This was just the perfect book for a summer reading. (Yes, still behind in posting.) The Yellow Ball is a sweet simple story about a ball that is played with on the beach and then is taken out to sea. After an adventure in the ocean, it returns to a different beach and is found and enjoyed by a new child.
We started our morning with a devotion. I told the story of Jesus out on the boat with some disciples when a storm arose. We talked about how God is in control of everything and we had no reason to fear. (Not sure what I'm pondering in this picture. Love my sweet girl looking at the felts.)
After reading the story and talking about some of the various elements in the story, it was time for some hands-on fun. One of the parts of the story shows the ball from various angles - above, below, near and far. I thought it would be fun for each child to have a ball and put it in various positions.
Behind their back.
On their knees.
Then it was time for a parachute of balls. Look at all the fun types and sizes.
The first blanket wasn't quite big enough so we moved to using a sheet which worked much better.
We popped and bounced the balls together.
For snack we had an "ocean" of blue jello and gummy fish to swim in it. (We are working on theme snacks which are also gluten and nut free. :-) We also served watermelon and cheese (which they could roll into yellow balls if they wanted to).
After snacking, it was time for an art project. Each child was given a small, squishy yellow ball.
Needless to say, they loved that!
For our art project, they painted with their balls dipped into yellow paint.
Fun watching them work so carefully.
Yes, I am still taking your picture. LOL
When they finished painting, it was time to wash off the balls. They loved doing this and some of them had to do it several times. LOL
They were also able to see that their balls floated in the water.
Which lead to a discussion on buoyancy. With a bag of assorted yellow things, each child was able to pick something from the bag. They then guessed whether it would float or sink.
And tested it out.
Lovely day with friends. I'm thankful for this sweet time rowing books that I have loved using for 15 years now. (Wow, can it really have been that long?!)
Hope your days are going well!
Leslie
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