She Sells Seashells by the Seashore

The girls and I collected a whole box full of seashells from the beach while we were in Florida. So, it was with great joy that today at our library we found the book "Houses from the Sea" by: Alice E. Goudy. This picture book is a 1960 Caldecott Medal Honor book, and it is a delight to read.

 Autumn and Alaina were so excited to see the seashells they found placed into the pictures in the story!

We also found another great book called, "Seashells, A Photographic Celebration," by: N.R. Gordon. This book is being enjoyed by Autumn and I more because it is chock full of information, but Alaina had great fun placing the seashells we brought home on top of the pictures in the book.

We definitely recommend reading these books if you plan to take a trip to the beach anytime soon.

It was Hawaiian Night last night at AWANA, so the girls strung the shells with holes and wore them as necklaces. They made extras to hand out to their friends. I thought of a way to use them for a game with the Cubbies group (3-5 year olds.) I layed out about 40 clam shells face down around the room and then lined up the kids facing the wall on the other side. Then, I hid a black button under one of the shells. On the command "SWIM," the kids all ran to the other side of the room and proceeded to quickly look for the button by peaking under each shell without overturning it. I called the button the "black pearl," and they were the pearl divers. The first pearl diver to find the button would be allowed to hide it on the next round of play, while everyone else ran back to the other side of the room to face the wall until the "pearl." was hidden. The game worked great! It kept the kids running, and all were able to participate the whole time! (This game is also fun in an actual pool.)

Well, we are really enjoying learning all about our beach treasures, and I am sure we will be thinking of all sorts of things to do with them in the weeks to come. But for now we are just enjoying holding these marvelous works of art in our hands and meditating on their beauty and their creator. Our God is definitely a creative God!

Here are a few websites I scouted out for future craft projects. Check them out!

http://gironlife.blogspot.com/2010/05/alphabet-sea-shells.html

http://www.marthastewart.com/275561/shell-crafts/@center/276964/60-days-summer#/273438