Developing motor skills and alphabet knowledge through crafts

Here are some crafts my team either have done this year or plan to do. One of the first things kids will learn in school when they start to write is the difference between upper case and lower case letters. This awesome ice cream craft can be used as part of a craft package in an early literacy space.

This last one is not as time-consuming as others but is just as rewarding. All you need are a small cardboard box, some popsicle sticks, foam or some other type of letters and. In addition to working on fine motor skills it also helps little ones learn alphabetical order. If you want to jazz up the box some craft paper should suffice.

Keeping with the theme of popsicle sticks, puzzles are another good way to help little ones with their motor skills, reasoning, thinking and in some cases letter and number skills. The examples below are just a sprinkling of the many, many ways these sticks can be decorated and made into cool puzzles for little ones.

Finding Mighty by Sheela Chari

I grew up in the 80s and was always fascinated by the emergence of the hip-hop movement. From afar I watched as b-boys used the tenets of the movement (rapping, djing, b-boying and graffiti) to express themselves in the dawn of a new era. Thus, when I saw Sheela Chari's new book, Finding Mighty I was instantly drawn to the cover and the book did not disappoint.

Chari is of East Indian descent and the main protagonists are of East Indian descent as well, something that I had not seen in many middle grade novels but which was a refreshing change as I feel it is critically important for kids to read about different perspectives and cultures.

The story is told in alternating viewpoints- Myla, Peter and his older brother Randall, and centers around the mysterious death of the boys' father, Omar. Randall has joined a group of graffiti artists who tag different parts of the city at night. One night Randall disappears and leaves cryptic clues to help his brother find him. Peter starts to search but soon realizes that he can't do it alone.

In addition to all of the above, Myla and Peter have to deal with being new sixth graders and the transition that this entails. Myla for her part feels invisible and in one interesting exchange between her and Peter they reflect on the pros and cons of the different neighborhoods. Chari does a wonderful job of touching on some deep issues in a very sensitive manner.

There are more characters too including the boys' weird uncle, an ex-con called Scottie Biggs and a nosy reporter called Kai Filnik who has a knack of popping up in the most unexpected places. This is a mystery with twists, turns and a great deal of heart. Highly recommended.  Natasha Tarpley's The Harlem Charade is is another great mystery set in the Big Apple. Blue Balliett's Chasing Vermeer series is a wonderful series of intricately plotted mysteries for middle grade readers.