Monsters

Here's what we did at home for AJ's preschool class theme:

Monsters

+ Read Go Away Big Green Monster and worked on this:

"AJ, where does his nose go?"

I found a template for the head and facial features and cut them out of felt.  I printed a coloring sheet of the face, colored it, laminated it, and we used it as a reference.

+ Monster Pancakes
Make pancake batter
Use food coloring to make it blue
Pour batter for 1 pancake into pan, place mini chocolate chips in 2 small bunches to make "eyes", then flip your pancake
Using sm/lg gingerbread men cookie cutters, cut out your "monsters"
Trim the top of the monsters head, arms, and feet...VOILA-FRANKENSTEIN!

+"Monster Mash"
Smashed apples with green food coloring while we listened to the song "Monster Mash"

+Monster Dinner {its hard to see, but its a casserole with a monster face made out of bacon}

+Walked around in our monster shoes

+Colored pictures of monsters (Monsters Inc and Cookie Monster):
You can find printable coloring pages of Disney characters and more HERE.
You can find Sesame Street coloring pages HERE.

I had the great idea to make a cookie monster out of a styrofoam takeout container.  The idea just did NOT work.  Here's a photo I took before we embarked on this disaster.

I wanted some of that furry fabric-like they have those crazy neon furry hats at party stores?  No blue furry fabric or hats to be found.  I settled on blue felt, but it just.did.not.work.  The only thing that looked cute was the googly eyes we glued on...and the fact that there were mini chocolate chip cookies inside the container (we made his mouth where the container opens so it looked like he was eating cookies).  See, some of my best ideas just don't pan out.

Fun with the Irish

Breakfast

{Green Shamrock Chocolate Chip Pancakes}

{Green Milk}

Marble Shamrocks

(Do any of my stampers remember this technique?!)

Lunch

{Lucky Charms with Green Milk & Green Banana Pudding}

Sorting shamrocks and gold coins out of

our St. Patty's Day sensory bin

Dinner

{Green Caesar Salad & Green Baked Potato Soup}

Tie-Dye Shamrocks

{Done with cone coffee filters}

Painting "shamrocks" with Green Peppers

Little Leprechaun

Details for each project to follow!

Under the Big Top

As I've mentioned before, AJ's preschool program rotates classroom themes throughout the year.  One of the biggest challenges we've had with AJ is keeping him occupied in the afternoon after he is home from school.  Honestly, I think he could do full days next year.  Anyway...

At first, AJ's daily activities were far different from what his peers were doing.  This was for a number of different reasons, with the most important being this: What was developmentally appropriate for AJ's peers was not appropriate for AJ.  I love that I just used PAST TENSE. 

Now that he has grown as a learner, his activities involve the current classroom theme.  Activities are adapted to AJ's level if need be.  AJ's also been interacting more with his peers, both 1:1 and during the group activities. Its a "lets try it" aura I'm feeling when I'm fortunate to see him in the classroom setting. 

His teacher has been giving me a heads up on the next theme just as the last one is ending.  We've been trying to create a smooth and fun transition from school to home.  How can we continue the theme here at home? The last theme was the Circus & The Little Engine that could.  At school, AJ pasted tickets onto paper, matched same color clown face pieces, made clown hair, made "cotton" candy, painted with popcorn, and made this adorable elephant from an old CD.  They had snowcones and all kinds of circus treats one day for snack.  So, what did we do?

Circus &The Little Engine That Could

Clowning Around-Clown Hair & Jokster Glasses

Making Popcorn

This is how you do "snow cones"

when your blender is packed in a box

Painting a Circus Train Car

(Yes, it came with the monkey)

Enjoying the carousel Great Grandma gave him
{So perfect for this theme!}

Sorting Clown Noses & Wood Trains

We also played with clown noses, taking them off and putting them on,

 trains, train tracks, and read books that had to do with trains and/or the circus. 

 I found a book for 0.39 cents at a thrift shop

about a circus elephant and Thomas the Train.

We ate hot dogs and all kinds of other fattening foods

you would find at the circus. 

(This theme is grrrrreat for his calorie needs!)

Some of the items I already had, some I bought. 

Had: trains & train tracks, stuffed elephant, silly string,

carousel, popcorn, popcorn popper, paintbrushes

Bought: Circus Train $5, Paints 3/$1, Stick-On Jems $1,

Icee Cups $1, Jokster Glasses & Nose Sets 4 @ $1,

Wood Trains 4 @ 0.59

Step Right Up!

Cold Hearts

Cold Heart "Ingredients":

Water

Heart Shaped Ice Cube Mold

Food Colors

Stir Stick

Food Coloring

One Handsome or Beautiful Assistant

Words: Water, Squeeze, Red, Pink, Purple,

Stir, Mix, Pour, Splash, Help, Cold, Brrrrr

Skills: Fine Motor (mixing/pouring), Language,

Auditory, Sensory (silicone mold)

Liquid

Ice

Red, Light Pink, and Purple Heart Ice Cubes

Another View

Someone really needs to take

the food coloring away from me!

Yummy Bouquets

AJ and I made these cookie bouquets for his school staff and his therapists. 

You would not believe how hard it was to find plain 'ol butter cookies.  Seriously!  I "settled" on the Iced Lemon Shortbread cookies for before I actually found butter cookies at the bread outlet store.  We ended up using both.

Here's what we used:

First things first, we must taste test:

Assembling:

TA-DA!

We interrupt this assembly line for a moment (or two) of cuteness:

We had some technical difficulty:

Add some cellophane, ribbon, and a tag:

Again, I plan to post details and complete instructions on my crafty blog soon!

By doing this craft project, AJ worked on:
Sensory-texture of the gum drops, spice drops, and cookies

Fine Motor-pushing drops down onto wooden skewer, "ringing" the cookie on

the tip of the skewer (which he was really good at and figured out before I had to show him!)

I know there's more, but I'm ready for bed!  More later!!