R is for...

Red Rice - he loved the variation on a familiar activity. He spooned, stirred and poured until his little heart was content. This afternoon he asked if I would make other colors.

If you want to make colored rice, it's super easy. In a zip lock bag add 2 t of rubbing alcohol and food coloring (I was generous b.c I wanted a vibrant red). Then add 3/4 cup of rice. Mush it around until the color is uniform then spread it to dry on a rimmed cookie sheet. Lazy me, I put wax paper underneath so I wouldn't have to wash the pan. It dried in about 10 minutes - but I live in the desert where everything dries fast...esp. when your air conditioning isn't working. Thankfully the repairman came today and it was still under warranty.

Also, we pulled out the Elmer's glue and smeared it on the letter R then sprinkled rice on top.

In the car on the way home from the gym, we talked about rhymes. He was even able to tell me a few nursery rhymes by heart. We talked about rhyming words (he can now read: cat, hat, sat, mat, pat, rat. They all sound very southern, as in, they are two syllable words.) One of his current favorite stories is, Piggle. We borrowed it from the library for P-week. I remember reading it as a child.

One more game that we haven't played, but I know he will love -

REACH, RUB, RUN, ROLL
It's sort of a cross between Simon Says and Head & Shoulders, Knees & Toes. For very young children, have the leader simply shout out the commands Reach Rub Run and Roll in order.

When the leader says REACH, the kids stand on their tip toes and reach as high as they can.
When the leader says RUB, the kids rub their tummies like they just ate something yummy.
When the leader says RUN, the kids run around the room.
When the leader says ROLL, the kids drop to the ground and roll around on the floor.
then start again at REACH

As an alternative (and for older kids), you can add a random element (don't say the words in order) or you can add a competitive element (instead of Simon Says, do "Rory says" or "Rachel says") - if the children change their activity when Rachel didn't say, they're out.

Relay races are another good letter R activity but we need more kids (or Daddy!)