We're off to the beach for the weekend, but before we leave, I have to let you know about the super simple craft we did this week. My favorite part is that you only need 3 ingredients and it's extremely likely that you have them in your house right now!
If you and your little are fans of Eric Carle and his beautifully illustrated stories, then I have the perfect book to go along with this activity. It's not one of his most famous stories but its a favorite at our house. It's called Little Cloud. It's about a little cloud that drifts away from all the other clouds and forms different shapes in the sky (my boys love the shark and the clown he forms). At the end, the other clouds call Little Cloud back and they all group together and make it rain, which makes it the perfect rainy day book. I love all the CONVERSATION that this story can start between you and your little one. My boys have always loved looking up at the sky and looking for airplanes, the moon, and of course, clouds (especially when they look like they're moving). After reading this story, it's always fun to take a look out the window and find some clouds in the sky. You can talk about what they LOOK like ("That cloud looks like a dog bone.") and imagine what other SHAPES they may form. It's a great way to get your little one thinking more ABSTRACTLY and get those IMAGINATIONS going. Talk about what shapes YOU would make if you were a cloud. Another fun activity after reading this book is actually ACTING OUT the story. Pretend to be Little Clouds and try form the different shapes he does in the book, then you can all smush together to make a rain cloud. If you're feeling really fun, grab a water spray bottle and create some rain of your own. ACTING OUT stories is a simple and effective way to work on SEQUENCING and NARRATIVE (story telling) SKILLS, as well as, improve MEMORY and COMPREHENSION. All of these skills are necessary parts of being an EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATOR, and will be beneficial in the school years.
We added a craft to our Little Cloud reading this week - Do It Yourself Puffy Paint. You can use this recipe for any art project and if you'd like add some food coloring to make different colors. Here's what you'll need:
flour
salt
water
Mix equal parts flour and salt, then gradually add water until a paste forms. Anthony (3 1/2) helped me mix our ingredients, so don't be afraid to get your little one involved!
You can use a paint brush to spread your mixture on a piece of paper (thicker paper, foam or cardboard is best since it is very heavy) or make pastry baggies like we did. Scoop your mixture into a Ziploc bag, push it all to one corner, then cut a small hole in the corner. Now your little one can just squeeze the mixture out onto paper. Make its mess free and easy for your really little guys. My boys love squeezing glue so I knew this was the way for us to go. I told the boys to squeeze out the puffy paint to make a cloud just like in the story. Anthony made a huge blob and Michael (2) spread his out more. Feeling the mixture in the bag is also a great sensory experience.
Now to make it puffy... Put your little one's work of art in the microwave for about 30 seconds (you can keep putting it in if it's not dry the first time around) and watch your artwork rise! It was pretty cool and perfect to show our cloud getting puffy and "full of rain."
Since our art was supposed to be a rain cloud, we later squirted some silver glitter glue to make rain!
This craft reminded me of our puffy snow paint that we made in the winter, and I think we'll definitely be repeating it again to make something else!
Hope you get to try this one out!
Love & Language,
Marisa
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