Wednesday, May 13, 2009

WFMW - "B" Adventures

Tot School
BEWARE! Do NOT try all of these adventures in the span of two weeks at home! Unless you like being really really BUSY!

Last week we gave you the "B" activity trays. Now here are the "B" adventures that worked for this then-24-month-old during our two "B" weeks.
Review: Bears.
Song.
  • The Bear Went Over the Mountain
  • Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear (lots of fun with the actions)
Book.
  • Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr. (who doesn't love this book?)
  • The Berenstains' B Book by Stanley & Janice Berenstain
  • Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr.
  • We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen & Helen Oxenbury
  • Dog and Bear by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
  • Berlioz the Bear by Jan Brett (one of my favorites!)
  • Barney's ABC, 123 and More! by Guy Davis (my absolute favorite - it's got Barney AND lots of flaps to open!)
  • Happy Birthday, Moon by Frank Asch (my OTHER absolute favorite - I could read this one over and over and over and over)
  • Corduroy by Don Freeman (see if you can get the Scholastic DVD for this from the library, too...)
Food.
  • Teddy grahams, basil meal (pesto pasta with sundried tomato basil tortilla)
Computer Time.
Science.
  • Color scavenger hunt
Physical Activity.
  • Bear hunt (with Mommy hiding the teddy bear)
  • Dancing with the teddy bear (in boots, of course. The teddy bear, that is. In the boots.)
  • Making a bear cave
Not only did we have my big Review tub of books and puzzles and games to play with, we made the Brown Bear, Brown Bear activity pack at 1+1+1=1. That was FUN! So it was a VERY busy day. Mommy says there is so much to do for B that she was trying to pack as much stuff into every day as possible.
Plus I found some "B" wood pieces, like bears, in my sensory tub of beans to paint. Though I had more fun painting myself, of course.
Lapbook: Bugs, Butterflies, Big, Little Boy Blue.
Song.
  • Little Boy Blue
Book.
  • Bugs! Bugs! Bugs! by Bob Barner (one of my favorites)
  • Bugs by Nancy Winslow Parker & Joan Richards Wright (one of my VERY favorites - Mommy was a little surprised...)
  • The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (one of my ABSOLUTELY VERY favorites!)
  • When I Get Bigger by Mercer Mayer
  • The 12 Bugs of Christmas by Max Lucado (one of my favorites, though I'm not sure it was one of Mommy's...)
  • The Caterpillar and the Polliwog by Jack Kent (one of my favorites)
Food.
  • Haystacks for Little Boy Blue (just stacking up food... we used tortilla chips, grated cheese, and salad)
Computer Time.
  • Bug (the bug moves its legs as you move the mouse - not one of my favorites)
  • Which is Bigger? (I got to tell Mommy which was bigger over and over. I am GOOD!)
  • Bubble Bugs (even Mommy had a hard time with this one, but it was fun watching for a little while)
Science.
  • Incubate Miracle Grow bugs (from the $ store). You know those little capsules that you drop into water and they grow into things? It was AMAZING. Except I wanted to help them hatch. I wasn't very patient... And after they were hatched, I tore most of them to pieces, but not before we matched some of them up to the bug books we had.
Physical Activity.
  • Throw balls into basket
And my big adventure was my "B" lapbook. We had so much to put into it that Mommy added a flap page to it this week.
On the front page we did a bubble wrap painting on the letter "B" with blue paint. Mommy took the letter away from me when I started smearing the paint and let me do more bubble wrap painting on a brown grocery bag.
For inside, we made two letter books: one with the letter "B" shape, and the other with transportation "B"s.
For counting, we used the Big Machines counting book from 1+1+1=1's tot book.
Our Bible verse was "Love bears all things" (1 Corinthians 13). We made it with flip cards - Card 1, Card 2, Card 3.
And we used our sign language flash cards for the letter "B" and "ball" as flip cards.
We did some Little Boy Blue stuff: a coloring book and a mini book. (by the way - Mommy first helped me paint the coloring book picture with watercolors, and then I covered her painting with just a water brush - it made a very interesting effect that was ALL MINE!)
And we did a big bus, little bus activity. Mommy put velcro on the big stop and the little stop, and then matching velcro on all the buses, so I could park the buses at the appropriate stop.
On the back page, we put a watercolor-painted B butterfly. Of course, I made a mess while painting, so I had to clean up the water afterwards!
Plus we did lots of butterfly things! We spread these throughout the week, though, since we had so much to get done this day.
We made butterflies by putting things (like tissue paper, beads, ribbon, and pom poms) into a sandwich zip bag and zipping it shut, then scrunching it in the middle and making antennas with a half pipe cleaner.
We made the requisite coffee filter butterflies. Here's my trick - after you color or paint it, pour water over it to spread the color all over the filter. It takes longer to dry, but the color goes further...
Then when I was given a butterfly to color, I decided I wanted to make it sparkle with my balloon confetti, instead. So Mommy brought out the glue, and we glued balloon confetti to it. What a glamorous butterfly!
Excursion #1: Bakery, Barn, Library.
We went to a bakery, and I got to pick out a cookie! Of course, I wanted the one with sprinkles...
We saw barn animals at the Wildlife Safari.
And we stopped by the library, too!
Book.
  • Barn Dance by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault (not bad at all)
  • Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown (not bad)
  • Barnyard Dance! by Sandra Boynton (one of my favorites - this is fun to act out!)
  • B is for Books! by Annie Cobb
Bible Story: Tower of Babel.
Song.
Book.
  • The Story of the Tower of Babel by Alice Joyce Davidson
Food.
  • A tower! We made one using Wheat Thins, graham cracker shapes, and candy, connected with cream cheese and cream cheese frosting...
Computer Time.
Science.
  • Gravity! We talked about gravity while building our tower with blocks.
Physical Activity.
  • Stomping around in boots while looking for birds. But I far prefer stomping in my purple dress shoes...
We made a tower out of blocks. I am getting good at balancing them now!
We made a cacophony of noise by putting a piece of paper in an oatmeal container, dumping in glass rocks and brown paint, and shaking it a LOT!
We put in too much paint, so we had to do 5 paintings before they looked decent at all. Then we let them dry outside.
Science: Boat.
Song.
  • Row, Row, Row Your Boat
Book.


