Manitou Island Energy Balls
LCC kids love these little yummy energy treats. Only 6 ingredients and no baking and kids will have fun rolling the balls.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup dates (cover in boiling water if very dry, then drain water before using)
2 cups peanut butter
1/2 cup honey
1 cup quick oats
1 tsp. cinnamon
4 Tb cocoa powder
Instructions:
Blend all ingredients in a Cuisinart or stir by hand in a large bowl. Roll into bite size balls. Roll in coconut, cocoa powder or eat plain. Enjoy! Refrigerate any leftovers in a sealed container for later. This recipe is open to substitutions feel free to mix in any nuts or seeds you have!
"Big Chickens" by Leslie Helakoski, read by Rachael
LCC teacher, Rachael Dyer, reads this silly story with the kind of slapstick humor small children love. Big Chickens, written by Leslie Helakoski, has an uplifting message and satisfying ending.
Fox Island Fun with letters and sounds
Fox Island teachers, Sara and Nora, share two fun and simple activities for letter recognition and learning letter sounds.
Same Sound Sort Game
• Invite your child to join you in a sound sorting game. Explain that you have several objects in a bag/box and you need to group those with names that begin with the same sound. You can gather items from around the house or gather a nature collection from outside.
• Have your child sort the objects according to the beginning sounds of the objects names.
• It is helpful to write out the letters that you are hearing on pieces of paper, great for letter recognition, and to help with sorting.
Clothespin Letter Match
Materials: clothespins, cardstock or paper, Sharpie or other markers
Write one letter on each clothespin. Depending on how many you have, you can do the whole alphabet, or simply the letters in certain names or words. Write your child’s name on a piece of paper – cardstock or other thick paper works best – and put the letter clothespins in a basket or bowl. Have fun with your child picking out clothespins and matching them to the letters in their name. Expand the activity as desired with other names, familiar words, or words that your child is interested in. You could even look for words in your environment, for example pieces of mail, food boxes, or the covers of books.
Snap Painting
Fine motor skills are essential building blocks to being able to manipulate pencil on paper. A strong pincer grasp is key to this process. This beautiful art project is a fantastic and easy way to work on the pincer grasp. Have fun! I can’t wait to see what you create!
What you’ll need
• A shallow box (I found mine in the recycling)
• Rubber bands
• Paper
• Acrylic paints
• Paint brush
Put your rubber bands around the box. You can put as many as you like and space them however you wish. Now slide your paper into the box making sure it lies on the bottom. Trim to fit if you need too.
Time for color! Ready your palette and begin to paint the rubber bands. Get A LOT of paint on the underside of the rubber bands. Some will end up on the top and that’s just fine.
Now comes the fine motor work! Grasp one (or more!) rubber band and pull it straight up. It will feel tight. When you feel ready let go of the rubber band. BOOM! Beautiful splatters of color.! Keep adding paint and pinching the rubber bands and splattering that paint. You can even change the rubber bands to the other side of the box. This really fills up the whole paper.
Here is my finished piece.
I love it
You can change the thickness of the rubber bands or you could even try this with yarn or string. Keep working on that grasp. See you for another project soon!
DIY Light Table
The possibilities for playing and learning with a light table are endless! Kids are naturally drawn to the gentle glow of the light table and will stay there for long periods of time, which is great for stretching those budding attention spans. Cassie's video tutorial gives directions for a simple light table that can be made at home and offers a few ideas for activities that our kids at LCC have enjoyed.
Potion Making
What child doesn't love magical processes? Many of LCC art experiences lead to experimenting and creating some sort of concoction. Young children often tend to resemble mad scientists rather than fine artists and have an innate desire to mix and concoct. There is no right way when it comes to potion making (or for most things at LCC for that matter) and we feel that it is important to not "manage" or "direct" these experiences and make space for allowing things to get messy. Here are directions to get started, but you can add anything to your "potions" that kids might think of (with in reason of course:)
What you’ll need:
Baking soda (lots and lots!)
Colored water (I used tap water and liquid water color but food coloring works just fine too.)
Eye droppers or pipettes
Small clear glass jars or bowls
Small bowls for baking soda Spoons for scooping baking soda
Chopsticks (for stirring potions but spoons are a good choice too.)
Scoop baking soda into your jar. Start dropping colors in the jar with your baking soda. There’s no right or wrong way. The sky's the limit here!
Give your potion a good stir with your chopstick or spoon. What color did you make? What would you name your color? When you’re ready for a new color rinse your jar out and start the process all over again.
Spaghetti Legs!
Here is another LCC favorite from Jim Gill, demonstrated for us by Sara Tall.
It's World Book Day (part 2)
Every day is book day at LCC! While we are not together today, you can listen to teacher Nora Stone read Noisy Nora. You can also go to our language and literacy section on our website for more great read alongs: https://www.leelanauchildrenscenter.org/language-and-literacy
Also check out these ideas on how to give your child a lifelong love of reading: Helping Give Your Child a Lifelong Love of Reading (PDF).
It's World Book Day!
Every day is book day at LCC! While we are not together today, you can listen to teacher Cassie Burda read the classic story, Goodnight Moon. You can also go to our language and literacy section on our website for more great read alongs: https://www.leelanauchildrenscenter.org/language-and-literacy
Also check out these ideas on how to give your child a lifelong love of reading: How to Give Your Child a Lifelong Love of Reading (PDF)
I'm Not Scared!
LCC teacher, Rhonda Mack, reads Todd Parr's book I'm Not Scared!
With his signature blend of playfulness and sensitivity, Parr explores the subject of all things scary and assures readers that all of us are afraid sometimes.