S is for Snake: A Letter of the Week Preschool Craft

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I’m Anna from the Measured Mom, bringing you yet another activity in our Letter of the Week craft series at Crystal and Company.  This is one of my kids’ favorite crafts to date – I hope your kids love it too.  Who wouldn’t love painting with spaghetti?  Be sure to head to your library to check out the book recommendations at the end of the post. Try to find some time for those rhymes and songs too!

LETTER OF THE WEEK: S IS FOR SNAKE CRAFT

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

• letter S pattern (get it here: Letter S pattern)
• snake tongue cut out of red construction paper
• 2 googly eyes
• washable paint
• kitchen tongs
• cooked spaghetti
• glue
• one piece of plain construction paper
• box lid
• 3 cereal bowls
• tape

 1. Use the kitchen tongs to put the cooked spaghetti into three different bowls.  This is great fine motor practice – but if your preschooler likes to get messy, turn it into sensory play instead and let him scoop it with his hands!

2. Choose three colors of paint.  Squirt a little into each bowl. (Mom did this step at our house :)).

3. For fine motor practice, lift the spaghetti with the tongs and drop it back in the bowl.  Repeat a few times until the paint is mixed in.  For messy sensory fun, mix with your hands!

4. Tape the S into the box lid.

5. Dump the spaghetti into the lid!

6. Tip the box back and forth until you’ve painted the S with spaghetti.

7. Let your painting dry.

 8. After a few hours,cut out the S and glue it to a piece of plain construction paper.

9. Add the googly eyes.

10. Add the tongue, and you’re done!

11. Here they are!  All our S’s look the same because each of the kids chose red, yellow, and orange. 🙂  Those colors do make pretty snakes!

Another really fun “S” craft to do are these Printable Shoe Lacing Cards that will help your little ones learning to tie their shoes!

NURSERY RHYMES FOR LETTER S:

This was a new rhyme for me. It’s so fun to say!

Sippity sup, sippity sup, 
Bread and milk from a china cup.
Bread and milk from a bright silver spoon
Made of a piece of the bright silver moon.
Sippity sup, sippity sup,
Sippity, sippity sup.

 Here’s a classic nursery rhyme that all kids should know:

Simple Simon met a pieman
Going to the fair.
Said Simple Simon to the pieman,
“Let me taste your ware.”
Said the pieman to Simple Simon,
“Show me first your penny.”
Said Simple Simon to the pieman,
“Indeed I have not any.” 

Lots of letter S’s in this one!

Sally go round the sun,
Sally go round the moon.
Sally go round the chimney pots
On a Saturday afternoon.

BOOKS TO READ FOR LETTER S:

Swimmy, by Leo Lionni

Swimmy is a little fish whose friends are swallowed up by a giant predator.   When Swimmy joins a new school, he helps his friends swim together in the shape of a giant fish so that they can outsmart their enemy.  It’s an engaging story with a great lesson – work together to make the best of a bad situation!

Stone Soup, by Marcia Brown

My six-year-old still can’t get enough of “Stone Soup” variations.  This old folktale tells of hungry travelers who ask a woman for food. When she refuses, they decide to make stone soup. A stone goes into the pot – but it needs just one thing more.  When the woman is tricked into providing one thing after another, the stone soup becomes hearty and delicious!

The Snowy Day, by Ezra Jack Keats

This vintage story is by that master of childhood, Ezra Jack Keats.  Children enjoy the simple pictures and can relate to Peter’s day making snow angels, catching snowflakes on his tongue, and throwing snowballs — unless they live in a very warm climate. In that case, this book will make them wish they had snow!

OTHER LETTER OF THE WEEK CRAFTS:

• A is for Alligator
• B is for Butterfly
• C is for Car
• D is for Doghouse
• E is for Eagle
• F is for Frog
• G is for Goat
• H is for House
• I is for Ice Cream
• J is for Jellyfish
• K is for King
• L is for Lamp
• M is for Mouse
• N is for Night 
• O is for Octopus
• P is for Penguin
• Q is for Quilt
• R is for Rainbow

LETTER OF THE WEEK SNACKS:

• • A is for Airplane (graham cracker airplanes)
  • B is for Butterfly (grape butterflies)
  • C is for Car (apple cars)
  • D is for Dirt (dirt cups)
  • E is for Eggs (candy eggs)
  • F is for Fishing (cupcakes)
  • G is for Green (green crispy treats)
  • H is for Heart (waffles)
  • I is for Ice Cream 
  • J is for Jellybean (jellybean trail mix)
  • K is for Kite (oranges and graham crackers)

Anna taught eight years and received her MEd in Curriculum & Instruction with a focus on literacy. In 2007 she began her career as a stay-at-home mom. She has four children – a girl (6) and three boys (4,3,1). She enjoys teaching them at home and after her daughter’s morning at school. Anna blogs at www.themeasuredmom.com.

More Alphabet Resources

Handwriting Tracing Kit For Preschoolers