S is for Snake

(Sophia is 26 Months, Marcus is 42 Months)

Continuing on with our snake theme this week, we decided to make a special craft project using the letter S.  We have been reading the book Crictor by Tomi Ungerer.


In the book, Crictor is a friendly pet boa constrictor belonging to Madame Bodot.  Madame Bodot teaches at the public school, so naturally Crictor learns to make various letters and numbers "in his own way."

We decided to make our own Crictor snakes in the shape of the letter S.

Here is how to make this project--

1)  Gather your supplies!
You will need:

• various shades of washable paint, 
• several sheets of construction paper, 
• paint brushes, 
• scissors, 
• glue stick
• pen, and 
• craft foam. 

2)  Draw a Letter S on the Construction Paper.   

3)  Ask your little artists to paint their snakes using any snake painting technique they desire.  (It helps if you make lots of hissing sounds while doing this.  It will help you get into the spirit of things.) 

4)  Allow the S shaped snake to dry.  Meanwhile, cut out some eyes and a biforcated tongue out of the craft foam.

5)  When the S snake is dry, cut it out for your child.  (Older can do this themselves.)

6)  Next, have the children paste the cut out snake onto another sheet of construction paper.

7)  Attach the snakes eyes and tongue.

8)  Proudly hold up your finished art piece and pose for a picture for mama.  :) 

For more ideas on using art to expand your child's favorite books, check out:

Preschool Math: Montessori Inspired Snake Counting Activity

I put together a fairly cheap Montessori inspired tot tray for the kids this week to go with a unit study we are doing on snakes.  If you have a little boy, you will understand their fascination with creepy creatures like snakes.  However, if your kids are not into snakes, you could very easily pretend these pipe cleaners are worms or caterpillars. 

What you need:
1)  Number Cards (available as a free download from Montessori for Everyone)
2) Pipe Cleaners

Instructions:
1)  Print out the Number Cards on heavy card-stock and laminate.  
2)  Cut the pipe cleaners in 2-3 inch pieces and bend into natural looking curves.  (So that they look more like snakes, worms, or caterpillars.) 


Presentation:
Put the number cards into a small basket.  Present the snakes in a glass dish or bowel.

Show the child how to put out the cards across the top of a rug, from 1 to 10.  (Since my children are very young, we started using only numbers 1-3 with Sophia.  We then went up to the numbers 1-5 when she was ready.)  Then, let them take one snake out at a time and count the correct amount of snakes starting with number 1 and continuing across.  (For a very detailed explanation on using Montessori number cards with counters, see this link.) 

Recommended Book Go-Along:
Crictor by Tomi Ungerer


Crictor is a very cute story about a friendly pet boa constrictor.   It is a heartwarming, entertaining story that your children will love.

Crictor is one of the books included in the anthology Harper Collins Treasury of Picture Book Classics.   This book is part of the Sonlight P3/P4 Curriculum that we are reading through with our tots. 




Also Check Out:
Math Monday
Montessori Mondays
DIY Math Montessor Materials

Tools for Tots