Crafts: V is for Vacation

 

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Learning the letters is such an important step for our children. Creating fun ways to reinforce their memory of the letters is one way we as parents can help them on their journey to become well-educated citizens. In this craft, our children used scrapbooking pictures to decorate the letter V to represent an imaginary vacation trip. 

Materials 

• Construction paper
• Scrapbook paper featuring vacation images
• Scissors
• Glue sticks
• Crayons or markers
• Vacation photographs (optional)

Steps

1. Gather all your materials.

2. Either pre-cut the necessary components or have your children cut the letter and pieces you will need to include on your craft. 

3. Glue the letter onto the construction paper. 

4. Ask your children to pick out the images they will use on their craft. 

5. Glue the vacation images onto the letter. 

6. Display the craft when the glue is dry. 

You can easily tie this craft into a discussion of an upcoming vacation or looking through vacation photographs from the previous year or years. This V is for Vacation craft could also be used as part of a geography lesson where children would pick images from a specific country to place on their letter rather than just vacation-themed ones.  Personally, we love the geography lessons from Let's Go Geography which we reviewed in 2020. 

Book Club: Make Way for Ducklings

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One of the books that has been included in several of our homeschooling curricula has been Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey. While using StoryTime Treasures from Memoria Press, we read through the book with our son. Then, we had the pleasure of reading Make Way for Ducklings again with God's Creation from A to Z from My Father's World with our daughter. After reading the book multiple times, I decided we should make a cute craft to go along with it, too.

When you let the kids play with googly eyes, you see what happens. 

The Story 

Make Way for Ducklings takes readers on a journey with Mr. and Mrs. Mallard as they plan where they are going to live and start a family of their own. The book offers many opportunities for children to practice their reading and rhyming as they learn the names of the ducklings – Jack, Kack, Lack, Nack, Ouack, Pack, and Quack. Parents can also discuss the importance of following traffic rules when crossing the street.

What About Ducks? 

Ducks are very interesting birds to study. We are fortunate that there are several lakes within a short driving distance that we can visit to see them in person. In the past, I have worked with ducks while working in education at a city zoo.

• Ducks live in both fresh water and salt water 
• Male ducks are called drakes, female ducks are called hens, and baby ducks are ducklings 
• Depending on what types of food a duck eats, they may have to dive deeper into the water 
• Ducks have been domesticated and kept on farms or as pets for more than 500 years 
• Ducks are raised for their eggs, meat, and feathers 
• Ducks' feathers have a waterproof quality to them – hence the saying, "Let it roll off you, like water off a ducks' back."
• In many species of ducks, the males and females have different feather colors and patterns

Materials 

• Blue, yellow, orange, white, and black construction paper 
• Glue sticks and white glue 
• Googly eyes (optional) 
• Scissors 
• Feathers (optional) 

Steps

1. Gather all of your materials. 

2. Lay out all of the materials onto the blue construction paper (you will only need have a sheet of construction).

3. Glue the body of the duck onto the blue construction paper.  

4. Glue on the head of the duck onto the blue construction paper. 

5. Glue on the eyes. You can use googly eyes if you or your children wish.

6. Glue on the beak and add the nostril. 

7. If you are adding feathers, you can add them for the wings or tail.

If you have any favorite duck-themed crafts or children's books, please share in the comments! 

Learning About the Letter K: K is for Kings

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Over the course of twenty-six posts, I will introduce my own simple lessons for the letters of the alphabet. I will provide ideas and suggestions for a week's worth of activities.

When teaching our children about the world around them, it is important that they become familiar with how our country is governed and how other countries are governed. Talking about the letter K with preschoolers is the perfect time to discuss kings and how they are different from presidents. You can introduce many different topics while teaching the letter K to your preschooler, too. Don't forget all the awesome animals from Australia that start with the letter K, such as kangaroo, koala, and kiwi.

