10 Black Dots - Read Along with Me

I remember Donald Crews books from when I was a child.  This illustrations are so simple and engaging...so when I saw 10 Black Dots by Donald Crews on the shelf at the thrift store, I knew I couldn't leave it there. 

The story starts with one black dot that makes a sun.  Each page adds another dot and uses them in a creative way for a different part of the picture.

For our activity, I pulled out our number squares.  You can see how I made them here, or you could easily make something similar with just paper.  My kids love it when I pull out the number squares, and they love it when I pull out the buttons, so this activity was a double success as far as they were concerned.

My plan was to have Little Brother put buttons on each square to add up to the number that was on it.

But it turns out that putting brightly colored buttons onto brightly colored numbers is just too much fun...one can't limit oneself to just a few buttons.  The number must be completely covered.

Sweet Pea wasn't too interested in the number aspect, but she really got into sorting the buttons by color.  It started when Little Brother needed  more buttons to cover his 6. 

Sweet Pea noticed and started finding blue buttons for him without even being asked. 

When I realized she was interested, I had her sort out a few more colors and match them to the color of the numbers.  (Here she is sorting purple, white and yellow.)

So in the end, this ended up being more of a colors/sorting/fine motor skills day than a numbers day, but the kids had fun and that's what matters.

Also, don't be surprised if your living room looks like this when you're done...because it turns out brightly colored  buttons are fun to throw around too...especially when you're overdue for a nap.

The buttons that I let the kids play with were bought in a large assorted package from the craft store...but if you're looking for some super sweet affordable handmade buttons for a special project, be sure to check From the Red Kitchen (my sister's shop) where she has a whole rainbow of pretty ones.

(And in honor of her appearing on MADE a little later today, all her boy stuff is on sale, and you can even get free shipping by using coupon code "CELEBRATETHEBOY" at checkout.)

And as a bit of a disclaimer...you'll want to be careful giving kids buttons to play with.  Buttons can be a choking hazard.  Sweet Pea is almost 2 and not at all inclined to put them in her mouth.  However, many toddlers her age DO put things like buttons in their mouths, so you need to know your child and their abilities.  Be sure to supervise them at all times.

If you're just now joining us, be sure to visit our Read-Along Archives to see the books we've already read.

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