Incorporate the state of Hawaii and the book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, into a bulletin board.
By Nanette Sposito [Nanette is from Oakely, California]
“This year I put a twist on the usual ocean theme I do. Rather than learn only about ocean creatures, we focused more on the beach and Hawaii. I incorporated the book Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom into our bulletin board.”
In the story by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault, all the letters of the alphabet race one another to get to the top of the coconut tree. When X, Y and Z finally scramble up the trunk, however, the weight is too much, and down they all tumble in a heap: “Chicka Chicka . . . BOOM! BOOM!”
What You Need:
- Aqua/Blue construction paper for the sky
- Tan construction paper for the sand
- Green construction paper for coconut leaves, 3 per tree
- Brown construction paper for tree trunk, 1 each; and coconuts, 3 each
- White construction paper
- Green, brown and gold paint
- Marbles and box (for marble painting)
- Foam or wooden letters
- Sand
- White glue
- The word “Aloha”
- Letters for the children’s names
What You Do:
- First, prepare the background by using aqua/blue construction paper for the sky and tan construction paper for the sand.
- For each tree, draw and cut out 3 leaves, one trunk, and 2-3 coconuts.
- Have children marble paint the leaves green, and the trunk and coconuts brown and gold.(Marble paint by dipping the marbles in paint and letting them roll across the paper, creating a design)
- When the paint has dried, assemble the trees on the bulletin board.
- Glue the children’s names (using foam or wooden letters) going up the coconut trees and/or on the coconuts.
Sand Footprints:
Children trace their feet on paper and cut them out. Glue is applied to the cut out feet and sand is sprinkled on the glue.
OR if you have a small group of children, you might try the following…
Children paint school glue on the bottom of their bare feet. They then place their “glue feet” on a piece of paper. Sprinkle sand on the glue footprints and cut them out when dry.
Apply the footprints to the board.
Nanette writes:
- I also added one large coconut tree; each coconut had each child’s name printed in English and Hawaiian on it.
