear would only want items you can recycle in his box.

The second activity was to go through one of the grocery store circulars that we get in the mail and circle the items that had containers that could be recycled.

What did you do this week?

Reminder: The Tissue Box Challenge will end on the 22nd of April. There is still time to add your own wonderful tissue box creations to the link up. The winner will receive a $20 Amazon Gift Card.

Read.Explore.Learn.- Squish Rabbit

April 13, 2012 By Deirdre

I look forward to seeing the ways you have learned with and explored books.

Steps:

- Link your activity below.

- Please place the Read.Explore.Learn. the badge on your post or create a link back to this meme.

- Please try to visit at least three of the other people that have placed links below and leave a comment. I will visit each of you and leave a kind comment.

- If you are not linking up an activity and are just visiting, please try to stop by a few of the links below.

My Book Tie-Ins of the Week:

Squish Rabbit by Katherine Battersby has become JDaniel’s favorite book. He absolutely loves to have this book read to him.

Squish is a really small bunny that seems to be overlooked by everyone, because of his size. He has other troubles too. He can’t reach balloons that float by. He can’t get people to hear he wants to share. He is really lonely.

Finally, Squish sews a friend with a needle and thread. He has a great time with him at the beginning, but there is only so much a stuffed cloth friend can do.

He tries to play with a tree, but that doesn’t work. When it doesn’t work, Squish gets mad. He is so mad that he throws a tantrum and kicks one of the apples that has fallen from the tree.

A squirrel notices that the apple is going to all into the river and tries to save it. Thankfully before the squirrel can fall into the water Squish yells, “Stop!”

Thankfully the squirrel stops and decides to play with Squish instead. Yes, that means he now has a real friend and a stuffed one to play with.

The pictures in the book are amazing. JDaniel loves the emotions that Squish conveys with his eyes and his arms. This book could easily be told by the pictures alone, but I am so glad it has words too.

What did we do?

Homemade Playdough Play with a Friend

We had JDaniel’s best friend over on Tuesday after preschool to play. They have the best time together when JDaniel isn’t in charge of all the toys and when they are played with.

To avoid a lively discussion about toys and their play times I made a batch of homemade playdough with the recipe below. I have not been successful with other recipes I have tried, but this one worked out well for me.

The boys had a great time squishing the dough and using a variety of cookie cutters to create creatures of their own.

Here is the Playdough Recipe I used:

Homemade Playdough

1 3/4 of flour

1 cup of boiling water

1/4 cup of salt

4 teaspoons of vegetable oil

1 1/2 teaspoons of cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoons of food coloring

In a medium bowl mix all the dry ingredients. In a small bowl add the water, vegetable oil, and food coloring. When well mixed, add to the dry ingredients and let the mixture cool. Knead until smooth.

Please only link up posts that have children’s books related to them. All others will be deleted.

Read.Explore.Learn.- Easter

April 6, 2012 By Deirdre

I look forward to seeing the ways you have learned with and explored books.

Steps:

- Link your activity below.

- Please place the Read.Explore.Learn. the badge on your post or create a link back to this meme.

- Please try to visit at least three of the other people that have placed links below and leave a comment. I will visit each of you and leave a kind comment.

- If you are not linking up an activity and are just visiting, please try to stop by a few of the links below.

My Book Tie-Ins of the Week:

We really enjoyed reading Easter by Gail Gibbons. It not only shares the Easter story but explains where the word Easter and many of the symbols we related to Easter came from.

The Easter lily and eggs both symbolized new life. The book explains that candles remind people of the light that comes with darkness.

Gail Gibbons’s book also covers many of the traditions related to Easter like dying eggs, egg hunts and rolls, Easter baskets with candy, and the bunny.

JDaniel liked learning more about Easter and the story behind it.

What did we do?

Paint Chip Basket

I cut out the parts of this basket and eggs for JDaniel and he helped me place the pieces and glue them down.

Handprint Lily

My sister and her boys came for a visit. She loves lilies. JDaniel and I made a handprint lily to put beside her bed in the guest room as a special gift.

Dying Eggs with Cousins

JDaniel had the best time dying eggs with cousins. With all the boy’s elbows on the table, it was amazing that we only had one spill.