  • Mr Grumpy's Outing by John Burningham
  • The Owl and the Pussycat by Edward Lear (this was a little beyond me...)
  • Who Sank the Boat? by Pamela Allen (this was fun)
Food.
  • Banana boat - we made this using a banana, cottage cheese, ice cream, whipped cream, cherries, and index cards taped on straws for sails. I ate the whipped cream, but that was it...
Computer Time.
Science.
  • Floating boats - see what makes them sink. And how paper boats get soaked with water and eventually sink, too.
Physical Activity.
  • Ride my bicycle! And I rode Mommy's new bicycle, too, after I put it together (with Pappa's help).
I painted some pictures using my waterpainting book, and Mommy folded them into paper boats for me. Then we put them in a container of water, along with my plastic bath boats.
Then I decided that I was a boat, too! So I got in with the other boats.
Finally, I decided that this box was a boat, and I got in it and paddled with a racket.
Social Studies: Brazil.
Song.
  • Flitter, flutter, butterfly. Can I catch you if I try? Flutter over the flower beds. Flutter high above my head! Bye-bye, butterfly, flutter by! (This makes a great fingerplay.)
  • (Did you know "The Butterfly Effect" was named because of this title: "Does the flap of a butterfly's wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas?")
Book.
  • Where We Live: Brazil by Donna Bailey & Anna Sproule (we just looked at pictures)
Food.
  • Rice and beans, tortillas, fried bananas. Oh, and chocolate. Cuz cocoa is a major export. And fruit loops, too. Cuz toucans eat fruit loops and live in Brazil.
Computer Time.
Science.
  • Did you know toucans eat soft tropical fruits (hence fruit loops)? Plus spiders, snakes, and lizards. Shame we had no spiders, snakes, or lizards to string up with our fruit loops bracelet.
Physical Activity.
  • Soccer!
We skipped on the bikini, even though it is a "B" word. They make lots of beaded jewelry in Brazil. So I beaded my own bracelets - two of them! Pipe cleaners work really well. And I didn't need any help once I got started (though it was as much fun to take the beads off as to put them on.
Of course, I had great fun modeling my bracelets afterwards. They matched my Disney Princess nightgown really well.
Excursion #2: Birds, Butterfly Balloon.
We checked out birds outside (as well as at the Wildlife Safari earlier).
I got to pick out my own balloon when we went to the grocery store! Mommy wanted to get a butterfly balloon, but I insisted on an Ice Age one. I held on to it WAY tight - I didn't even let go when I fell asleep.
And we went on Uncle Jaques' boat at the beginning of "B" weeks, so I guess that counts as a "B" excursion adventure, too!
Book.
  • The Baby BeeBee Bird
Kitchen: Bananas, Blueberries, Bread.
Song.
  • Patty Cake (using "bread" instead of cake)
  • This is the Way We Bake the Bread...
Book.
  • Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey
Food.
  • Blueberry smoothies
  • Blueberry muffins
Computer Time.
Science.
  • Making bubbles from soap while helping Mommy wash dishes. I love washing dishes! I could do them every day!
Physical Activity.
  • Slippy slide on the floor with socks (like slipping on a banana peel)
We spent ALL day in the kitchen. First we made play doh bread. I got to mix up the yeast and watch it bubble.
Then I helped mix up the dough. I ate some of it. It wasn't too bad at all, so I ate some more, even though Mommy told me not to.
Then we started playing with the dough.
Mommy made some shapes.
I made other shapes.
We made chocolate-covered bananas. I LOVED the chocolate. The bananas? Not so much. Anyone want some uncovered chocolate-covered banans?

