Mommy and Me Book Club: Ocean Theme

It's been a long while since I've posted something other then It's Playtime.  It's not that we haven't done anything, but between preschool, being pregnant, and the other things that life tends to throw at me, I've  been a bit absent.  So I'm going to try and go back to some of our favorite activities over the past couple of months and blog about them.  Then, hopefully, I can start working on some newer ideas.

Last month (June) we had our monthly Mommy & Me Book Club at the house.  It seems to be a popular activity with my regular moms which pleases me.  The theme in June was The Ocean.  Here are the activities I made available.

  I made some Sand Playdough inspired by Timeless Adventures.  I provided some shells and floral stones (both purchased at the dollar store) along with some ocean characters.  The kids enjoyed creating different scenes and and experiencing the variety of textures.

We also created Octopuses from T.P. tubes like those found at Mommy with Selective Memory.  All you do is cut 8 strips, leaving room at the top for the "head".  I'm running low on paint, plus I have a lot of little guys, so we used markers to decorate the tubes.  Then the kids glued on google eyes.

For snack I used the recipe for Cinnamon Snowflakes I found on Come Together Kids but made a slight variation.  I used a fish cookie cutter create little tortilla fish.  Then I followed the directions on the original recipe, creating crispy, yummy, cinnamon fish.  These went fast!  


And what's a book club without books?!  We all came together and read:
  

Would you like to start a Mommy & Me Book Club with your friends?  Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.

It's Playtime: Commotion in the Ocean

Summer may be coming to a close in San Diego, but for us locals, that just means less people at the beach.  I am looking forward to venturing back to the ocean sometime soon, but until then, I have these great ocean related projects from last weeks It's Playtime to keep my children busy.

Beansprouts Preschool Blog brought a bit of the sea inside with their Ocean Playdough Recipe.  I love the bright blue the icing coloring adds!   

Can't get to the ocean?  Why not bring the ocean to you with this terrific Ocean in a Bottle from Snails and Puppy Dog Tails.  It's easier then it looks and your little one will love watching the bubbles and waves they create from moving it around.

Sharks may be scary but this Shark Teeth Scissor Skills activity from daisysnu is not only cute, but a fantastic way to fine-tune those fine motor skills.

If you were featured this week, don't forget to grab your special "featured button."    

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Now, on to this weeks play date! 

It's Playtime is a community and Thursday link-up hosted by:

* Rachele : Messy Kids (That's me!)
* Anna : The Imagination Tree
* Rachel : Quirky Momma
* Jamie : hands on : as we grow
* Jenny : Let the Children Play

How to Play :

* Link up a post about a playful learning experience enjoyed by kids.
* Give us love and pop a button into your post/blog. Invite your readers to the weekly play date!

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* Stop by one of our blogs every Thursday and add your link about play. Your link will show up on each of the blogs in the It's Playtime community.

* Each week the playtime hosts will choose favorite posts to feature. (By linking you are giving us permission to use an image and link to you, if featured.)

* Be sure to visit some of the links that catch your eye. Commenting on posts that you find interesting or inspiring is a wonderful way to develop your own playful community.

How Painting with Crabs Became Eric Carle Inspired Art

The other night we had stuffed crabs for dinner.  Michael was fascinated with the shells and asked to keep them.  At first I said "no", but then the teacher in me poked her head out and said, "Why not?  I'm sure we can paint or something with those!"  So I washed them.  My plan was to make crab prints by painting the shells and pressing them onto paper.  We'd recently read, A House for Hermit Crab in preparation for Eric Carle's birthday, and I really wanted to do something with crabs, or ocean, or something to honor him.  Even though these crabs were NOT hermit crabs, I figured we were on the right track.  

My kids had other plans.  We started by making crab prints, but as is the nature of children, their art took another turn.  And although not what I planned, I feel the kids, especially my daughter, did manage to capture the spirit of Eric Carle through her use of color and the blending of them.

 

The kids started by painting the crab shells.

 

Then they pressed them onto the paper.  Ariel said she was creating a beach scene.

Michael quickly became bored with the crab and moved onto painting with his hands.

Ariel used a brush to work on her waves.  She added more colors and began blending them together.  "Now it's like Eric Carle," She said.

Copying his sister, Michael began blending his colors too!  

 Ariel gently sprinkled paint over her picture,

and added some handprints like her brother.

Michael and Ariel's paintings completed.  

In the end, the crabs became a work of art on their own!  

While Ariel was working on her painting she said, "Now it's like Eric Carle."  I asked her, "In what way?"  She explained, "He puts all these colors into his pictures.  When he does water, he puts purple, green, and blue, and those are the colors I put into my water.  But the thing that made it like his was me blending the colors."  So then I asked her what book inspired her to paint the picture she had.  "The Grouchy Ladybug, when he picks a fight with the whale, the colors in the waves inspired me" is what she told me.

Some of our favorite Eric Carle books:

      

An Amazing Child is hosting a celebration for Eric Carle's Birthday!  Check out other great ideas below!