J is for Jack

Congratulations on the great job you all did building an Alpha-Bug this summer. Your tickets will be coming soon and so will Grandma's X-Box Shop! For now, would you take just a minute to guess what the letter "J" might be hiding . . .

1. Who turned 5 years old in January and just

started kindergarten last week?

2. Who jumped into a pool one day this summer

and just suddenly knew how to swim?

3. Who sleeps in a top bunk bed?

4. Who has just one little brother right now?

5. Who will have one new baby brother in October?

6. Who loves to build with legoes and draw with

markers and crayons and is just so creative?

Guess who "Jj is for . . ." then tell me your favorite thing about this mystery person and win a bonus ticket! Draw a picture or glue a photograph in Chapter Jj of your Alpha-Book, too!

Just have a jolly day!

Love, Grandma

J is for Jack!

Zany Zig Zag "Z"

Today is zzzzz end of our Alpha-bug project. It should be pretty easy to find your paper plate with the upper-case Z on it. Now you just need some crayons or colored pencils or markers to write zzzzzz's in row after row to fill in your zany Z. Hang it up at zzzz end of your Alpha-bug!One more great book to read before summer vacation ends is "Wild About Books" by Judy Sierra. It tells the story of what happens when a librarian accidentally drives her bookmobile into a zoo! Make some zookies to eat while you read . . . or to have on hand for after school snacking next week!

Happy zany Z-end of summer!

Love, Grandma

Yellow Yarny "Y"

Why not go find your paper plate with an upper-case Y on the front of it and pull out the little baggie with a lower-case y inside while you're at it. Take the yellow yarn out of the baggie and glue it all over the paper plate Y. Yahoo! You're one step closer to completing your Alpha-bug! Celebrate by reading "You Are Special" by Max Lucado and eating something yummy. Maybe something yellow like a banana or corn on the cob or some lemonade would be yummy. Or maybe you would rather choose a favorite yummy treat from any past "fun food" posts.

Happy yellow yummy day to you!

Love, Grandma

Excellent "X"

X marks the spot nearly at the end of my Alpha-bug. When you look for your paper plate with an upper-case X on it , you will see you're almost to the end of this Alpha-bug project, too. Find the little baggie with a lower-case x inside and you will see strips of colorful paper. Glue them by criss-crossing one over the other to form lots of little x's on your upper-case X. Then find the spot on your Alpha-bug you want to mark with the X! Today would be an excellent day for the book "Alphabet Mystery" by Audrey and Bruce Wood. Read it and solve the mystery of what this book has to do with the letter "X"!? Soon I will be filling "Grandma's X-Box" (the store) with treats and surprises from A to Z . Are you excited to go "shopping" again. Today would also be an excellent day for you to give me suggestions of what you might like to find and buy in the X-box shop!

Have an excellent, exciting day!

Love, Grandma

Wild Wiry "W"

Well, today is the day you can work on another part of your Alpha-Bug. Please pull out the paper plate with an upper-case W on the front of it. While you're at it, please pull out the baggie with a lower-case w inside it as well as some paper clips. Paper clips are made out of wire, so please slip those paper clips into slits on the paper plate W. Well, what do you know? Now you have a wild wiry "W" to add to your Alpha-Bug's winding body! Would you like to read a story now? "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak is a good story for wild little boys. Would you like to eat a worm? A real worm probaby doesn't sound so good. Maybe a gummy worm would be better. Or maybe a gummy worm in a dirt cup would be the best of all!

Have a wonderful, but not too wild, day!

Love, Grandma

Vegetable Vine "V"

It would be very nice if you could pull out your paper plate with an upper-case V on the front of it. It would be very nice if you could also pull out the baggie with a lower-case v inside of it. You will see some vegetable stickers and little green leaves to stick onto your upper-case V. With a green colored pencil or marker you could draw some vines, too. Then you will have a very nice vegetable vine "V" to add to your Alpha-Bug! "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle would be a very good book to read today. If it makes you very hungry, try making a veggie viper. Cut carrot and celery stalks into 1-inch pieces. Spread a little cream cheese at each sliced end and place the pieces end to end in a long coiled row on top of a lettuce leaf to form a snake. Add a cherry tomato for the head, and cut a forked tongue from a thin slice of carrot.

Have a very nice day!

Love, Grandma

Unusual Umbrella "U"

There's not many days left until school starts, so we better get busy finishing our Alpha-bug. First up today: find the paper plate with an upper-case U on front of it. Next find the little baggie with a lower-case u in it along with some colorful cupcake papers. Cut each cupcake paper in half and fold in half to form an umbrella top. Glue them onto the paper plate U and draw handles underneath each umbrella. Unfortunately, I don't own any picture books that start with the letter "U". Fortunately I do own a book called "Fortunately" by Remy Charlip which is about the good (fortunately) and bad luck (unfortunately) that accompanies a boy named Ned from New York to Florida on his way to a surprise party. Unfortunately, this is an older book and may be hard to find at the library. There may be this newer version called "Fortunately, Unfortunately" by Michael Foreman which is a story of a similar but sillier adventure.

Unfortunately, I can't find any great fun food ideas for the letter "U" but perhaps you could decorate yourself a "happy unbirthday" cupcake instead!

Happy Unbirthday!

Love, Grandma

Tiny Tissued "T"

It's time to take out the paper plate with an upper-case T on the front of it and the little baggie with a lower-case t. Inside that baggie are tiny tissue paper squares and a pencil. Why a pencil? That's doesn't start with a T. Let me tell you why. First put some glue on one tiny section of your upper-case T. Then wrap each tiny tissue paper square one at time around the eraser end of the pencil until it holds its shape. Push the tissue paper squares into the glue sticking them close together until the T is totally covered! Then it's time for "The Teddy Bears' Picnic", a song that has been made into a book by various illustrators. Maybe you would like to take your teddy bear (or any other stuffed animal) on a picnic today. Make some tiny sandwiches or even a sandwich on a stick and have some tasty fun!

Happy Teddy Bear Picnic!

Love, Grandma