I am truly enjoying this fun Summer Reading Adventure! I am so glad Trish c0-hosted with me. Well, last week Trish from Mom on Time Out shared with us her fabulous reading adventure from the book The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister.
Today, we have Dusty Shell from Reach to the Moon and Back sharing her adventure with us!
I am super excited to be participating in this summer reading adventure! We are avid readers here and we have shelf upon shelf of picture books—classics, series, humor, educational and more! We leave no genre unturned!
One of our favorite books is this delightful and giggle-inducing book by Judy Schachner, Skippyjon Jones.
It is the story of a rather precocious Siamese cat who spends his time getting into mischief. In the first book of this series, we follow Skippyjon on an adventure he has while pretending he is the great sword fighting Chihuahua, El Skippito Friskito. By using his very active imagination, he journeys through his closet to old Mexico joining his band of Chihuahua friends, the Los Chimichangos in a quest to defeat the Alfredo Buzzito!
Before I tell you about the crafty fun we had after finishing this book, I have to inform you that it is simply imperative that you conjure up your “very best Spanish accent” when reading Skippyjon’s encounter with the frijoles stealing El Blimpo Bumblebeeto Bandito! Don’t worry about feeling foolish because your children will love it and it will make your reading adventure all the more enjoyable for all of you!
Of course no respectable Chihuahua can defeat a giant bean eating bumblebee without their very own superhero mask! All you need is a piece of black felt, ribbon and scissors! Cut out the basic mask shape, cut eye holes, and then cut a slit on either side. Measure enough ribbon to wrap around your child’s head and tie the ribbon through the slits. Holy guacamole, you’re done!
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| We fear not a single bandito! |
After making our Skippito Friskito masks, we decided to use rice and jellybeans to get creative because the chihuahuas in the book love to eat rice and beans. First I dyed some plain white rice with food coloring.
Then we made mosaics using the rice and some jellybeans. I drew flower shapes using regular white glue and the kids covered it up with rice. Then we used the jellybeans to make the flower petals and centers. To finish up the flowers, we filled in the remaining portion of it with rice. After the glue dried, I shook off the excess. Then we made thumbprints above each flower using yellow paint and allowed it to dry. Finally, we drew on the bumblebee stripes and wings.
To utilize more of the colored rice, I made a bumblebee I Spy jar. I mixed together the colored rice and filled a clear jar nearly all the way to the top. I added in some jellybeans (and we ate the rest!) to keep with the “beans and rice” theme and then painted a small rock to look like a bumblebee.
I placed the rock in the jar after the paint was dry and then shook the whole jar up. To play “I Spy,” the child turns and twists the jar around until they find where the bumblebee is hiding!
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| Peekaboo! |
And of course, no Skippyjon Jones adventure is complete until you make your very own bumblebee PINATA!
We followed basic and very child friendly instructions for making a pinata , only instead of using newspaper and then painting it, we used yellow tissue paper from the beginning. We painted on our black stripes and glued on construction paper wings and wiggly eyes. When everything was good and dry we took it outside and whacked away until… candy explosion!!!
Before you go take a siesta make sure to link up below. Don’t forget when you link up you are eligible for our giveaway, a copy of the Tickle Monster book:
Click on frog to link up!
