Mr Men School: Little Miss Bossy

This week we learnt about Little Miss Bossy in our Mr Men School.  The children have really got on board with this and I am enjoying planning and executing my plans for the littles’ learning.  Each book triggers off loads of ideas, and the characters are so different that each week will feel very varied I think.

Literature

  • Each day I read them the following books:

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  • The Little Miss Bossy and the Magic Word book was perfect for asking the girls what they thought might happen next in the story.  There was an opportunity for this type of questioning on every page, and whilst A5 struggled to begin with after a few pages she really understood and thoroughly enjoyed guessing.  I shall look out for opportunities to do the same with other books.
  • A5 practiced writing her name a couple of times each day using this writing program

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  • Both girls did some activities from the Alphabet Tool Box I had made a few days before.  One of the activities is a bit of spelling and reading fun.  Here I have written the name of the characters I have taught them about so far, in this case it is only Miss Bossy and Mr Tickle.  A5 then chooses the capital letters which match the small letters the name is written in:

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  • A5 did the Mr Tickle reading page out of her Mr Men Start to Read book

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  • Both girls are also doing a Bible Explorers course, All about Reading – Preschool and Level One in addition to poetry reading each day.

Maths

  • Maths Number box.  A5 threw two dice at the time, found the numbers, wrote in the sign, added the counters, counted them up and found the answer.  She then wrote the answer, having found the magnetic version:

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  • She also did the Mr Tickle Pages from her Mr Men Start to Add book:

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  • Reading the Mr Men clock book has been good for consolidating A5’s concept of time.  I had her set the time on each page on the clock provided and we all the did the actions that the Mr Men were doing each hour.

Colour Science

  • We did an investigation into the colour blue, trying out various combinations of the other primary colours to see if anyone could make a blue.

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I had to laugh, as L11, who I would have thought knew about primary colours, tried her level best to make blue!  She was most put out that she couldn’t manage it!  A5 gave it her best shot…’but mummy, no matter how hard I try I just can’t do it’.  So we had a chat about primary colours and how every other colour is made from those; I also taught them that the primary colours can not be made themselves from any other combination of colours.  It was a great colour lesson, although if L11 is anything to go by, I’m not too hopeful they will actually remember it!

Art

  • I had planned to make a stamp of each character like I did with the Thomas Tank stamps, using wood blocks and sponges.  But when Myriam (one of my lovely readers from Switzerland) sent me a link to a blogger who made stamps from foam, I couldn’t resist trying them out! (for the link click here).  I only made one last night so the children haven’t had a chance to try them out, but I think I may make a whole set in time for the children to use them next week.  I love the simplicity of them and I am sure the children will love using them:
I made a generic Mr Man/Little Miss and then made a Little Miss Bossy hat and flower stamp.  I thought the children could them not only make the stamp of a particular Mr Man/Little Miss but also make up some completely new ones!  Each time we do a new character I will add whatever is specific to him or her.  Characters such as Mr Tickle and Mr Greedy, who are different shapes, I will make up a separate body stamp
I made a generic Mr Man/Little Miss and then made a Little Miss Bossy hat and flower stamp. I thought the children could then not only make the stamp of a particular Mr Man/Little Miss but also make up some completely new ones! Each time we do a new character I will add whatever is specific to him or her. Characters such as Mr Tickle and Mr Greedy, who are different shapes, I will make up a separate body stamp
It is quite effective, but I think I might prefer a stamp made of the actual shape of the character.    I LOVE the idea of using foam rather than sponge as it won't shrink when it dries out.
It is quite effective, but I made the mistake of not cutting around the character before sticking it onto the blocks, which I will definitely do next time. I LOVE the idea of using foam rather than sponge as it won’t shrink when it dries out and it will be wipe cleanable.

Thanks Myriam!  They will be a great addition to our Mr Men School!

