Recently on one of these Hot Summer days we played with chalk a little differently. We normally just draw all over the cement or work on our letters and shapes but this day we mixed it up by adding water!
I drew a couple of hearts on the cement and we were filling them in and with a bucket munchkin would drop some water on the drawings. Not too much, but just enough to get them moist. As soon as the water falls on the chalk drawing you can see the texture and color change, even mix with other colors on the cement.
It was fun to see the water dry on the chalk and the colors change again.
Pretty soon with enough chalk layers and water the chalk on the floor felt like goopy paint to the touch. It was so much fun!
Have you ever played with Chalk with a twist? Its so much fun especially on a hot day. I hope you try it! Your kiddos will love it and I bet you will too because I had a blast.
Project 52: Week 7
This past week was all about Love in this house. We made Valentines and Valentine treat bags. We went to Play and learn at Central library where the theme was Red for Valentines day! Then of course the big day came and we played with chalk outside making hearts.
We had a pretty great week. How was your week? Did you have a good Valentines day? Hope your week was filled with Love like ours!
Plus If you have not yet checked out my first time at Gummy Lump then head on over and see my Indoor Zoo Craft made with paper plates. I made a Lion, giraffe, bear and turtle with my munchkin so we could play indoors during winter. I hope your munchkins have fun with it!
Are you doing a Project 52? Even though we are in February that doesn't mean you cant still start yours up. Share yours with me!
This week has been one of the best weeks for us with his alphabet journey. He has been really understanding the letter H. He can write the letter so clearly and he can sound it out in a word so well. I am really happy with his progress. I feel so proud of him with how far along he has come. Not so long ago he was the little boy in speech therapy who wouldn't speak. Who had zero vocabulary words and who therapists recommended for special education. Now my son just turned 4 and has such an extensive vocabulary that he can talk your ears off. (Never doubt a mothers determination)
Here's what we did this week:
Monday: We worked on Letter recognition. For every letter of the week I redo his dry erase board with the Letter were working on and an item that represents that letter such as H is for Home or House! I also add to it with a flash card or a letter magnet or foam Letter. Anything with that letter that helps with the connection is welcome.
Right on top of the area that his dry erase board is I hang a recycled poster board type sheet with clippings of the Letter of the week that are recycled from magazines or newspaper or mail. It helps because your child gets to see the Letter there working on in different colors, fonts, sizes and that shows them that this Letter is still the same letter (the back side of the sheet is lowercase).
Tuesday: We worked with letter Magnets and books
Remember that with books there is more to be done than just reading them. You can ask them to help you sound out the pictures they see, find the various letters of the alphabet in the words your reading and ask them to read you the book by telling you what they see is happening in the pictures and go along from there.
Wednesday: We went to the first Play and Learn of November and checked out new alphabet books from the library to work on.
Thursday: We worked with paint to Make Heart prints: A Letter H craft with potatoes. It was a beautiful way to connect paint with letters and shapes. We then worked on some more Letter writing and recognition.
Friday: We went outside to created some fun Alphabet Chalk Art Then we worked on some more letter writing and recognition.
Saturday: We mainly hanged out and relaxed at home. But we did play with popsicle sticks and make the Letter H out of them.
Sunday: We had a family day and are still just relaxing. Happy Sunday ya'll!
I am really happy with all the progress we have done and hope your alphabet journey is going well. Don't let a bad week get you down and just keep going forward! If your child doesn't seem to be understanding that letter then find other activities that might fit your child's learning needs. Don't stress out because every child learns at there own pace. I know its easier to say than to do because trust me It was hard on me too, but don't give up! We are going to be working on the letter I this new week and hope you will be joining us as well.
Here are our weeks with Letter A-G:
A: Our week with the Letter A
B: Our week with the Letter B
C: Our week with the Letter C
D: Our week with the Letter D
E: Our week with the letter E
F: Our week with the letter F
G: Our week with the letter G
What letter activities have worked with your child? Any tips or advice are always much appreciated. Thanks!
This week we have been working on the Letter H and yesterday was such a beautiful day that we couldn't spend it indoors. So out we went outside and brought out the chalk and started having fun!
I asked my munchkin to help me decorate the driveway with letters! It was a good chance to practice his letter writing skills with a fun object like chalk so off he went making various letters and they looked awesome!
In the meantime I was also making letters everywhere and asking him to identify them for me or helping him out with his letter writing. It ended up becoming a collage of our letters mixed together.
I then started making shapes and he did too and we were identifying them all on the floor by letters, colors and shapes now.
And yes as you can tell that led to making holiday designs. I made a snowman and my sister made a turkey and then her own snowman. Munchkin had so much fun coloring and drawing and making letters while being outside under the sun with a nice breeze.
Isnt having fun the best way to learn? How long has it been since you went outside and went chalk crazy?
If you and your kids are into chalk art then you need to check out this free event they have every year in San Antonio which is Chalk It Up! This years event already passed but its never too early to get excited for next years event. Check out the fun we had at this years event: Chalk It Up 2012
