And Then It’s Spring

Since we are celebrating Earth Day all week, I wanted to celebrate Spring. We will talk about the Earth and how we enjoy all of the seasons, including Spring!

• Read “And Then It's Spring” by Julie Fogliano … what a perfect spring story as the browns of winter patiently turn to the colors of spring!

• Read “Colors Everywhere” by Sam McBratney … Little and Big Nutbrown Hares pick out their favorite greens, yellow, reds and browns from the colors everywhere around them. I love the illustrations!

• Colorful scavenger hike … What a great idea from Family Fun.
  1. Color each section of an egg carton a different color (think outdoor springtime colors). Leave the lid attached.
  2. Take a hike or simply a walk around the neighborhood and enjoy all of the beautiful springtime colors.
  3. Challenge the kids to find natural souvenirs to match each color in their egg carton!
  4. OPTIONAL: I loved all the other suggestions for a hiking adventure from Family Fun:
     • Magnifying glass: take a closer look at veins on a leaf or bugs on a log.
     • Magnets: run a magnet in the dirt to see if little bits of iron stick to it.
     • Spray bottle: Spritz a spider web or a rock to see amazing changes.
     • Homemade Soil Slides: Cut a 1/2-inch square from the center of an index card. Cover the hole with clear sticky tape. Press the sticky side against the soil and examine the soil close up with a magnifying glass.

• Seasons Match … a wonderful, free printable from Montessori for Everyone. There are several ways to use these cards, this is what I plan to do…
  1. Print each of the seasonal cards (there is one page per season) here.
  2. Click on “Seasons & Clothing Matching”
  3. Cut the cards apart.
  4. Attach a piece of magnetic tape to the back of each card.
  5. Place the Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter cards side-by-side on the front of the fridge.
  6. Scatter all of the other cards face-down on the living room floor.
  7. To Play:
     • The kids will choose a card on the floor, then run to the fridge and place it underneath the matching season.
     • Switch and take turns until all the cards are sorted.

Mortimer’s First Garden

Planting a garden is a great way to celebrate Earth Day. I absolutely loved this book the first time we read it. This is the same mouse from Mortimer’s Christmas Manger. My kids love Mortimer Mouse.

• Read “Mortimer's First Garden” by Karma Wilson … Mortimer hears the big people talking about planting seeds in the dirt. He has one sunflower seed left and decides to see if this miracle is true!

 

• Match the seeds … we can grow so many delicious foods. This fun matching game from Montessori for Everyone shows the inside and outsides of several fruits we eat.
1. Print these wonderful, free matching cards here.
2. Click on the “Whole and Half Fruit” link
3. Cut the cards apart and laminate.
4. Lay all of the whole fruits on the ground.
5. Choose a half fruit and make a match! Be sure to examine the different seeds inside!
6. OPTIONAL: Have a real piece of each of these fruits. When you find a match, cut open the real fruit, examine it, and try a slice!
• Let’s Plant a Garden Fingerplay … a fun fingerplay from The Friend magazine!

photo source: simple kids

• Plant a mini garden … just like Mortimer, let the kids plant a few seeds and watch them grow!
  1. Carefully remove the lid from an empty egg carton. 
  2. Lay newspaper out on the table (or do this outside!)
  3. Use a spoon to fill each section 1/2 full with soil.
  4. Plant a seed in each section. We will plant sunflower seeds!
  5. You may want to label the sections if you plant a variety of seeds.
  6. Top with more soil and spritz with water (use a squirt bottle)
  7. Place in a sunny window.
• Snack Idea: Fruit & Sunflower Seeds!

Earth Day. It’s the Little Things.

• Read “Earth Day” by Margaret McNamara … I love these Ready-to-Read, Level 1 books for younger kids.
  1. This book is a cute story with a great message. Emma cannot think of a big idea to save the Earth, so her Dad helps her think of many small things they can do. I love all of the simple, practical ideas that I can do with my kids!

