Sand Pail, Shovels, and Sunglasses

Four things to do with sand pails, shovels, and sunglasses—none of them at the beach.

 

It’s July and your home is overflowing with summer gear. The kids are begging for something to do. If a trek to the beach is out of the question, check out the list of activities that puts the summer gear to good use. Not only will your little ones have lots of fun, they will also practice some of those much-needed skills they learned in school. These activities reinforce rote counting, color recognition, fine and gross motor skills, the ability to compare sizes, and categorizing skills.

1. Sorting Fun—Can you sort the sand bricks?

2. Sand Pail Relay— Who can fill their sand pail first?

3. Water Play—How many scoops does it take to fill your sand pail?

4. Scavenger Hunt—My sand pail is red. What color is yours?

Activity 1—Can you sort the sand bricks?

This activity is a quick way to assess your child’s knowledge of colors.

Ages: 3-6

Time to complete: 20-30 minutes

MATERIALS:

Matching sets of sand pails and shovels, in several different colors

Matching sunglasses (optional)

Assortment of building blocks in various colors*

*Depending upon manufacturer, several different combinations of building brick colors are available. I used the colors that matched the sand pails from our local dollar store.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Prior to the activity, arrange the sand pails, the shovels, and sunglasses, as shown. Place a pile of building bricks in front of the sets of sand pails.

 

2. Tell the children that they are going to be color detectives. They will wear their detective glasses to find which colors go into each of the sand pails.
3. Children then sort the items by color, creating a set for each color, as shown.

4. Take it further by ‘accidentally’ dropping the wrong color into the sand pail and ask the children to find the incorrectly sorted block. Children will love catching your mistakes when they discover the wrong color inside the sand pail.

Hint: Some of the sunglasses have several colors on them. When the children sort the sunglasses, ask them which part of the sunglasses match the sand pail and shovel.

Activity 2—wHO CAN FILL THEIR PAIL FIRST?

 

A great way to for the kids to exercise as well as practice their balancing skills, this summer relay is easy, inexpensive, and fun.

Ages: 4-7
Time to complete: 20-30 minutes

MATERIALS:

Matching sets of sand pails and shovels.

Assortment of building blocks in various colors

INSTRUCTIONS:

**This activity can be completed by 1 or more children. Adapt the instructions to meet the needs of your group.

1. Divide the children into two groups. Have them sit in a line behind a pile of building blocks with a matching colored shovel beside the pile of blocks. Make sure that each pile has the same number of blocks.

2. When you signal go, the first child in the line stands and places a building block on the shovel. He then walks with that block to the end of the room and drops the block into the sand pail. He returns to the line, handing the shovel to the next child in line.

3. Repeat step 2 until all of the blocks are in the sand pails. The first team to finish wins.

Add to the challenge:

Instead of conducting the activity with the colors already sorted, place the pile of building bricks in the middle and have the children sort on their own as they complete the relay. If you choose this option, be prepared for a bit of chaos—and more laughter, too.

ACTIVITY 3—HOW MANY SCOOPS DOES IT TAKE TO FILL YOUR SAND PAIL?

This fun outdoor activity is a good way for your child to review rote counting, as well as have some splashy fun on hot summer days.

Ages: 3-6

Time to complete: 20-30 minutes

MATERIALS:

Several sand pails of different sizes

Hose

Small outdoor pool (optional)

*Variation: Sand can be used as a substitution for water.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Before heading outdoors, have your child select at least three different sizes of sand pails from the beach gear. This provides a great springboard discussion about how shapes affect how much water or sand will actually fit into the pail.

 

2. Take the pails and shovels outside.

3. Fill the largest pail with water.

Ask: How many of the small pails of water do you think it will take to fill the medium pail? *If you are using your outdoor pool, use that as the water source and conduct the activity with the medium and large sand pails.

