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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Celebrate Earth Day with the Lorax

Dr. Seuss' Lorax has quickly become a classroom favorite of mine. It's silly tone teaches us all about a serious subject,  our environment and pollution. The Lorax and his beautiful Truffula trees are such a colorful inspiration for Earth Day, and they are the perfect inspiration for a sensory bin. We have mentioned the benefits of sensory bin exploration  in previous post. So in case you missed it let me give you a brief description.

A sensory box is a contained area where kids can explore and play through utilizing their 5 senses. Helping them to understand the world around them, and how it works.

Sensory boxes are inexpensive and fun to create, taking very little time to assemble.

It's easiest to pick a theme and colors and start from there. Start off by introducing The Lorax to your little ones by reading the book or watching the movie which is still in theaters.

To Make your sensory bin find a shallow open container that will be easy for your little one to reach into and explore. Add colored rice, you can find out how we make ours (directions for colored rice) . Remember to stick with your color theme. I used the colors from the Truffula trees, orange, yellow and pink. They are vibrant and welcome curiosity and exploration. Add some items like the ones pictured above. Black and white paper striped straws (Truffula tee trunks), you can find these online at The Sugar Divas. I also added glitter pom poms in orange, yellow and pink ( these resemble the tops of the Truffula trees from the story). I also added some soft fuzzy yarn. I found the perfect shade at my local craft store that combined all three inspiration colors. (This soft colorful yarn represents the "Thneeds" from the story.) Fluffy, soft and fun for curious little hands.  I always like to add cups, scoops and small spoons so my little ones can fill them up and practice their fine motor skills, as well as spatial relationships which are skills they will need later on in the classroom. 

Adding words to your Sensory Bin

Activities to introduce beginning reading skills

Another item you can add are plastic or wooden letters, just make sure they are small enough for your little ones to handle, refrigerator magnets work great. Add the letters to spell a few sight words from the book. Have them find the hidden letters from the sensory bin and match them to the cards pictured below. 

You can get your own copy to print at home for free at my Teachers Pay Teachers store. Once your child matches all of the letters to the cards have them search for those words in the story of The Lorax. These beginning reading skills will help them learn how words and stories are constructed and how letters have meaning, a critical concept for early reading.

Fun in The Kitchen

Bento-logy is one of my favorite go to sites for fun foods for my little ones. Their Lorax lunch is so creative and fun and is sure to inspire the littlest of Lorax lovers. Who wouldn't want to save the trees after eating this cute lunch.


For dinner try this colorful version of pasta alfredo.

Cook pasta in boiling water as usual separate into 3 bowls keeping the water,  add a  few drops of neon orange, pink and regular yellow food coloring to dye your noodles.
Add a few drops of neon blue food coloring to your favorite alfredo sauce. Add asparagus and broccoli as little trees...serve to your little ones and watch them giggle!
Kids love to explore with food new tastes, smells and textures intrigue their curiosity so go wild and get creative in the kitchen.

Learn with the Lorax

 For some classroom fun please check out our Lorax Primary Pack Complete with suessified grammar activities, writing prompts, and math fun. There are activities for everyone!

Be sure to check back this weekend for some more fun with the Lorax. We are hosting another Lil Sprouts event for our preschool friends this Saturday from 3:30 - 5:00. We will be celebrating Earth Day with the Lorax. Our Lil Sprouts will be creating their own monogrammed canvas painting with recycled objects, they will practice their sorting and color skills with an Earth friendly recycling game, they will even get their own" Truffula seed" to take home and nurture in a custom designed pot. Don't miss this fun event please visit our simply sprout facebook page to signup by this Thursday April 19, 2012. 
Please feel free to invite a friend!

For information on upcoming Lil Sprouts events please contact us at simplysprout@gmail.com

                          

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