Quilts are very special to our family. My mom is a quilter, and she's actually a member of the Hungarian Quilter's Guild.
She made Aidan two quilts when he was born. One of them was extra special, because she started making it when she was pregnant with me. Then, she found out I was going to be a girl, and it was blue, so she set it aside. When she found out we were having a boy, she finished it for Aidan.
She also made one I asked for, and one of the fabrics we used was Dan's old shirts.
That one was his school blanket for 2 years, when he went to preschool.
Since I couldn't find an animal I thought would really help him remember the letter "Q" (I know about quails, but the boy has never seen one :) ), I thought quilts would be a nice way to do our Q week! So here we go!
Week 21
Letter: Q
Number: 10
Color: Patterns
Theme: Quilts
Activities
1. Letter Quilt Recognizing Game
I drew this grid on our back porch, and then filled it with the last four letters we've learned. I'd asking him questions like, "Where is the blue Q?", "Where are the other Q-s?", "What color are they?", "Show me the red N.", "What other letters are in red?"
We had fun playing outside, and it was nice to get some fresh air after a couple days of rain.
2. Quilt Letter Spotting
Our friend that we live with has this quilt she got from one of her students a couple years ago. It's really nice, because it's kind of "flash card" style, in that there's a picture to go with each letter of the alphabet. It then repeats over and over. We had fun finding all the letters he knew, and it gave me the opportunity to tell him that queen also starts with Q. :)
3. Quilt Roll Chalk Board
My mom made Aidan this chalk board quilt roll, which he loves! We practiced "writing".
4. Number Quilt Square matching
I printed out this Llama, Llama Red Pajama coloring page, then numbered all the squares on the quilt. Then, I also cut out scrapbook paper squares, and numbered them too, on the back. Then, I gave Aidan a glue stick... Yikes! Although he doesn't recognize his numbers yet, he's really good at matching! So, I told him each number, and then he found the matching square, and glued it on, all by himself.
He wrote his own name! So, so sweet! Then, he also colored the llama and his red pajamas! He really did a very good job of matching, and gluing!
Snacks
1. Quilt Fruit Salad
For this tasty and healthy snack, I cut up an apple, kiwi and a couple strawberries into squares. I then placed them in order, to create a quilt-like pattern. It was a big, and yummy hit!
2. Quilt Sandwich
This snack was super easy, I just toasted one of the slices of bread that I used to make his sandwich. Then, I cut it into little squares, and put the sandwich back together, alternating which side was facing up. Then I put clementine slices and baby carrots around the edge to make an AB pattern. He's been asking for it everyday since!
Crafts
1. Q is for Quilt
I put out his quilt, so he could see how the squares make the blanket. I printed out a large letter Q, and some squares from scrapbooking paper I had left over. Then, I let him (!!!) put the glue on the back, and glue them all over the letter Q.
Then, I cut the Q out, and he glued it onto a piece of red paper. So cute!!
2. Making a Quilt
I had some felt left over from another craft. I cut out a large square. Then, I cut up some of his old baby wash clothes that are ratty, and we no longer use into squares. It was hard for this mildly OCD mama to let him do it on his own, but...
I let him lay them out in whatever order he wanted. I did help him make sure they were in lines, but other than that, he called the shots. Then, I used fabric glue to secure the small squares to the large one.
Aidan has rediscovered one of his lovies we gave him as a baby, and has been very sweet with it, so it was the perfect opportunity to make a blanket for his "baby". The two of them curled up and watched cartoons on a rainy afternoon.
3. Q-tip Painting
This activity is a preschool staple, and with good reason! It's so much fun! I got out some paint and Q-tips. (We spotted the Q on the box.) I printed out that same Q, then we dipped the Q-tips in the paint, and made dots inside the lines of the Q.
I helped him start out, but then let him do it on his own. He did pretty well! He painted outside the lines only a couple times, and I think it was more out of curiosity than lack of fine motor skills, haha!
4. Coloring Pages
I found a quilt coloring page for him to do. The neat thing is, you can customize it to whatever you need. For example, I asked him to color all the circles blue. :)
Here is the coloring page.
Books and Media
We Read:
As I've mentioned before, this is one of my all-time favorite children's books. It's about a Russian Jewish immigrant family, and a quilt they made out of their old clothes, and how it is there for all the most important events in their lives.
2. The Kindness Quilt by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace
This is a very sweet story, about a bunny who's class ends up making a kindness quilt that takes off, including more and more people in it. It's a very sweet story how kindness can be contagious.
3. Llama, Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney
A fun story about when a restless llama is impatient for his mama. It doesn't directly mention a quilt, but he does have a quilt, and Aidan is already familiar with the main character, so I figured he'd like it! Which he did!
4. The Quilt Story by Tony Johnston
This is a very sweet story, that I'm actually surprised I didn't own as a kid, because... they little girl in the story's name is Abigail. It's about a little girl, whose mom makes her a quilt that always makes her feel comforted - through cold nights, and even a move out West. Eventually, the quilt gets forgotten, and moved to the attic. Years later, another little girl finds it, and falls in love with it, and the quilt is again comforting a little girl. Super sweet!
5. The Quilt by Ann Jonas
This is a very sweet story, about a little girl, whose mom AND dad (love that!) make her a quilt - some pieces are from her baby clothes, and curtain, and the shirt she wore on her second birthday. It's for her new big girl bed. She's pretty convinced that she won't be able to sleep that night, because of all the patterns, but then, they come to life, as she drifts to sleep in her big girl bed, with her quilt made with love.
6. Quilt Alphabet by Lesa Cline-Ransome
This is a sweet alphabet book, where each letter corresponds to a very sweet traditional/country image. It's really perfect, considering all the alphabet quilt activities we did! Also, in this book Q is for quilt, of course...
What We Watched:
There really aren't any kids' movies or shows about quilts, go figure. So, instead...
1. VeggieTales - Esther, The Girl Who Became Queen - we read the story of Esther during our devotions, so I thought it was a good fit! We have access to a service called Right Now Media (they have an Apple TV app), that has many of the classic VeggieTales stories on it. Aidan really enjoyed it!
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