Kiddo is in a summer program and after I pick him up there is always the question... what do we do now? Usually I try to take him to the park, but when we get home he needs something to focus on lest he drive me crazy. My plan (such as it is) is to place a new (or relatively new) activity on his table for him each day. My hope is that the activity will capture his attention for at least 20-30 minutes while I take care of other business (ie. New Kid and dinner). Since Kiddo's summer program has been engaging in a bunch of ocean-themed activities, I thought I would start from there. Fortunately, Kiddo brought home a seashell collection from our recent beach trips.This is my first table set up:
I showed Kiddo how to trace the shell. I discussed observation of the shell pattern and demonstrated replicating that pattern on the outline (you can tell which are mine in the photo above).
He used watercolor pencils but when he applied the water with a brush he basically just made a mush.
I worried that this was going to be too old for him, but he made it is own. And it kept him busy and engaged. Mission accomplished (at least for day one).Extra credit reading:
Discovering Seashells by Douglas Florian (out of print)
What Lives in a Shell?
A House for Hermit Crab
I love leaving activities for Benjamin...there is something about finding an activity that already makes it more exciting than Mom saying, "Okay, now we're going to sit down and do [fill in the blank]."
ReplyDeleteI love the shell art--very pretty. I especially like the gray (at least it looks gray) shell in the last picture.
This confirms what I thought after picking up Mr. Intensity from school today. He was a monster...and needed, um, distraction. I vowed to have an activity ready for him next Monday.
ReplyDeleteHi, I stumbled upon your blog today and wanted to let you know that I keep a list of Children's book giveaways on my blog. If you do indeed post another, please let me know and hopefully others will find your wonderful blog!
ReplyDeleteI love the shell tracing exercise and hope to try it with my daughter. We have a small collection of shells.
Oh, I LOVE this idea. I hope you keep posting your other table ideas, too. I am in desperate need of creative projects like these that CJ can do while Rose is awake. Maybe one of these days I'll actually get around to updating the blog so I can reciprocate some ideas!
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