B is for Berries

• Exploring Berries
1. Buy different kinds of berries at the store (or pick them if you have that ability near you). We used Blueberries, Strawberries, Blackberries, and Huckleberries. 
2. Explore the berries through the 5 senses
• Sight – what color are they, what shape are they, are they big or smal
• Hear – Say the name of the berry. When you say “berry” in the name (ie: StrawBERRY) say it loud or clap.
• Smell – Smell it. Does it smell good or yucky
• Touch – is it bumpy, smooth, rough, slimy, soft, etc.
• Taste! – is it sour, sweet, salty, etc.

• Pom pom Berries
1. Using craft pom poms (we used blue, pink and black, big and small sizes) put them in a pile on the table, thrown out on the floor, in a sensory bin, or on a piece of green paper to look like a bush.
2. Have your preschooler “pick” the berries and sort them by color. We put them on matching colored paper.
3. Then sort by size for each color.

• Water bead Berries
1. Sensory bins are always a win, even if you don’t put anything else in but water beads! Again I used black, blue and pink (and clear) water beads.
2. They then sorted by color and played with them in the water.
• I like water beads for this one because they are round and small like a lot of berries.

• Berry Math
1. Pick a color (or many colors) of playdoh to make “berries” – small round balls of playdoh.
2. Cut out a piece of green paper, felt, foam, etc to resemble a bush.
3. Berry Math – (Berry picking [subtration] or berry growing [addition])
• Put all the berries on the bush and roll a die/dice.
• Count the dots and “pick” that many berries.
• Repeat until all the berries are picked.
• Roll the die/dice again.
• Count the dots and add that many berries to the bush (they’re growing).
• Repeat until all the berries you made have grown.

• Cheerio Box Blueberry activities
1. Cheerios had a perfect activity on the back of their Blueberry Cheerio's box and I saved it for today. They had:
• Blueberry memory match
• Berry Rhyming questions

**For more BERRY inspired preschool activities, click HERE**

Nose & Smell

    

So many great NOSE books. Check your library and have lots of read this week!

• Read What’s That Awful Smell? by Heather Tekavec. Available here. After you read make egg carton pig noses, then read the story again!
  1. Cut out the individual egg cups (the bottoms) from a cardboard egg carton.
  2. Paint pink (or any color you like) and let dry.
  3. Draw 2 small circles with a black marker on the front for nostrils
  4. Punch 2 small holes on either side of the pig nose
  5. String with string and wear your pig nose!
• Read The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf about a bull who loves to smell flowers. Available here.
• After reading Ferdinand the Bull, make scented flowers!
  1. Cut out several flower shapes in different colors
  2. Glue a cotton ball to the center of each flower. Let dry.
  3. Drip a few drops of different flavoring on each cotton ball.
     • vanilla extract
     • lemon or lime juice
     • almond extract
     • mint extract
     • root beer flavoring … whatever you have available!
  4. Tape a wooden skewer on the back of each flower.
  5. Pass the flowers around and let the kids smell and try to guess the scents!
• Make a Fruit Loop necklace … smells great and tastes great!
• Scratch and Sniff Painting
  1. Mix one packet of Kool-Aid with 1-2 Tbls. water.
  2. Use a paintbrush to paint a picture on white cardstock.
  3. Let dry, then smell your beautiful painting (scratch lightly to enhance smell!)
  4. NOTE: Kool-Aid can stain clothes and tables. Wear a paint shirt and cover the workspace with newspaper.