Textiles

  • I free hand cut and added all the bits to make up a Little Miss Bossy to our felt characters in the Make a Mr Men Box.  I also rolled up a sheet of felt for each of the girls to give them a larger area to build their Mr Men:

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Little Miss Bossy Activity

  • We played ‘follow my little miss bossy’:
A Mr Men alternative to 'follow my leader'!
A Mr Men alternative to ‘follow my leader’!

and Little Miss Bossy says:

And a Mr Men version of 'Simon says'
And a Mr Men version of ‘Simon says’

Miscellaneous Mr Men activities

  • The older girls, as part of their own school, take it in turns each day to help me for 1/2 an hour.  This is such a blessing to me and is a fabulous opportunity for them to build their teaching  and child care skills, as well as encouraging close and loving sibling relations.  T11 also has 1/2 an hour each day, when he plays with both girls with Lego, train sets or Play Mobil.

The girls played Mr Men snap:

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As well as pairs:

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And go fishing:

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In addition to Mr Men Dominoes:

L10 played a game of Mr Men dominoes.  As they are just pictures, I think this is a game I can teach A5 and B2 to play together.
L10 played a game of Mr Men dominoes. As they are just pictures, I think this is a game I can teach A5 and B2 to play together.
  • I had bought a ‘Make a Face’ Mr Men sticker book, which I gave them the Mr Tickle page and the Little Miss Bossy page to make up their own faces.  Whilst B2 kept ripping the stickers and was probably a bit young for the activity, A5 thoroughly enjoyed it, completely going to town making up elaborate stories to go with all the millions of stickers she managed to squeeze onto her Miss Bossy outline!

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  • Mr Men Puzzle:

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Life skills

  • The two Miss Bossy books emphasise the importance of saying please and thank you.  Whilst the girls have been encouraged to say these words from the time they could talk, if not before, it is always good to find literature which reinforces the idea.  We talked about the importance of good manners and how much more likable someone is if they show good manners.
  • Easypeasy recipe – Each week I intend to do a simple recipe to teach the girls a particular skill.  This week B2 learnt to spread butter and Marmite on her toast for a snack:

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  • I thought that being a Little Miss Bossy week, it was the perfect time to remake some of the chore cards we made during our BFIAR adventures.  Chores are an important part of the children’s education.  My older ones, if I were away or ill, would have sufficient skills to run the home.  I didn’t have those skills at 22 when I got married and I have been playing catch up ever since  (This is the main reason they have such a high priority in our home).  The children start chores at 3 with simple bed making and over the years are trained in everything, from pet care to laundry to cooking a roast.  It happens gradually though and for now I have chosen seven chores for A5 to do in the coming few months.  Some are old ones (making the bed remains no matter the age), whilst some are new.  For example, this year she will be collecting the eggs, picking greens for the rabbits and changing the hand towels in the bath room and kitchen each day.  I made the chore cards by cutting card, decorating them with Mr Men stickers and writing simple words to describe the chores.  A5 is a beginner reader and well able to decipher these cards.  The cards will be placed into her chore card holder and clipped onto her clothes as before:

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Revisiting Past Characters

  • We had done a reversible puzzle last week which had Mr Tickle in it.  On the other side of it was the same picture but not coloured in.  It came with a pack of crayons and this week the girls built it up again (upside down and inside out, mummy!) and started to colour the Mr Tickle character.  Each week we cover one of the characters in the puzzle the girls will be encouraged to colour it in:

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  • C11 played with the Mr Men puppets we made, telling elaborate Mr Men stories.  A5 was Mr Tickle the whole time:

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Lots of lovely activities, which we completed during their one hour Mr Men school each day, first thing.  The Mr Men and Little Miss Books have been such a good topic to work with because there are so many activities to buy and to make which keeps the variety and therefore their interest at a high level.  It is also considerably less work for me compared with BFIAR.  It is also proving to be a good choice for schooling the littles together (reception year for A5 and preschool for B2) because it is so adaptable for this range of ages.

Next week we will be covering Mr Greedy, very possibly my favourite character!

