Mother Goose Time - Mystery in the Dirt

We finished our first month of Mother Goose Time (Nature Detectives) by learning more about one of my kid’s favorite creative mediums, dirt! This program has really stirred their imagination and the open ended play combined with guided activities and crafting has resulted in both kids learning a ton right in our own backyard. I’m thrilled with this program and look forward to continuing next month with the new theme, Fables and Folktales!

Digging for Letters

The kids loved discovering items in the dirt. This was the ultimate sensory box. I used potting soil and hid the alphabet letter sticks (provided by Mother Goose Time) in the container of dirt. A large part of the fun was using a variety of tools to locate and remove the letters. The kids used everything from hands to shovels and straws.

Once all the letters had been found, I had the kids double check to make sure all 26 letters were on the table. We identified each letter and placed it in order as we recited/sang the alphabet song. We then reviewed some of the basic letter sounds. Digging for letters is an activity we will repeat. We will likely use a variety of substrates (sand, beans, etc.) and will alter the difficulty by looking just for certain letters, such as vowels or those made with straight and/or curvy lines.

Hedgehog Handprints

Using washable hand paints, we used finger prints and a little spiky porcupine ball (provided by Mother Goose Time) to complete these adorable hedgehogs. My toddler of course covered himself in the paint, but had a blast! My preschooler was somewhat more restrained and initially made a lovely blue hedgehog. This was immediately followed by a “no paint left behind” approach and she covered the entire page with blue and red streaks. She also had a fabulous time!

Counting Feathers

Ladybug enjoys counting and has developed a fairly concrete understanding of low numbers. I love Mother Goose Time’s approach to gently encouraging her to begin developing her math skills through basic and interesting word problems. She was asked to visually represent the description displayed on the card, such as “There are 3 feathers in the nest.” I had her identify the number on the card and then place that many feathers in our pretend nest. The next card described the addition of more feathers, which she was able to complete using the manipulates provided by Mother Goose Time.

Dirt Pudding

The kids loved making a special dirt themed dessert for Daddy. First, they smashed chocolate graham crackers to make the bottom layer. They used spoons, plastic bowls, and brute force…lol….to break the crackers into tiny pieces. My eldest poured the pieces into the bowl and spooned chocolate pudding over the top. She was sure to taste test the pudding! Both kids used “bugs,” aka dried fruit, blueberries and cherries, to decorate the top.

She was so proud of her creation and the kids loved being able to make something special for Daddy all by themselves. I was quick to assure my husband that the dirt pudding was indeed made of edible components, not the dirt and bugs reported by the toddlers the second he stepped through the door. All three of them enjoyed eating their simple, but fun dessert!

Tray Writing

A simple cafeteria tray filled with some garden soil and a stick for drawing made an excellent space to practice making letters and numbers. Ladybug also enjoyed using a rock and seashell to create some letters.

Rock and Stick Designs

Both kids loved collecting nature items from the backyard. We gathered sticks, rocks, leaves, pine cones, and dirt. Ladybug used the enclosed pattern cards provided by Mother Goose Time and then added her own special finesse to spice up the designs. This typically involved sprinkling dirt or water around or on the rocks and sticks. She also added a few flowers.

Who Lives in a Hole?

Ladybug enjoyed creating this bilingual book about animals that live in the dirt in a hole. Owl loved looking over her shoulder and was happy to help in acting out the book. His favorite character was the fox, while Ladybug was happiest pretending to be a snake.

Mushroom House

Ladybug enjoyed creating a mushroom house using a pup plate, paper cup, paint, and stickers. Once she completed the house, she spent some time moving some of her toy animals in and out of the house.

Mud Kitchen

My kids loved creating in the mud. There were mud pies, muffins, and cupcakes. They used the hose, shovels, spray bottles, and ice cube trays to create a lot of fun and a lot of mess! Fortunately, this outdoor kitchen was super easy to clean.

The favorite dirt themed book of the week was Wiggling Worms at Work by Wendy Pleffer. This book really should have been above them given the amount and complexity of the content, but possibly due to their intense interest in earth worms, they sat still for the entire reading of this book several times during the week. I think a special earth worm unit might be a must in the near future for us!