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Spice Painting
Historically, spices were often used to create paints because many of them have very distinct colors. Making your own spice paints is a great way to explore spices and their scents at the same time! All that you have to do is mix a good amount of a single spice with a small amount of water until the paint is the consistency that you want. You can also add a little cornstarch to make your paints go a little farther. Here are some spices to try and the colors that they will make: Paprika = Orange Turmeric = Mustard Yellow Saffron = Bright Yellow Parsley = Green Cinnamon = Brown…
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Sensory Spice Jars
Thanksgiving lends itself to a completely unique sensory experience due to all of the wonderful smells associated with the holiday. This is the perfect time to explore your sense of smell, and there’s no better way than creating a set of smelly spice jars for your science center. There are so many different ways to make these, but the key is to make sure you still get the scent without actually leaving any spices in your jars – you don’t want to deal with the sneezing that will come from inhaling the actual spices. I love to use the actual spice containers that the different spices come in when I…
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Friday Freebie – Pie Dice Games
Happy Friday! Can you believe that it’s nearly the middle of November?! I have obviously had one thing on my mind this week – pie! The closer we get to Thanksgiving, the more I think about desserts. Today’s freebie is perfect for your Thanksgiving math centers – these pie dice games are adorable! Go download yours from Lodrew and have a wonderful weekend!
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Pie Filling Taste Test
I know that there are very strong opinions about using food for preschool activities, and I understand both sides of the argument. Personally, I believe that food is something that brings us together. It is a powerful way to open children’s minds to new experiences, and to introduce them to cultural experiences. I am especially partial to taste-tests as science and social studies activities because it gives me the opportunity to expose children to something that they may not ever encounter at home. I’ve been known to taste test fruits and vegetables, in order to introduce new foods and encourage children to be open to trying new things. This particular…
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Pie Themed Dramatic Play
October, November, and December are by far the easiest months to plan dramatic play for. For example, one of my favorite November dramatic play themes is a pie bakery. Simply use your play kitchen or create an oven out of a large cardboard box, then include some of the following items: Aluminum pie pans Felt circles for pie crust Rolling pins Aprons A toy mixer Mixing bowls Pie servers Cookbooks and recipe cards Play fruit for filling I’ve also got some fun Thanksgiving theme math and language activities that you can use to round out your other centers as you prepare for the holiday!
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Family Recipe Book
Thanksgiving is about two things; food, and family. Encourage your families to share their favorite recipes with each other by sending home these cute recipe pages. Once each family has completed one you can compile them to create a beautiful class recipe book that is sure to be a hit! Download your free recipe pages here!
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Pumpkin-Themed Show and Tell
Oh I love show and tell. Seriously, I do. I know that for some teachers it is probably their least favorite thing, and I know teachers that refuse to do it because it create chaos in their classrooms – but I love it. There are so many ways to use show and tell to support what you’re learning in the classroom (check out this post for ideas). One way to make show and tell really work for you is to link it to whatever theme or project you are currently working on. Since October and November are all about pumpkins, here are some ideas for pumpkin related show-and-tell: Ask children…
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Friday Freebie – Autumn Scavenger Hunt
Happy Friday, I hope that you had a wonderful Halloween! Some people are all about Christmas as soon as Halloween is over, but I am a huge fan of Thanksgiving, so let the fall fun continue! Today’s freebie is a fun little scavenger hunt that you can use to encourage your students to pay attention to the world around them. It would be a great activity to send home for families to do together. Download your copy and have a wonderful weekend!
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Reading Slumber Party
The day after a holiday can be ROUGH – when that particular holiday involves a ton of sugar and falls in the middle of the week, it’s brutal. Sometimes these are the days when you just have to throw the lesson plan out the window. One of my favorite activities for these kinds of days is a reading slumber party. This is not meant to be a planned activity, it is a special excuse to take it easy and snuggle for the afternoon. I’ve always done reading slumber parties after nap time – but you can surprise your students any time of the day. I love to pretend that the…