4. Fill the medium sand pail with water by filling and counting the number of refills needed.

SPLASHY FUN:

As you are already outdoors, take this opportunity for a mini-lesson on volume. Ask: Will the water in the big sand pail fit into the medium sand pail? Help your child pour the water from the big pail to the medium pail? Ask: Why do you think it didn’t fit?

ACTIVITY 4—MY SAND PAIL IS RED. WHAT COLOR IS YOURS?

 

This color-themed scavenger hunt will keep your kiddos busy and thinking when the afternoons are too hot to head outdoors. They will enjoy playing color detective and finding various items to fill their sand pails.

Ages: 4-7

Time to complete: 20-30 minutes

MATERIALS:

Matching sets of sand pails and shovels, in several different colors

Toys and household items that will fit into the sand pails

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Tell the children that they are going to play color detective.

2. Have the children select a matching set of sand pails and sunglasses.

3. Send the children on a scavenger hunt to find items that are the same color as their pails and sunglasses AND fit into the sand pail.

This activity not only reinforces color concepts, it also practices size estimation skills. Some children may realize that they can squish a stuffed animal to fit into the sand pail—a great way to start a discussion on density.

Lazy Daisy Summer Fun

It’s official. Summer is here with its heat, humidity, and ever-present chance of afternoon thunderstorms. For many of us this change in weather patterns is a signal to slow down, relax, and enjoy the lazy daisy days of summer.

I’m embracing this philosophy with today’s activity—a fun yet easy-to-do creation of bright rainbow colors for your air conditioned spaces. Bring the summer inside—both the flowers and the rainbows.

I have many fond summer memories of treks to the fields with my sisters to pick huge bouquets of Queen Anne’s lace. When we got home, we’d promptly give each stem a long drink of water—but not just any water. With Momma’s help, we’d squirt food coloring into the glasses of water before standing the flowers in their own rainbow-colored swimming pools. The next morning we were always rewarded with a perfect blend of nature’s beauty. No longer white bunches of tiny white blossoms, the lace caps had turned to amazing shades of red, blue, green, and yellow.

As daisies are my all time favorite summer flowers, I am substituting them for the Queen Anne’s lace of my childhood adventures. The lesson is presented in photos only. This activity is also an opportunity for a springboard discussion on how flowers absorb water—a great way to bring a bit of science into summer.

So, the next misty morning, take your little ones for a walk in the field to pick the base for their own indoor rainbow creation.

Hint: I have found better success using blossoms that have not been recently watered. The flowers shown in the photos went two days with no rain.

JUST IN TIME FOR FATHER'S DAY

Just in Time for Father’s Day

Today’s blog is the first post of one of my book reviews. From time to time, I will post not only a book review for a children’s book, but I will also add a fun, easy-to-complete activity that can be used as follow-up after reading the book. I will only review books that I can recommend. As tastes differ greatly regarding literature, only positive reviews will be posted. The intent of the reviews is a brief description and details that a parent might find interesting when selecting books to read to their children. A book that might become a favorite for a four-year-old will more than likely not appeal to an eight-year-old. One of my sons devoured practically every literature book he could get, while the other son studied and applied skills he found in how-to books. Each person, whether they are  a child or an adult, has different tastes in reading material.

Each book review will also include a book giveaway. The giveaway registration will last a week, with the drawing announced one day after the close of the registration. The books will arrive from Amazon and will be available ONLY to residents of the United States.

As this approach to my book reviews will more than likely evolve over the next several months, I welcome feedback and suggestions.

It's a Firefly Night by Dianne Ochiltree and Betsy Snyder

A delightful tale, tantalizing artwork, and lessons sprinkled throughout—they are the recipe for a summer-themed story children will ask to hear again and again.

It’s a Firefly Night, written by Dianne Ochiltree and illustrated by Betsy Snyder, is a must-read for children ages 3-6. The story flows through an exciting evening spent outdoors in the company of a little girl, her father, and many many fireflies. Told in rhyme, the pacing of this story matches the sudden burst of light a firefly emits on warm summer nights—quick, expressive, and oh-so-meaningful. Each page has only a few scattered words, encouraging children  to pause and study the highly textured illustrations.

