Pond Life!

Hello quarantined friends! I hope and pray that all of you are doing well. In some ways, it seems crazy that another week has passed, and in some ways, this past week seemed very long at our house. We kept busy at our house watching my sweet nephew whose daycare closed. 

This coming week would have been pond week in our class... A perfect time for you to find a pond with your sweet one and see what you can see! Go on a pond adventure. :)

Here are a few things that would have been in the plans! As I said before, feel no pressure to try to do any of these things... They are just here if you are looking for activities and want to work on some of the skills we would have in class. Please don't feel like anyone (including me) is doing all of these things! Trust me, some days last week, all I accomplished was keeping two rambunctious one-year-olds safe and fed while Anna played independently. I had to tell myself that this was okay too! This time at home is so valuable in so many more ways than what "educational" activities you do...

If you do want to jump into some fun pond life activities, here are a few we would have done. Also, I am putting portfolios together... and I have LOTS of pictures that need glued on to pages! If any of you would like to make that a family activity, that would be a HUGE help to me! I could come and deliver all the supplies (pre-cut pictures, glue sticks, and paper to put them on) to your mailbox. Just let me know! Thank you in advance!

1. Metamorphosis: Take a paper plate and either color printed pics or draw pictures of the life cycle of a frog! Here's a fun song... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrXww4oZrsI

2. Compare and contrast: Talk about how frogs and toads are alike and different. There a number of fun videos. Here is one I have used before: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVAjUSLkDLo. 

3. Cutting: Work on cutting "pond waves" on paper... Simply draw some waves to be cut. This takes quite a bit of scissor control to cut accurately. 

4. Tracing: Work on pencil grip as your child traces these lines (or simply your own lines you draw)! Maybe even just work on grip and tracing with chalk outside! 

5. Poetry: Count down with the song "Five Green and Speckled Frogs"! We have always used little frog cutouts on Popsicle sticks just for fun! Here is the poem if you want to print it and look for known letters: 

6. Numbers: Print and cut this number puzzle (or make your own) to work on putting the numbers in order and identifying each one. 

7. Name: Use something found at a pond to build your child's name! I think Anna and I might try some dandelions!