Bugs in the Grass!

Today we enjoyed a very simple activity- Bugs (or insects) in the Grass!  We used tongs and our fingers to find pretend bugs hidden inside the grass (Easter grass). 

This provided the children with a sensory activity as well as fine motor work!

We used some of our wooden bowls to collect the bugs.  The children found bumblebees, spiders, ladybugs, grasshoppers and tarantulas! 

We put the bug box on top of a grass green table cloth on the floor.  This provided for quick cleanup as we could just fold up the cloth and empty the extra Easter grass back into the box!

For most of the children the tongs are a difficult skill to master!  Some children attempted the tongs.  Some attempted with help from an adult.  Some decided to use their fingers to find the bugs...and some just wanted to fill up their bowl with the Easter grass! 

Muddy Animals!

We have done a number of activities recently to go along with the book Mrs. Wishy Washy.  In the book, the animals jump and roll and stomp in the mud and poor Mrs. Wishy Washy has to get them clean.

So, of course, we had to do the same with our pretend animals!  We used brown paint for the mud and danced, rolled and stomped our own animals in the "mud". 

The children then enjoyed washing the animals in tubs with water, dish soap and various sponges from the dollar store.

Mrs. Wishy-Washy has really has been a bit of a "break-through" book for one of my little guys.  After reading this book for about three days, he began to be able to help "read" parts of the repetitive rhyme with me!  This was such a huge step for him!  He was so proud of himself when I would pause and let him fill in the last word of the sentence!