Kings

Facts about kings and monarchies to share with your children:

• A king (or queen) rules in a monarchy 
• A monarchy is a form of government with a single leader who rules for his or her life 
• There used to be lots of monarchies throughout the world but now kings and queens are rare 
• A king rules for life and usually his son (or daughter) will inherit the throne when he dies as monarchies are hereditary 
• In Ancient Egypt, kings were known as Pharaohs 
• In Russia, the king was known as the czar 
• Other names for kings include: emperor or royal highness 
• Today, monarchies still exist in several places like the United Kingdom, Spain, Sweden, Morocco, Jordan, and other places 
• Famous kings through history: Henry VIII of England, William the Conqueror, Peter the Great of Russia, Alexander the Great, Charlemagne, Tutankhamen, Frederick the Great of Prussia, Ramses the Great, Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire  

King Paper Bag Puppet

Create a paper bag king puppet with your children!

Materials

• Lunch paper bag 
• Construction paper of various colors (purple, brown, yellow, black, white, tan, pink, etc) 
• Glue sticks 
• White glue 
• Buttons 
• Optional: Sequences for the crown 

Steps

1. Gather all your materials.

2. Either pre-cut the pieces, draw shapes for the pieces and have your children cut them out, or have your children draw the different pieces they will need and cut them.

3. Glue on the face of the king and then glue on the robes of the king.

4. Glue on the mouth and then the beard of the king.

5. Glue on the eyes of the king, draw a nose, and draw a mustache.

6. Glue on the king's crown.

7. Pick buttons for the king's robe and glue them onto your puppet. 

8. After the glue dries, the kings are ready to rule their nation. 

Additional Activities and Ideas to Talk about Kings

• Read about the different kings in the Bible 
• Study about knights using the Hands-on History Lap-Pak Knights from Home School in the Woods (my review is here) 
• Spend time talking about Knights using K is for Knights part of the Blogging through the Alphabet series 
• Watch King George and the Ducky from Veggie Tales 
• For older children, spend time learning about the Middle Ages 
• Study the art of the middle ages using a great resource from Artistic Pursuits Inc. 
• Take the Bible Stories for Kids class on SchoolhouseTeachers.com to learn more about kings from the Bible 

Other Topics 

Australia Animals 

Read about the animals from Australia with several different posts from A Mom's Quest to Teach. Also, check out some of my favorite books about Australia and its native animals.

  

Matching Activity 

Download a copy of a simple matching activity to complete with your preschooler. In addition to this matching activity, you can also use old magazines and ask your child to cut out pictures of animals, people, objects, etc. that start with the letter K and create a Letter K Collage.

Crafts: K is for Kiwi

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On a trip to the craft store in the late fall, we picked up the cutest kiwi plush. It is bright and colorful, not at all like the actual flightless bird, but our daughter fell in love with it. I must admit to falling in love with the soft plush, too.

When I was thinking about what craft to do for the letter K, I was trying to come up with something that I had not seen done. Kites and kangaroos are popular letter K crafts but why not a kiwi? It's the perfect opportunity for our children to make an adorable craft and learn more about this interesting bird from New Zealand.

Facts About Kiwis 

• Flightless 
• Loose, hair-like feathers 
• Strong, powerful legs
• No tail 
• Tiny, almost non-existent wings of one inch 
• Native to New Zealand 
• Can live 30 to 50 years 
• Lays one (maybe two) eggs in each clutch – they may have three clutches a year 
• The heaviest kiwi – the brown kiwi – can weigh 3 to 11 pounds 
• Even though kiwis are about the size of a chicken, their eggs are as big as an emu egg 
• Classified in the same family – ratite – as its cousins the cassowary, emu, ostrich, and rhea 
• Has a highly developed sense of smell 
• Eats grubs, worms, bugs, berries, and seeds 

Materials 

• Construction paper (various colors including brown, orange, and tan) 
• Glue sticks and white glue 
• Scissors 
• Googly eyes 
• Plush kiwi (optional) 

Steps 

1. Gather all the materials. If your children are old enough, they can draw the shapes or cut out the shapes you draw for the craft.

2. Glue on the letter K.

3. Glue on the body of the kiwi.

4. Glue on the feet - they should stretch to the bottom two parts of the letter K.

5. Glue on the head and beak. The beak should stretch to one of the top parts of the letter K.

6. Glue on the eye. Only one - the kiwi is in profile!

 

 

Learning About the Alphabet: J is for Jaguar

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Over the course of twenty-six posts, I will introduce my own simple lessons for the letters of the alphabet. I will provide ideas and suggestions for a week's worth of activities.

