X marks the Spot!

• Read “Shiver Me Letters: A Pirate ABC” by June Sobel … a very fun ABC book. The captain, who says “R!” all the time decides he needs the rest of the ABCs, so the crew explores an island for them. My kids have fun finding each of the letters hiding in the pages.
• Dress up like pirates
1. Get in the spirit of the day by wearing a pirate hat, eye patch and pirate clothes … see an example here.
• X marks the spot Treasure Hunt … my kids love treasure hunts and by adding a few extra activities to the clues, we can make it a little educational too! Ideas for clues below…Clue 1: X it off

• Draw simple pictures of several places the clue could be (the tub, the TV, the table, the baby, the chair)
• Read the clue, “The next clue is NOT in the tub”
• Have the kids X off the tub.
• “It is NOT on the baby” … and the kids X off the baby
• Repeat until the only one NOT crossed off is the next clue!

Clue 2: Trace the letter X

• Dot several Xs (in different sizes) on a paper. Click above to print.
• Have the kids trace each of the Xs to earn their next clue!

Clue 3: Find the Xs in a book

• Set a book out (any of the X week books would work great)
• Read through and have the kids point out all of the Xs they see.
• Have the next clue hidden on the last page of the book!

Clue 4: Make Xs

• Set out several craft sticks (an even number)
• Have the kids cross the craft sticks to make lots of individual Xs.

Clue 5: Do several eXercises

• Do jumping jacks (your arms and legs make a giant X!)
• Do a scissors walk (cross one foot in front of the other & repeat)
• Cross your arms over your chest and do a sit-up!
• Cross your legs, bend over and stretch to touch the floor.

Clue 6: Dig for letter X

• Fill a large tub with rice, beans or pasta (or use the sandbox!)
• Hide several Xs in the rice. You could use multiple X magnet letters, mini craft sticks glued together or simply print out several Xs on cardstock and laminate them.
• Give the kids small scoops or shovels and have them find all the Xs. Or you could have the next clue written on one of the buried Xs!

Clue 7: Sing to letter X

• Sing the ABC song.
• Have the kids clap when they get to letter X.

Clue 8: Follow the treasure map

• Draw a simple map of the room or backyard.
• Have the kids hop to the chair, then crawl to the table, then leapfrog to the door, etc. until they reach the place where X marks the spot on the map!
• Have a large red X hidden in the room with the treasure “buried” underneath it.

Congratulations the kids on their X-cellent treasure hunting skills

X is in BOX

• Read “Not a Box” by Antoinette Portis

• Cereal Box Bag … create a lunch bag to carry your picnic lunch! Watch the video above or click here for more detailed instructions from Family Fun!
  1. Cut the top flaps off of an empty cereal box.
  2. OPTIONAL: Use white shelf contact paper to cover the front, back and sides of the box.
  3. Cut two handles 1-2 inches from the top.
  4. Let the kids use stickers or cut pictures from an old magazine to glue to their new lunch box.
  5. Pack a lunch in your new lunchbox and take it to the park!

• Read “A Box Can Be Many Things” by Dana Meachen Rau

• Cardboard Box Car or Fort … my kids favorite activity!
  1. Save a large box or ask an appliance store for one.
  2. Set it out in the living room and let your kids take the lead. I’m always amazed and surprised at their ideas. Go with it!
  3. Try to do as many of their ideas as you can.
     • Paint it, cut out windows and doors, add buttons, add a mailbox, color with crayons and markers, draw framed pictures inside, let them bring in their blankets and stuffed animals, use another box to add a second room. Play and enjoy!

• Read “My Book Box” by Will Hillenbrand … a cute and simple book about the many ways to use a box.
• Box Book … your kids can help make these, or have them ready to use!
1. Cut the front off a cereal box
2. Score and fold in half.
3. Cut paper just smaller than the cardboard.
4. Sew down the middle, fold and flatten.
5. Use your new box book to draw pictures and write letters.

X is for Xylophone

• Sort the Color Strips
  1. Cut 1” strips from several colors of paper.
  2. Cut each one a different length (like the bars on a xylophone)
  3. Have the kids sort the strips from smallest to largest.
  4. Glue these to a blank paper to create their own colorful paper xylophone!

• Xylophone Coloring Page … another great coloring page from Twisty Noodle. My favorite part is that you can customize the text. Just click the image above!

