Storybook Week 4: Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type

Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type was written by Doreen Cronin and illustrated by Betsy Lewin. The first step in this Storybook Week is to buy or borrow from the library this book or Storybook DVD. Read the book and/or watch the DVD together.

1. Type A Letter

Story Interest/Language Arts

Help your child type a letter on the computer. Better yet, if you have one, let your child use a typewriter. Print it out if necessary and mail or deliver it to the intended recipient.

For a toddler: If you allow your toddler to touch your computer or typewriter, show the toddler how to strike keys to make letters and numbers appear on the screen. Put the word processing program on a very large font to help your child see. Different colored fonts are fun, too.

For a preschooler: Teach your child to type on a computer or typewriter if necessary. If your child is already familiar with this, teach how to capitalize letters on a keyboard, how to make spaces between words, and how to make sentences with punctuation.

For an older child: Teach letter formatting with return address, recipient address, date, salutation, paragraphs, and closing. You may also want to teach appropriate letter etiquette.

2. Strategy Game

Social Skills

This is an interesting link about young children playing a strategy board game (Settlers of Catan) that includes trading and negotiation. I am particularly interested in the fact that the author's six-year-old could play the game, because we own this game and my oldest is now five years old.

Another option if you want to get your younger children into strategy board games is this version called Kids of Catan. If you read the review, though, you will see that this version does not include many of the learning opportunities present in the regular version of the game. Important note: Kids of Catan does not include trading or negotiation.

For social skills activities, including one involving negotiation, scroll down to the "Build a consensus" section on this Parenting Science website. This would work best with a small group of preschoolers or young elementary schoolers, but it could be done as a fun imaginative activity between parent and child. A young child may expect to participate in the imagined event in the near future, so keep that in mind as you do the activity.

3. Milk and Eggs

Cooking/Sensory Activity

Talk about where we get milk and eggs. Include the concept that animals give us these products. Identify which animals give us each product. Then talk about where your family usually gets these products, such as the grocery store.

Make a simple recipe together that calls for milk and eggs. Some ideas are scrambled eggs, omelettes, pancakes, or waffles.

For a baby: Allow baby to watch nearby as you prepare a recipe using milk and eggs.

For a toddler: A toddler may be able to bring you utensils, stir, pour, and even begin to learn how to crack eggs into a bowl.

For a preschooler: Teach your child how to crack eggs into a bowl if he or she does not already know how to do it. Be encouraging and point out that people often make mistakes when learning how to crack eggs. Even adults let pieces of egg shell into recipes sometimes! Show him or her how to fish the egg shells back out (with clean hands, of course).

For an older child: Let him or her use a kids' cookbook or regular cookbook to make the recipe. Supervise but do not help except when asked.

4. Take Me to the Farm

Story Interest/Field Trip/Outdoor Activity/Science

This activity is pretty self-explanatory. If there is no nearby farm or household with multiple animals, especially farm-type animals, try the zoo and/or petting zoo. Point out and talk about the animals that would live on a farm (ducks, goats, roosters, etc.) and those that would not live on a farm (lions, monkeys, giraffes, and of course many more). Most ages will enjoy this activity.