THIS WEEK WE ARE LEARNING ABOUT THE…
Letter: P
ACTIVITIES (This was a very full day and I still could have done more! P is a fun letter!)
Craft Time
Letter P for parrot
Prep: cut out all pieces of construction paper (back paper is white and is 4.5″ x 6″, you can click on the template below to save and print). Make an example for them to follow. Add some colorful feathers and google eyes! I put in a couple different size eyes and had them see which one was bigger and which was smaller and then choose which eye they wanted to use.
Peacock Painting
Prep: Have a platter of blue paint, sponge or cotton balls for “painting” on the child’s foot, wipes, cups with peacock watercolor colors, water and eye droppers, straws, 8×10 watercolor paper, google eyes, sequins either self-stick or ones to glue or both (we used both).
First print their foot in the top left hand corner and let dry (when turned around the foot should be bottom right with toes facing toward you. Once a little dry (we did another activity or two before doing the next step), drop watercolors with eye droppers onto the paper on the left of the foot. Then let them take the straw and blow the paint away from the foot. Set aside to dry and do some other activities again. We set it out in the sun to dry quickly.
When dry, add the eyes and sequins!
Playdough
Prep: Make playdough for them to form into anything that starts with the letter P. You can also give them cookie cutters to “press” into the dough.
Paper
Prep: Gather some shredded paper, food coloring, flowers, ferns, lavender, glitter, whatever you want to put into your paper. You can also get things to press into the paper like bubble wrap or stamps etc. Set up a blender and a pitcher of water. Staple a window screen to a couple picture frames and duct tape around the edges to protect from any sharp pieces. Place the frame into a deep dish. Have a sponge ready as well.
Let them put the paper into the blender then pour water into it about half of the paper’s worth and hit the blend button. Once it’s a fine pulp add your food coloring (you can also add essential oils if you want your paper to smell delightful!). Then pour the pulp over top the frame. Press down on the paper with the sponge to soak up any excess water. Let the kids add glitter, flowers, stamp impressions etc…whatever they want to do to the paper. Set aside and do the next activity.
Later you’ll want to put the other frame over top the pulp frame and press the screens together to make it flat and squeeze out more water. Set aside to dry for a few days.
Pirate hunt for pirate booty
Prep: Have bags for the kids with “spyglass” (paper towel roll), eye patch, red bandana, and a map (printed on parchment if you have it) to where x marks the spot and leading to your picnic area. Have your picnic prepared with a big red x in the middle.
I planned on teaching them the skills of map reading but it didn’t take as long as I expected! The kids picked up on it so quickly and knew exactly what to do and how to follow it! It was the cutest thing watching them follow their maps and look through their spyglass to find the X! And they absolutely loved it! The picnic basket was like the “treasure chest” to open and we told them beforehand that pirates call treasure “booty” so when they opened up their chest to find “pirate booty” they were so thrilled! After preschool was over, my son wanted to do it all over again and dress up the second time around. He now is asking for a pirate birthday party…so we’ll see!
Pop Paint 1
Prep: Fill a few balloons with tempera paint. I didn’t fill ours very much and added water for greater splatter, but I should have added a lot of paint and used very little water for more vibrant and fuller colors. You can always layer and do another round once the first dries which is what we will be doing. Have some poster boards and tape the balloons to it. Then hand each child (fully supervising!) a kabob skewer and let them pop the paint balloons.
Pop Paint 2
Prep: Fill a few ziploc bags with baking soda and color with food coloring. When ready, pour some white vinegar really fast and seal super fast then toss. If it doesn’t pop, you can let the kids hit it with their fist.
Story Time
Poles Apart (Oh my goodness this book is so cute and perfect for P)
Story of Pentecost (Bible story)
Snack
Our picnic basket was filled with minis: pancake, pickles, pepperoni pizza (bagel bites), pineapple, and pig peanut butter sandwich. You could also do peaches, pretzels, and so many other p foods!
SUPPLIES NEEDED
Books or stories with the letter P
White construction paper
Red construction paper
Yellow construction paper
Glue
Google eyes
Feathers
Playdough
Cookie Cutters
Straws
Watercolors
Cups
Watercolor paper
Sequins
Tempera paint
Paper towel roll
Eye patch
Red bandana
Map
Ziploc bags
Baking soda
Food coloring
Balloons
Poster boards or watercolor paper
Shredded paper
Picture frame
Window screen
Flowers, plants
Glitter
Duct tape
Blender
Deep baking pans