Toddler Theme: Texture

Squishy.  Scratchy.  Smooth.  Slippery.  We're learning about textures this week!  This is a perfect theme week when you're stuck inside and a really good one to get younger siblings involved.  We pulled out all of our touch & feel books and talked about texture adjectives.  Another fun way to learn about textures is to create texture cards to explore together (the Children's Learning Activities blog has a good write up on making your own set...check it out here).  And then throughout the week, we were on the hunt for textures in the wild.  We found a sticky spider web on a walk and a bumpy wall at the doctor's office.  Millie found this texture by the creek.

The Target Dollar Spot currently has little tubs of sand dough and we played with that a few days before dinner.  Sensory bins would be a really great texture week activity, too.  I've been wanting to introduce Mia to printmaking so we tried a method called monoprinting (quite literally, a print that can only be made once).  I spread some finger paint on a cookie sheet and Mia drew with her finger in the paint.  Then I laid a piece of white paper over the design and peeled it off.  She was pretty excited by the result and it was no time at all before my kitchen cupboards were covered with drying prints.  I might actually frame a couple of them.      

Last year, I setup a tray of household items (beans, feathers, cotton balls, glossy magazine clippings, etc) and let her create a texture collage with glue.  "Sooooo sticky!" 

Textures aren't just limited to feeling, though.  We made special snacks this week to learn about mouth feel and texture in taste.  A really simple one is an experiment where you compare crunchy and creamy peanut butter.  We expanded on this and made ants on a log with squishy peanut butter, crunchy celery and chewy/wrinkly raisins.  Another afternoon, Mia ate Pop Rocks for the first time.  Whoa, those are neat!  You can also hear textures, too.  We identified smooth sounds versus bumpy sounds.  Do you have any favorite texture activities to share?

A summary of all Texture week activities with links:

ACTIVITIES: Went on a texture scavenger hunt, Played with sand dough

ART PROJECTS: Created mono prints with finger paint, Made texture collages with glue and found items (beans, feathers, cotton balls, etc)

SNACK: Made ants on a log with squishy peanut butter, crunchy celery, and wrinkly raisins, Discussed the concept of mouth feel while eating Pop Rocks

BOOKS: Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt, Have You Ever Tickled a Tiger by Betsy E. Snyder

BIBLE STORY: Jacob tricked Isaac by dressing up like hairy Esau

BABY BONUS: Finger painting

If you'd like to share a photo of your kid doing theme week activities, you can email it to me (email button in the left menu) or tag me on your Facebook photo or use the hashtag #weeklytoddlerthemes on Instagram (if you are private, just make sure I'm following you or tag me in the photo).