Lauren practiced counting 1-3 objects with our latest counting game. This game uses a chick counting board, dot spinner, and popcorn kernels. The counting boards came from Workjobs by Mary Baratta-Lorton but they would be easy to create with clip art.
The child spins the spinner, counts the dots, and places the correct number of corn kernels in a chick's dish. Use a die if your child is practicing counting six objects. Use two dice to practice addition.
Mrs. Wishy-Washy- The cow, pig, and duck jump, roll, and paddle in the lovely mud until Mrs. Wishy-Washy comes along with her brush and tub. Children love to see the animals get the last word in this fun, predictable book.
Mrs. Wishy-Washy's Farm- When the cow, pig, and duck get fed up with Mrs. Wishy-Washy and her tub they leave the farm and head to the city. They soon learn that there's no place like home!
Mrs. Wishy-Washy Makes a Splash- It's bath time but all the animals hid. Guess who ends up in the tub instead? 
Mrs. Wishy-Washy's Splishy-Sploshy- The meanies invade Mrs. Wishy-Washy's shed and play splishy-sploshy with her paint. No mess is too big for Mrs. Wishy-Washy and her trusty scrub brush. 
We went outside to enjoy a few activities inspired by the books. The girls stomped and rolled our plastic farm animals in a tub of mud (potting soil and water). Oh, lovely mud! 
Along came Mrs. Wishy-Washy! Using a tub of soapy water and child-sized scrub brushes, the girls scrubbed the animals. It was fun to hear them quote the books as they played. 
Next the girls scrubbed the outside toys. 
Time for some more messy fun! The girls finger painted with brown finger paint. I have tried finger painting with Lauren before but this is the first time she was willing to put her hands in the paint. You can tell by the look on her face that she was not sure what to think. She spread the paint so carefully. Julia on the other hand has no reservations about messy art. She would jump head first into the paint if I let her! 
Jungle Colors by Julie Fletcher is a simple rhyming book that features colors and animals. Lauren and I have fun practicing colors and shapes while playing with this book.
The book has a pink flamingo, yellow lion, red ant, blue butterfly, and green crocodile. To match the animal colors, I made a pink heart, yellow star, red circle, blue square, and green rectangle and attached the shapes to craft sticks.
As I read each page Lauren matches the color. Then she names the color and the shape on her stick.
After we finish reading the book, Lauren holds up a stick and we sing about the shape:
For the star:
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
For the heart:
Love somebody, yes I do.
Love somebody, now guess who.
Love somebody, have you guessed
that your the one that I love best!
For the circle:
A circle is like a pizza.
A circle is like a pizza.
Round and round
it never stops.
A circle is like a pizza.
For the square:
A square is like a box.
A square is like a box.
Four sides and four angles all the same
A square is like a box.
For the rectangle:
A rectangle has four sides.
A rectangle has four sides.
Two are short and two are long,
A rectangle has four sides.
Now that the weather is warm, Julia has been having a great time with one of her favorite things: goop!
First we put two cups of cornstarch in a pan and the kids explore the dry cornstarch with their hands. 
Then we add one cup of water and a few drops of food coloring. The girls mix it with their hands and spoons. Is it liquid? Is it solid? I don't know but it sure is fun!
Julia and her friend had a messy, good time playing in the goop!
To learn about jellyfish we read Jellyfish by Lloyd G. Douglas. This simple non-fiction book has interesting photographs and basic facts about jellies. We also visited the website of Monterey Bay Aquarium to see pictures of jellyfish and to watch a jellyfish swim. To make this jellyfish craft, Julia stuck strips of translucent paper to the bottom of a bell shaped piece of contact paper. Then she covered the bell with small squares of translucent paper.
Stars of the Sea by Allan Fowler is filled with fascinating pictures and information about sea stars. After reading the book we made bumpy sea stars. To create the sea stars, I cut a star from coarse sand paper. Julia placed the star under a piece of white paper, rubbed it with the side of a crayon, and cut out the star. (After seeing this picture I realize that I spelled 'stomach' wrong. I'm off to correct Julia's book!)
Julia is so proud of her sea animal book. I love it when she chooses this when I ask her to choose a book for me to read. Our study of these animals paid off during our visit to the aquarium. Julia was so thrilled to see the tank with sea stars and anemones!
The girls and I enjoy reading our song and poem charts together so I created a new ocean themed poem. I cut this poem into strips and placed them in a mini pocket chart. The ocean animal word cards are also cut apart. We read the poem several times, changing the animal word card each time.
After reading the poem several times, Julia reconstructed cut up sentences.
I gave Lauren a magnetic letter s. She traced it with her finger while saying "s". Then she searched for the letter s in the poem.
Lauren also used a card with a cut out window to frame the letter s. 
Materials:
Preparation:
I place each piece of fruit on the ground as Lauren and I count them. I give her the "caterpillar" (green yarn). As we read about what the caterpillar eats, Lauren feeds her caterpillar by lacing the yarn through the hole in the fruit. We count each piece as she laces it onto the yarn. Lauren loves this activity and chooses to do it a few times a week.
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