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A cranberry recipe preschoolers will love
Cranberries may not be the first Thanksgiving food that your preschoolers want to try, but this easy recipe just might change their mind – and they can help make it! These cranberry tarts are made with three simple ingredients;1 package of sugar cookie doughchocolate chipswhole cranberries The only prep work that you will have to do is to cut your whole cranberries in half. Then the children can help you press spoonfuls of cookie dough into each hole in your muffin tin (you will probably need a couple of muffin tins to use all of your cookie dough). Mix the chocolate chips and cranberries together in a bowl and the…
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Thanksgiving Activities for Preschool
Thanksgiving is the beginning of the holiday season craziness, you’ve got fun activities, parties, and family events at school and then throw in all of the stuff that also happens to be going on in your personal lives and sometimes it can be just a bit much. I have a list of simple Thanksgiving activities that children love and that will save your sanity (this is a repost from last year because these activities are still just as wonderful as they were last year)! I Spy Thanksgiving My kiddos love I Spy books, I think they are great for improving concentration and visual discrimination. These beginning reader versions also include simple…
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Cranberry Sauce Texture Exploration
I don’t think I actually know anyone who enjoys cranberry sauce. It always shows up at Thanksgiving, but personally I would rather have cranberries in my baked goods, or even dried cranberries in my salad. I think it’s a texture thing, whether your family does cranberry sauce from a can or homemade, both versions have physical characteristics that are all their own, this is precisely what makes cranberry sauce the perfect subject for a texture comparison. Whenever I use food in the classroom it is strictly for exploration, the children are always welcome to taste it if they want, but it isn’t required. Any sensory exploration is different depending on…
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Preschool Cranberry Exploration
Cranberries are amazing little fruits that can provide hours of exploration for preschoolers simply because they float. These seasonally popular berries are perfect for exploring concepts like buoyancy in an authentic way. This sink or float experiment is also the perfect way to introduce a week of cranberry-inspired activities because it is sure to pique the kiddos’ interest and keep them engaged. I like to introduce the cranberries during circle time or large group time, this gives me the opportunity to start a discussion and begin a list of what the children already know about cranberries. Some students may be familiar with cranberry juice, or dried cranberries, but for…
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Friday Freebie – Thanksgiving Graphing
Happy Friday! Every day is bringing us that much closer to Thanksgiving, and I don’t know about you but this is the time of year that my busy personal life begins to collide with my busy school schedule and everything feels just a bit overwhelming. So, I’m hoping that these Friday Freebies this month will really help you finish up those lesson plans and take a little off your plate! Today’s freebie is a set of Thanksgiving Surveys that you can use to help your students practice sharing their opinions, writing and recognizing their names, and creating graphs. These simple graphs can be extended over a number of days. Enjoy…
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Spice Air Freshener Craft
This activity is a great way to explore spices and a cute keepsake for families to use throughout the holiday season (plus, it’s REALLY easy to make). You’ll need canning jar lids (not the rings, just the lids), some ribbon, white glue, and spices (Invest in a bulk jar, any pie-related scent will work – cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin or apple pie spice), paintbrushes, and something to catch the spices as the children sprinkle them on their lids (I used paper towels, but you could use waxed paper, printer paper, or activity trays). The first step is one that you’ll want to do outside of the classroom – attach a small…
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Exploring spices
When I think Thanksgiving there are a few scents that come to mind, specifically spices, which are perfect for helping children explore their sense of smell. Here are some great ideas for exploring spices in the classroom: Create a Spice Tray Scent your playdough Paint with Spices Make Cinnamon Salt Dough Ornaments Learn scents and vocabulary Make a gift families can enjoy together Scent your pie art Make your own scent jars Match the raw spice with the bottled spice Taste test spices in cool whip or pudding Check back tomorrow for another great spice craft!
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What Thanksgiving means to a preschooler
Now that it’s November we can talk about Thanksgiving. When teaching preschoolers about Thanksgiving the key is to make the entire concept relevant to them. They can’t understand Pilgrims and Native Americans because they don’t have a grasp on our past or the history of our country, so I focus on three concepts that do play a role in the average preschooler’s daily life – food, family, and thankfulness. These three concepts are something that young children are familiar with, but Thanksgiving provides the perfect opportunity to dig a little deeper and build understanding in all three areas. Food: There are so many foods that are traditionally eaten during the…
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November Currently
I swear I just posted the October Currently, the last month flew by, and it looks like November will be just as busy! Here’s what I’m up to right now: Listening: I will watch Gilmore Girls whenever it’s on TV. That’s all I have to say about this particular topic 🙂 Loving: We finally finished our big addition (this has been 7 years in the making) and now I am spending all of my extra time enjoying it – walk in closet, new laundry room, and a great big master bathroom, it’s a dream come true! I actually enjoy doing laundry now! Thinking: I swear the weekend goes faster when…
