Rattlesnakes are not my favorite creature, but the R is for Rattlesnake activities we did are some of my favorites! Here are some of our letter R activities.
When we look at the photo of the rattlesnake, we see it has rough skin. The snake is long and has a rattle at the end of its tail. Why do you think it’s called a rattlesnake?
One thing that’s important to know about snakes is that they shed their skin. To truly understand this, we tried this fun science activity from Mother Goose Time. It’s simple – just spread glue on your skin.
I slightly watered down some Elmer’s glue and brushed it on the child’s arm with a paintbrush. Try a little thicker coverage for best results. Then we went outside to play (it was a nice summer day) and the glue on their arms dried quickly.
Soon they noticed the change in the dried glue on their arm. Then the peeling began! Some really enjoyed it. A couple washed it off instead of peeling. A great learning experience! One little girl related it to her mother’s sunburned shoulders peeling.
Next, we did a couple of activities with the craft materials from the R is for Rattlesnake daily bag – pipe cleaners and colorful beads.
First, we made letters our of the pipe cleaners. Here are some of the letters we came up with: O, R, J & Z.
Afterward, we beaded letters or designs with the beads on the pipe cleaners. We noticed when we shook the beads in the dish, they sounded like a rattlesnake!
As you can see, the craft and activity are very well defined on the sheet provided along with the materials. Need to know what skills you’re addressing? What materials do you need? What questions to ask? How to extend the activity? It’s all here! That’s what I love about Mother Goose Time. It sure makes my job easy.
Some decided to make bracelets.
Later in the day, one little girl ran excitedly toward me exclaiming that she found a rattlesnake!! I wasn’t too worried since we’re in Wisconsin, but I was definitely curious about what she found that in her mind was like a snake. In the sand, she dug until she found it again – this bug that I believe is a large millipede. She was very proud of her find and we still have him a jar.
We’re having so much fun learning about the letters of the alphabet!