This week’s theme:
The Mysteries of… Summer
This week’s colouring in sheet:
Download and print this week’s colouring sheet here.
Fact of the day:
In 2012 a sunflower in Germany made it into the Guinness World Records for being the tallest sunflower ever at 8.23 m (27 ft)!
Resources list:
Poems; lemon, ice, water, sugar; Watercolour paints/food colouring, baking soda/bicarb of soda, paper, brushes, vinegar, spoon or dropper; Paper, colouring and drawing materials; Yellow objects; Paint fork, pasta twists, paper; Youtube.
Activity 1:
Read, or ask somebody to read this summer poem to you, all about Lemonade.
Act out and make noises for the words ‘Drinking’, ‘Slurping’, ‘Gulping’, ‘Sipping’, ‘Splashing’, and Pouring’. What drinks would you sip, and which would you gulp – try the different actions with a drink in your hand.
Make your own still lemonade from the ingredients in the poem: lemon, ice, sugar, water. Does it have a sweet or a bitter taste?
Make some fizzing lemonade artwork – mix up some fizzing paint by adding a tablespoon of baking soda to a cup or bowl (use different cups for each different colour you’d like to make). Add just enough liquid watercolor or diluted food colouring to cover the baking soda. Stir well. The paint should have a very thick paste-like consistency. If it is too runny, add more baking soda; if it is too thick, add more liquid watercolour or diluted food colouring. Paint your picture and then move it onto a tray with an edge to contain any overflowing liquid! Add drops of add vinegar to your paint and watch it fizz like a glass of fizzy lemonade!
Activity 2:
Read, or ask somebody to read you this Summer acrostic poem.
Create your own poem using the letters of ‘Summer’. Or, draw and decorate the words that feature in the poem. Share your poems with us on our Facebook, Instagram or Twitter or send it to melanie@purplepatcharts.org and we’ll put it online for you!
Activity 3:
Read, or ask somebody to read to you this Sunflower poem.
Being in natural light can be good for our mental health and help to brighten our mood. Root your feet to the floor and bend and stretch your body towards the light (this could be the nearest window) show your face to the sun!
Bright sunshiney yellow is also a colour that can help to brighten our mood. Have a hunt all over your house to find the most cheerful yellow objects that you can find. Lay them all out on a tabletop to fill it all up, and create what could look like a field of yellow sunflowers.
Try making a piece of sunflower art work using paint and a kitchen fork or uncooked pasta twists!
The centre of a sunflower is very special. Each and every sunflower in the whole world features a pattern of interconnecting spirals! Normally there are 34 spirals in one direction and 55 in the other. Very large sunflowers can have 89 in one direction and 144 in the other. Try drawing spirals, walking in spirals, and tracing spirals with your fingers listening to this song.
Activity 4:
Make a poem about your senses: In summer I hear … In summer I see … In summer I smell … In summer I taste … In summer I touch … In summer I hear … In summer I feel …
Come up with actions for each of the things you hear/feel/see etc. Could you collect any of the things you mention in your poem and make a table-top display of summery items, or you could draw them. Share your poems and art work with us on our Facebook, Instagram or Twitter or send it to melanie@purplepatcharts.org and we’ll put it online for you!
Activity 5:
Can you make a song out of any of the words of the poems above that you could dance, play an instrument or body percussion along to?