Splish Splash Fun

Splish Splash  

 Note to Parents: You will need 26 rocks  with  a letter of the alphabet (A-Z) written on each one. You could also use seashells, alphabet magnets or any sturdy material from your home. Use a permanent marker to print the uppercase letter on one side and lowercase letter on the other side. You will also need 10 additional rocks. On 5 rocks print the numbers 1-5 and on the other 5 rocks draw the corresponding number of dots for 1-5. Please keep these in a Ziploc bag for future use throughout the year.               

*Disclaimer: This lesson contains links to YouTube videos. We cannot control advertisements that may appear when these videos are opened. Please be sure to supervise children at all times when viewing YouTube links in case disturbing or inappropriate  material  unexpectedly  appears.  

In this lesson the students will have the opportunity to get their hands wet and engage in some sensory fun.  Listen to the story and then play together using the suggested activities. This is an excellent opportunity to be silly with your child, practice conversational turn taking and help expand your child’s vocabulary. Please make sure to document  all  the activities you do and send it to the teacher. 

Literacy: 

1. Read the story Wet and be ready to get wet! 
2. Make alphabet soup. Use the alphabet rocks you created for homework on Monday. In a large bin or container place your alphabet rocks in and add water. You may also use alphabet magnets or any other waterproof materials with the letters A-Z written on them. Maybe you want to add food colouring to make the water a different colour. Maybe you want to add dish soap for some bubbly fun! 

• Find the letter of your name and spell it out on the counter. 

• Use different strainers or spoons with slits to lift the letters out of the water into a different container. Talk about the name of each letter and the sound it makes. Experiment with how different strainers or scoops let different amounts of water through.  
• Alphabet Hunt. Take turns picking a letter. Have your adult help you with the name and sound of the letter. Can you think of something that starts with that sound? If you can think of something that starts with that letter, then you get to keep the rock and the next person takes a turn. Play until all the rocks are gone. 
• Add a variety of small toys or objects to your soup such as spoons, coins, small bath toys, toy cars, cups, pom poms, figurines, marbles, and bottle caps. Pull out an object and talk about the beginning sound (s for spoon). Work together to find the rock with that letter in your soup. 

Numeracy:  

Use the 10 rocks you created as homework on Monday (on 5 rocks print the numbers 1-5 and on the other 5 rocks draw the corresponding number of dots for 1-5).  

1. Let your child explore the rocks and practice finding the pairs.
2. Find the rock with your age on it. Can you find the number and the rock with the matching dots.  
3. Play Memory together. Turn the rocks upside down so you can not see the writing. Take turns flipping 2 rocks over. If they match, then the player gets to keep the rocks. If they do not match, flip them back over and let the next player take a turn. The person with the most rocks at the end wins. 

*if your child is ready use rocks 1-10 or practice adding 2 rocks together. Please note it is not expected that your child be ready for basic addition at this time.   

Extension: 

Measuring fun - use different measuring containers from your kitchen such as measuring cups, tablespoons, teaspoons.  Experiment with which container holds the most. How many scoops of water might it take to fill the 2 largest containers? Which one holds the most water? It is not only the tallest container that holds the most water. Were you surprised? Talk about “volume” being an amount of water the container can hold. 

Freeze your letters in a bowl of water. Use a spray bottle, mini watering can, small scoop or syringe with water to melt the ice way. Name the letters as they break away from the ice block. Use the scientific method you practiced on Monday to discover what happens when you try to melt the ice with either cold or warm water.  

Read the book I Get Wet by Vicki Cobb. Grab some wax paper, computer paper and paper towel to try the experiments yourself. Talk about what absorb and repel means. What else in your house can you find that absorbs water? What can you find that repels water?