Read.Explore.Learn.- Hopper’s Easter Surprise

March 30, 2012 By Deirdre

I look forward to seeing the ways you have learned with and explored books.

Steps:

- Link your activity below.

- Please place the Read.Explore.Learn. the badge on your post or create a link back to this meme.

- Please try to visit at least three of the other people that have placed links below and leave a comment. I will visit each of you and leave a kind comment.

- If you are not linking up an activity and are just visiting, please try to stop by a few of the links below.

My Book Tie-Ins of the Week:

Hopper of Hopper’s Easter Surprise by Kathrin Siegenthaler and Marcus Pfister is a delightful book about an arctic hare that long to be different.

Hopper’s mom points out that he has a blue-tipped ear, but it isn’t enough for him. His mom points out that his fur will change in the summer and that isn’t enough. Then Hopper’s mom points out that he will look like the Easter bunny. That comment gets his attention.

Hopper wants all the facts he can get on the Easter bunny from his mom and seeks to find out some facts for himself.

On the way, he finds a fox that chases him, meets a friend, and tries to carry an egg the way he thinks the Bunny would.

When he brings his friend home they discover the Easter Bunny has been at Hopper’s house and delivered him an egg. Hopper and his friend fall asleep dreaming of how they will decorate the egg.

What did we do?

Spool Painted Paper Bag Season Trees

Hopper was interested in how his fur would change when the season changed. I thought it would be a great opportunity to talk about the seasons and paint colors to match each of them using a spool.

Read.Explore.Learn.- Whose Garden Is It?

March 23, 2012 By Deirdre

Welcome to Read.Explore.Learn.! This meme was designed to be a place for you to share the learning opportunities, crafts, field trips, and other activities you have done this week that tie-in to children’s books. I look forward to seeing ways you have learned with and explored books.

Steps:

- Link your activity below.

- Please place the Read.Explore.Learn. badge on your post or create a link back to this meme.
  
  Please try to visit at least three of the other people that have placed links below and leave a comment. I will visit each of you and leave a kind comment.

- If you are not linking up an activity and are just visiting, please try to stop by a few of the links below.

My Book Tie-Ins of the Week:The book Whose Garden Is It? By Mary Ann Hoberman is such fun to read. A mother and her son stop by to admire a neighborhood garden while out on a walk.

Mrs. McGee comments and asks who owns it and the man tending the garden says that it is his.

Mrs. McGee hears voice after voice claiming that the garden is theirs. The rabbit, bees, rain, sun, dirt, worms, seeds and about 15 other animals and elements of nature claim that it is theirs.

This book is in rhyme and is such fun to read. The words flow easily of the reader’s tongue and give young children the opportunity to guess that the last rhyme of each page will be.

The pictures are gorgeous. The watercolor painting will each page and surround the words.

This books has quickly become a favorite.

What did we do?

Planted Seeds

I found some wonderful seed kits at the dollar store that contained peat pods, pots, and seeds. The coolest part about them is that the peat pods grow when you place them in warm water. It is amazing to watch the soil rise.

Then we placed the pots into a cute metal tub I aslo found at the dollar store. Oh! We put paper towels under the pots to absorb the water that drained out of the pots.

Created a Upcycled Watering Bottle

We used a hammer and a nail to put holes in the top of an old juice bottle. I later put a label on the bottle to make it look pretty.

The key to using this upcycled watering bottle is not to hold it upside down. You tip the bottle forward and then you squeeze the sides of the bottle. The water will squirt out of the top.

What have you been reading and creating this week?

Read.Explore.Learn.- Leprechauns Never Lie

March 16, 2012 By Deirdre

I look forward to seeing the ways you have learned with and explored books.

Steps:

- Link your activity below.

- Please place the Read.Explore.Learn. the badge on your post or create a link back to this meme.

- Please try to visit at least three of the other people that have placed links below and leave a comment. I will visit each of you and leave a kind comment.

- If you are not linking up an activity and are just visiting, please try to stop by a few of the links below.

