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Valentine Preschool Classroom Materials
I just really freaking love Valentine’s Day! I don’t know if it’s the colors, or showing people how much we care about them, but it makes my soul smile – and right now, I’ll take all of that I can get. If you’re looking to infuse your preschool classroom environment with a little more Valentine spirit, here are my picks for fun, helpful materials. All links are affiliates. Wooden heart shaped bowls – These are classic and fun at the same time. You can’t beat the wooden feel and organic lines, and they really are useful for storing and displaying all of those manipulatives. 3D Felt Hearts – Since this…
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Merry Christmas!
I know we’re still a week out from the big day, but this will be my last post for 2024 and I wanted to make sure to take a minute to wish you all the merriest of Christmases! I hope that Preschool Ponderings has been a helpful, insightful space for you this year, and I’m looking forward to sharing even more in 2025. Have a wonderful Holiday season and count on me being right back here in the new year!
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2024 Toddler Gift Guide
There’s no such thing as a perfect gift for a toddler – in most cases they’ll prefer to play with the box it comes in – but that also makes it easy because they love pretty much anything. When it comes to choosing the perfect gift for a toddler my number one rule is to pick something that won’t drive their parents crazy. Tons of tiny pieces are an automatic no because toddlers would much rather dump them all over the floor than pick them up. Any obnoxious lights or noises are ruled out because a toddler will repeat them endlessly and then lose their mind when the batteries die.…
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Hello November!
We’ve made it to November! There seems to be a tendency to forget about this particular month and jump straight to all of the December Christmas content, but I find so much value in all of the great November themes and topics, especially for the youngest children. Here’s what we’ll be exploring on the blog this month: Those are the main themes that are on my mind this month, and we’ll deep dive into them. I’m especially excited about sharing my favorite gift ideas for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and teachers. These are always my favorite posts of the year! I also have some thoughts to share on supporting parents through…
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35 Autumn Themes for Preschool
I’m always looking for new ideas, and sometimes that means exploring something different. Luckily, autumn offers so many natural themes! Here are 35 ideas to inspire your lesson plans over the next couple of months:
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Taking a Quick Reset
Hey there! Just popping in to let you know about a bit of a programming note. There won’t be any new posts added next week – We’re all back to school and I need a minute to shift gears, wrap up summer, and refocus all of the things (home, routines, and life in general)! I’m a huge advocate for self-care, so I’m going to practice what I preach. I’ll see you right back here in two weeks and I’m really looking forward to getting back to 3 super-helpful posts a week!
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Supporting Independence During Back to School Chaos
During this time of year it feels like everyone is a little rushed – there’s so much going on and we’re in a hurry to get everywhere. That can make it really hard to be patient and let little ones do things themselves. Supporting their independence is so important, but that doesn’t mean that it’s easy! It’s such a struggle, we know that they need these opportunities to work through challenges, and in most cases we know that they are truly capable BUT it just takes so long. Little ones still need the practice, they have to truly put in a ton of effort to do things that are second…
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Fair Week!
We spent the last week at our county fair, and while it’s always so much work it’s also just plain FUN. We showed off projects, watched friends compete, laughed a lot, made (and drank) a ton of milkshakes, stayed up way too late, celebrated wins, rode rides, got dirty, and absolutely lived our best lives. For as long as I can remember, the fair has been a great big send off to summer. The minute that it’s over everyone shifts into back-to-school mode. Now that all of our fair laundry is done and the ribbons are put away, we’re doing the same. This week will be all about getting back…
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Making Leprechaun Traps
Designing and building leprechaun traps has become one of our favorite traditions. I think the planning and creating is just as much fun as the anticipation of seeing if they’ll actually catch anything! This is one of those projects that really evokes my favorite memories of the kinds of activities that I loved as a child – the opportunity to use any and all materials to create something that I can see in my mind. That’s definitely a major reason that this stays on my plans year after year. Here are some of the supplies that I make sure to have available when it’s time to build our leprechaun traps:…
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SALE!
Teachers Pay Teachers is having a sale right now, and my MEGA bundle is included! This is kind of a major deal – right now you can get 12 months of seasonal activities, lesson plans, and printable materials for over $100 off. Who doesn’t want to take advantage of that?! Go snap this bundle up right now, and while you’re there maybe add the assessment or teacher resources that you’ve been eyeing. To learn more about my Month of Preschool sets, and the 12 Month Bundle, visit this page!
