Day 2 of Alphabet Island was all about boats! We fit in a lot it seems, but it was an easy going day. It’s always busy with a group of 8 but Mother Goose Time fits in well. We start early and children are always on the move, ready for the next thing, usually before me! B is for Boat was a full, engaging day.
Tin Foil Boats
What kinds of things can float on water? Boats! As we talked about things that can float, I took a piece of foil and shaped it into a boat shape, while everyone watched. I asked, “Do you think it will float?” So we had to find out. I filled a bowl with water and put it in. Yes, it floats!
Using a variety of items, like:
- “pokey balls”
- shells
- marbles
- boat counters
- milk caps
we added objects to see if the boat would still float, or if it would sink due to the weight. Still floating!
It didn’t take long to find out how much it would handle before it started to sink.
Then I gave everyone a piece of foil to try making their own boat.
It’s not as easy as it looks! Everyone was excited to try.
We took them out to the water table to test.
Some floated, some did not. Some choose to play with it anyway and a couple designed new boats until theirs would float. Tin foil boats are not a few idea to us but to my group, it was and they really enjoyed it. The next day they asked to make them again.
Row, Row Row Your Boat Rhyme
Using the Rhyme time poster, we took turns pointing to the words while singing the song several times. We also like to use a hand pointer to look for letters. Looking for letter Bb is obvious. Then I try to mix it up and have each child look for different letters on the poster. For even more of a challenge, have a child look for a punctuation mark or word. The Rhyme Time poster is awesome because it involves: rhyming, song, repetition, letters, words, and sounds! Plus, we always put it up for a wall display because they are cute and we can review it again and again.
Writing Letter Bb
We use our journals for practicing letter writing but with each day having a letter to focus on, I decided to put paper on the wall for additional practice. It’s fun to write letters on a big sheet of paper on the wall! Some are not as interested in practicing writing but if they see everyone else working on their letters, they are willing to try too. Plus, working on a vertical surface is important for young children to develop hand strength and fine motor skills for writing.
Several in my group are quite proficient at letter writing. They are absolutely ready for kindergarten!
Coloring Letter Bb
The Alphabet Island coloring books are adorable. The coloring books are available during free time in the morning, before lunch and afternoon. Most children enjoy coloring and these alphabet pages reinforce letter recognition.
Sailboat Art
The sailboat art was actually for Day 4/Wind but it fits in here. Using a paper plate, craft stick, glue, tape, scissors, and markers, we made sailboats.
We cut the small paper plates in half. Taped on a craft stick and then cut triangles from paper for the sails. They worked hard on drawing and cutting triangles! By the time they were done cutting and taping, they weren’t too interested in coloring or decorating their boats, but that’s okay.
We combined it with Day 3’s Captain hats for these cute sailboats. I took a picture of each child in their hats, printed the photo (about 3″ high) and cut them out. Taped them into their boats and ADORABLE!
Paper Boats
The little paper boats we made actually held a matching card game. We do plenty of matching games but they were quite engaged with it, I believe because they each had their own card game.
We used the boats to play with our little people figures. Blue scarves make “water”.
We don’t have this book, but it was the suggested book of the day. If I don’t have a specific book to go with the day’s theme, I have a child choose a book off the shelf or choose a different one that’s related. Mother Goose Time does a great job of suggesting books for the themes each month!
We loved boat day!