• Questions to ask about clouds

    I am not going to complain about the beautiful summer-like weather we’ve been having lately! It’s made me want to spend every waking minute outside – which has resulted in a lovely sunburn, but that’s not the point. I wanted to share one of my favorite activities that you can do with any of the children that you happen to be around this summer, while squeezing in some extra outside time. I love to explore the clouds, but I don’t really take a traditional approach to learning about clouds.  I don’t teach the children the proper names for different types of clouds, and while I might do some experimenting with…

  • Friday Freebie – Pinwheel Printables

    Happy Memorial Day weekend! I hope that you have some fun plans for ringing in the summer! This freebie is perfect for your parades and backyard barbecues, but your students would love to make them too.  I love it when activities can be used at home and school! The free printable is from Skip to My Lou, you can print the color version or use it as a template on scrapbook paper. Enjoy your weekend!

  • I LOVE Kindle!

    *This post contains affiliate links* I am a huge Kindle fan – so much so that I find it difficult to read a regular book now, I love that no matter where I am, I can always read – either on my phone, or on my tablet.  I also love that I don’t have to actually carry a book – I’ve got enough other stuff in my bag! Amazon has a great deal this weekend – their Kindle for Kids bundle is on sale.  The bundle includes the newest Kindle, a special kid-friendly cover, and a warranty that protects against drops and spills.  The package would be perfect for a…

  • Which type of food coloring to use?

    There are a few different kinds of food coloring, but the two that are the most readily available (read: easy to find in the store) are your traditional liquid food coloring, and gel food coloring.  Both can be used in the classroom to add some color to your art projects, but there are different materials that each work best with (the following links are affiliates). When you’re using liquids, you want to use the liquid food coloring – makes sense right? Liquid food coloring is easy to mix with water, thin paints, vinegar (if you’re doing the project that I posted about yesterday), and soap.  It’s also perfect for recipes…

  • Art that is actually science

    Since I’m talking about using food coloring as an art supply this week, I really wanted to share a food coloring tie dye activity – but then I tried it myself and it was an absolute disaster. I’m currently trying to bleach the dye out of some white shirts that weren’t supposed to be dyed… Since I can’t very well recommend that activity, I thought I’d share one that I know is a tried and true hit.  This one has been seen all over the internet, so I definitely can’t claim the idea – nor would I try to – but I can show you some really great pictures of…

  • Things that you can dye using food coloring

    Would you believe that one of my favorite art supplies is food coloring?! It’s cheap, easy to use, and I know it’s safe.  It does make a bit of a mess so I try to use it when I know we won’t be touching it, but it comes off of skin better than most liquid watercolors. My favorite way to use food coloring is to dye different objects with it, here are two of my favorites: Colored sand Dyed pasta I’ve also seen it used to dye oats, rice, playdough, and homemade paints.  Check back each day this week for more activities and tips on using food coloring for art!

  • Friday Freebie – Picture Recipe

    Happy Friday!!! This has been one of those weeks that has been so busy and lasted forever – so I am happy to celebrate Friday with all of you. This week my posts have been about cooking in the classroom and I wanted to share a related freebie with you.  This picture recipe from Stars on the Spectrum is perfect because it’s an easy recipe to do in the classroom and the children can really be a part of dictating the steps using the pictures! Download your copy and enjoy your weekend!

  • Baking with preschoolers

    Since I’ve shared a couple of baking and cooking ideas this week, I thought I’d share some of my other baking posts too.  Here are a few fun ideas! Cooking with a Solar Oven Baking in the Classroom Tried and True Teaching Tips (and a No-Bake Recipe!) Making Ice Cream in the Classroom And here are the other posts from this week: Easy Dramatic Play Cookbook Preschool Science: Exploring Ingredients Check back tomorrow for a cooking-related freebie, and don’t you love this Hape Play Kitchen?! (Affiliate link)

  • Preschool Science: Exploring Baking Ingredients

    I have always loved baking in the classroom because it’s one of those hands on activities where children get to be involved and see changes happen right before their eyes.  When I cook in the classroom I try to be super prepared so that things go smoothly.  This doesn’t leave much time to actually explore the ingredients. If the children are extremely interested in the cooking experience I’ll make sure to give them extra opportunities to play with and manipulate the ingredients that we use.  Here are some of the ways that I introduce these to the children; Ingredient jars: I love these little containers (they’re Tupperware)! The lids are…