Sea turtles

We started this by watching a YouTube clip of baby sea turtles hatching.  Then we talked about the baby sea turtles having to make it into the ocean all by themselves.  How brave of them!

This is a good activity for using glue, that's for sure!

One to One Correspondence-fish!

I printed a large empty fish tank for Goose.  Then on another piece of paper I would write numbers.  I'd ask her to tell me the number, then put that number of fish into the tank.

Simple and fun!

A starfish

This craft was so cute and fun!  Makes me miss summer and playing with Goose in her sandbox.

Step one: outline a starfish on wax paper

Step two: fill outline in with glue (not just outline with glue, fill the entire star with glue)

Step three: dump sand over the glue.  Let dry.  Shake of excess sand and turn over for other side to dry.

How cute!!

Rainbow Fish

So, we all know the original "Rainbow Fish" story.  I actually am not a fan of it.  I don't understand why Rainbow Fish has to give away all his shiny scales?  No one wants to be friends with him because he won't share them, but he shouldn't have to!  These are his scales, not toys!

Anyway, there are many other books in the Rainbow Fish series and after checking some out from the library, we decided to make our own rainbow fish using a paper plate and some paint.

It came out super cute!  She painted blue over the blue eye, so once it dries, I might just add a googly eye or something instead.  I have some sequins at school and will see if she wants to add those as well.  So fun!

Jellyfish-a Pinterest fail

So, I saw this cute idea on Pinterest...  that's where I go for all my lesson planning.  Basically you make a small plastic bag (like the kind in the produce section) into a jellyfish and plop it into a bottle of water.

While Goose liked it, I thought it was kind of a fail.  The tentacles of the jellyfish float on top and don't drop down.  So it's a clump of plastic floating in the water.

I think I'll try again with a smaller bag and see if that helps!

http://bhoomplay.wordpress.com/2011/09/09/diy_jellyfish_eng/

Jonah and the Whale-a whale of a craft!!

We are moving along with our ocean unit.  Today I read Goose the story of Jonah and the Whale.  We talked about how Jonah did not listen to God and tried to hide from Him.  You can never hide from God, because He can always see you!

This bible is GREAT for toddlers.  I highly recommend it to anyone with little kids.  Super cute and right to the point!

After the story and our discussion, she colored a whale with Jonah inside.  

This is where I printed the craft-there is so much more here!  I'm glad I found this site.

http://sunday-school-fun-zone.com/freelessons/biblecharacters.html

Seahorse Craft

We started this craft by Reading Eric Carle's "Mister Seahorse"

After reading the book, we talked a little bit about seahorses and watched some videos on YouTube about them.

I asked if she wanted to do a craft, and of course she said yes!  So I sprayed some shaving cream on a paper plate, topped it with some paint, and used a toothpick to mix it up a bit.

Then I gave DD the seahorse cutout (from my electronic cutter) and had her lay it on the mixture and press it down. 

Then she lifted it up and we added an eye and set it aside to dry.  

After the craft I took out some shells and sand dollars and let her explore.  She would hold the shell to her ear and say, "I heard a bird!"  

Octopus Pattern Craft

This activity was fun, but took a lot of time for little two year old hands.  I made the body of an octopus and cut 8 pieces of yarn to start the craft.  Then DD and I sat down with a box of Fruit Loops.  This was her first time seeing Fruit Loops, so she was pretty excited to play with them and to snack on some.

For each octopus leg, I would tell her to pick out two or three colors.  Then we would work on making them into a pattern. She is secure with ABAB patterns, and with ABBA patterns.  I made sure to practice those, but to mix in others as well.  She has strength in that area of math.

After creating the pattern, she would take a piece of yarn and thread the Fruit Loop on there.  To make it easier I put a small piece of tape on one end of the yarn, so it would thread through the hole in the Fruit Loop easier.

This is what it looked like half way through.