 

• Recycle Activity & Game!
  1. Gather five empty boxes.
  2. Print the labels (above) and trace them!
  3. Print out the recyclables page (above) and cut apart.
  4. Help your preschooler decide which label each picture matches & glue it on!
  5. Attach these labels to each box.
  6. GAME: If weather permits, “litter” the backyard with lots of (clean) recyclable items. Let the kids practice picking up the litter and recycling it!
  7. Continue recycling from now on!

• Read “Fancy Nancy: Every Day Is Earth Day” by Jane O’Connor … I have to be honest and say, I have two boys first, so this is the first Fancy Nancy book I’ve ever read. I’m hooked. They are so cute.
  1. I loved the little sayings in this book, “Less than a mile, bike in style” and “Please take note. Always bring a tote.”
  2. After reading, the activities below are inspired by the ideas in the book!

• Decorate reusable tote bags!
  1. Use fabric markers, like these, and let your kids decorate a blank canvas tote bag to their little heart’s content (canvas totes are available in most craft stores or from Amazon above.)
  2. You may want to put a piece of cardboard inside the bag to prevent bleeding.
  3. If you don’t want to mess with fabric markers, you could always have the kids draw a picture, then copy it onto transfer paper and iron it on your tote!
  4. Take these to the library or the grocery store the next time you go!

• Turn it off! … a fun little reminder to save water and energy around the house.
  1. Print the reminder page above, cut apart and laminate.
  2. Talk about how we can save energy by:
     • turning off the light when we leave a room
     • turning off the TV
     • turning off the computer
     • turning off the water while we brush our teeth
     • turning off the water after we get a drink
  3. Go on a hunt around the house and place a “Don’t forget to turn me off!” reminder near each light switch, sink, TV and computer.
  4. Make an extra effort to turn things off and save energy!
• Have a fancy energy-saving dinner (or lunch or snack) … just like Fancy Nancy in the book!
  1. Turn off the lights and have a candlelit dinner.
  2. Use cloth napkins instead of paper ones.
  3. Serve foods you purchased at a local farmer’s market.

Earth Day

Earth Day is on April 22nd. We are going to take the whole week before Earth Day and celebrate with lots of fun activities and great books. 

• Read “The EARTH Book” by Todd Parr … see the preview on Amazon here. A bright and colorful book showing simple ways to take care of our Earth to make a BIG difference!

• Explore our Earth with Google Earth.
  1. I just downloaded Google Earth here and I’m completely amazed.
  2. We saw our house with our car parked in the driveway, then zoomed way out to see exactly where we are on the globe.
  3. Then zoomed back in to see my sister’s house in England. AMAZING!

 

• Earth Coffee Filter Art … a very simple idea from DLTK Kids. We don’t drink coffee and I didn’t feel like buying a pack of filters just for this, so I cut a thick paper towel into a circle and did the same thing!
  • Use blue & green washable markers to draw on a dry coffee filter or paper towel
  • Squirt water in the middle of the filter with a squirt bottle.
  • Watch the colors spread creating a beautiful Earth!

• Paint Chip Scavenger Hunt … using Earth toned paint chips! My 2-year-old loved this activity from Come Together Kids.
  1. Collect several paint chips in earth tones … greens and browns will probably work best, but try yellows, blues, greys, pinks!
  2. Hole punch each corner and attach a ring.
  3. Take your scavenger hunt color cards outside or to the park and have fun matching your earth tones to the grass, trees, bark, dirt, flowers … anything!

• Make Earth Cupcakes … these cupcakes inspired by Kiboomu are perfect! My kids loved making these. There may have been a few fingers licked.
1. Mix one white cake mix according to box directions.
2. Divide into two bowls.
3. Add several drops of green food coloring to one bowl … and several drops of blue food coloring to the other.
4. Fill the bottom of each cup with blue batter, then add a few smaller spoonfuls of green batter.
5. Bake according to box directions.
6. TIP: Fill two squeezy bottles with the cake mix and let the kids fill the cups.