My Book Tie-Ins of the Week:

St. Patrick's Day Activities: Leprechauns Never Lie Learning Fun

The leprechaun in Leprechauns Never Lie by Lorna Balian is a very tricky guy. Ninny Nanny and her Gram are in dire straits prior to catching the leprechaun. Once he has been accidentally captured when Ninny Nanny falls over a log and onto him, the leprechaun appears to forget where he has hidden his gold.

The leprechaun first tells them that he thinks it is in the straw that was to have been put on the roof of the thatched house to repair the holes that exist there. Ninny Nanny tries spreading it on the ground and finds moving it to the roof is the best solution.

Then he says it is in a pile of branches under a tree that should have been taken in as firewood. Gran sorts through branches to look for coins and Ninny Nanny carries them into the fireplace.

Next, he says it is in the river. Ninny Nanny has to drag buckets of the water to a water barrel outside their house that is empty when dropping it on the ground fails to keep the water from flowing back into the river.

Finally, he remembers it was moved to the potato patch that is filled with potatoes that Ninny Nanny had been too lazy to dig up. After digging up all but one plant, Ninny Nanny is furious that the treasure can’t be found.

She is so upset that she releases the leprechaun in a fit of anger. He runs as fast as he can away.

That night Ninny Nanny and Gran have potato soup by a warm fire made of wood Ninny Nanny brought in. Later in the night, the leprechaun returns after they have gone to sleep to retrieve his gold from under the last plant.

I love that Ninny Nanny and Gran along with the leprechaun both end up with treasure. This is such a fun book to read. The brown and white pictures are filled with humor and whimsy.

What did we do?

We upcycled the wipes container and made it a treasure chest. Inside the treasure chest was pinto beans and shamrocks. JDaniel had to dig for the shamrocks using a little rake. After a few minutes of raking, he decided to use measuring spoons instead.

Once he had found all of the shamrocks, he decided to just transfer the beans back and forth between the treasure check and the container I use to hold the pinto beans.

Wipe Container Becomes a Storage Container

When we finished playing with the beans and shamrocks, we put plastic bags into the wipe container. We put the container in my car so, we will have plastic bags and a hand to store treasures ( acorns and small rocks we find during outings, dirty clothes, and more.

Shamrock Cookies

JDaniel loves to eat cookies and make them. We made shamrock cookies to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and to share with friends.

What did you do this week?

Last year I reviewed Leprechauns Never Lie and shared a shamrock hunting activity on The Book Chook.

Read.Explore.Learn.- The Bump and Remembering My Bump

March 9, 2012 By Deirdre

I look forward to seeing the ways you have learned with and explored books.

Steps:

- Link your activity below.

- Please place the Read.Explore.Learn. badge on your post or create a link back to this meme.

- Please try to visit at least three of the other people that have placed links below and leave a comment. I will visit each of you and leave a kind comment.

- If you are not linking up an activity and are just visiting, please try to stop by a few of the links below.

My Book Tie-Ins of the Week:

The Bump by Mij Kelly just arrived in my spring shipment of books from Tiger Tale Books to review last week. I couldn’t wait to share it with you this week. I really love it.

It is a story about a mom sharing how she went out getting ready to have a baby. It is a story shared with the child when he is a little older but, you only get a small hint at the beginning of the story that it was about them.

The mom gathers things the baby will need, she gets scared, she feels unprepared, and she feels love for this wonderful child she can only see when she is at the doctor’s office.

She shared the healthy and unhealthy things she eats as well as how big her clothes got as the bump grew.

This lovely book covers so many of the things I went through when I was expecting. The wonderful pictures by Nicholas Allan make you laugh and cry. His pictures of the growing mom and her world are such fun.

What did we do?

Made Fruit Smoothies

When I was expecting, I craved smoothies and milkshakes. Meet the Dubiens has a fabulous post called that gave me great hints on smoothie making.

JDaniel loved the idea of making smoothies. We made several different kinds using the Dubiens formula of frozen fruit + a liquid + yogurt.

We made strawberry yogurt+ frozen pureed strawberries + berry fruit juice.

Next, we made vanilla yogurt+ frozen pureed mangos + milk.

Finally, we made peach yogurt + frozen pears + milk.

The post on smoothies on Meet the Dubiens suggested getting small freezer containers to freeze the leftovers. We did just that.

