This activity was inspired by Dr. Seuss's book, Hop on Pop. It doesn't necessarily relate to the plot of the book, but relates to some of the simple words in the book... like POP!
We love creating learning activities using materials we already have around the house. Since this weekend was filled with my son's birthday celebrations, we have a living room full of balloons.
Today we're going to share a simple learning activity we created, inspired by this game over at Martha Stewart.
This game requires adult supervision and is appropriate for children old enough to hold a thumbtack without hurting themselves/others with it. My son is four.
Materials Needed for Numbered Balloon game:
- balloons (we used 12)
- thumbtack
- Sharpie
- tape (we used painter's tape)
Set up:
- Tape balloons to the wall so that they are easily accessible for child.
- Write a number on each balloon (we were working on identifying numbers 10-20 today)
Directions for Numbered Balloon game:
- Have an adult (or another child) say one number aloud (10-20... or whatever numbers you want to use)
- The child then listens to the number and then locates the balloon with that matching number.
- Once the correct number is identified, the child can pop the balloon using a thumbtack!
- Continue hunting for numbers and popping the corresponding balloons until they are all gone!
We let the 15 month old join in by hopping on the balloons and trying to pop them by sitting on them :) We also talked about the colors of each balloon with her when she grabbed them. She also enjoyed torturing her brother by trying to knock them down while he was identifying numbers. She was just helping him think quicker, right?
I had to add this picture of the baby doing her little victory dance. She was so proud when she managed to steal a balloon.
We also did some hopping on mom after the game was over. For some reason when I was sitting on the floor both kids decided that they needed to "hop on mom" and started jumping all over me... so then I had to tickle attack them. I guess they learned something from the book?
Another favorite hopping activity at our house this weekend has been hopping on these giant bubble wrap Legos I created for my son's Lego-themed birthday party.
Some of our other favorite Dr. Seuss posts are listed below:
Dr. Seuss Book Cover Bowling
Thing 1 and Thing 2 Popsicle Stick Puppets
One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish Activities
Do you have any favorite Hop on Pop inspired activities? Or any other favorite Dr. Seuss activities?
If so, come and link up below to The Ultimate Dr. Seuss Linky party hosted by Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas and several other fabulous bloggers listed below to celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday on March 2nd!
This linky party is being hosted by:
I love this. I'm going to put it on my Dr. Seus Pinterest board. Maybe you should have a pin button? I tried to submit my Dr. Seuss post but it said one was already in this collection. So that would Mom of 2 Posh Lil Diva's. I didn't realize they weren't all connected. That's a lot of Dr. Seuss links! Wonderful.
ReplyDeleteSusan the linky is the same on all of our blogs. So when you posted on mine, it appears on everyone's! Lots of eyes on all these great ideas!
DeleteMaybe I can't link my Dr. Seuss post is because it is listed on Mom to 2 Posh Lil Diva's list of those who hosted the party. That means viewers can't see my photo but they need to click on the name of my blog: Kindergarten for Teachers and Parents. I didn't realize that is how it works. Great posts.
ReplyDeleteSusan- Sorry if that is confusing. This is a giant link up. I think I mentioned all the blogs participating in a few spots on the post above. I don't see your link though in the linky. Which one is it? You are welcome to link up a different Seuss idea on my page.
DeleteLOVE this activity! My girls adore jumping on balloons to pop them - have you tried that? It's pretty hilarious actually.
ReplyDeleteThanks Bern! Yes we have totally tried jumping on them and it is so funny (and kind of hard to get them to pop... at least for the lightweights at our house... for me it is super easy :)) We will need to try that with the other 20 balloons we have lying around the house.
DeleteThanks so much for hosting this linky. All such wonderful craft ideas to celebrate Dr. Seuss!
ReplyDelete