Five Poppens & a PhD: Alphabet Adventure {Summer Learning Fun}

During the last week of preschool, I decided that we needed a little loosely-structered learning fun this summer to give us something to look forward to each day and help Zoë work on some basic skills (letter phonics, capital and lowercase letters, etc.). We kept it simple - using what we had around the house and usually coming up with each activity on the spot. A few were activities that I had wanted to do with Zoë for awhile, so I made them fit in with the appropriate letter. :)

Some days we had meals, snacks, activities, crafts, movies, books, and music all centered around the letter of the day. Other days, we were lucky if we got to one. But it was fun! Initially, Zoë wasn't so sure about the whole thing (as she usually doesn't like to do anything unless it is her idea first), but then she jumped right in. First thing in the morning, she would ask, "What letter are we doing today?!" :)

A is for...
Alligators eating apples. Airplanes. Abraham.

Alligator "A" craft with apple printing

B is for...
Blueberries and banana bread for breakfast. A Big B with buttons on blue paper. Ballet music and videos. Black Bean Burritos and Broccoli. Balloon science experiment. Bug hunt. Books. Balls. Building blocks.

Baking soda and vinegar balloon experiment.

It was awesome.

C is for...
Cantaloupe and carrot cake muffins. The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Chocolate Chip Cookies. Cooking. Cheese.

Caterpillar "C" and a yummy cookie

D is for...

Donuts. Dogs. Doctor (the not-so-fun part of D-day). Daddy. Dinosaurs ("We Are The Dinosaurs" by Laurie Berkner - a favorite!)

D-shaped Dog

E is for...

Eggs, english muffin and enchiladas. Ears. Elephants at the zoo. Experiments. Exploring.

Elephant "E"

Exploring - making Oobleck!

Water color transfer experiment

F is for...
French toast. Fruit. Fig Newtons. Fettuccine. Fabric. And Frozen (with a frozen treat).

Still her favorite movie. Oh man.

Fabric "F"

G is for...

Grapes & Granola. Graham crackers & Goldfish. Grilled Cheese. Grandparents. Glitter. Glue. God

Glitter Paint "G"

H is for...

Hazelnut spread. Honey. Ham Sandwhiches. Hat. Happy. Heart. Hippo. Horse. Hexagon. Hopscotch. Harbor. House.

Hearts on "H"

Our own "harbor" with boats, rocks, shells and sea creatures

Hopscotch with a twist

I is for...

Ice cream. Indian food. Inventor's Box. Instrument. Imagination. Isaiah!

She filled her "I" with things from her imagination

Homemade instrument

Zoë created a Pony Castle out of the materials in her Inventor's Box

J is for...

Jam. Juice. Jelly Beans. Jamaican food. Jungle Book. Jumping Jacks. Jump rope. Jesus.

Jelly bean "J"

K is for...
Kiwi. Kettle Corn. Kabobs. Kool-Aide. Koalas. King (Lion King :). Kite.

Decorated her "K" with Kool-aide powder.

It was a huge mess. :s

Let's go fly a kite!

L is for...
Lemonade! Lasagna. Lollipops. Legos.

Lego "L"

M is for...

Mango. Melon. Muffins. Macaroni. Mexican food. Magazines. Monsters and Monster Pops. Mommy. Monday! (It just so happened to fall on the right day of the week.)

Her best monster face ;)

Magazine "M".

N is for...

Noodles. Nuts. Nuggets. Needle (plastic) and needlework.

"N" with noodles

O is for...

Oatmeal muffins. Oreos. Octopus. Oval. Octagon.

"O" my octopus!

P is for...

Pizza (for breakfast!). Peanut Butter Pop-tarts. Popcorn. Dinner with the Parks & the Poppens. Play. Play-doh. Paint. Photography. Pictures!

Played with Play-doh and painted a "P"

I gave Zoë our old digital camera and she played Photographer for the morning. These are the pictures she took of "P" things. She did a pretty professional job! ;)