The Chaos and the Clutter

Click Clack Moo Cows That Type – Activities

Click, Clack Moo Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin has long been one of our favourite read aloud books. It is funny and it features great illustrations and animals, so it is one the kids love. It’s the kind of book that is clever enough that even adults can appreciate it so I like it too!

Since we are doing the letter “C” this week, I thought it would be perfect to spend a day incorporating this book into our lessons.

I love this activity to introduce the concept of characters in a story. I put the four main characters on the cork board and cut out different sentences such as “I had a problem” and then I had the kids tape them on the character they belonged to. I found the printables here.

This great sheet allowed the kids to write a letter to Farmer Brown from an animal. You can print it here.

These Click, Clack, Moo Fill in the Blanks sheets were great for my early readers and it always makes me happy to see my kids helping each other. Einstein was helping Snuggle Puppy.

If you are looking for more book activities, you may be interested in following my Book Activity Ideas Board on Pinterest.

Workbox Activities for “Bb” and Telling Time

By Sharla Kostelyk

I used a variety of crafts, activities and learning centers to help the kids learn the letter “B”. Below are some of what I included in their workboxes for the week:-butterfly journal…just pages shaped like a butterfly stapled together. I gave the kids a lot of leeway on what to fill them with. Some chose to write stories about butterflies. Some chose to draw the life cycle of a butterfly. Others drew pictures and labeled them.

-butterfly number game from Confessions of a Homeschooler

-playdough mat from Homeschool Creations

-ballerina cutting practise from Confessions of a Homeschooler

–butterfly life cycle stamps

-sign language B and ballerina sizing practise

-ballerina puzzle from Confessions of a Homeschooler

-the coveted Sensory Bin card! This week it was a Bugs Sensory Bin.

We did many other B activities in our workboxes this week including other games, worksheets, and puzzles from Confessions of a Homeschooler and Do a Dot pages from Homeschool Creations.

We did quite a few craft activities including making binoculars and bird feeders using toilet paper rolls and making bean mosaics. You can find instructions on how to make the bird feeder and the bean mosaic here.

Here are some of the workbox activities we used for Telling Time:

-Time and Money (canadian version) Flash Cards

-I don’t know where I picked up this clock with the moveable hands that the kids can “set” and then write the time below with a dry erase marker, but they love it!

–Telling Time Match Up

Lots of other workbox activities unrelated to Telling Time or the letter “Bb”, including:

-A Reason for Handwriting

-magnetic calendar

Bugs Sensory Bin

By Sharla Kostelyk

With this week’s theme being “Bb”, I thought that a bugs sensory bin would be fun and interesting and would fit in well.

–ladybug magnifying bug view container
-fly’s eyes toy (when you look through it, you see the way a fly sees)
-various bugs
–small plastic magnifying glass
-rice dyed green to look like grass

To dye the rice, put dry rice in a ziploc bag, add about a teaspoon of rubbing alcohol and lots of green food colouring, and shake until well mixed. Then lay it out on a cookie sheet to dry, which does not take long.

Check out my book on sensory activities!

Condensed Milk Edible Paint

By Sharla Kostelyk

We had so much fun with this condensed milk painting. The edible paint produces beautiful glossy art. Your kids will love the end results and the process to get there!Condensed milk paint was something I stumbled upon. A week or so ago, I opened up a can of condensed milk for a recipe only to discover that the recipe actually called for evaporated milk!

This left me with an opened can of condensed milk sitting in my fridge. I was going to just throw it out until I came across an idea to do condensed milk painting!

Making this edible paint is so easy.

Condensed Milk Edible Paint Recipe:

300 mL or 415 mL can sweetened condensed milk (10 – 14 oz.)
food colouring
ice cube tray
toothpicks (optional)

Fill an ice cube tray with condensed milk.
Add one or two drops of food colouring in each cube.
Use toothpicks to stir them.
The paint is now ready to use.
Use paintbrushes (or fingers) to paint on paper. You can use regular paper, card stock, or finger paint paper.

This edible paint recipe is included in the Sensory Play Recipes eBook. You’ll find so many easy sensory ideas inside. You can get a free sample using the form below.

My kids really enjoyed using this paint to create pictures. The pictures turned out so well. The paint gave a shiny, glossy finish. The kids were really pleased with the cool effect of that.

Even after the paint dries, it maintains its shiny look.

Each of the kids wanted to try tasting the paint. Snuggle Puppy ate almost as much as he painted with! Condensed milk painting is a simple sensory activity. It engages the visual, tactile and gustatory (taste) sensory systems.

I love suggesting this activity to other moms because most people already have the ingredients needed in their kitchens. This makes it an easy last minute or rainy day activity.

Because it is taste-safe, condensed milk paint is also great for toddlers and even babies to play with. It can also be used as finger paint.

Other easy homemade sensory recipes you might want to check out:

Shaving Cream Painting Lavender Scented Bubbles

Soap Foam

Textured Butter Slime

Workboxes and Activities for “A”

By Sharla Kostelyk

Learning the Letter A What better way to start learning the alphabet than at the beginning?!These toilet paper tube apple trees are so easy to make. I made slits in toilet paper rolls and the kids were able to slip their green tree formed card stock into it after they had glued on red beads. Cute and super easy!

The Do a Dot in the picture, the apple sizing, and the Aa lacing activity are from the Letter of the Week Curriculum at Confessions of a Homeschooler.

apple activities The playdough mat is from Homeschool Creations and I printed them for every letter. I love how they incorporate the picture (phonics, spelling) and the sensory aspect. We also used a letter A word search, an “A is for Astronaut” Do a Dot, many of the other activities from the Letter of the Week curriculum, and we did some apple picking.

A completely unrelated to “Aa” workbox activity that was the hands down favourite of the week was ribbon weaving. Using a dish divider from the cupboard, the kids wove ribbon through the slits.

Penguin Sensory Bin

By Sharla Kostelyk

Since we are studying penguins right now, it seemed only fitting that we make a penguin sensory bin this week. Also, Granola Girl has been crazy about penguins for years now. She is obsessed!

This sensory bin was the easiest one to make to date and the least expensive. I only used things I already had in the house.

Penguin Sensory Bin:

Materials:

cotton balls
penguin TOOB
penguin puppet
stuffed penguin

I used a blue tub so that it would look like water. I filled it with a bag of cotton balls, creating one hole in the cotton balls for a swimming area for the penguins. Then I added some toy penguins from a Safari Penguin TOOB, a penguin puppet and one of Granola Girl’s stuffed penguins.

Even though this penguin sensory bin is about as simple as it gets, the kids got hours of play out of it. They created stories and even filled the puppet with cotton balls at one point. You just never know where their sensory play will take them!

The addition of the puppet gives extra opportunity for kids to create stories and use their imagination.

If you’re new to making sensory bins, this is a great one to get started with. It’s mess free. It’s easy to make and it’s super cute!

If you are looking for more sensory ideas or information, you may be interested in my book.

For more sensory ideas, grab a free sample of our Sensory Play Recipes eBook.