WFMW - "B" Adventures

Tweet

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.

• Fisher Price's ABC Zoo (still my favorite online thing to do by myself)
• Bembo's Zoo

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.

• B-A-B-E-L

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.

• Block Game (this takes Mommy's help)

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.

• Big Bird games
• Veggie Tales - The Whipcrack Islands (Mommy played while I watched...)

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.

• Toucan Sam (speaking of toucans)
• Toucan Song

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.

• Count the Bananas
• Bubble Tractor

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.)
  

----------------
If you have a post or link related to "B" Activities for toddlers, link up here!

WFMW - "B" Activity Trays

Tweet

Mommy says "B" school has been bewilderingly busy, and she will be glad to get to "I," or maybe "Q." I wouldn't know. I just know that the last two weeks have been full of one boisterously ballistic bedoozling bedazzling thing after another. Nothing boring going on. In fact, we had picked out 97 photos of the "B" things on our activity shelves to put on this post. But we've squeezed and groaned and moaned and cut it down to 34 for your benefit.

Boo hoo. Yeah. Well. Anyway. Moving on so we can get those 34 photos posted.

Shake and Sniff. Basil this time! I am getting really good at shaking. In fact, I covered my doll with table salt the other day. And to Mommy's relief, I am getting good at sweeping things up with my little broom and dumping the dustpan stuff nicely into the trash.

Bubbles. Blueberry-scented bubbles for more sniffing fun! I actually managed to blow my own bubbles for the first time, in addition to the billions Mommy blew. They were on my shelf, but I could only play with them outside or in the bath.

Pouring. I got to squeeze water out of my honey bear! Plus I had a bear sponge to clean up if I made any mess. Not that I made any mess...

Stickers. I got to put stickers on cards - boats, buses, bugs, butterflies, baby stuff, and Bs! No photo - sorry...

Stamps. I did some rubber stamping, too. Lots of "B" stamps, but my favorite were the butterflies. I even got this tray out on my own this week and did some stamping without ANY help.

Mommy says to tell you she uses the card stock scraps from all the activities we do for rubber stamping cards and sticker cards. They make great bookmarks, among other things.
Cutting. Speaking of card stock scraps, the thin ones work great for cutting practice. Especially after you've stamped them. Here is a butterfly-stamped strip inside my bunny bag with my scissors.
Though my scissors don't work nearly so well as the sharp ones I tried out from the top of the computer desk when Mommy wasn't watching. Maybe one of you can tell her where to get a good pair of safety scissors that cut well.

Play doh. Like we said last time, ya gotta have play doh at our school. We just swapped out the cutters for some "B" ones: the letter B, bunnies, bears, a butterfly, and my favorite - Big Bird! Though I called him Elmo all the time.

Post-its. Mommy put butterfly stickers onto a few post-it notes, and we got to play "catch that butterfly!" I would try to get them off the wall before Mommy did, or stick them on myself and have her catch them on me, or whatever else I felt like doing with them...

Magnets. There were a bunch of bunny magnets in my magnet bowl for "B" school. They all had nursery rhyme characters, so we sang all the nursery rhymes, especially Little Boy Blue, cuz it was "B" school.

Butterfly Vase/Foam. We got a bunch of butterflies on wires from Michaels. We made butterfly bouquets in a little pink vase, but I had most fun sticking the wires into a Styrofoam cup to make a butterfly cup.

Coloring. Instead of an apple mug, my crayons were in a bear mug. And you'll be happy to know I didn't eat any of them! I did want them all "opened" (unwrapped), though. And my coloring pages (on a clipboard)went along with our theme each day.

Balls. I had a basket of squishy balls (miniature water bombs from the $ store without the water) on my shelf. We got them out to throw into our golf practice net. I'm getting better and better at this! Plus I just carried the basket around and dumped the balls out around the house from time to time to add to the chaos level. That's what I do, ya know...

Bubble Wrap. Just put a square of this on the activity shelf and you'll keep a toddler entertained for five minutes, easy! Though sometimes I would rip the plastic apart instead of popping the bubbles.
Bear Picks. I had a Styrofoam cup full of teddy bear picks (meant for baby showers). Mommy sometimes helped me sort them by color, and then I would stick the picks into the cup.

Matching. I had two matching games. One was bears, the other butterflies. They had colored shapes on them, and you just had to match the color and shape - it was way easy!

Then I got to play Memory with them for the first time. Just with six cards at first, then we added more to make it harder. I actually did pretty good with turning the cards back over when I didn't get a match, but I haven't figured out taking turns yet. Definitely a game we'll be practicing some more! (Oh, and the memory computer games out there? They are a breeze now. I still don't use the mouse, but I tell Mommy which cards to turn over, and I always get it right.)
Butterfly Bush. Mommy put some butterflies without wires into a pretty butterfly container. Then it was my job to take them out of the butterfly container and put them onto the butterfly bush (some fake flowers in a vase). Or I could match up the butterflies by color. Or I could just play with the butterflies.

Beans. That sensory tub? For "B" school we filled it with dry beans, of course! Plus a bunch of "B" miniatures that I could hunt dig out of there at any time, like a balloon, birds, bouquets, brides, bottles, etc.

Balloon Confetti. We put some balloon confetti on a tray, and that was so much fun to play with! Mommy showed me how to sort it out by color, but sometimes I just liked looking and feeling it. Later on I got the bright idea to glue it on one of my coloring pages - I'll show you next week.

Felts. I got to play with bee felts! There was a hive and a bunch of bees to buzz around. And we played the fingerplay: "Here is the beehive, but where are the bees? They're hidden inside where nobody sees. Watch as they slowly come out of the hive. 1-2-3-4-5! Buzzzzzzzz!"

Beads. I had my beads to wear again! Plus a ball whistle to blow! It's so nice to add a bit of class to my pajama outfits... And it takes my mind off my eye infection. Refereeing is hard work!

Blackboard. We found this great blackboard setup at a 2nd hand shop for $8. Pappa gave the board another coat of blackboard paint, and it works wonderful for me! The board folds down to make a table when I'm coloring or doing other activities or eating snacks - and I haven't had a table just my size for a long time, so I am really enjoying it! I'm doing my trigonometry homework on the board there, in case you're wondering. Though Mommy said I should wait until "T" week for that.

Counting. I had buttons in my counting tray for "B" school. Boy, do I love buttons! I dumped them out into my bunny bag and carried them around for a while. And I spent hours playing "hide them from Mommy," too!Not pictured are my butterfly wings and my tub of blocks. There was just way much stuff for "B," huh? And we haven't even started on the "B" themed adventures - those will come next week!

----------------
If you have a post or link related to "B" Activities for toddlers, link up here!