Toddler Fun, Week 26: Letter W, Number 5, Gray and Whales

Ah, whales... majestic, graceful giants of the sea.

They are the perfect animal to learn the letter "W" with.
Whales were nearly wiped out by 1970 due to whalers, but because of the conservation efforts of groups like Save The Whales, many of the species have been brought back from the brink of extinction. I think it's very important that we learn as much as we can about them, and protect them to the best of our abilities.

Week 26

Letter: W

Number: 5

Color: Gray

Animal: Whales

Activities

1. The MOSH

Jacksonville is a great city, with wonderful museums!  One of them is the MOSH (Museum of Science and History).  This is a very kid-friendly, hands-on museum, which just so happens to only cost $5 on Fridays!  You saw that right!  $5 Fridays!  So, on this Good Friday, we got together with Aidan's best little buddy and his sister, and had a day of science and discovery!

 They first exhibit is called Atlantic Tails, and it is about whales, manatees and dolphins.  The mural right before you walk in is beautiful, and the boys loved it!

I love the life-sized whale mama, calf and dolphin too!  Also, check out that baleen!  That's what non-toothed whales have.  Water sifts through it, and little shrimp, krill and the like gets stuck in it. It's amazing!

 All the exhibits were very interactive, which of course the littles loved!  This one in particular had a joy stick, which when moved showed how manatees' migration changes based on the season.
There was another one, which lit up different one with buttons, which highlighted their different body parts, and fun facts about them.  They also had bone replicas, which were fun!

 This one was my favorite.  It demonstrated how sonar works.  The kid operating it points it at something, and then it makes a pinging sound, and tells them how far away it is!  What's even cooler, is that the closer you get to the machine, the louder, and quicker the sound becomes.  When I said it was like "sonar", Aidan right away knew what that was!  He said "like Bailey the beluga"!  I love it when they make connections like that!

This one was fun too!  It had different animals (dolphins, whales, manatees, humans, etc.), and the sounds they made!  It was really interesting!  Manatees make a really sweet sound!









2. Bay & Bee

If you've visited my blog before, you know about this AMAZING indoor play space we go to, called Bay & Bee.  This week, Aidan pretended to go on a whale watching expedition...

And then all on his own, he found this whale toy, and kept pretending it was a beached whale, and he kept rescuing it.  I love watching his imagination at work!










3. Fine Motor Practice

It takes all of my OCD mama strength to let him, but sometimes the boy just needs to color, and be free.  Coloring pages are great, especially ones with the letter on them nice and big like that, are great for reinforcement!

Do-A-Dot worksheets are awesome!  I know they have special markers for them, but we didn't have any, so I used a sponge paintbrush and stamp pad.  It's a great pre-writing practice!  It reinforces the shape of the letter, and encourages fine-motor skills in a very age-appropriate way.  Also, it's totally fun!

I also found this free worksheet packet, with lots of great practice sheet.  He did REALLY well with this giant W, and stayed mainly in the lines.

This sheet had SO many good things, letters, numbers, colors, writing, it's awesome!  Aidan is doing great with his letters, but not sure on his numbers, but we practiced right before this, and he actually did very well, so that made him feel good about himself!







4. Baleen vs. Toothed Whales

So, there are two types of whales - toothed, and baleen.  Baleen is the same material as nails and hair.  Whales take big gulps of krill-filled water, then they push the water back out of their baleen, and the krill gets stuck in them.  To show what that would be like, I filled a bowl of water with dried basil/mediterranean seasoning, and then we used a comb to sift it out.  I saw another idea, where you take a gulp of water with raisins, and then push the water back out.  Aidan isn't super great about following directions, especially when he gets excited, and he has a very sensitive gag-reflex, so I didn't opt for that one, but I think it would make for a great exercise!

 For the toothed whale, I put together egg carton, and used a rubber glove on the back.  Of course, it's made out of cardboard, so it didn't last long, but I added some raisins, that we tried grabbing with the "teeth".

Look at those chubby little fingers!  Why can't they just stay that way?!


It was a really fun activity, and then he got to play in his little kiddie pool, so that didn't hurt!

This is a great chart to show you which whale falls under which category.  One of Aidan's favorite is the sperm whale, which he likes to tell EVERYONE.  Super fun for me, haha!




