This is a lovely book written by Jill Murphy and published by Walker. It features a family of elephants with a mum who deals with everyday problems. There are a few books in the series but this one focusses on the mum elephant thinking that she is too fat and she decides that everyone needs to go on a diet much to the disgust of the other family members. The new diet consists of healthy treats and lots of exercise but then Grandma sends a cake and everyone is very tempted to eat it, especially when mum elephant hides it on the top shelf. This story is fun to read because it takes a common problem and puts it in the family of elephants so it is something that people can relate to.
Activities
Weighing
Jogging
Counting joggers
Tallying (counting in 5's)
Making watercress soup
Baking a cake
Indoor
Grab some kitchen or bathroom scales and send your child/children to go and find some objects to be weighed. They will love watching the numbers go up and down on the scales and they can be sorted into a line going from light to heavy. You can discuss numbers, amounts and sizes of the different objects. If your scales are posh you can use a different measurement and they can reweigh everything to see what the new measurements are. For older children these can be written down and they can work out the differences between the numbers and learn how conversions work (a calculator might come in handy here).
Outdoor
In the book the family go for a jog round the park. If you are fit enough and your children like running then this could be a good activity to do. If you are less energetic or not a runner (like me) then you could go for a walk round the park or your local area and your child/children can count the amount of runners they see along the way. They could write these down on a little note pad but this is also a good time where you could teach them to tally. Encourage your child/children to collect sticks each time they see a jogger/runner and then when they get home they can lay them out (don't forget every 5th stick crosses the four). It also helps practice counting in 5's.
Cooking/Food
There are a few different foods mentioned including; watercress soup, sardine, grated carrot and of course the cake. If you make a basic cake (or you can buy one, there is no judging here) then your child/children can decorate it how they want or you could have a go at making watercress soup and your child/children could compare the difference between the two. It's also a good time to talk about healthy eating and exercising to stay healthy. If you did the indoor activity then your child/children should now be expert weighers and will enjoy being able to use their new skill to weigh out the ingredients and you can discuss the different amounts needed with them.
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