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Ice Cream Dramatic Play
Last week was all about camping, and this week is Ice Cream! If I could only pick two dramatic play centers to set up all summer long they would be a camping trip and an ice cream parlor. A camping trip is a great adventure, and an ice cream parlor is a dream come true! I’ve rounded up some great ideas for your classroom ice cream parlor; Maureen over at Spell Out Loud shares her ideas for ice cream scented play dough, and a super cute printable menu. Lindsey from So Easy Being Green shows you how to make an ice cream parlor out of a cardboard box. Sue over at One…
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Friday Freebie – Camping Discussion
Happy Friday! I’ve been sharing camping ideas all week and I’m enjoying my first camping trip of the summer as we speak (we’re in Amish country right now, so I may also be enjoying baked goods…). I’ve been sharing camping ideas all week, so it only seemed right that I share a camping freebie too. I created something brand new for you today, This set is designed to get your students talking! Ask the children to pretend they were taking a camping trip – what would they take with them? What would they want to eat? What would they want to do? What would they make sure to watch out for?…
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Cooking with a solar oven
My favorite thing to do when I’m camping is to eat! There is something about camping food that is sacred – I rarely make these treats at home, and when I do they just don’t taste the same. I love to share recipes in the classroom, but camping food is tough because the best way to cook most of these treats is over a fire, not exactly something that would be a great idea at school… but, then I came across this; This tutorial on how to build a solar oven is from Playdough to Plato and it is really easy, and her tutorial shows how kids can help put the…
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Exploring Energy in the Classroom
It’s Wednesday, and here at Preschool Ponderings, that means time to focus on the standards. Every Wednesday I choose an Early Learning Standard and share a number of activities that can be aligned with that particular standard. Remember, the Standards that I use every day, and am most comfortable with are Ohio’s Early Learning Development Standards – you can review them here, however I’ve found that even if your State’s standards differ, many of these activities can still be aligned similarly. I’ve rounded up some great ideas today! Domain: ScienceStrand: Physical ScienceTopic: Explorations of EnergyThis standard covers all kinds of energy exploration, including the properties of sound and light, properties of…
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Camping Printables for Preschool
I’ve got a ton of camping themed activities to share with you today! These are perfect for summer and a great way to do some reviewing, without really feeling like work. I love putting together these alphabet books, it is a huge personal victory when I am able to come up with a word for every single letter of the alphabet, the camping alphabet book is one of my favorites. It includes words like E is for Evergreen, I is for Insects, and M is for Marshmallow. You can get your copy here. Letter matching is a great way to help children practice recognizing letters that are both…
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Camping fun in the dramatic play center
This month is all about camping for me, I’m going on three different camping trips and we’re gearing up for our first one this weekend, so I thought I’d share the fun here at Preschool Ponderings. I love to do camping activities with preschoolers because some of them are familiar with camping – they’ve gone with their families, or they’ve at roasted marshmallows in their backyard – while others have no experience with the concept and are over the moon excited about camping in the classroom. I like to introduce fun new topics like this by including related materials in the dramatic play space. This gives the children the opportunity…
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Friday Freebie – Summer Packing List
Happy Friday! I am psyched to share my freebie with you today because it’s to help you get organized for summer! Download my free summer packing list and start prepping. I’ve already got a few of my own filled out – I used one for the conference that I went to last weekend, and I need to do one for the camping trip I’m going on next week, and then another for my trip to Vegas in July. What will you be packing for?
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Explaining Reggio Emilia
I’ve been teaching young children using guidance from Reggio Emilia for 6 years, so it is second nature to me. This can make it a little hard to explain, because I don’t always think about what I’m doing or why I’m doing it, I just do it. I found this quote from Carlina Rinaldi, the President of Reggio Children, and I think it perfectly explains the philosophy in a way that is short, sweet, and easy to understand. This speaks to every tenet of the philosophy because it recognizes that the process is always more important than the outcome. It also speaks to giving value to the thoughts and ideas…
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Exploring Weather in Preschool
It’s Wednesday, and here at Preschool Ponderings, that means time to focus on the standards. Every Wednesday I choose an Early Learning Standard and share a number of activities that can be aligned with that particular standard. Remember, the Standards that I use every day, and am most comfortable with are Ohio’s Early Learning Development Standards – you can review them here, however I’ve found that even if your State’s standards differ, many of these activities can still be aligned similarly. I’ve rounded up some great ideas today! Domain: ScienceStrand: Earth and Space ScienceTopic: Explorations of the Natural WorldThis standard is all about the weather and nature – two things that…
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June Currently
It’s June – yesterday was the first and it was 55 degrees and cloudy, not exactly the way I expected June to start – but it’s June, and I’m still happy about that! Here’s what I’m up to; Listening: The Whispers is a new show on ABC, I figured I’d watch the pilot and see what it was about. I’m hooked, and yet, I’m still not quite sure what it’s about – it’s fascinating. Loving: I am in love with my new blog design! Alexis from Laugh Eat Learn designed it for me and she is clearly a genius! Thinking: Summer is supposed to be fun and relaxing right? Umm,…