5. Goldfish Counting

 A few weeks ago, when we were doing G is for Goldfish, I found, and printed out these goldfish counting cards.  I laminated them, and I'm so glad I did!  That means I could use them again and again!  I found whale shaped crackers, and we used them instead.

He did really well, and I let him eat them in between too, which helped with the whole "hangry toddler" thing, lol!











6. "Blowhole" Letter Blasting

For this AWESOME activity, I went out, and wrote a bunch a letters on the driveway with chalk.  Then, I bought this blaster (for $0.96, score!!), and we pretended it was a whale blowhole.  I would tell Aidan which letter spray, then he would spray it.  Then we switched it up, and he would tell me what letter he wanted to blast, and then went after it!

 So much fun!

There's a nice big W!  Bam!!

Snacks

1. Cheerio Apple Whale

For this tasty treat, I used an apple, cheerios, a blueberry, a slice of strawberry, and a candy eye.  Yum!!










2. Whale Sandwich

For this lunch I cut out a paper whale template, which I then used to cut the sandwich.  For the sun I used cucumber dill hummus (so yummy, I found it at Aldi), and baby carrots, mango for the water (I was all out of blueberries), a candy eye (which of course he ate first), and a strawberry sliver for a smile. 



3. Whale Cracker Snack

For this snack, I used blueberries that we got through Local Fare Jax, where we get fresh and organic local produce delivered to us every other week.  These are seriously the BIGGEST and tastiest blueberries I've ever seen!  Then I used Stauffer's whale cheese crackers, clementine segment halves, an apple slice, fruit leather and a strawberry slice.

Crafts

1. W is for Whale

I couldn't find anything on pinterest that I liked for W is for whale, so I came up with this.  I used the Vineyard Vine whale logo as a template, and then cut out a "W", and some water droplets.  Then I let him glue it all together.  Ta-Da!

2. Whale Paper Plate Craft

We followed the instructions found on this blog, here.  We folded the paper plate in half, the cut it according to the directions, then added water, and let Aidan paint it.

 So much concentration!

And there it is!  We decided it was humpback whale.  <3









3. Jonah and the Big Fish

I found this template for this craft.  I printed it out, Aidan colored it, I cut it out, glued it to a clothespin (whale parts on the front, Jonah on the back), and...

There it is!  So, so cute, if I do say so myself!

Books and Media

We Read:

1. The Storm Whale by Benji Davies

This books has beautiful illustrations!  It's a very sweet story about a boy who finds a beached whale, and tries to hide him in his bathtub.  

2. The Blue Whale by Jenni Desmond

This book is set up, and looks like a non-fiction storybook, but it's actually very informative.  And again, the illustrations are what really set this book apart.  Simply beautiful.

3. The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson

We loved this story!  It's about a snail who wants to see the world, so a whale gives her a ride on his tail.  They see all kinds of adventures together, until the whale gets beached, and then it's up to the snail to save her friend.

4. The Stranded Whale by Jane Yolen

This sad story is about a whale who gets beached, and although some young kids do their best to keep him alive, it passes away.  This story was a little sad for Aidan, so I tweaked it a bit, to where I just said that the whale was "gone".  It's a good story, but definitely one for older readers.

5. As Long As There Are Whales by Evelyne Dangle

We found this book at a library sale a few months ago.  It gives a glimpse into the whales that live in the St. Lawrence River in Canada.  It talks about the different species, what they eat, their stats, their mating rituals... yeah, haha! We skipped that page.  But we did talk about umbilical cords, as it talked about what makes them mammals. :)  

We Watched:

1. Wild Kratts, Season 4 Episode 13 - The Mystery of the Two Horned Narwhal - This is a great episode, which incorporates Inuit folklore as well as science, of course.  Also, I learned that there are, in rare instances some narwhals (1 in every 500 males) that have two horns.  What!?  Also, they aren't horns - my bad! - they're teeth, AKA tusks.

2. Wild Kratts, Season 1 Episode 2 - Whale of a Squid - This episode dives (get it?) into the depths of the ocean, and the ferocious fights that can happen between sperm whale and giant squid.  It's something fierce!  (This episode is currently on the FREE PBS Kids Watch App.)

3.  Wild Kratts, Season 4 Episode 3 - This Orca Likes Sharks - Okay, so according to my research, orca (or killer whale) are actually a type of dolphin, not a whale.  But, for the purposes of this week, it'll do.  Man, those guys are intense predators!!

