R is for Red

We kept last week's learning lessons very simple!  We chose the letter Rr to focus on and the theme "red" because it is easy and required very little prep work on my part.

I dyed rice red.

To dye rice:
Put rice in a bowl. 
Pour in a teaspoon or two of rubbing alcohol. 
Squeeze a couple of drops of food coloring into the bowl. 
Stir, covering all of the rice with color. 
Transfer to a plate and set in the sun to dry.  

The girls glued the red rice to the letter r.  Arin had the uppercase R (because she is the big sister) and Ella had the lowercase r (because she is the little sister).

The girls also kept busy playing with red playdough.  To aid in their play, they had plastic knives, small cookie cutters, and a rolling pin.

To make playdough:

1 c flour

1 c water
1 t oil
1/2 c salt
2 t cream of tarter
few drops of food coloring
Mix ingredients together and cook over medium/medium low heat until a ball forms. Cool slightly and knead for a few minutes before playing with the dough.

They also had fun with red paint.  The girls used regular paintbrushes, foam paint brushes, cotton balls, q-tips, and plastic forks to paint with.

The last activity was a game that Arin helped me make.  I cut out 20 squares.  On ten of them, Arin wrote the letter "R" and on the other ten, she wrote the letter "r".  I glued them to two red playing boards, alternating the upper and lowercase letters.  Then, I handed the girls 10 red buttons each.  They took turns rolling a dice and then covering up the correct number of Rr's on their playing board.  For example, if one of the girls rolled a 2, they would use their buttons to cover two of the letter Rr's on their board.  The first to cover their board completely would win.  I don't know how she did it, but the first two times that Arin played, she rolled a six first and then a four second (both times!).  I had wished I would have made more playing spaces on her board!

Linked To:
Tot School
Preschool Corner