As the evening fades, the little girl releases the fireflies from the jar—a reminder to all of us about the importance of  protecting nature. As Ochiltree writes, “I love catching fireflies, but they are not mine”.

As an added bonus, at the end of the story Ochiltree provides a page of firefly facts, beautifully showcased by Snyder’s artistic talent.

I highly recommend this story for the little ones in your life.

The Details:

Recommended ages: 3-6

Word count (excluding fact page) 177

Average words per two page spread: 16

Extra value: reinforces counting skills, treatment of nature, connection with a parent, additional facts

Activity: The Firefly Dance: Counting Fun

 

Ages: 3-6

Time to complete: 20-30 minutes, including reading the reviewed book

Materials: *This is a mommy-made craft

Copy of the book (It’s a Firefly Night)
Yellow Pom Poms, 5 for each child
Fabric or felt glue
Small plastic eyes (optional)
Dark blue or black construction paper
Circle punch (optional)
Scissors
Post-It notes or yellow construction paper with repositionable adhesive

 

 

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Prior to reading the book, create one option of the fireflies to use with the children.

            a. Print illustrations from the activity list that include all 5 pages.

            b. Create pom pom firefly finger puppets.

            c. Create 5 circles to use with title page printable (circles backed with repositionable adhesive).

2. Read and discuss the story, It’s a Firefly Night.

3. Read the poem to children, having them act out each verse, either by placing the circles onto the printable or by placing a firefly finger puppet on their fingers, one at a time. 

Fly Higher with the Fireflies:

The book and poem provide a great review for counting, shapes, and repetition. Older children may be able to repeat the poem with you. 



This book is available on Amazon.com.

Interested in adding this book to your child’s library? Register here for a book giveaway.* 

This giveaway will include a free copy of It’s a Firefly Night, as well as another surprise. The registration will last from the posting of this blog post until midnight, June 18, 2013. One winner will be randomly selected from all entries. The book will be shipped from Amazon within approximately 2 weeks following the close of the giveaway. The giveaway is open to residents of the United States with a United State’s mailing address. The winner’s name will be posted on the blog, unless the winner chooses not to have his/her name posted.

TROPICAL STORM ANDREA IS GONE, TIME FOR A RAINBOW

We are lucky enough to have rainbows form in our back yard quite often.

The hurricane season is officially here on the east coast with an early start from Tropical Storm Andrea. Yesterday was definitely not a day to head outdoors. Today, however, is a different story. The clouds are thinning and the sun is slowly forcing its way through the heavy gray haze—the perfect recipe for a rainbow.

Today I am posting an easy way for your kids to make their own rainbow—no rain required. So, head outdoors, grab the hose, and have some wet summer fun.

HOW CAN YOU MAKE YOUR OWN RAINBOW?

Time to complete: 20-30 minutes

Ages: Anyone can enjoy this activity 

Materials:

Garden hose with an adjustable nozzle attached

Photographs of naturally occurring rainbows

Picture of a right triangle or angle

Open space outside

Sunshine (the sun should NOT be directly above you)

Instructions:

1. Show the children images of naturally occurring rainbows (single and double rainbows).

Ask: What colors do you see in the rainbows? How do you think these rainbows are created? Look closely at the double rainbows. How are they different?

2. Show children the picture of a right triangle.

3. Demonstration:

            a. Position yourself with the sun directly behind you so that you and your shadow form the legs of a right triangle, as shown.

            b. Position the hose approximately halfway between your shadow and you. The actual angle is 42 degrees for the primary rainbow and 50 degrees for the secondary rainbow. However, using the phrase halfway will be easier for the children to understand.

            c. Have a child turn the water on FULL blast. Arc the hose spray to create the rainbow. The rainbow should be formed close to the halfway point between the legs of the triangle.

