Hap-pea Peas in a Pod

*Note: this post contains Amazon Affiliate links. Any purchases made via the links provided go to support our literacy efforts.

     The humble pea has never seemed to be a child’s vegetable of choice but when it comes to The Peas Series by Keith Baker, peas stand out in a big way and are adored, complete with rhythmic text and humorous illustrations filled with engaging details.

     These are not identical peas in a pod. No, these little green peas are unique and have diverse interests, hobbies and jobs. Their distinctness is highlighted in a colorful animated way as they roll through the alphabet. Not only do they take a child on a fun exploration of the ABC’s in LMNO Peas, they are also featured in a book of numbers (1-2-3 Peas), colors (Little Green Peas) and months (Hap-pea All Year).  LMNO Pea-quel finds the little green peas bouncing through the lowercase letters with new jobs, activities, hobbies and roles. Though the series is simple and appeals to the younger crowd, older children might find their humor appealing and the books can be used to further build and expand skills. Again, if you don’t have the books, check on YouTube for a read aloud.

     When we looked up LMNO Peas activities online, the first entry was worksheets. Not an activity we wanted to start with so we came up with our own. Here is a list of some of our ideas to use with Baker’s books to have fun and build skills:

• Letter Jar – Get a glass jar and fill it with dried peas and letter beads. Have your child shake it up and identify the letters they see and then think of a word that starts with that letter or have them look around the house for objects that start with that letter. For older kids you can have them write down words that start with that letter or change it up and have them write down words that end with that letter.
  

• Pea Pod – Have your child paint a paper plate green and then fold it in half to make a pea pod. You can either staple it or to work on small motor skills, punch a few holes at the ends and have your child sew it shut with yarn and a plastic yarn needle and tie it off. Then find an ABC letter chart and print it off on card stock (we used green.) Have your child cut the letters out and place them in their pod. Have your child then pull letters out of their pod for identification and then you can continue with the theme of the book and have your child come up with jobs, interests or descriptive adjectives. Add extra letters for a pea-gram spelling game ala Bananagrams.
  

• Counting Carton – Take a cardboard egg carton and have your child paint it green. Place numbers in the bottom of each cup and then have your child count out marbles, beads, peas or anything green for each. Use it for simple math by asking if you combined the 2 cup with the 3 cup, how many would you have altogether? Using a manipulative helps children learn math because it gives them a visual.
  

• Color Wheel – Take a paper plate, section it off like a pie and have your child color in each section with markers, crayons or colored pencils using the colors from the book. Use a round head fastener or a paper clip to create a spinner and have your child spin to see what color it will land on. Identify the color and then come up with all the things they can think of that are that color. You can even have them think of what foods from the farm or garden are that color. Turn it into an I Spy game looking around the house for objects in that color.
  

• Celebrate the Months & Seasons – Print off a blank calendar page for each month and help your child to fill in the days. Then use colored pencils, markers, crayons or stickers to decorate each month for events, holidays and seasons. Refer to the book for additional creative ideas and see if your child can find the pea of the month (holding the number of the month) on each page. Mark off the day each morning, helping to teach your child the days of the week, and discuss the month and the season, perhaps including the weather.
  

     With literacy and math scores being such a concern, especially in Michigan, and with the coronavirus making the school year so short, it never hurts to play letter and number games, making their learning fun. The more you work with something, the better it will be absorbed and working with letters and their sounds will only enhance literacy skills. Reading books aloud to your child leads to better concentration, an increased attention span, greater empathy, increased vocabulary and background knowledge that can be drawn upon when needed. A total win-win situation. So, get out those magnetic letters, foamy letters and letter tiles or make them yourself and see how many imaginative ways you can use them to increase your child’s literacy skills. 

Happy reading and learning!

-Kate @ BTBL

---

Author

We are three generations that seek a way to get back to basics. It’s not that we eschew technology, but sometimes simpler is better, especially in raising our children. Mom was a reading teacher, Amanda is an early childhood educator and Kate a children’s literature specialist and former school librarian along with the latest additions, a daughter (now 4) for Kate, and two sons (now 1 and a newborn) for Amanda. We advocate reading aloud, the simple toys that use imagination and encourage creativity and learning in the kitchen, which can be a fun mess but also teaches life skills. Join us in raising healthy, happy, inquisitive and intelligent children.