Lil Sprouts celebrate Earth Day with the Lorax

Simply Sprout hosted a Lorax party for Earth Day where our preschool friends learned about conservation, recycling and keeping the earth clean. They learned a few lessons from our friend the Lorax and had a lot of fun along the way.

Learning to Recycle with the Lorax

The little ones learned all about different recyclable materials and how to sort like objects. They sorted the paper, plastic and metal and put them into the corresponding bins...they caught on so quick! I see a lot of future recyclers in our midst.This is definitely a job they can help with around the house.

Painting with Recyclables

 

Our little friends painted personalized canvases using recycled materials. They each got their very own canvas, and chose their paint colors. They used plastic bags to apply the paint onto the canvas and then paper towel rolls to apply circles onto their painting. When they were all finished we removed the painters tape to reveal their masterpieces. They turned out simply beautiful....we definitely have some budding artist in our group!

 The last of the "Truffula Seeds"

The kids decorated their own pots and planted the very last of the "truffula seeds!"

They practiced identifying their colors and made their own swirl paper using liquid starch and craft paint. They loved seeing how their designs floated right on top of the starch. Even our littlest of sprouts got in on the action.

 

 To make the swirl pots just pour some liquid starch into a shallow container, add a few drops of craft paint. Have little ones create a swirl design using a toothpick. Then take your paper insert from the pot and float on top of the starch, pick up gently and set aside to dry. While our little ones waited for theirs to dry they listened to our inspiration story, The Lorax by Dr. Seuss.

"Truffula Tree" Cupcakes

 For treats they made "Truffula tree" cupcakes with coconut and cotton candy among other things. The lil sprouts iced their very own orange cupcake and added a little bit of coconut flakes ( dyed green of course) They put their cotton candy tufts onto the end of the straw and added it to their cupcake. They washed their cupcake down with a little bit of Lorax Lemonade!

On the way out our little friends took a treat with them to remind them of all the fun they had today learning and exploring!

 Our Little Loraxes learned a whole awful lot!

It was lots of fun and educational too! A perfect way to celebrate Earth Day!
Be sure to check back for future simply sprout "Lil Sprouts" events. The themes vary and they are offered each month at various places around Tallahassee. Please email us for more information simplysprout@gmail.com

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The Lorax is coming to town

If you've perused around the World Wide Web at all recently you can see that teachers and parents alike are excited about the story of the Lorax coming to theaters this weekend. This Dr. Seuss classic (our love of Dr. Seuss continues as his birthday soon approaches!) written in the early 1970s is still as relevant today, if not more, as it was forty years ago. Through rhyme and vibrant illustrations, readers are reminded that greed and lack of concern for the environment can cause serious problems! When the silly ole Once-ler ignores the wise Lorax, it becomes a environmental disaster.

In my classroom we sit down with the Lorax around Earth Day in April, but with the movie about to hit the big screen this is a great time to do some Lorax activities.

A few ideas of how to bring the Lorax to life in your classroom or home...

*Have your young artists make a Truffula Trees with cotton balls, paint, pipe cleaners, glue, and construction paper (or substitute recycled paper from the recycling bin or repurpose the inside of an old cereal box).



Step by step directions.

*Take a trip outside to investigate some trees near you (they might be Oak instead of Truffula, but that's okay!). Click here for a free printable tree journal.

*Download the Lorax App to let kids give themselves a Lorax mustache.



*If a digital stache won’t do the trick, make your own using this template. Kids can make a mask or attach the mustache to a pencil to channel their inner Lorax.



*Let kids visit the official movie website and learn some Earth friendly tips. As a class or a family discuss some ideas that would work for your classroom or home. Have kids draft a family or classroom pledge. Encourage them to list a few things Earth friendly habits that they could do each and every day!

I'm sure all teachers would agree that the book is always better than the movie. Sometime this week make sure to read the book to your kids. You're sure to have a lively conversation to follow. Concepts like nonrenewable resources and conservation are intertwined throughout Dr. Seuss’ rhymes and nonsense words. What a timeless tale to share with children of all ages, and a lot of us adults too!

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