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26 comments

  1. Oh, my stars! You did so much with such a little book. The activities look like so much fun. I like the way you incorporated chores into the Mr. Men theme. It is so nice the older children are so willing to work with their younger sisters. Maybe I was in hibernation, but I don’t remember hearing about the Mr. Men books over here, even in all my years teaching in public school. I wish I had known about them. Of course, I probably would not have come up with the zillions of things to do with them as you have.
    Have a fantastic Friday and a wonderful weekend, Claire.

    1. Mr Men are written by a British author and are fairly old (1970’s ish) They were a staple in my childhood and are still popular over here. They are so easy to find activities to go with the books that this year is proving to be quite a breeze! (less work is always a good thing!)

  2. hi claire, I tried to find the link back for jamin’s blog but the page did not open, the ABC stomp game was very simple, she made foot prints in foam and wrote letters on it then you lay them on the floor and say a letter and the child should stand on it, it is such a simple idea but very nice for the kids, if you find access to Jamin’s blog you will find many great ideas on it , love your ideas too and love to share those I have found it is such a great way to help each other and there are so many great ideas on the net and on pinterest:-) much love from switzerland Myriam

  3. My mom has this series of books and the kids enjoy them whenever we visit. I love the way you put together your entire curriculum yourself. The kids are learning so much and gain inspiration from you and their older siblings. It’s very cool!

  4. I don’t know if I’ve ever heard of the Mr. Men Little Miss characters/books; but I love the way you used them and thought of so many different activities for the kids to do. I also agree with you that it is so nice- and educational!- to have the older kids learn to take care of and play with the littles occasionally. I’ve done the same thing. 🙂

  5. hi again claire, Jamin also made a game with a street, and numbers for every shop or houses and she played with a dice the first to arrive at the end of the street to the park wins, I thought we could make the same game with little misses or men’s houses, (each house was on a different card and you just lay them on the table or the floor)It was a cute game to see

    1. I’ve definitely heard of her blog. I don’t get much time for reading blogs, although I always visit the blogs of people who leave comments. I’ll google her and have a peep. Thanks for the heads up Myriam!

  6. Just like you made the stamp and felt pieces by drawing an outline of a Mr. Men type body, you could do an outline on a piece of cheese and use Food Writer markers to fill in the features. A pickle with a red pepper hat could be Mr. Muddle. Mr. Messy could be made with spaghetti with olive eyes and mouth. You could just make a sandwich cut in an oval or half circle shape and put features on it using grapes, olives, peppers, cheese, etc. Grapes, blueberries, olives, and strawberries could be small characters. I could go on and on. 🙂 I will have to get my hands on a one of the Mr. Men books and make a lunch for you.

      1. The Food Writers are available on Amazon. http://www.amazon.co.uk
        I like the Americolor ones best (they are not that expensive in the states)

        http://www.amazon.co.uk/Americolor-Set-10-Food-Pens/dp/B0012DMI1S/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1384821926&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=americolor+pens

        I also have a set of these

        http://www.amazon.co.uk/Writer-Edible-Color-Markers-Pkg-Primary/dp/B004BPX3P4

        Or I use a small (only used on food) paintbrush with food coloring gel.

        Thank you so much for your kind comments. I am inspired by the amazing ladies (and guys) in my Bento lunch group. Our group site is http://bentobloggersandfriends.blogspot.com/

    1. Keitha, thank you so much for giving me all this information and help. I’m going to ask for some pens in my Christmas stocking! I think after Christmas I might give one lunch a week a try – you’ve made it sound so simple!

      1. The whole point of the lunches I make is to have a fun connection with my son. They can be as simple or as complicated as you like. His reaction is the only one that really matters. I am sure your kiddos will love what you do because you did it for them. You can also have them help make their own Mr. Men characters with food. When Boogs was a toddler we frequently checked out Mollie Katzen’s cookbooks for kids from our library – Pretend Soup and Salad People. They are great for getting little ones to help create food in the kitchen.

  7. This is just so much fun! I love the way you have worked a schedule out for your older children playing with the little ones – win-win for everyone. Reading these posts almost makes me wish I had little ones of my own to follow along with!

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