For the letter J, we focused upon jaguars. 

Jaguars are one of the many big cats that I absolutely love! Big cats include lions, tigers, leopards, snow leopards, lynx, cheetah, and the jaguar. They all below to the genus Panthera. Big cats live in a variety of habitats and across many of the continents (except Europe, Australia, and Antarctica). 

What is the difference between the big cats and the small cats, like the house cat or the jaguarundi? Most big cats can roar while small cats purr. Big cats show affection in other ways such as the 'chuff' sound of a tiger.

Jaguar Facts 

• Carnivorous 
• Weighs 100 to 250 pounds 
• Can live up to 12 to 15 years 
• They are the only big cat found in the Americas 
• Only tigers and lions are bigger than jaguars 
• They are good swimmers and will hunt in the water 
• They face a number of threats in their natural habitat that are causing their numbers to decline 
• They live alone 
• A female jaguar will usually give birth to one to four cubs who will stay with her for two years or more learning how to be a jaguar 

clipart from wpclipart.com

Projects 

When studying cats, there are some cool activities you can accomplish with your children. Such as filling out a chart with the names of big cats and little cats. (Download a copy here: A Mom's Quest to Teach.)

Books 

 

 

Activities 

Telling Spotted Cats Apart 

How do you tell a leopard from a jaguar? What about the cheetah, snow leopard, or clouded leopard? For some of them, you can look at its natural habitat to determine which type of big cat it is, while for others you might need to look a bit more closely at the shape of their spots. 

Snow leopards are white in color, so they are the easiest to distinguish. Next easiest is either the cheetah – which is identified by its long, lean body and the skinny black stripes on its face that look like black tear lines, or the clouded leopard – which is smaller and has much larger spot groupings. 

Leopards are a bit smaller than jaguars. Jaguars have more muscle than leopards and usually weigh twice as much as leopards. They also have an extra spot(s) in the center of their spots.

Jaguar Paper Bag Puppet 

Materials 

• Brown paper lunch bag 
• Construction paper - orange, white, black, gold, tan 
• Crayons, markers, or colored pencils 
• Glue stick and/or white glue 
• Paint (orange and black) and paintbrushes (optional) 

Steps

1. Gather your materials.

2. Have your children cut out the pieces you will need or have them pre-cut for your children.

3. Color or paint the brown paper bag orange. If you paint it, you will need to wait till it dries to complete the next steps.

4. Glue on the head piece to the top of the brown paper bag.

5. Attach the mouth piece under the flap of the brown paper bag.

6. Glue on the eyes, nose, spots, ears, and teeth.

7. Draw on whiskers.

8. Draw spots on the body of the jaguar. Make sure you put some spots inside the circles of spots or rosettes.

Other Topics 

J is for Jump Rope 

Introduce the letter J with a simple craft for your preschooler. 

Jam & Juice 

Taste different flavors of jam or juice with your children. 
Try your hand at making homemade juice or make juice popsicles. 
Visit a local farmer's market to sample local jams. 
Go to a local farm to pick fruits to make your own jam or juice. 

Resources 

All About Animals 

Sometimes you need a short homeschool course to include into your homeschool curriculum. SchoolhouseTeachers.com has the perfect 14 unit course entitled All About Animals. In the class, your first or second grader will learn about jaguars, ladybugs, squirrels, baby animals, and more. Your child will learn about the habits and habitats of the animals while reading online books, complete puzzle pages, and journal about what they have learned. You and your children will explore your own backyard and imagine what life is like for a snake in the rainforest, too. 

Jelly Fish, Jello, and Jesus: Letter J Preschool Activities and Printables 

Are you looking to explore more letter J topics with your preschooler? In this post from The Schoolin' Swag blog, you find lots of fun ideas including what to serve for snack. I also love connecting your letter J lessons with stories from the Bible including Jonah. How fun! 