• X is for Xylophone Dot-to-Dot
1. Print here from Making Learning Fun!
2. Scroll down to “X-Xylophone” to print.
3. Follow and trace the dots from A-P.

• Water Xylophone … we made this xylophone last year. It was colorful and fun. Click here for the original post & tips.

X is for X-Ray

 

• Paper Doll X-Ray … great x-ray activity inspired by Spell Outloud
  1. Print one blank person (click the image above) on white paper.
  2. Stack printed paper on top of one black paper.
  3. Cut out together making one black paper doll + one white paper doll.
  4. Decorate the white person to look like you.
  5. Draw bones with a white crayon on the black.
  6. Staple together.

 

• X-Ray Bones Puzzles … Printable from the University of Texas at Austin.
  1. Print out this child-sized skeleton on 8 1/2 x 11” paper here.
     1. Click on “Activities/Teaching Resources”
     2. Click on “Life Size Printouts”
     3. Choose “Juvenile Homo Sapiens”
  2. Assemble on the floor or wall.

• X-Ray Handprints … we did this years ago before my oldest started school. A fun activity and I get to keep his handprints! 
  1. Paint palms and fingers with white paint.
  2. Press on black paper.
  3. Let dry & trace with white crayon to make a handprint x-ray!

• The Skeleton Song & Dance … what a fun little video to dance along to!
  1. Have the kids get up and dance along.
  2. Try to wiggle and shake the bones they are singing about!

• Edible X-ray Bones … We actually made these bone breadsticks for Halloween, but they would be a fun snack to do along with X-rays too.
  1. Use any breadstick recipe you have. I included my favorite below
  2. Roll out and use a pizza cutter to cut into strips.
  3. Slice 2-3” up each end and roll to form the end of the bone.
     • My orthopedic husband let me know that there is actually no bone in the body that looks like this … oh well, they tasted great!
  4. I like to brush with a little melted butter, then sprinkle with garlic salt and parmesan cheese (before I cut them into strips.)
  5. They would also be good brushed with a little melted butter and sprinkled with cinnamon & sugar!

See more X-Ray activities here!

Nursery Rhyme ABCs

I absolutely LOVE this!

 

Education.com has free nursery rhyme worksheets to download. What I think it so great is that they have matched up a nursery rhyme with each letter of the alphabet. As you read through, you and your preschooler can identify the letter you’re working on. I love that the font is clear and simple, they show both the upper and lower-case letter examples on the page and they’re cute!

   

1. Click here to download and print each worksheet.
2. Slip each one into a clear plastic page protector (keep them altogether in a binder or 3-prong folder)
3. Use a dry erase marker to circle, underline or trace the letters.
4. Count the letters and write the number at the bottom.
5. Erase and repeat later.
6. Love it! Learning letters and nursery rhymes at the same time!

X-ray

  

• Glue X page
  1. On a black piece of paper, write a large letter X with a white crayon.
  2. Glue candy bones to the X for your alphabet letter of the week. I found these candy bone sprinkles on Amazon here.

• Read Jessica’s X-Ray by Pat Zonta. Available here!
  1. We found this at the library and it’s a great book with real x-rays inside.
  2. My 3-year-old loved looking at the x-rays and it was easy to explain that an x-ray is a picture of our bones inside of us.

• Invisible Xs
  1. Use a white crayon to draw X’s all over a white piece of paper.
  2. Mix up some black paint (watered down)
  3. Paint all over the paper and the X’s magically appeared.
  4. We tried it again with just a fun picture drawn with the white crayon. It was fun to see the pictures magically show up.

Xylophone

• Water Xylophone
  1. Use water glasses or quart jars to make a water xylophone.
  2. Fill each jar a little fuller than the last.
  3. Add food coloring to make each a color of the rainbow.
  4. Use different utensils (metal spoon, wooden spoon, plastic spoon, metal whisk) and see what different sounds it makes. We did this today with my 3-year-old and he loved it.
  5. TIP: Use a little bit of playdoh under each jar to keep them from sliding and wiggling around while you’re playing. Worked great!

FOX

• Storytime Idea ... Read "Hattie and the Fox" by Mem Fox
• Before you read! ... Show the cover of the book and explain that in the story, Hattie, a hen, sees a nose poking out from some bushes. Let the kids predict what the nose is attached to. Write down suggestions.
• After you read! ... The animals in the story repeat the same words over adn over. Have the kids think of different words each animal might say. Write the quotations on a sheet of paper. Reread the story, using the new quotes.