Friday, March 23, 2012

A Trip to the Beach

Our local schools are on "Spring Break" beginning today! Some of us are just happy to be staying home and slowing down a bit. Others are taking off to the beach for a week of sand and sun. Even if you're not going to the beach yourself, you can enjoy some great books about that favorite vacation spot.




Today's selection, How Will We Get to the Beach? by Brigitte Luciani, is an engaging story that is also a guessing game. Roxanne packs up for a day at the beach.  She takes "the turtle, the umbrella, the thick book of stories, the ball, and of course, her baby." However, when her car won't start and she has to try another type of transportation, something won't fit and must be left behind. Can you guess what it is? This happens again and again until Roxanne finally finds a way to the beach that lets her take all five items along.
The lovely watercolor illustrations by Eve Tharlet  provide the visual clues that help young readers play along with the guessing game as each page is turned. The concepts of color and counting are also included in this delightful read aloud.


Math Extension Idea:
Materials: Paper, markers, pre-cut pictures or scissors and a selection of magazines, glue
Procedure: Using numbered paper from 1 to 5 (or if children are able, ask them to write the numerals).
Cut pictures from magazines and catalogs that you might pack for a trip to the beach (swimsuits, sunglasses, sand pails and shovels, snacks, etc).
Ask each child to choose five items and glue them to the numbered paper. 
Share them at group time to see who chose the same type of item.
Graph the results in a simple bar graph.
Talk about those numbers and the terms "more" and "less".


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