Star-Spangled "S"

See how my Alpha-bug has grown so long it won't all fit in this photograph! Search for your paper plate with an upper-case "S" on the front of it. See if you can find the lower-case "s" baggie filled with stars. Stick stars all over your "S". . . hang it up it up . . . and soon your Alpha-bug will stretch out as long as mine! If you would like a simple snack now, try crispy cheese stars. Then search for the silly ducks in the cute book, "Splish Splash Splat!"by Rob Scotten.

Hope you're having a super splish splashy summer!

Love, Grandma

Remarkable Ribboned "R"

Get ready to find a paper plate with an upper-case R on the front of it. Get set to decorate it by finding the little baggie with a lower-case r and bits of ribbon inside. And go glue glue the ribbon onto the paper plate R!After that colorful project, maybe you're ready for a colorful treat! There are a rainbow of ideas on the internet . . . like rainbow waffles . . . rainbow pancakes . . . or rainbow pudding pops to name a few. Have you read anything good lately? If not, or even if you have, check out "Read Anything Good Lately?" by Susan Allen and Jane Lindaman.

Happy reading rainbow day!

Love, Grandma

Quirky Q-tipped "Q"

Look for your paper plate with an upper-case Q on the front of it. Find your little baggie with a lower-case q inside as well as a lot of Q-tips. Cover your paper plate Q with Q-tips. You may need to cut a few Q-tips into smaller sizes to fit more onto the paper plate Q. Now for a quick treat idea! Well, first a question: do you have either a tube of crescent rolls or biscuits in your refrigerator? If you have some cresent rolls, you can make quick turnovers. Separate the dough into triangle pieces and fill each triangle with jelly or apple slices or cinnamon sugar. Roll up and bake as you would crescent rolls. If you have some biscuits, you can make quick doughnuts. Cut a hole in the middle of each biscuit dough circle. Fry in one inch of oil for one minute or so. Shake in a bag of brown or powdered sugar. Then nibble on them while you read "Little Quack" by Lauren Thompson.

Happy quacky day!

Love, Grandma

Pretty Pom Pom "P"

Please pull out your paper plate with an upper-case P on it. Pull out the little baggie filled with purple pom poms and the lower-case p. Glue the pom poms onto your P paper plate and put it up on the wall with the rest of your Alpha-bug.Now perhaps you or a parent could read "The Little Red Hen (makes a pizza)" while you eat a smiley face pizza for lunch.

Have a perfect pizzalicious day!

Love, Grandma

Oodles of "O"s

Oh, boy! You can pull out the paper plate with an upper-case O on the front of it now. And you can also pull out the little baggie with a lower-case o inside it along with alot of o-shaped cereal. Fill up your O with oodles of any o-shaped cereal like cheeri-Os or fruit loops. Maybe you can munch on a few cheeri-Os or fruit loops while you read "Oh, Were They Ever Happy!"by Peter Spier. This colorful story may inspire you to create something colorful. (Please don't paint your house) String fruit loops into a necklace or make a fruit loop rainbow instead.

Of course, have oodles of fun today!

Love, Grandma

Nicely Numbered "N"

It would be very nice of you to locate your paper plate with an upper-case letter N on the front of it . . . as well as the little baggie with a lower-case letter n and several number stickers inside. You may have noticed I just stuck number stickers all over my letter N and you can do the same. Then you can make a number salad! You will need 1 handful of coconut . . . 2 tablespoons of orange juice concentrate . . . 3 orange segments . . . 4 apple slices . . . 5 cheese cubes . . . 6 banana slices . . . 7 melon balls . . . and 8 grapes. Stir them all together 9 times and eat! If you are still looking for something to do today or later this summer, please read "Now What Can I Do?" by Margaret Park Bridges.

Have a nice day now!

Love, Grandma

Marvelous macaroni "M"

Man, my Alpha-bug is so long is barely fits in this picture. How about yours? Find your paper plate with an upper-case M on it. Then find a little baggie with a lower-case m and lots of macaroni noodles inside. You can make the middle of your Alpha-bug by covering the upper-case M with macaroni noodles. After you hang it up, you will be officially halfway done making this Alpha-bug which is a good thing since summer is halfway over! Maybe you would like to read this funny book today: "If You Give a Moose a Muffin" by Laura Numeroff. Maybe it will cause you to be hungry for muffins. You could make some if your Mom helps you . . . or you could have a muffin tin meal!