Mommy showed me how to slice a banana. I did such a great job - I even sliced my own hot dog later without any help.
We made rice crispie treats that Mommy cut using a butterfly cookie cutter. Then I got to help decorate them with candy! We took them to potluck after church, so I didn't get to eat them all...
Miscellaneous.
Act of Kindness. Feeding the birds. We just put some bird seed on a plate and put it outside. Then I called and called for the birds to come, but they never did. Mommy said we had to go inside and then maybe they'd come.
Miscellaneous B Books.
  • Musical Beds by Mara Bergman
  • Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems (an absolute favorite - I love stories where people cry...)
  • Knuffle Bunny Too by Mo Willems
  • The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown (this was a fun one)
  • Bugs Bunny, Pioneer by Fern G. Brown (my personal pick of the week - Mommy didn't even want to get it cuz she didn't think I'd like it. But I listened to it over and over - all the words.)
The Attached Mama's Alphabet Craft Collection
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If you have a post or link related to "B" Activities for toddlers, link up here!

11 comments:

Bran said...

oh my, ya'll have been very very busy. Esme's mommy must be very very organized!

Madeline said...

Y'all are quite the busy beavers! Looks like loads of fun.

Niki Jolene said...

I love the butterfly craft!

:)

Damselfly said...

Holy cow that's a lot of activities! Wish I could send you Fly, just pack him up and ship him over.

melanie said...

Wow!! That is a lot of activities!! I actually used to plan that many activites for Hailey too. But after a few weeks it wasn't fun for me anymore- I spent way too much time planning and prepping. But, there are tons of great ideas there that I will definitely use when we go back through the alphabet again!

ShEiLa said...

for a quick moment I thought you did all these things in a day...
thank goodness you didn't.
busy.
busy.
busy.

so many things to do...
so little time.

ToOdLeS.

Jenny @ Another Jennifer Speaks said...

Hi. I was just surfing around some blogs, and I came across yours. It’s pretty nifty and I’m really enjoying my stay here. I’ve bookmarked your site for daily visits, and I hope you’ll visit me. I’d love to have you. :) Have a great day and I’ll see you around the blogosphere. :)

RockerMom said...

Wow! How do you fit it all in?? Your Tot-School looks like lots of fun!! Thanks for sharing!

Jennifer said...

It must have taken you 2 weeks to write this post! I think it took me that long to read it all... you blow me away Ms. Jane!

Pamela said...

Thanks so much for doing a lot of the work for me! I love that I can come here and get ideas!

Gidget Girl Reading said...

wow you had a great school 2 weeks for Bb your mommy is awesome!