activities
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Preschool activities for Christmas
I am all for helping out other teachers, we need to stick together, especially at this point in the year. Right now, it’s extra difficult to keep the kiddos’ attention, and I fully believe that the best way to handle the holiday season is to embrace it fully. Christmas is all they want to talk about, so why not use that theme to sneak in some learning. I thought I’d share all of my holiday freebies, along with the other great holiday resources from my store to give you all kinds of holiday activities to choose from right in one place. There are a lot, so be sure to scroll…
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20 Uses for seasonal ice cube molds
I bought these molds last year on after-Christmas clearance and forgot all about them until I pulled out my Christmas decorations, so now I’m brainstorming a list of different activities that I can do with them. I’m hoping to do a week with the gingerbread molds and a week with the Christmas tree molds. Here are the lists I’ve come up with so far (Amazon links are affiliates): Sort colored buttons into the spaces Use them with Gingerbread Cloud Dough Sort Gingerbread Marshmallows Use them to make cinnamon dough ornamentsPlay with Gingerbread play doughMake Cream Cheese Mints for the holidaysUse letter beads to spell 3-letter words in each spacePractice using eye droppersDo…
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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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Great autumn activities for centers
Autumn is a great season to explore in the classroom because there are so many natural materials the you can bring into your environment. This also means that it is really important to have other materials in your centers that are related to those natural materials. Here are some of my favorite autumn centers; Autumn vocabulary cards– These are great for reinforcing the new vocabulary words that students are learning. This set includes the words acorn, apple, leaf, corn, leaves, pumpkin, tree, orchard, squirrel, and turkey and are wonderful for a writing center. Acorn matching set – This set includes letter matching, number matching, and color matching, making it easy for…
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Water play with infants and toddlers
As the temperature heats up water play becomes more and more tempting. There are definitely safe ways to introduce water play for infants and toddlers that are tons of fun. As long as children are supervised when playing with water these activities are a great way to cool off and have a lot of fun! One great way to introduce water play is with sponges and small bowls of water. These are great for outdoor play because little ones can soak their sponges and then squeeze them right onto themselves. This is a great way to explore cause and effect. Here are some other great ideas for using sponges; Sponge…
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Book Talk Tuesday – 101 Kids Activities
Since it’s Book Talk Tuesday I have to take this opportunity to share a book that I just got, that would be an AMAZING gift for any kid (or teacher) in your life. If you have a child, teacher, parent of young children, early childhood education student, or teen who loves to babysit on your holiday shopping list, you need to check out 101 Kids Activities That Are the Bestest, Funnest Ever! This book is by Holly Homer and Rachel Miller, you might know these two ladies as the team from Kids Activities Blog, which means that when it comes to writing a book about activities for kids, they are,…
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Preschool Activities for Autumn
From Sweet Green House The weather around here lately has been screaming AUTUMN and I am loving it! Fall is my favorite time of the year (we’ve had this discussion before – boots, sweaters, pumpkin spice lattes, need I say more?!), and to celebrate, I wanted to share what’s in my Autumn activity bundle. Be sure to read all of the way through, I added a blog exclusive freebie for you too! The Autumn Math and Literacy Activity Bundle includes the following activities (all are also available separately): My Autumn Vocabulary Cards and Spelling Practice set includes the words acorn, apple, leaf, corn, leaves, pumpkin, tree, orchard, squirrel, and turkey. I…
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No plans for the 4th? I’ve got you covered!
The 4th of July has always been my favorite holiday, even as a young child I would choose July 4th over Christmas. Now, some of this may have to do with the fact that my birthday is on July 9, so my family often had my birthday celebration on the Fourth of July. But even as I got older, I loved singing along with the patriotic country songs that they play on the radio all day, wearing my star spangled t-shirt, saluting our troops, creating the barbecue to end all barbecues, and oohing and ahhing as fireworks exploded in the sky. We never had huge Fourth of July celebrations, but…
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Summer fun – at home
Quick day trips are what make summer months memorable, but it’s impossible to take one every day. What can you do to spice up those other summer days? Here are ten ideas for days when you have to stay home. Whether its raining, too hot to go out, or you just need a lazy day, these ideas will keep the little ones busy so you don’t have to hear the infamous “I’m bored!” These will also work great for special activities at daycare! 1. Build a fortThis is something that every child needs the opportunity to do, don’t you remember building forts? It couldn’t be easier, find some large blankets…
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Summer fun – around town
The beginning of summer is great – warm weather, playing outside, and being just a little lazy is fun for a while, but it gets old quick! I’ve put together a list of things that you can easily do with your children or students to keep the summer fun – not boring. Today’s ideas are from “around town” which means you get to go explore! Depending on your area, some of these may be in walking distance, while others may be a farther trek. If you aren’t sure about any of these resources, a quick internet search can tell you if there is something similar locally. 1. Explore a community…