Merry muffin-tin day!

Love, Grandma

Lovely lacey "L"

Let's look for a paper plate with a large (upper-case) L on the front of it. Let's also look for a little baggie filled with lace and a little (lower-case) l. After covering the large letter L with lace, would you like to look at a ladybug book?""The Grouchy Ladybug" by Eric Carle is a story about a ladybug and all the creatures she encounters at different times throughout the day while she looks for a little something to eat. After (or for) lunch, you might like to create and eat your own little ladybug fruit snack!

Have a lovely little day!

Love, Grandma

P.S. Don't forget to try your luck at the little guessing game.

L is for Luke and Lindsay Lu

Let's take a little break from Alpha-bugging to play a little guessing game. This will be more challenging than past "Guess who?" games because there two "Guess who L is for" kids. Plus you have to guess which clues go with which kid. So turn on your little brains!

1. Who is a little "L"?
2. Who is a larger "L"?
3. Who has a birthday this summer?

4. Who just turned two years old?

5. Who will soon turn one year old?

6. Who has two big brothers?

7. Who has one big brother?

8. Who loves to eat?

9. Who loves to wear ruffles and polka-dots and cute pink clothes?

10. Who loves to wear nothing at all?

11. Who crawls all over, climbs a little bit, and is learning to stand?

12. Who runs everywhere especially away from Mommy?

Let me know which clues you think go with which "L" and who those "L's are, and what you love about each "L". I'm sure I can come up with a fabulous little prize or extra tickets for the winners!

Love, Grandma

Krazy kissed "K"

Would you be so kind as to find your paper plate with an upper-case K on the front of it and the little baggie with a lower-case k in it. You may think this is crazy, but I put lipstick on and filled my K with kisses. Just in case you don't want to do that, I gave you candy kisses to glue onto your K. However, maybe you could talk your kind and loving mother into kissing your K, then you could both eat the candy kisses! After you add the letter K to your Alpha-bug, you can read all about what kids are like . . . what kids do . . . what's in a kid's pocket . . . everything you ever wanted to know about kids like you in the book, "Kids" by Catherine and Laurence Anholt. And you can make Rice Krispie treats for a snack. If you want to get crazy, you can cut them into skinny rectangles, insert a stick and make Rice Krispie popsicles!

Have a kinda krazy krispie day!

Love, Grandma

Jolly Jeweled "J"

It's just about time to go find your upper-case J plate and the little baggie with a lower-case j and some shiny little things inside. We pretending the shiny little things are jewels. Stick them onto the letter J, and draw little sparkle lines by the "jewels" if you wish. You might enjoy making some jello jigglers today. While they set up, you could read a book about a little boy who jumps into a storybook and his little sister follows him . "Come Back, Jack" is the jolly good book by Catherine and Laurence Anholt. When your jigglers are ready, cut them into cubes and put them into a small cup or bowl that has cool whip swirled around the bottom and sides. This treat is called "rainbow in a cloud" and was a favorite snack of your Mommies when they were little girls.

Have a jolly jello jiggly day!

Love, Grandma

Itty Bitty Ice Cream Coned "I"

It's time to find your paper plate with an upper-case I on it . . . and your little baggie with a lower-case i inside it. Use your imagination and the itty-bitty triangles, circles and pom poms to create itty-bitty ice cream cones all over the letter I.In the book, "Imagine" by Alison Lester, a little boy and girl imagine they are in all kinds of places like the jungle, the ocean, or the country, etc. . . When you turn the page, a big picture of the jungle, ocean, or countryside appears and it's like an "I Spy" book to find all the animals.

I imagine your Alpha-Bug is probably as long as mine by now. Tell me what letters you have finished and where your Alpha-bug is hanging out this summer and I may be inspired to give you an ice cream treat!

Have an interesting ice creamy day!

Love, Grandma