Ask: What colors do you see in the rainbow? What color is at the top? At the bottom?

4. Have the children take turns creating their own rainbows. It may be possible to create a double rainbow in this manner, but the secondary rainbow will be faint.
 

Conclusion:

To create a rainbow you need a source of light and something that will refract and reflect the light. The light from the sun is refracted (bent) and reflected (bounced) inside the droplets of water from the hose. As each color of the rainbow has a different wavelength, the way they are refracted and reflected causes the sunlight to split into the different stripes of the rainbow.

RAINBOW fact: Double rainbows are actually mirrored rainbows. The primary rainbow is on the bottom with the spectrum colors beginning with the red stripe. The secondary rainbow begins with the violet stripe and is not as bright as the primary rainbow.

There are many ways to create a rainbow—using CDs, water, water and oil, and many more. Try your own hand at creating rainbows.

Today’s post includes the eighth and final activity from the Sizzling Summer Snow Day Unit. While your children may be too old to complete the activity, they might be interested in helping out their younger siblings.

Please email me for a printable pdf of the snowmanpoem and worksheet.

ACTIVITY 8: SILLY SNOWMAN AND HIS SILLY SEASONS

This short activity is a great way to end the day of winter-in-the-summer play. It’s a quick reminder about how each season is different from the next, with a bit of overlap in between. The activity is intended for the younger children, but the older kids might have fun helping out.

Ages: 4-6

Time to complete: 15-20 minutes

Materials:

Copy of the Silly Snowman poem

Copy of the seasonal snowman sheet

Scissors and glue

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Read the poem to the children.

2. Discuss how each season is different in your area (or possibly similar).

3. Show the seasonal snowman sheet to the children and discuss how each season is represented.

4. Help the children match the season words to the correct seasonal snowman.

 

Three for Thursday

The week is winding down. The school year is winding down. And, quite possibly, the kids are winding up. The early days of summer vacation are exciting for children. The three activities listed below, a continuation of the Sizzling Summer Snow Day Unit, are great ideas for helping them wind down a bit during the afternoon.

Please check back for the final activity to be posted next week.

Activity 5—In the summer you see this, but in the winter you see that—

The This and That Game

This activity is a fun way to cool down after the mitten relay (previous post), but will still keep the little one’s brain circuits warm and humming. Play the This and That Game-a comparison game. Accept reasonable answers that can be explained.

Ages: 5-10

Time to complete: 15-20 minutes

Materials:

Index cards with printed summer-themed words/phrases

Sand pail or other container to hold the cards

Answer sheet for moderator to use

Sample comparison item (ex: a snow shovel and a sand shovel)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Explain to the children that they are going to play a game where they will compare and contrast items from two different seasons, winter and summer. Discuss how the two seasons are different.

2. Show the children the sand shovel and the snow shovel. Discuss the purpose for each item.

3. Ask a child to pull a card out of the sand pail. The child (or parent) reads  the summer item on the card.

4. Children take turns stating the item or activity that is similar but used differently in the winter.

Summer—Winter

Baseball glove—Fuzzy glove

Fire pit—Fireplace

Sand shovel—Snow shovel

Flip Flops—Snow boots

Skateboard—Snowboard

Chocolate milkshake—Hot cocoa

Build a sand castle—Build a snowman

Baseball cap—Snow hat

Ice Hockey—Field hockey

ACTIVITY 6—WARM YOUR IMAGINATION WITH A CHILLY SUMMER STORY

(and a hot cup of cocoa)

After a fun morning of activities, the kids can wind down while they sip a cup of hot cocoa topped with marshmallows and listen to a story about how it can snow in the summer time.

