Letter E: Elephant Sponge Painting (Elmer), Elephant Size Order, Elephant Number Matching & Shapes, Elephant Toothpaste (Day 2)

1) Elmer Sponge Painting from Buggy & Buddy: After reading "Elmer" by David Mckee, we started our elephant sponge painting craft. I love how this turned out, and my two loved stamping sponges! You'll need:

• White Card Stock 
• Black Marker
• Sponges (cut in half) - we used three
• Paint Colors - we used six

1. Draw an elephant on a piece of white card stock (or you can print an elephant template).
2. Have your child dip a sponge in paint and stamp it on the elephant. It helped to bring the paint colors out one at a time.
3. Optional: Once the paint dries, you can cut out the elephant and glue it onto a separate piece of paper.

2) Elephant Size Order from Confessions of a Homeschooler: My barely two just started size ordering, so my purpose today was comparing only two animals and asking which one was smaller or bigger. At the end, I put all the elephants in order from smallest to biggest and showed my two how each elephant got bigger and bigger. 

3) Elephant Number Matching from Confessions of a Homeschooler: You can print 1-10 elephant number cards from the link provided. We did the first option below, but I've listed some other options to do with these number cards.

• Print two sets of cards and play a matching game. Have your child identify the number or teach them number as you go. ie: I picked up one of the cards and told my barely two which number it was. "This is the number 3. Can you find it's match?"
• Put the cards in numerical order 1-10
• Draw a card and place the same amount of peanuts on top
• Play memory
• Hide the cards around the room and have your child identify or match the number once it's found.
• Go through the cards as flashcards, and have your child identify the number.

4) Elephant Shape Game from Kidsparkz: We are going to "feed" the elephants peanuts. There are twelve elephants in this printable. You'll need:

• Elephant Shape Printable
• Peanuts

1. Lay the elephant shapes on the ground.
2. Hand your child a peanut and say, "The circle elephant is so hungry. Can you feed him a peanut?" 
3. Have your child place a peanut on the circle elephant.

5) Elephant Toothpaste from Fun at Home with Kids: This was one of the HIGHLIGHTS of our entire letter of the week series! My two loved watching the "elephant toothpaste" ooze out of our water bottle. Click the link above to learn how to make it!