Yup, a Pringles can. That's it! I'm not sure if this is an 18 month old thing or not, but I know that my daughter's most FAVORITE past time is finding containers and collecting things around the house. She spends hours, literally, walking around and putting objects in the containers and taking them out again. That's the main reason, this nearly empty Pringles can stood out to me in the pantry.
For this activity you'll need these basic materials:
* Pringles can
* Construction paper (or any kind of long paper on hand) to cover the can
* Crayons, markers or colored pencils
* Tape
* Stickers and/or anything else to decorate your treasure tube
The idea behind this for me, is to introduce letters, numbers and colors. I know that I buy Pringles every now and then, I don't always have them on hand. The great thing is, you can reuse the can over and over by not taping the paper directly to the tube. Or, if you are a Pringles addict and have a couple of cans lying around your house every week or two, you can make it more permanent. You could have one for every letter of the alphabet...then comes the dilemma of where to store them. It's up to you. In this case, I'm not making it so permanent. Like I said, my materials are very limited. I didn't have any construction paper at home, so I used pink wrapping paper.
I actually wouldn't recommend using wrapping paper unless you used permanent markers to write on it. I don't know about you, but I'm not handing my 18 month old a Sharpie! We started out the first time using regular markers, but by the time we wrapped the paper around the can, the markers smeared because of the slick surface. So, I had to result to using a Sharpie and I gave AB colored pencils for her to "decorate." Stickers would be a great thing, too, to decorate with. Below are some of the materials I had on hand, and some you'll need.
Make sure after you wrap your paper around the tube, you mark where the paper wraps around and meets.
This way, when you go to decorate your paper and it's spread out on the table, you know not to decorate past either one of the marks and your decorating and writing will be visible.
Today we are focusing on the letter "Bb" for this Treasure Tube. Why not the letter, "Aa?" Well, that's because I first introduced the letter "A" to AB when she was about 10 months old, so that child has the letter "A" down! In fact, she has it down so well, that every other letter in the world is the letter, "A." So, it's time to move on to a new letter. So, make sure to specify the letter, number, color, concept, etc...that you are focusing on, on the front of the tube.
After the paper is decorated, wrap it around the tube. I taped the paper to the paper, not the can so I can reuse this one again.
Prior knowledge: Before going on our "Bb" treasure hunt, I printed a "Bb" coloring/tracing page off a site that I refer to quite often for early childhood activities, http://www.first-school.ws/INDEX.HTM. I let AB color it, and we talked about the what the letter was and the sound it made. I did some hand-over-hand practice as we rainbow wrote the letters.
After AB was finished with her part, I colored the "Bb" pictures at the bottom of the page, for an extension activity for another day.
I cut out the pictures and hung her art work on the fridge for us to go over and recognize over a period of time (topped off with a "B" magnet, of course!).
Along with the "Bb" coloring/tracing sheet, you can print off two pages to put together a mini book and glue the pictures on each page. I prepared the book and pictures, and put them in a plastic baggie for another day.
Let the treasure hunting for the letter, "Bb," begin! (Important side note: One thing I've learned from being a Kinder teacher, most kids come in only knowing their uppercase letters, and being able to identify and write in only capital - so, when introducing a new letter, introduce both the capital and lowercase).
All different "B's" were scattered all over the floor for AB to find and pick up. I printed some off on a word document in different fonts (both capital and lowercase), and we had some magnetic and foam letters around the house, also. I used all of them. I would walk with her, and as she spotted them I'd have her identify.
Time to dump out our treasure, and look at all the "B's" we found!! I also told her the sound it makes, and so as we put the "B's" back in the tube, we'd say the sound it made.
After all the "Bb" hunting, AB was still busy taking all the "B's" out and putting them back in her Treasure Tube! To top off this B-eautiful day, what a better movie to watch than Beauty and the Beast! My Aunt got it for Annabelle for Christmas this year, and well, to be honest I really busted it out for me! I showed AB, and we pointed out the "B's" on the cover, but she wasn't too interested in the movie. Only the singing parts. Nah. She still prefers her Cailou, Sesame Street, and anything on Sprout. That's ok, Mommy enjoyed it!
Modifications:
* Cross-curricular: you can use Treasure Tubes for any subject and introducing any new topic or for a review. Science - decorate the outside of the treasure tube to look outdoors-ish, and use it for your child to go on a nature walk. Let them explore and find whatever nature presents, or give them a certain object/treasure to hunt for. Math - for older kiddos, you could do this not just with introducing a new number, but even multiples or fact families of a certain number. ELA - introduce any new letter or even rhyming, beginning sounds, ending sounds, vowels, etc. You could print out pictures of rhymes, and have your child find the pairs, put them in their treasure tube, and then when they go to dump out their treasure, have them match the rhymes. Art - have your older child decorate and create the design of the cover for their Treasure Tube. Let their creative juices run free!
Want to make it a little more challenging for your child? Scatter all the different letters/numbers around your house. On the floors, on the walls (be careful, there!), and any place visible for your child. If you're focusing on just one letter, your child will have to identify and locate the letter/number amongst the others.
Have fun!
You are so cute - I love it! AB is going to be one smart little girl. :) And wow, is she really holding the pencil correctly already????
ReplyDelete