I have a penchant for books that are just plain silly, both in premise and in the delivery (rhymes, alliterations, and made-up words – all great for phonemic awareness). Moosetache by Margie Palatini is that kind of book. In this story, a moose is tormented by his unruly and prolific mustache. His problems are finally solved when he meets the moose of his dreams and she introduces him to a special pot of glue she uses to tame her own crazy locks.
Colored Glue Art!
For a simple spin on a classic medium, try colored glue! Children love glue, in fact, more than once I’ve prepared a collage type activity, only to have some of the children spend the entire time playing with the glue, and never using it to adhere anything to the paper! Well, it’s time to let glue have a well-deserved turn in center stage! Simply add food coloring or water color powder to regular old Elmer’s and mix with a popsicle stick, right inside the bottle. Put the caps back on and you’re ready to fire! (Well, nearly. It’s actually best if you have time to leave them on their sides, and rotate a time or two to get the color mixed in fully. That is, if it didn’t mix completely when you stirred.)
Depending upon their fine motor control and strength, your wee ones can fill their art papers with color straight from the bottle, or with paint brushes (fill baby food jar lids with the colored glue and have them use small “watercolor brushes”). Either way, you will be building fine motor skills while also fostering creativity.
Cookie Cutter Prints With a Spin
In case I haven’t given you enough excuses to go out and buy your dream cookie cutter collection, here’s another way to get your money’s worth. It’s very similar to the cookie cuter prints, but with an extra step. Instead of using tempera paint in your plastic lids, use good old Elmer’s glue. Once the cookie cutters have been dipped in the glue and pressed on the paper, the children can shake colored salt onto the glue. Shake the paper around, and there is a new, colorful, raised print! You could also use glitter in place of or in addition to the colored salt. As the children use several colors on the same page, their prints will take on a cool multi-colored design! Enjoy all the ways you can put these prints to good use!
This activity builds motor control and creativity as the children manipulate the cutters and shakers and create their own designs.