How we did green week...

Last week, we celebrated the color green with lots of fun and easy Montessori type activities that were suited for Cruz's age and simple for me to throw together.  Since he knows all his colors by now, I wanted to take our color weeks up a notch and start adding elements that are new and interesting to him.  How colors can mix to make other colors, how to 'spy' colors and match them with similar ones, and how to use our senses to explore the color wheel around us.  Green is easy in the summer time, and we spent a lot of time outdoors since the weather was picture perfect.  Here is how we spent our days...

1.  Cruz explored his discovery box, filled with green things from around the house, as well as a new green magnifying glass I picked up from Target.  Also in the box included a lime, a John Deere tractor, a green frog, a shovel, and an applesauce packet. 

2.  We went to the book store and added one of my personal favorite 'green' books to add to Cruz's vast collection.  The Giving Tree, Yertle the Turtle, and any dinosaur book became our choice reading material for the week. 

3.  We made Green Monster smoothies for lunch one day.  Cruz has never been a big veggie lover, but he could live on fruit if we'd let him.  Mixing a cup or so of spinach in with our fruit is a great way to sneak in your veggies and make a fun green surprise to drink.  We make smoothies often and have found it a great way to use up fruit that's getting a little too ripe.  This particular one included two bananas, a 1 1/2 cups strawberries, and 1-2 peaches, cut into wedges.  I sometimes add almond milk, or something just pop the finished product in the freezer for a few minutes so it's nice and chilled.

4.  We went on a bug hunt.  Made a nice home out of a mason jar and explored our backyard for creepy crawlers.  Unfortunately, after a failed attempt at catching a butterfly, we made a bird feeder instead.  We did something similar at Kindermusik last week and Cruz loved it.  Just wrap a pipe cleaner around a stick, string some cheerios on the other end, and make a hook when finished to hang on the tree.  It kept Cruz busy for awhile and he practiced his fine motor skills (and snacking skills) before finding the perfect spot on the tree.

5.  We made a bug craft and practiced naming the parts of our bug --- wings, antenna, thorax...?  Then Cruz painted his own thorax...

6.  We did a couple of science experiments...my favorite activities of the week.  First, we got a mixing bowl and wooden spoon and placed a few color-dyed ice cubes in the bowl.  A few yellow, a few blue, and a reading or two of our favorite color book, Monsters Love Colors.  Soon, Cruz was amazed at the green swirl that started to form in our bowl.  I could see the light bulb go off in that little head of his and loved how easy the activity was.  

7.  We explored some yummy fresh green fruits.  With magnifying glass in hand, we studied a green apple, avocado, pear, and kiwi fruit.  We studied them whole, compared the peel and seeds, then cut them up into pieces and talked about their taste.  From the big brown pit in an avocado to the tiny black seeds in a kiwi fruit, there was a lot to explore (and a lot to eat)!

8.  We read Green Eggs and Ham and made a snack with pretzel sticks, almond bark, and green M and M candies.

9.  We made houses with green grapes and toothpicks.

10.  And went shopping in our garden, exploring the fresh herbs and picking some cucumbers for our dinner.

That's a wrap for green week!  Looking forward to a few more weeks of color fun before another school year starts.