Lots of Dots

I discovered this great book at my local library, which if you do not visit your library you should. They are a great resource for inspiration. The book is Lots of Dots by Craig Frazier. The cover is what caught me, and the simple repetitive text is what hooked me. I knew my little friends would love it.

I decided to try the book out on my five year old and 2 year old. After one time reading it, my five year old read it on his own! It was the first book he ever read to me. After several readings, my two year old memorized it and "read" it to me. I cannot recommend it enough.

Now that I have to book, the craft was harder to nail down. My options are cotton swap painting, yogurt cup painting, water bottle flowers, and bingo dot painting. How am I going to decide?

I decided on dot stamping with the recycled materials I purchased from Arts and Scraps. My friends loved the stamping motion and how the stamp glided across the paper when there was a lot of paint on the stamp.

For fine motor skills I had my friends sort buttons and pom pom's into egg cartons. I colored the bottom of the carton and the children placed the correct color object in the slot.

I also had a bean bag toss game that is always a hit. I got it from Discovery Toys years ago; I am not even sure they make it any more. You toss colored bean bags (circle shaped) into what looks like hats. The goal is to match the colors but my friends always end up wearing the plastic "hats".

I love it when a plan comes together. This was a last minute decision to do the circle stamps and it paid off. My friends stayed at the art table for such a long time this morning. It was lots of fun and messy too.