We’re getting ready to start a new book called A Porcupine Named Fluffy by Helen Lester.  This is a great book with funny illustrations that will provide us with opportunities to talk about things that are soft and things that are prickly or hard.  A Porcupine Named Fluffy is a delightful tale of a young porcupine who wants to live up to his name.  Fluffy’s parents choose the name Fluffy because it is a pretty name, but Fluffy discovers that he is not at all fluffy.  He tries to “be” a cloud and a pillow.  He experiments with bubble bath, whipped cream, marshmallows, shaving cream and feathers, and even a bunny costume, but nothing works.  He is very dejected and becomes greatly embarrassed when he runs into a rhinoceros who teases him and laughs at his name.  But after Fluffy discovers that the rhinoceros is named Hippo, he laughs as well, and the two become fast friends. 

This story provides numerous opportunities for sensory experiences as well as the development of descriptive concepts and expressions of feelings in dramatic play.  We’ll be acting out the story, experimenting with different materials and making fun art projects.  We are going to be doing many activities to explore the concepts of “fluffy,” “soft,” “prickly,” and “hard.”  You can use these words at home when drying off with a fluffy towel, walking on a soft carpet, eating hard carrots or prickly pretzels, and so on.  It’s great when your child can hear the same words at home and at school, which reinforces the concepts.  This will help our students better understand and use the words in different contexts.    

We’ll be experimenting with cotton balls, pillows, felt pieces, beads, rocks, pasta (before and after cooking), sand paper, and many more fun materials.  Your child may want to continue experimenting with new materials at home to find out if they are hard or soft, prickly or smooth.  Some of these activities will entail messy substances, such as shaving cream, slime or playdough.  We apologize in advance but no worries- everything will be washable! 

We’ll also make some great art projects – from porcupines and rhinoceroses, to hard and soft patterns.  We’ll also play hide and seek with objects in shaving cream and act out the main events in the story in costume and with puppets!  We hope you all can share in the fun this unit brings to our classroom!