4. Finding Dory - Aidan really loves Bailey in this movie, which is a bonus, because the whole "echo location" thing really sunk in!  Right now, it's on Netflix!

5. Octonauts - This kids' show is currently on Netflix.  There are many episodes about whales, here are some of them: Octonauts and the Orcas, Octonauts and the Albino Humpback Whale, Octonauts and the Narwhal, Octonauts and the Mixed Up Whales, Octonauts and the Beluga Whales, Octonauts and the Arctic Orcas, Octonauts and the Bowhead Whales, Octonauts and the Scared Sperm Whale, and Octonauts and the Humpback Whales.

6. The Cat In The Hat Knows A Lot About That, Season 1 Episode 4 - Whale Music - In this episode the kiddos and the Cat head out to meet Humphrey the Humpback whale, who teaches them a little about whales, as well as singing!  This episode is currently on Netflix.

7. Preschool Learn to Dance: Big Blue Whale - this youtube channel has a lot of really fun dance videos for kids, and this one just so happens to be about whales!

Toddler Fun, Week 9: Letter M, Number 9, Gray and Manatees

I absolutely love manatees!  I always have.  Since the Barbara Manatee song in Veggie Tales, and then even more so when we moved to Florida.  I made Dan promise me that we wouldn't leave Florida until I got to see some manatees.  So, my man was on a mission!  Last week we were in Tampa for a service, and the time had come!  

Week 9

Letter: M

Number: 9

Color: Gray

Animal: Manatee

Activities

1. Lowry Park Zoo 

The Tampa Lowry Park Zoo is amazing!  Because we are Jacksonville zoo members, thankfully we got in for 1/2 the price, so that was a bonus!  At this zoo, they have a manatee rehab hospital, where they take in injured manatees, fix them up, and then release them back into the wild.  It was so beautiful to watch them swim - they're a lot more graceful than one would think!  It was the perfect start to our manatee week!

2. "Caution, Manatee Area" Obstacle Course

Manatees have no natural predators.  We are their greatest threat.  They are curious by nature, slow swimmers, and being mammals have to come up to breathe.  This means that they often get hit by boats and propellers.  The ladies at the zoo actually said they can identify them by their scars (so so sad).  Anyway, all that inspired me to do a "Caution Manatee Area" Obstacle course.  I printed out "Caution Manatee Area" signs, and posted them around the course. Aidan has two manatee toys, which I placed strategically for him to avoid.  He had to climb, slide, "swim" and go through "sea grass".  It was a blast!

3. Manatee Habitat Activity

Since we've gotten to see manatees in the wild, I thought it would be a great activity to make a habitat.  Also, it gave us a chance to practice out numbers.

Here's what I used:

- Cardboard box

- Blue tissue paper

- White school glue

- Brown paper

- Brown pipe cleaners

- Green tissue paper (left over from the obstacle course)

- Hot glue

- Left over Easter basket filler

- Scrapbooking paper with rocks on it

- Manatee coloring page (I printed it out in two sizes to make mamas and babies)

- glue stick

- Scissors

- Gray crayon

- Sand

I took apart a cardboard box, brushed white school glue on it, and put blue tissue paper on top.  I had some scrapbooking paper that looked like rocks (score!), which I cut into pieces.  I took brown pipe cleaners, cut them in half and twisted them together in the middle to make mangrove trees.  I got all my pieces together in a box, and we headed outside to assemble it all.  (I brought a snack out for Aidan, which ended up being a HUGE help, because it kept him busy if there was a part I needed to stay busy during.

I gave him the manatee coloring sheet to color gray while I set up a little better.  I taped the brown paper on two corners to make the "land".  Next, I gave Aidan the mangrove trees, and he could put them wherever he wanted (the grow in the water, but then over the years, they become the island, so there was really no "wrong" place to put them).  I hot glued them in place.  Next, I gave him the "rocks", which he again could stick wherever.  After that, I cut the Easter basket filler and twisted it at the bottom to make it sea grass, and he glued that in place too.  Then, I put some glue along the edge of the land, and we poured some sand from the sand box on it.  (I may not have done this step again, in retrospect, the sand was still wet from hurricane Matthew, but Aidan had fun with it, so I guess that's a win.)  After that, I lost him to the slide, a stick and a ball, haha!

