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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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Friday Freebie – Ice cream writing
Happy Friday! It may be summer, but Fridays are still just as exciting. There’s something about knowing that the weekend is almost here that makes me feel great! This week has been all about ice cream. I shared Ice Cream Dramatic Play Ideas, gave you a new Ice Cream Recipe to try in the classroom, and shared my re-vamped Ice Cream Activities. Now I have a cute ice cream freebie for you too. This ice cream writing activity is from One Step Closer Teaching. It will help your students organize their summer plans, and give you a great writing project to share on an end of the year bulletin board.…
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Ice Cream Activities for Preschool
Have you ever explored ice cream in the classroom? It’s an irresistible topic, and a great way to engage children in activities that include a ton of academic topics. Here are some of my favorite ice cream activities to use with preschoolers; Ice Cream centers: This set includes 5 activities that are sure to keep your students busy (and probably giggling). Children can create their own ice cream flavor and write about the ingredients, answer questions about ice cream, graph their favorite flavors, and complete an ice cream glyph. It also includes a dice game where students get to roll the dice and collect cards to “build” an ice cream…
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Exploring life science in preschool
It’s Wednesday, and here at Preschool Ponderings, that means time to focus on the standards. Every Wednesday I choose an Early Learning Standard and share a number of activities that can be aligned with that particular standard. Remember, the Standards that I use every day, and am most comfortable with are Ohio’s Early Learning Development Standards – you can review them here, however I’ve found that even if your State’s standards differ, many of these activities can still be aligned similarly. I’ve rounded up some great ideas today! Domain: ScienceStrand: Life ScienceTopic: Explorations of Living ThingsThis standard covers all concepts relating to plants and animals (I know, that’s pretty broad). This…
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Making Ice Cream in the Classroom
I’ve always been a fan of homemade ice cream, and last summer I shared my favorite recipe – coffee can ice cream, which I love to make with my students because they get to be a huge part of the process, and because it doesn’t require access to a freezer. I’ve been experimenting with a new ice cream recipe that would be perfect for the classroom and I wanted to share it with you! This recipe only requires two ingredients (yay!) but you can add your favorite flavorings and toppings for something a little special. It also needs time to set up in the freezer, so this is the perfect…
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Ice Cream Dramatic Play
Last week was all about camping, and this week is Ice Cream! If I could only pick two dramatic play centers to set up all summer long they would be a camping trip and an ice cream parlor. A camping trip is a great adventure, and an ice cream parlor is a dream come true! I’ve rounded up some great ideas for your classroom ice cream parlor; Maureen over at Spell Out Loud shares her ideas for ice cream scented play dough, and a super cute printable menu. Lindsey from So Easy Being Green shows you how to make an ice cream parlor out of a cardboard box. Sue over at One…
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Friday Freebie – Camping Discussion
Happy Friday! I’ve been sharing camping ideas all week and I’m enjoying my first camping trip of the summer as we speak (we’re in Amish country right now, so I may also be enjoying baked goods…). I’ve been sharing camping ideas all week, so it only seemed right that I share a camping freebie too. I created something brand new for you today, This set is designed to get your students talking! Ask the children to pretend they were taking a camping trip – what would they take with them? What would they want to eat? What would they want to do? What would they make sure to watch out for?…
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Cooking with a solar oven
My favorite thing to do when I’m camping is to eat! There is something about camping food that is sacred – I rarely make these treats at home, and when I do they just don’t taste the same. I love to share recipes in the classroom, but camping food is tough because the best way to cook most of these treats is over a fire, not exactly something that would be a great idea at school… but, then I came across this; This tutorial on how to build a solar oven is from Playdough to Plato and it is really easy, and her tutorial shows how kids can help put the…
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Exploring Energy in the Classroom
It’s Wednesday, and here at Preschool Ponderings, that means time to focus on the standards. Every Wednesday I choose an Early Learning Standard and share a number of activities that can be aligned with that particular standard. Remember, the Standards that I use every day, and am most comfortable with are Ohio’s Early Learning Development Standards – you can review them here, however I’ve found that even if your State’s standards differ, many of these activities can still be aligned similarly. I’ve rounded up some great ideas today! Domain: ScienceStrand: Physical ScienceTopic: Explorations of EnergyThis standard covers all kinds of energy exploration, including the properties of sound and light, properties of…
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Camping Printables for Preschool
I’ve got a ton of camping themed activities to share with you today! These are perfect for summer and a great way to do some reviewing, without really feeling like work. I love putting together these alphabet books, it is a huge personal victory when I am able to come up with a word for every single letter of the alphabet, the camping alphabet book is one of my favorites. It includes words like E is for Evergreen, I is for Insects, and M is for Marshmallow. You can get your copy here. Letter matching is a great way to help children practice recognizing letters that are both…
