We have a battle going on right now at our house over dandelions. Chris does not like his yard infested with dandelions. So whenever we are outside I am using my little dandelion-getter (clearly not the official name but I have no idea what it is actually called) to remove as many of the dandelions as I can by the root. I try to get them before they bloom so that Sam and Avery do not realize what I am pulling out. Because both girls LOVE picking those little yellow flowers. And if they knew that I was trying my hardest to keep them out of our yard (if we get infested the hubs will want to treat the lawn with something, which I am not a fan of!) they would both be very upset.
But right now I am winning the battle. There are very few if any dandelions in our backyard. Our neighbors yard however does not seem to have a wife with clearly too much time on her hands! Sam and Avery head next door every chance they get and come back with fists full.
So, today I decided to put an activity with their picking and collecting.
Super simple but it was a HUGE hit! Avery isn't counting yet (not even really talking much yet) but she can follow directions really well and when Sam would tell her to set one down she would. Love when I can take something that the girls are doing anyway and add a learning element to it, especially when it can involve and entertain both of them. Hoping we can do more learning activities like this that double as outdoor play!
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The Nitty Gritty!
As I drove up to Sam's preschool on Monday afternoon I noticed all the kids out in the grass picking dandelions (which made my heart smile that they were using all the open green space and not just the giant noah's ark playground). When all the kids rushed to meet their parents with fists full of dandelions I mentioned my counting idea to Sam's teacher. We hadn't tried it out yet but the idea had been floating around in my head so I thought I would share it.
I think this would be so simple and so fun to do with a class full of little ones. They could all work together to gather the dandelions for each number (you could count higher than 10 too) or each kid could have their own counting box. Either way I think it would be a great way to get them off the swings and using their minds out on the playground.