So while he played, I put tissue paper on the branches of the trees, cut out the manatees, and numbered them 1-9.  The manatees got him interested again, so he came back.  Every time he picked up a manatee, I would say something like "yeah, that's the number 7"!  I helped him put them in order, and then let him put them in groups of mommies and babies. <3  He brought over a piece of palm branch, which he decided was seaweed, and a branch or two.  We talked about the mangrove trees, the seagrass, and things like that.  It was a really fun activity!  If you decide to make your own habitat, you can send pictures of it to savethemanatee.org!

4. Bright Eyed Baby Chunky Flashcards

I ordered Aidan these flashcards back when it was a Kickstarter project, and I love them so much!  The momtrepreneurs who started this business make flashcards focusing on key elements from different states.  I love love love the concept and the execution.  So we have the Florida set, which of course features manatees.  These cards are really well-made, and I love supporting a small business like this one!

Snacks

1. Manatee Breakfast

For this breakfast, I used two waffles, a slice of apple, blueberries, kiwi, fruit leather and candy eyes.  I cut one of the waffles to make the body (because manatees are shaped so uniquely), and then cut up all the other pieces to come together to make the manatee.  I have to be honest, Aidan didn't eat the waffles, but he did eat everything else (and the rest of the apple), so I'd say it was a win!

2. Manatee Sandwiches

For these sandwiches, I printed and then cut out a manatee template.  I then cut that on the sandwich, and cut around it.  Then I just made a starfish out of mandarin segments, seagrass out of kiwi, stuck some goldfish and blueberries around it, and hid a gummy frog (which of course was the first thing he found).

3. Manatee Crescent Rolls

You have to use your imagination a little for this one, but it works, haha!  I rolled a slice of chicken lunchmeat and cheese in each Pillsbury crescent roll, and tried my best to shape it like a manatee,  While they were baking, I put humus on the bottom, for the sea bed, then cut up some carrots and cucumbers for the coral.  It was supposed to be a baby and mama, so I used a cookie cutter to cut hearts out of apple slices, and topped it with fruit leather heart too.

Crafts

1. M is for Mountain

Manatees don't look like the letter M, sorry.  So we went with mountain instead.  Slovenia has a lot of beautiful mountains, so I thought it was best to get him acquainted.  I cut out the pieces, and then we put them all together.








2. Manatee Puppet

I found this cute manatee craft on savethemanatee.org.  All you need is to print out the cutout sheet, and have a paper lunch bag.  Color it all gray, cut it out, and glue it together!  It's super cute!

Books and Media

We Read:

1. Manatee Winter by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld

I love this book!  I bought it for my classroom, and just couldn't part with it.  It's about a mama and baby manatee migrating to warmer spring water.  The illustrations are realistic and beautiful.

2. National Geographic Kids Manatees

We got this book for Aidan when we were at the Tampa Lowry Park Zoo.  It's cute, and has a lot of interesting facts for kiddos.  Aidan likes counting the manatees in each picture.





3. Go, Diego, Go - Diego's Manatee Rescue by Sheila Sweeny Higginson

I thought this book was really!  I liked it a lot better than the Go Diego Go episode that is also about manatees.  It follows Diego as he reunites a mama and baby manatee.  It's interactive, which Aidan really liked!




4. Count to Sleep Florida by Adam Gamble

This is a sweet bedtime counting book that highlights different things about Florida, one of them being manatees, of course.  The numbers are large on each page, so we practice tracing them.







We Watched:

1. Octonauts Season 2, Episode 19 (on Netflix, it's season 2, episode 10) - The Octonauts save a group of manatees from a lightning storm.

2. The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That, Season 2 Episode 6 - A sweet episode where the kids and the Cat in the Hat go on an adventure to learn about manatees.  Like so many other manatee stories, it's about a mama and a baby!

3. Go, Diego, Go! Season 3, Episode 315 - In this episode, Diego tells a manatee a story about mermaids, and manatees, and how mermaids used to be manatees... it's all read from a "storybook", but for someone as young as Aidan (and most Diego viewers), I think it's a little confusing as to which creature is real, and which isn't.  (I bought the episode on iTunes for $1.99)

4. Veggie Tales Silly Songs With Larry - Barbara Manatee
We watched this classic on youtube.  Aidan liked it well, enough, but I loved the nostalgia of it all!

So, that was our AMAZING manatee week!  We had fun, and I'm so glad my sweet boys shares my love for these amazing creatures!