Jenny Jaguar Week 

If you want to travel to a distant land while studying the letter J, visit Teaching with Faith's Jenny Jaguar Week post to go to Japan. I also love the idea of checking out a web cam to see jellyfish at an aquarium if you can't see them in person. 

Learning About the Alphabet: I is for Iguana

This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please see my Terms of Use and Disclosure Policy page. Thank you.

Over the course of twenty-six posts, I will introduce my own simple lessons for the letters of the alphabet. I will provide ideas and suggestions for a week's worth of activities.

For the letter I, we focused upon iguanas. 

So just what is an iguana? They are one type of lizard that lives in a variety of climates and habitats. There are 35 different species of iguana that live primarily in North and South America (with a few species living on the island of Madagascar). 

photo courtesy of Brian R.

Iguana Facts 

• Iguanas have an opening on the top of their head that is only covered by skin that is called a 'third eye' - scientists think the 'third eye' help the iguana interpret its environment
• Green iguanas can grow to be up to 6 feet long (from head to tail) 
• Green iguanas can weigh about 11 pounds 
• Marine iguanas live on and around the Galapagos Islands - they are often seen swimming 
• Male iguanas tend to be more colorful than female iguanas 
• The blue iguana can weigh up to 30 pounds 
• Iguanas lay eggs and are cold-blooded 
• Many iguanas use their whip-like tail for defense against predators 
• Iguana females lay their eggs and then abandon them – they do not raise their young 
• Because reptiles iguanas are cold-blooded, they will sunbathe to help regulate their body temperature 

Projects 

Pets: Some individuals keep iguanas as pets. Be sure to do your research before purchasing any pet. Iguanas need a temperature-controlled environment since they are cold-blooded and require special care. They can also grow quite large, have sharp claws, and like any animal may bite when startled, sick, or annoyed. 

Books 

There aren't too many iguana-specific books but there are plenty of books about lizards! 

Activities 

If you live near a playground, you can very easily discuss how most iguanas are arboreal or spend most of their time in the trees. Children can then spend climbing and pretending they are iguanas climbing on the playground equipment. 

Iguana Leaf Painting  

Materials 

• Drawing paper 
• Pencils
• Paint
• Leaves 

Steps 

1. Draw a picture of an iguana on a sheet of paper. 

2. Gather leaves as your paintbrushes. (Since many iguanas live in the trees, I thought using a new painting technique would be fun.) 

3. Paint the iguana. 

4. Allow to dry and then display proudly on the refrigerator (or wherever you hang children's artwork). 

Other Topics 

Insects 

Why not study some creepy, crawly insects while talking about the letter I? You can even make a ladybug paper bag puppet or talk about the life cycle of a butterfly! 

Ice Cream 

• Make your own ice cream with your children. 
• Serve an ice cream soda. 
• Have an ice cream sundae party. 
• Try new and different flavors (and toppings!) to expand your children's palate. 

Resources 

A World of Animals at SchoolhouseTeachers.com is a great course to introduce your third- or fourth-grader to a variety of animals. You can use resources at World Book Online to study how animals are classified, what they eat, if they are endangered or not, and how to care for those that might make good pets. Children will read online books about different species of dogs, sharks, iguanas, and more to discover the world of animals around them. 


Itchy Inchworm Week at Teaching with Faith offers many great ideas for teaching your preschooler the letter I. From a craft to practicing fine motor skills to a fun sensory activity that centers on a Bible story, there are a great number of ideas that you might want to include in your homeschool day. 

courtesy of Teaching with Faith

Igloos, Ice Cream, and Insects: Letter I Preschool Activities and Printable from The Schoolin' Swag Blog offers even more variety of fun activities to do with your preschooler for the letter I. I love the idea of many having a butterfly garden so you can get a closer look at insects. The suggestion of incorporating sensory activities with ice is also perfect for summer weather.

courtesy of Tots and Me...Growing Up Together 

Tots and Me... Growing Up Together has two great posts with even more fun ideas to teach the letter I to your preschoolers. In one, she shares with you a fun snack idea for your little ones using muffin tins. You can also read a recap of all the fun letter I activities and crafts they did in their homeschool.