 

Ages: 5-7

Time to complete: 15-20 minutes

Read Sometimes Snow Falls in the Summer by Deb Troehler—a story of a child’s visit to her grandmother’s home. When the kids hear about the imaginative way that the grandmother helps her granddaughter create a summer snowstorm, the kids will definitely want to create a snowstorm of their own. That, however, may require a trip to the back yard when the sun dips low in the sky and the heat of the day has faded.

ACTIVITY 7—WINTER-THEMED CHARADES

Once the children have rested, it’s time to get them moving again with a fun game of winter-themed charades. This activity taps into their imaginations as well as their inner actors.

Ages: 4-10

Time to complete: 20-30 minutes

Materials:

Index cards with printed winter-themed activities

Sand pail or other container to hold the cards

Stopwatch and paper (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Prior to the game of charades, discuss what type of things the children remember doing last winter. For example: If the winter was snowy, did they get to go sledding?

2. Write those activities on cards and place into the sand pail.

3. Ask a child to pull a card from the sand pail with a winter-themed activity listed on the card and read it.

4. The child then acts out the activity while the other children guess what the activity is.

5. Take turns acting out the rest of the winter activities.

Activity List:

Sledding

Shoveling snow

Skiing or snowboarding

Making Snow Angels

Putting on outdoor wear to play outside (hat, gloves, and mittens)

Building a snowman

Having a snowball fight

 

Modification for older children:

To reinforce concepts of telling time, designate one child the job of time keeper. Record the amount of time it takes for the children to identify the activity. Place those times in order to determine which pair of charade players had the fastest time.

Snow in May?~No Way!

This year our weather on the east coast has been anything but typical. We had many sunny and warm days in January and a heavy frost in mid-May. In parts of New York they received close to three feet of snow on Memorial Day. As Memorial Day is now known as the unofficial beginning of summer, I guess you can say that Sometimes Snow does Fall in the Summer. Yesterday the temps were in the 90s and the humidity turned the air into thick steamy soup.

What a difference a week makes.

However, whether you are experiencing the real snow- fluffy, frosty, and fun, or creating a snowstorm of your own—soft, squishy, or solid, the activity posted today will encourage your little ones to ponder the delights of physical characteristics. Below you will find the second activity from the Sizzling Summer Snow Day.

Activity 2—Snowball Sort and Snow Wall Fort

 

This activity is an extension of the preceding marshmallow sorting activity. It provides a terrific opportunity to explore texture, density, and other physical attributes of common objects found in the home.

Ages: 3-6, with modification

Time to complete: 15-20 minutes

Materials: For this activity, gather various sized and textured round objects in your home that are white or mainly white. Suggestions include—play balls, cotton balls, foam balls, bath scrubbers, rolled socks, home décor, etc. Use your imagination and let your little ones help find the objects with you. You will also need a container that is large enough to hold your collection of ‘snow balls’ and sorting containers. Optional: Flash cards with physical attributes written on them.

Instructions:

1. Gather the objects to sort. This is a great opportunity to reinforce the concept of roundness with the children.

2. Place those objects (the ‘snowballs’) into a container.

3. Ask a child to randomly pull one of the snow balls out of the container.

Ask: Is this snowball hard or soft? Squishy or firm? Heavy or light? Etc. Can you find another snowball that is similar? (Select an attribute for them)?

4. Ask another child to pull out a snowball that is different from the first one. For example, if the first snowball is hard, the second snowball could be soft.

5. Sort the remaining snowballs by the two chosen attributes.

6. Count how many of each type of snowball there is in each pile.

 

 

Follow-up Frosty Fort Fun

After completing the snowball sort, play a game of topple the snow fort. This activity reinforces fine motor and gross motor skills as well as teaches children about balance and gravity.

Instructions:

1. Stack 10 foam cups, as shown.

 

 

2. Take turns tossing the snowballs from the first part of this activity to knock down the cups.

Ask: Which snowball was the best for knocking down the cups? Why do you think it was the best choice?

Are you ready for a snowball fight, summer style?

