Letter D

This week, Kailynn and I focused on the letter D. It was obvious to me that our craft would have something to do with a dog since she loves animals. I searched my favorite site, pinterest, for ideas. I came across a few different animals in the form of the letter they each began with but I did not see a dog. Dragons and dinosaurs were a very popular pick for the letter D.

I figured it couldn't be that hard to make a dog in the shape of the letter D so I began cutting out the shapes I needed from construction paper. To make the dog, I simply placed the glue on the paper while Kailynn put the pieces together and formed a dog. She knew exactly what it was as soon as we were done and was so excited to see that she had created a dog from pieces of cut out paper.

Kailynn was not done with her letter D craft just yet. As soon as we finished our dog project, she asked for stickers. Instead of bringing out the usual sticker book, I printed out a letter D template from my laptop and gathered her dragonfly foam stickers. I instructed Kailynn to stay inside the lines to make the letter D. She did just that.

Caterpillar

I will admit I have been slacking this week. I had family visiting and was so busy that I forgot about our letter C project. Originally I was hoping to make cars using house hold items, but it seems that I accidentally put the car parts into the recycle bin and they are probably being made into something else by now. After investigating our arts and crafts supplies, I constructed plan B, a caterpillar.

Supplies:

Pom-poms
Googly eyes
Glue
Letter C template
Marker or pen

(All found at the dollar store)




Instructions:

1. Glue pom-poms in the form of the letter C
2. Glue googly eyes onto the head of the caterpillar
3. Draw the caterpillar legs with black marker or pen






This was a simple and fun project. Kailynn identified the colors of the pom-poms as she glued them onto the paper. She practiced her colors and letter tracing skills simultaneously. Kailynn also played with her cars and colored with crayons on "C" day.

*As soon as I have the supplies, I promise to share with you how to make the cars I originally had in mind for this project. 

B Book

What better way to focus on the letter "B" than by making your own Book? Book starts with B so why not start with that? This "B Book" I speak of is filled with things that start with the letter...? You guessed it, B. Its easy to make and you can buy everything you need at my favorite place for toddler crafts, the dollar store. Here is what you will need:

(I forgot to put a glue stick and a stapler in the

picture so be sure to have those on your list as well.)

The prep work was done while princess Kailynn took a nap. I found pictures of things that start with the letter B on the web then printed and cut them out. I also attached the letters to the foam cover of our book and wrote the words of each picture onto the the pages made by cut out pieces of construction paper.

Since my one and a half year old doesn't know how to read, (if yours does please share your wisdom with me) I read to her each word on the page and she picked the picture that matched what I said. She then glued the picture to the matching word page. After all of the pictures were matched up with the correct words, we stacked the pages between the foam covers and stapled the book together along one side. Ta-da! Your very own "B Book." Now that our book is complete, all that's left to do is read it.

The Letter "B"

And so we continue with our ABC challenge! This week we will focus on the letter "B."

I have an alphabet app on my phone that Kailynn loves to play with. In the app, you "build" the letters. I thought why not turn this app into the real deal?

Since I already had the files on my laptop for each letter, it saved me preparation time on this week's alphabet activity. Be sure to have these tools handy before you start: scissor, glue stick, colored construction paper. (Feel free to use bottled glue if that's what you prefer. I used a glue stick because it makes for less clean up when it's in a toddler's hand.)


Step 1:  Print out letter "B"

Step 2:  Cut pieces of construction to fit into the shape of the letter

Step 3:  Glue construction paper pieces onto the letter

It's a simple activity that any toddler will enjoy. Kailynn loved this activity and has started pointing out the letter "B" in some of her books. I will admit that when I first started the alphabet challenge, I wasn't sure if she was going to understand much of it. To my surprise, she is able to identify these letters on her own. It seems to be working! Stay tuned for our next alphabet activity. I have a few creative ideas in mind that I'm sure you and your little one will love!

A is for Apple

As promised, we continued on our alphabet challenge. A few weeks ago, I decided to start doing arts and crafts with Kailynn revolving around the alphabets; focusing on one letter each week. A few days after we began, we went on a last minute vacation. Now that we are back to our normal schedule, it is time to continue what we started.

This weeks' project was a construction paper mosaic. Since the letter of the week was "A", we made an apple mosaic.  Follow these simple steps so you and your little one can create your own mosaic.


For starters, you will need:

• Construction paper
• Scissors
• Glue
• Pen or marker

Now that you have your materials, follow these simple steps:

1. Draw an apple on a piece of construction paper
   
2. Cut small pieces of your preferred color of construction paper
   
3. Place glue inside the drawing of the apple
4. Place your pre-cut pieces of construction paper onto the glued areas
5. Continue steps 3 and 4 until the drawing is covered with pieces construction paper 

I had full control of the glue because I was pretty sure Kailynn would have squirted the whole bottle all over the place if it was in her hands. I would place a few dabs of glue onto the paper while she stuck on the pre-cut pieces of construction paper. I must say we make a pretty good team. Here is Kailynn showing off the finished product!

Do-a-dot Art

Kailynn has been showing interest in letters lately so I have been working on making letter print outs for the past week or so. I was running low on our arts and crafts supplies so we made a trip to the dollar store. (Yes, the dollar store.) I came across the do-a-dot paint markers and thought it would be perfect for our next project! The plan is to focus on one letter a week. This week our letter is, you guessed it, the letter "A".

To make the print outs, I simply opened Microsoft Word and created a "word art" for each letter in upper and lower case then printed them as needed. I set up the table and Kailynn was ready to start learning her ABC's. I did a few dots myself to show Kailynn how to use the markers and she simply immitated my actions. I told her to stay inside the lines and trace the shape of the letter "A" and she did just that. Here is her first alphabet craft challenge. Not too bad for a first timer.

Squishy Sensory Bag

How many of you remember those water snake wigglies (a clear plastic tube filled with water and little toys)? Well, Kailynn was playing with one a few days ago and was so frustrated that it kept falling. I was determined to find a toy similar to the water wigglies that wasn’t so slippery. My mission to find this toy was a total fail! But not to worry, Super Mom is here! I decided to make one from scratch. I looked online to see if there were any suggested instructions on how to make one at home. I came across a few and to my surprise they’re referred to as sensory bags or squishy bags. The instructions were pretty similar. The only major difference was what was put inside the bag. Here is how Kailynn and I made our “squishy sensory bag”:

Supplies:

1- quart size plastic storage bag (Ziploc bag)

1- bottle of hair gel

Clear packaging tape

Beads or any other small toys

Step 1: Fill plastic bag with hair gel

Step 2: Put beads or toys into bag

Step 3: "Zip" plastic bag and wrap with tape to strengthen it

That’s it! It’s pretty simple to make and everything can be purchased at the dollar store if you don’t already have the items lying around the house. Your little one can even help make it. Kailynn and I will surely be making more soon!

Here are some other suggestions for filling your own “squishy sensory bag”: Use body wash, shaving cream, rice, or pasta instead of hair gel. Substitute the beads for marbles, plastic bugs or animals, foam stickers, plastic army men, glitter, or just about anything you can fit in the bag.