B is for.... BUMBLEBEES and BUTTERFLIES!

      


     Welcome back readers!   Hope you enjoyed this week's video with Sammy the Toucan.  As I promised last time, this week’s entry is going to be short, sweet, and to the point.

     This week at the Mooresville Public Library we covered the letter Bb.  After doing a quick Google search for craft ideas, I decided upon bumblebees and butterflies.  Turning the letter Bb into a bumblebee didn’t seem to look too difficult and I knew our library had a good selection of read-aloud books on this topic.  I also found the absolute CUTEST Butterfly Band-Aid craft on a website I frequent quite often, No Time for Flash Cards.  I knew without a doubt my Story Time children would love this craft.  What kid doesn’t LOVE  Band-Aids?

This weeks "Bb" Flash Card

Materials: Bumblebee "B" drawn on an index card, crayons, and small pipecleaner

Back of the flash card

1) Color the letter "B" to look like a bumblebee.  Glue the pipecleaner to the top to give the bumblebee antenna. (Or as one of my 4 year olds called it, antlers.)

2) Turn the card over and trace both the capital B and the lowercase b.

3) Add your letter to last week's Alligator Flashcard.

     After figuring out my crafts for the week, I pulled a few books on bumblebees and butterflies.  Although I only read one book in my 2s and 3s class, I always like to have two or three pulled, just in case.  This week I went with the book Splash, Splash by Jeff Sheppard.  I chose this book for a few reasons.  Although the bumblebee isn’t the only insect/animal creature in the book, I liked that he was the first and last character in the book, really reiterating my theme.  I also really enjoyed this book because it gives an opportunity for the kids to call out the animal names and make the appropriate animal sound.  I am not a huge stickler on raising hands and waiting to be called on for this class, thus my program room really sounded like it was full of animals!  My kids thoroughly enjoyed being active participants in the telling of this story and they had NO IDEA they were actually getting something educational while doing it.

     As for Story Time, as mentioned previously, I do the same thing as 2s and 3s then add a second craft and book based on the same letter.  I had already decided that I was going to make the butterfly Band-Aid craft, so now I needed to find a book about butterflies.  I came across a great book last year and just knew I had to use it again.  Butterfly, Butterfly: A Book of Colors by Petr Horacek is a fantastic book not only about butterflies, but colors as well.  The kids in my group really enjoyed the die-cut images.  With each page turn we were able to talk about the different bugs, the different colors, and what they thought the die-cut image would become on the next page.  The kicker for this book is the surprise 3-D butterfly that pops out on the last page.  It never fails to surprise the kids and I always have to do it once or twice more.

     Songs for this week were pretty simple.  For 2s and 3s I used “Bringing Home a Baby Bumblebee” and “Flight of the Bumblebee.”  I always think it is fun to introduce small children to classical music.   I have had parents tell me numerous times that they appreciate the mix of children’s music with classical music and even contemporary or pop music.  As for the butterfly song, I went a little different here as well.  I chose a song from the Putumayo World Music CD called “La Mariopsa (The Butterfly).”  Like I said, I like to do things a little bit different when I get the chance.  You never know whose life you might be changing by introducing different kinds of music.

    That's all for this week.  Stop back by next week to see what fun things we do with the letter Cc.