Hatch a Dragon!
I am SO excited that for the THIRD summer in a row we are participating in the Love Books Summer Book Exchange hosted by The Educators’ Spin on It! It’s become a summer tradition for us!!! For those who aren’t familiar with the Exchange, here’s how it works. The lovely ladies behind The Educators’ Spin on It pair up bloggers throughout the world to exchange packages that include a book and an activity to go along with that book. This year over 60 bloggers are participating. So, there is going to be a TON of great books and activities for us all!
This summer we participated in TWO Love Books exchanges. The first one I’ve already posted on. JDaniel4’s Mom sent us a great Seek & Find book and activity. This post is on the CHAPTER BOOK exchange we did with To the Moon and Back. Here’s what they sent us …
My eight year-old son and I REALLY, REALLY enjoyed the book … Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher: A Magic Shop Book
by Bruce Coville. It’s an awesome adventure about a boy who wanders into a magic shop one day and walks out with a unique sphere he bought for 25 cents. He quickly finds out that the sphere is actually a DRAGON EGG!
The activity that Dusty sent to go along with the book was everything we needed to make very own EGG so that we could HATCH A DRAGON! In the package with the book was instructions and …
- 3 bars of soap
- food coloring
- a small toy dragon!
My son AND my 5 year old daughter got really into the activity. First we had to shred up 2 bars of soap into a bowl using a cheese grater! (My kids LOVE using the grater! We ended up grating all 3 bars!!!)
Then, we added 8 drops of food coloring along with 1/4 cup of warm water. We took turns mixing up the shredded soap, dye, and water until it incorporated and stiffened slightly.
Next we dumped the mixture onto a cookie sheet covered with wax paper so that we could knead the mixture until it formed a doughy consistency.
At that point we patted the mixture down and placed the dragon toy in the center, pressing it down gently. Then we molded the dough around the toy and formed it into an egg shape. It took about 24 hours for the egg to harden.
Once the egg was fully hardened it was ready to be used in the bath! It didn’t take long before we were able to hatch a dragon!
This was a super fun activity that we all enjoyed. It was great for practicing how to follow step-by-step instructions and working together. It was also a wonderful sensory activity. The soap smelled great and strong while working on the activity … and mixing was a terrific tactile experience. (Perfect for my sensory seeking kids!)
I can see us doing this activity again … maybe making soaps for friends! Wouldn’t it make a fun favor or small gift?!?
Laura Hutchison
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Yay! I’m so glad that you all enjoyed the book and activity!
Dusty @To the Moon and Back recently posted…Dinosaur Footprints Bookmarks {Love Books Summer Exchange}