Preschool Adventure Box: B4FIAR Katy No Pocket

Topic: Kangaroos

This year I want to be a little less haphazard about my two little one’s activities. A4 will continue to have her one hour school with me doing Mathusee Primer and Jolly Phonics. I want to be more purposeful about the fun school I do with the two little girls. To this end I’ve created a Preschool Adventure Box and a written frame-work with which to organise my planning of the short units I do with them. Each week the two youngest are given a preschool adventure work box full of lots of exciting activities for them to do throughout the week. They are allowed to have a quick look through to build up their excitement for the week ahead:

Read aloud fiction books

Go along non fiction books

For more book themed ideas see:

Book Led play dough fun

Each morning I put out some play dough at their table with a photocopied sheet of the cover of the book we are studying. They both really enjoy play dough and having different themed cutters and molds each week keeps it fresh and exciting.

One of the points to photocopying the front cover is for the littles to use the pictures as stencils for their play dough, helping them create shapes they may struggles with otherwise.

Dress up and drama

This week we reused their bear costumes (again!) from a couple of weeks age, added a pin on tail and a card kangaroo printed mask from here:

A4 with dress up and practicing bouncing on her kangeroo ball — A4 with dress up and practicing bouncing on her kangaroo ball

We also made her an apron to practice being Katy:

T11 said she looked more like a donkey! She was not impressed!

Little world tub – I put together a kangaroo and a joey and popped it into A4′s quiet time box. I had wanted to include all the animals in the box but I couldn’t get hold of an alligator or an owl. A4 didn’t seem to notice or care. This was her favourite toy all week.
I also managed to get my hands on a kangaroo and joey cuddly toys, from our local charity shop. Everything went into her quiet time basket and she was all set:

Trays:

Rainbow painting with kangeroo colouring in sheets, jungle puzzle and Two Kangaroo books — Rainbow painting with kangaroo colouring in sheets, jungle puzzle and Two Kangaroo books

A couple of kangeroo books, another jungle puzzle and some jungle animal stamps with paper — A couple of kangaroo books, another jungle puzzle and some jungle animal stamps with paper

Every time we tackle a new book I photocopy the front cover and cut up to make a free puzzle

Our Classification Cards

I particularly wanted her to look through the jungle one and tell me that there weren’t any kangaroos (which she did) and then look through the other packs to find out where kangaroos actually come from. (grass lands)

Printables

We don’t often use printables, but next year when we revisit each book I’ll be using them.

http://www.examiner.com/article/preschool-treasures-katy-no-pocket-lapbook-printables-and-resources

http://www.homeschoolshare.com/b4_resources_katy_nopocket.php

Mummy and A4 activity

I always try to get activities that can be used and adapted no matter the book we're studying. This one was perfect! — I always try to get activities that can be used and adapted no matter the book we’re studying. This one was perfect!

It makes rubber stickers that lightly stick on anything. As you can see, you can make the stickers in any shape you choose. A4 placed the transparency over a Katy No Pocket picture... — It makes rubber stickers that lightly stick on anything. As you can see, you can make the stickers in any shape you choose. A4 placed the transparency over a Katy No Pocket picture…

I used the black outline and outlined Katy. We left it to dry for a few hours

A4 filled inside the kangeroo with pink paint, left it to dry, then yellow and left that to dry... — A4 filled inside the kangaroo with pink paint, left it to dry, then yellow and left that to dry…

....and finished off with the blue paint. — ….and finished off with the blue paint.

We had to leave it to dry over night (it's still not dry!) A4 will peal the gel sticker of and can stick and restick to her hearts content. Well, that is if it ever dries!! — We had to leave it to dry over night (it’s still not dry!) A4 will peel the gel sticker off and can stick and restick to her heart’s content. Well, that is if it ever dries!!

Snacks

Kangaroo shaped fairy bread.

Fairy bread is an Australian snack which sounds revolting (not to children) but actually tastes not too bad (although not an ounze of goodness in it!!)

To make it, you take a slice of bread, cut it into a kangaroo shape, butter it and sprinkle 100s and 1000s all over liberally, spreading them across the bread with a knife:

Ready to start sprinkling... — Ready to start sprinkling…

And there you have it, kangaroo fairy bread!

Lamingtons

Another well-known Australian snack. It is made by cutting plain cake into squares, dipping the cake into a thin chocolate icing and rolling it in desiccated coconut:

Cake cut up, A4 mixes a thin chocolate icing

Stabbing a fork into the cake, she covers it with frosting

Then, straight away, transfers the cake into a bowl of dessicated coconut and covers — Then, straight away, transfers the cake into a bowl of desiccated coconut and covers

The resulting lamingtons! They were really good! — The resulting Lamingtons! They were really good!

Damper bread

A bread made with out yeast, this is so easypeasy that A4 was able to do it all by herself. And it was delicious. We served it with better and honey. Yum!!

A4 mixed the flour, salt and butter, added the milk and kneaded into a soft dough

She popped it on a floured baking sheet, flattened it and i put it in the oven

For more fun meal ideas see:

Our Special Tea

We made a Katy No Pocket Muffin Tin:

Pink Lady apples, sliced (Australian), Australian Damper bread served with Australian Vegemite and butter. Lastly I made amuffin tin sized pavalova (the Australian national dish!) — Pink Lady apples, sliced (Australian), Australian Damper bread served with Australian Vegemite and butter. Lastly I made a muffin tin sized Pavlova (the Australian national dish!)

For more muffin tin meal ideas see:

DVD’s and any other learning bits and pieces

We own a puzzle of the Animals Of The World. We built this up together and searched for any kangaroo pictures. A4 knows her continents fairly well so I asked her which continent the kangaroo was found (exclusively) on. B1 just enjoyed walking, crawling and looking at the map!