'U' is For Umbrella

Can you believe that after this week, we only have 5 letters left to learn!?  I am shocked by how fast the time has flown by, and proud of everything that Jay has learned!  Anywho, get ready to dig out your umbrellas this week, and let's learn the letter 'U'!!

This week we will cover:
The letter 'U'
'U' is for Umbrella
The number 21
Hearts
The color Black
Dark and Light

Monday: The Letter 'U'
-color a Letter 'U' coloring page
-while you are coloring, watch this, this, this, this, this, and this
-have your kiddo trace the Letter 'U' on their coloring page with their finger
-glue your coloring page to a piece of Black construction paper and hang it on the wall
-make a set of Letter 'U' memory cards (one with a Letter 'U' on it, and the other with a picture of an Umbrella on it)
-go through the Letter 'U' section of Starfall
-play a game or two of Horse U's (fill a plastic container with water and cover it with foil.  poke a wooden spoon or dowel through the foil so that the wide end is in the water and the straight handle end is sticking up into the air.  Put the water into the freezer and freeze it.  You can also just use dirt or clay to hold the spoon in place.  Cut several letter U's out of cardboard, an empty cereal box works great for this.  Then have your kiddo toss the letter U's towards the spoon handle to see if they can get the letter U's to land around it.) 
-bake a pineapple Upside down cake

Tuesday: 'U' is for Umbrella
-color an Umbrella coloring page
-while you are coloring, watch this, this, this, and this
-glue your coloring page to a piece of Black construction paper and hang it on the wall
-work this cute online Umbrella puzzle
-do this quick connect the dots web page
-make a letter 'U' Umbrella mobile (cut a large umbrella shape out of poster board or cardboard.  Decorate the umbrella shape.  Look through magazines for pictures of things that begin with the letter 'U' or just for the letter 'U' in different fonts.  Cut the pictures out and glue them to colorful pieces of construction paper.  Use ribbon or string to hang your letter 'U' pictures from the umbrella shape.)
-go out side and play with an Umbrella.  Show your kiddo how it opens.  It can protect us from the rain, and also from the sun.  You can even pour some water onto an umbrella to let you kiddo see how the umbrella works.   

Wednesday:  Rainy Day Fun
-watch this
-sing You Are My Sunshine,  The Itsy Bitsy Spider,  Rain Rain Go Away,  It's Raining It's Pouring, Somewhere Over The Rainbow,
-does your area have any sort of a weather center?  If so, go check it out!  One of the museums near us has a children's area that talks about Tornadoes, so we are going to go check it out. 
-if it rains on any day this week:
-go play in the rain!  Splash in the puddles, have leaf races in any little streams that form on your driveway or on the very edge of the street.  Observe what rain does to nature.  Are there any birds out while it is raining?  Can you find worms that have been washed out of the ground?  etc. 
-follow these directions to make a fun Rain Painting
-If it does not rain:
-you can always make a rain stick.  Try this one, or maybe this one. 
-make a Rain Or Shine Mobile
-make a rain picture (have your kiddo color a picture.  Use blue food coloring to tint some white school glue.  Then use toothpicks or cotton swabs to dot the glue onto the picture.  When it dries it will create "raindrops")

Thursday: The Number 21
-color a Number 21 coloring page
-while you are coloring, watch this, this, and this
-have your kiddo trace the Number 21 on their coloring page with their finger
-glue your coloring page to a piece of Black construction paper and hang it on the wall
-count out 21 of several different objects.  you can count cars, blocks, Popsicle sticks, stairs, mm's etc. 

Friday: Hearts
-color a Heart coloring page
-while you are coloring, watch this and this
-have your kiddo trace the Heart on their coloring page with their finger
-glue your coloring page to a piece of Black construction paper and hang it on the wall
-with Valentine's day just around the corner, this is the perfect time to make your Valentines!  Here are some different ideas to get you started 
-or, if Valentine's aren't your thing, make one of these cute heart animals

Thank you for learning the letter 'U' with us this week!  If you have missed a previous lesson, you can find it under the ABC Lessons tab at the top of this blog.  And be sure to check back next week for 'V' is for Volcano!