Monthly play roundup: June

So we’re finally past the halfway point of the year. Things have begun to cool down rather rapidly recently. But we’ve been keeping nice and cosy indoors and keeping busy with lots of activities…

‘S’ is for Snake
We’ve been focusing a lot more on letter sounds. And this month one of the featured letters was ‘S’… for ‘Snake!’ of course. A favourite book that tied in perfectly was ‘I Saw Anaconda’ by Jane Clarke. I made some snake toys using my scrap fabric stash to make a snake corner. And we made spiral snakes which was good practice for cutting curved lines

‘L’ is for Lemon
We read ‘Millie-Mae and the Lemon Tree’ by Natalie Marshall which featured Millie-Mae making lemonade. So of course we had to make our own lemonade too. Squeezing lemon juice from lemons was good practice to build up hand/arm strength. We used the extra lemons to do some fruit stamping with paint.

Freshly baked Baugettes
Our top favourite book this month was ‘Nanette’s Baugette’ by Mo Willems. Learning and recognising rhyming words is one of the early literacy keys. This book certainly plays up the rhymes in a fun and entertaining way, which the children recognised immediately. There was talk of baugettes for days, so what better way to warm up the house in this cold weather by making our own baugettes!

Do You Wanna Build a Snowman?
We’ve been hit with Frozen fever again since the live ‘Frozen on Ice’ show hit town. I’ve been experiencing a bit of a groundhog day having to listen to ‘Let It Go’ and ‘Do You Wanna Build a Snowman?’ on repeat in a continuous loop all day as my little girls dance and twirl to the music. To give my ears a break one morning, I set up a ‘make your own snowman’ activity for morning tea with bananas, carrots and other bits.

Apple & Banana Cars
Tiny Teddies are one of the staple go-to snacks in our pantry. Nathan had discovered a serving suggestion for the teddies using chocolate bikkies and lollies to make mini cars for the teddies. I came up with a healthier version using apples and bananas (and saved myself from the sugar high).

Sponge Loose Parts
A new addition to our loose parts collection are these colourful sponges. I had cut them into various shapes and sizes. Apart from being used as play sponges for pretend cleaning, they’ve been used as pretend cakes and food, stacking as soft building blocks, arranging together as puzzle pieces, and tiny beds for small toys. I bought two packs at two dollars each and they’ve squeezed out every cents worth and more.

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If you enjoyed this post, you can check out  last month’s roundup of activities and more of my other play and learning ideas. Stay tuned for next month’s roundup!