The Temps are in the 90s~Time to Jump into the Deep End of the Pool

Welcome to my first post on Rainbows2Snowflakes. While I definitely know what direction I intend to take with this blog, I will more than likely modify the paths I travel to reach the final destination.

Rainbows2Snowflakes is intended to be a friendly and informative online space to distribute and share ideas for activities, projects, and children’s literature. As we are all forever learners, many of the activities will appeal to a wide audience and age range. However, for the duration of this summer, the posts and ideas will be geared towards children ages four through eight.

Since summer has unofficially begun and the pools are now open, I thought I’d join in with the summer fun and jump right into the deep end of the blog pool with my first activity from The Sizzling Summer Snow Day thematic unit. Over the course of the next few weeks, I will post different ideas and activities from this summer unit. Some of them are easy to do with few materials required and some of the activities are more elaborate and require careful planning. When all activities have been added, I will add a link to the entire unit, just in time for the super sizzling days of July and August.

Activity 1—Sticky Snowman Snowball Sort—Twice the Fun

Marshmallows are such entertaining treats. They squish. They roll. They stick to just about anything. This marshmallow-themed activity will provide both a fun afternoon of learning and play as well as an educational boost for the little ones in your life.

Ages: 3-8

Time to complete: Part 1—15-20 minutes; Part 2—45-60 minutes

Hint: To make sure your children have super clean hands for this activity, instead of singing the usual Happy Birthday song while they was their hands, sing Jingle Bells while they splash in the soap and water. The kids will love singing the Christmas song in the summer and they will have squeaky clean hands when they are ready to dive into the bowl of mixed-up marshmallows.

Materials:

4 nesting bowls

3 small bowls, 1 cup sized

3 bags of marshmallows in 3 sizes (available in big box stores)

Rice Treat ingredients—1 10 oz. bag marshmallows, 3 TBSP butter, 1 tsp vanilla, 6 cups rice cereal

Embellishments: Mini M & Ms, fruit rolls, pretzels, powdered sugar (optional)

Cookie sheet coated with non-stick spray

How big is your marshmallow—Part One

Instructions:

1. Prior to the activity, place the marshmallows in the largest bowl, making sure they are mixed, as shown.

 

2. Arrange the remaining bowls by size from smallest to largest in front of the large bowl.

3. Discuss the sizes of the three types of marshmallows.

4. Sort the marshmallows by size into the corresponding bowl.

 

Make the fun count by counting your snowballs

Use three 1 cup sized bowls and have the children predict how many marshmallows of each size it would take to fill that bowl. Fill the bowls, one at a time, with each size marshmallow. Count the total number of marshmallows it takes to fill the bowl.

Ask: Why did it take more of the small marshmallows to fill the bowl than the other two sizes?

 

Create a Crispy Summer Snowman—Part Two

 

A fun follow-up activity to the marshmallow sort, this activity uses the marshmallows from Part One and continues to reinforce the concepts of comparing items by size as well as counting skills.

Instructions:

Hint: Step 1 should be completed by an adult.

 

1. Create the marshmallow treats.

            a. Melt the butter over low heat.

            b. Melt the marshmallows by stirring them in the melted butter over low heat.

            c. Remove the melted mixture from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

            d. Stir in the rice cereal until coated with the melted marshmallow mixture.

2. To prevent the mixture from sticking to your hands, apply a coating of butter to the palms of your hands.

3. Grab three clumps of the mixture and place them on a cookie sheet coated with non-stick spray, making sure there are three different-sized clumps.

 

4. Roll the clumps into firm ball shapes and allow to stiffen slightly before proceeding to Step 5.

5. (Optional) Roll each of the balls in a layer of powered sugar, leaving a quarter-sized area that is not coated. The uncoated area will be used to help the balls stick together to form the snowman.

 

6. Assemble the snowman by placing the balls from largest to smallest, pressing them together to stick.

7. Decorate the snowman with the candy, fruit roll, and pretzels.

 

Have fun with this activity!