Snuggled Up to Read Books for Young Children

I received the spring books being released by TigerTale Books at the end of last week. This week JDaniel and I curled up with one of these favorite baby blankets to read them along with one that came in a previous shipment. ( Watch for a giveaway for this book to go up on Sunday.)

Read.Explore.Learn.- Celebrating Dr. Seuss’ Birthday

February 24, 2012 By Deirdre

Tomorrow is Dr. Seuss’ birthday. JDaniel and I will be heading to the celebration of his birthday at Target tomorrow. I think Target stores everywhere are having a celebration. In honor of his birthday, I decided we would read three Dr. Seuss books.

Dr. Seuss Books We Read

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The Lorax

We started with the The Lorax . It is all about saving the trees and an awareness that we have to give back.

What did we do?

I made JDaniel a Lorax sandwich with his favorite cheese rolls. I think it came out well. JDaniel announced that he was not into cheese rolls anymore. That meant I got to eat the Lorax sandwich minus his eyeballs. It turns out he still likes those foods.

The Tooth Book

Then we read The Tooth Book. JDaniel is big into grouping things right now. He loved that this book is all about teeth.

What did we do with this book?

JDaniel and I searched in magazines for pictures of people with teeth showing. After gathering the pictures, we put them in a roasting pan and covered them with Moon Sand.

JDaniel then used an old toothbrush to uncover everyone’s teeth. This fine motor activity gave JDaniel the opportunity practice the motion used to brush his teeth. It was fun to clear off green Moon Sand and see the pictures that had been covered up.

If you like these Dr. Seuss activities, here are some more that you will enjoy:

Cat in the Hat Math Mats

Green Eggs and Ham Activities

Lorax File Folder Math Game

Truffalo Tree Sight Word Game

Thing One and Thing Two Shape Craft Activity for Kids

How to Create a Fox in Socks Sock Puppet

You will also find wonderful Dr. Seuss activities on my Seuss board on Pinterest.

What did you do that tied in with books this week?

Read.Explore.Learn.- red sled Fun

February 17, 2012 By Deirdre

I look forward to seeing the ways you have learned with and explored books.

Steps:

- Link your activity below.

- Please place the Read.Explore.Learn. the badge on your post or create a link back to this meme.

- Please try to visit at least three of the other people that have placed links below and leave a comment. I will visit each of you and leave a kind comment.

- If you are not linking up an activity and are just visiting, please try to stop by a few of the links below.

My Book Tie-Ins of the Week:

We loved reading red sled by Lita Judge. There are very few words in this book. The pictures tell the tale of a red sled that is left outside each night by a young child. Each night the sled is borrowed by a bear who likes to go on on evening sled rides.

As the story unfolds, other creatures decide to join the bear in his sled rides until seven animals are sledding under the evening stars.

Finally, one morning the child notices bear footprints outside his house. The child decides to watch out his window to see if the bear returns.

When the bear does the boy joins the bear and his friends on a sled! ” Wheeeeee!” says the boy as he holds on to a moose antlers as the sled slides down the hill.

What did we do?

Craft-Sled Making

I built the red sled using the directions I posted in my How to Make a Cardboard Sled post last year.

JDaniel and I rolled out bubble wrap to create a path for the sled and loaded the sled with some of his lovelies.

After a few trips up and down the bubble wrap, JDaniel decided that we need to add a hill to the path and see what happened.

Poor Teddy fell off the sled and didn’t even make it up the first hill.

Read.Explore.Learn.- Curious George and Valentine’s Day Flowers

February 10, 2012 By Deirdre

Welcome to Read.Explore.Learn.! This meme was designed to be a place for you to share the learning opportunities, crafts, field trips, and other activities you have done this week that tie-in to children’s books. I look forward to seeing the ways you have learned with and explored books.

My Book Tie-Ins of the Week:

There is just something wonderful about Curious George! We love him at our house. We loved Happy Valentine’s Day George too.

Curious George decides to celebrate Valentine’s in a big way for those he carries for and they with him. There is crazy cooking. There is wild decorating. There is card making with a small mess.

What did we do?

Craft- Flower Arrangement