Summer Spelling Bees

 
We are sadly bidding goodbye to the summer of 2013 and *eagerly* turning our attention to the beginning of a new school year. This will be a first for my granddaughter, entering kindergarten. As the days get shorter and our grandchildren’s time more involved with school activities, they will be outdoors less; so, to preserve the memories of our summer fun outside and gain better alphabet and spelling skills, we went on a nature walk to collect the things of summer we cherished. We used these elements, arranged on white paper, and created words!
This back-to-school craft spells out the details:

 

Items we assembled to do the craft:
• White laser paper
• Glue
• Writing instruments (pencil, crayon, pen, chalk)
• Nature items (list below)
 

The nature items we gathered in a bag on our walk were:
• leaves
• grass
• pebbles
• flowers
• sticks
• shells
• bark
• dirt
• berries
• bugs and bees?!
 
On the piece of white paper, we each wrote out our message in pen, one large capital letter at a time. Next, we guided glue over top of the outlines of each letter and gave each letter a different treatment by arranging various nature items to stick on top of the glue-laden letters. The heavier pebbles and shells were challenging to keep stuck!

My grandson’s contribution was very unique. He had found a few dead bees on his nature walk. Why not? Gives new meaning to the term, “Spelling Bees!”


Contributed by Kathy Bolger, Senior Graphic Designer, Today’s Woman magazine.