Day 3: Blackout

Hey everyone!  It's Amy from Sugar and Spice.  I also have an affinity for creating interesting and fun lunches for my kids, so in today's post you will see a book, a learning activity, and a lunch to go along with it.  Just because I  can't resist!

Read

By John Rocco

Blackout is the story of the night that all of the lights go out in the city.  All of the people working on their computers, watching their TVs or playing their video games are forced to stop.  One family climbs to the top of their apartment building and looks out at the night sky.  The lights haven't all gone out, there are brilliant stars and a glowing moon to illuminate the world.  Everyone comes out into the streets, and has an old fashioned good time playing cards, and even dancing.  This book is a wonderful reminder of all that exists for our enjoyment outside of our electronics.

Play

(source)

Find a place in the house that you can make entirely dark such as a walk-in closet or a bathroom.  Bring a flashlight and some of your child's favorite stuffed animals, (Beanie Babies work very well).  Turn out the lights, and turn on the flashlight.  Teach your child to make shadow puppets.  We made a bunny, an alligator, a butterfly and a frog.  We also had our shadow puppets talk to each other on the wall as my daughter and I held our hands up together.  Next we held some of our favorite stuffed animals in front of the light, and watched as they too became shadow puppets.  It was fun for my little one to experiment and see what she could make with her hands. 

Eat

Re-create the rooftop scene by making a building out of a peanut butter sandwich, cutting the crusts into cubes for windows.  Next, slice 2 baby carrots in half and in half again for the main part of the bodies.  Thinly slice the remaining portions for the arms and legs.  We are seeing the people from behind, as shown in the cover of the book above, so no eyes are needed.  

I almost used a full banana for the moon, but it was way too big for the scale of the plate, so I cut a banana to shape.  

Create the stars by using your star icing tube attachment in the corner of a plastic bag.  Fill the bag with a little plain or vanilla yogurt as shown.  If you don't have a star attachment for icing, just make little dot stars!

 

 

I hope you and your child have fun with this READ.PLAY.EAT activity.  

Stay tuned for our next literacy and learning activity tomorrow!

-Amy 
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