L is for Ladybug

The kids and I learned about letter L this week. It was fun because Levi loves this particular letter. Every time he sees it around town, he yells, "I see L. That's for Levi!" After seeing an animal center once he told us that the lion was his favorite animal because it, too, starts with L. Plus, there were so many fun things to make with the letter.

L is for leaves. I was lucky that fall is in full swing here, and the other day was the perfect chance for all three of us to gather as many leaves as we could. Beautiful reds, oranges, and yellows. Levi has been pretty fascinated by the changing of seasons this year, and Rhynn just likes to pick things up and put them in a container. I forgot to take pictures of their sweet nature walk. 

The next day, I cut the center out of some paper plates, let them color them with markers. Then they painted glue on them and decorated their "wreaths" with our fall leaves. Rhynn liked painting the glue. She added leaves... and then pulled them all off. Levi worked very well on covering his whole wreath.

L is for lamb. I told the kids we were making lambs, and I traced their hands to cut out in black paper. (Levi got mad at me and kept repeating that "Lambs don't have hands. Lambs don't have hands!" I love having a 2-year-old that knows so much more than I do.) The Littles just covered the fleecy parts of their lambs in these white hole-reinforcer stickers. Rhynn will literally put stickers on something for an hour, so this was good. She actually did a perfect job of covering the area I told her to cover, so I was impressed. 

Levi also colored with some green to make grass, but it didn't show up well.

This morning, our conversation went something like this: 

Levi: "What are we going to learn about today?"

Mommy: "Letter L."

Levi: "Again?! Okay... Can we make ladybugs?"

I had not planned to make ladybugs. I had planned to make something like this, but of course we had to make ladybugs if he knows they start with L. I went with the paper plate again. They are terrific for turning into creatures and art. Then I pretty much let him design and create his ladybug. He used the red dot painter. I love those for a paint effect with much less mess. Plus, every art looks more fun with googly eyes, and Levi loves to use them.

I thought it was pretty great myself. Usually he gives his creatures legs, but I guess all ladybugs need are spots and big eyes. I just like seeing him think something up and be able to make it. That has to be good for growing his creativity. He has an incredible imagination, and I love to see how he sees the world.

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near." - Philippians 4:4, 5