April 1 - April 12, 2001

Creativity basket tips for the week:  
Things with interesting scents:  herbs (oregano for Thursday), spices (cinnamon), citrus fruits (lemons, oranges, grapefruits), coffee.
Try our pattern for  paper roses.

This week's nor'easter kept us all indoors for lots of unscheduled quality time (when we weren't shoveling away snow).  That gave us the chance to expand our Butterfly School garden -- there are blossoms, stems & leaves everywhere!

Each of us started a separate alphabet collection of flowers.  As I write this, we have colorful asters, bluebells, carnations, daisies, echinacea (& one eggplant), freesia, gilly-flowers and holly-hocks.  It feels great to share some parallel play time.  The kids and I come up with totally different flowers, even when I cut out a bunch of similar shapes for us to share.  Try it with any of the flowers in this week's materials & see what you create.  It is fun to work side by side, each interpreting things on your own, but close enough to share pride when your work is complete.

As the snow settled, we also enjoyed a serious trip to the dentist.  Since it has been six months since our last visit, the Butterfly School dentist Activity Sheets were a great way to remind the kids of what to expect.  Happily, everything went very well.  Of course, I'm now facing the challenge of finding creative ways to extend our routine brushing to a full 2 minutes per kid, at our dentist's request!  

From my kitchen table to yours . . . quick tips to bring blossoms into your Butterfly School.

1.  paper roses  
   

2. daisies & asters
   

3. bluebells

Click here, send us an e-mail & we will subscribe you for our free weekly links!

You are ready for the Activity Sheets now; you can print them from here (Get Sheets), or go back to the Butterfly School home page.

From Butterfly Central,

-- Jessica Steigerwald

For more great ideas, check out the activities at our parent site www.shininghours.com.  

Discovering Scents

Teacher Tips
from Corinne Steigerwald

I can still remember the smell of my Grandmother's apple pie as it baked in her oven.  In our earliest years as children, we develop and refine sensory skills:  seeing, hearing, tasting, touching and smelling.  Some fragrances seem to stay with us a lifetime.  

Each of your child's five senses will improve as you expose him to a variety of sensory experiences.  The more you can help your child isolate and identify specific scents, the broader her range of experience will be.   

This week, focus on the sense of smell.  Thursday we learn about oregano.  While you are at the spice cabinet, it is also a great time to introduce your child to the scents of basil, rosemary and thyme! Flowers, herbs and vegetables offer a rich array of interesting scents and they are handy.

Here are two ways to help your child explore her sense of smell.

1.  Guess that Smell

Place a fragrant object in a teacup.  Cover the cup with a piece of paper to disguise the object.  Carefully poke small holes in the paper so it is easy to smell through.  Depending on your child's age, give hints.

2. Matching Smells

Create 2 - 5 pairs of hidden smells -- onions, bread, herbs, etc.   Let your child find the matching scents! 

Questions for Corinne: corinne@shininghours.com

Coordinated resources:

paper roses