Since March 2nd is Read Across America Day and Dr. Seuss's Birthday, we thought we would try and do several book inspired activities and art projects this week based on some of our favorite books (Dr. Seuss books and others).
Name Coconut Tree
Today we did a little project based on the book, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault. I love this book because of the repetition and rhyming format. My son LOVES to chime in when I am reading and talk about the letters or fill in the blanks when I pause during the story. This is a great read aloud book!
During our playgroup this morning I came up with an "on the fly" art project after we read this book. I didn't love it, but it worked fine.
After kids left I wanted to try a different version of the same project... and I liked this one a lot better (pictured at the top of the page)... so did my son!
Materials Needed:
- colored paper
- scissors
- tape or glue
- dot markers
- foam letter stickers
- markers
Directions:
1. Draw a tree trunk on a piece of cardstock.
2. Fill in the tree trunk with dot markers (I did this part... my son said he was done with projects... although once he saw me working on one, he changed his mind and came and joined me)
3. Cut out some leaves for your coconut tree.
4. Have your child snip the edges several times to add some texture to the leaves. Flip up the pieces so that they go different directions and look more 3-D.
4. Glue or tape leaves onto the top of the coconut tree.
5. Cut some circles for coconuts... or you could use some brown pom poms (if you want more texture).
6. Glue or tape them on.
7. Spread out your foam letter stickers. For younger kids, limit the number of letters you spread out so that they are not overwhelmed. I thought this was too many for my son... but I was wrong, he did fine. Last year I would've only been able to put out 8-10 letters.
8. Write the child's name somewhere where they can see it. Then have them start hunting for the letters in their name!
9. Put the letters close to the coconut tree as you find them. My son needed some prompting to remember which letters he was still looking for.
10. Have them spell their name once they have all the letters!
11. Add the letters to the coconut tree. My son wanted some to be on the leaves and some to be falling off (like in the story).
While we put the letters on the coconut tree we talked about the letter names and sounds. We also talked about what letter his name started with, what letter it ended with, and what letters were in the middle of his name!
I love these other Chicka Chicka Boom Boom activities at Confessions of a Homeschooler... especially the lap book!
Really nice. My kids love Chicka Chicka Boom Boom too. I would play the song on YouTube for them to sing along.