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Bird Activities for Preschool
Studying birds is always a hit with preschoolers – these are animals that can FLY, who wouldn’t want to know more?! Birds are animals that children may not interact with directly, but they still play a role in their daily lives, no matter where your students live. This makes them perfect for exploration AND you can easily personalize the learning by choosing birds that are native to your area. Here are some of the preschool bird activities that I love to do in (or outside) the classroom. Bird watching is a must! Make some binoculars out of cardboard tubes and head outside. You can identify common birds, count the numbers…
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Preschool 4th of July Activities
The 4th of July has always been my favorite holiday – it’s that mix of sweet summer, patriotism, long days, and knowing that my birthday is right around the corner! Even when I’ve had to work the week of the holiday I’ve made sure to live it up in the classroom, determined to make sure that my students enjoy this day as much as I do. Here are all of the posts that I’ve shared over the years with 4th of July activities for some inspiration for your own celebrations. All Things 4th of July Children’s Books for the 4th of July 4th of July Bingo 4th of July Fruit…
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Preschool Volcano Theme
I’m a huge proponent of exploring themes that are relevant to the children you teach, but I also strongly believe that doesn’t always mean that they HAVE to be themes that children interact with in their everyday life in order to be relevant. If children are especially fascinated with a topic, to the point that it has become a regular topic of conversation in their classroom, then it is relevant in my eyes. This is where topics like dinosaurs, space, make-believe, wild animals, far away landscapes, etc. begin to become appropriate classroom themes. This week we’re tackling one of those topics; volcanos! There are so many ways to explore volcanos…
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Birthday Activities for Preschool
It’s a big week for us, my daughter’s birthday is this week! We decided to make this the theme for this week because you only get a birthday once a year, we might as well make the most of it. Here are some of the activities that we’ve leaning into in order to explore birthdays and build an understanding of all the different ways that these can be celebrated. Looking at photos from previous birthdays – This would be an excellent activity to do with the whole class. Encouraging children to bring in photos from last year’s celebration, or going back even farther to see images of them as babies…
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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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Preschool St. Patrick’s Day Centers
St. Patrick’s Day is such a fun holiday for little ones because it’s all about magic and mischief. This is the perfect day to get right into the fun with the children! Let’s take a look at some of the materials that I use for our St. Patrick’s day centers. Shamrock Observations – This set is designed to help children focus on small details, which is perfect when it comes to shamrocks and finding that elusive 4-leaf clover. There are images of a variety of different shamrocks, and then zoomed in images of the same shamrocks so that children can see if they can match these. There are also two paint-chip…
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Preschool Eclipse Activities
I’m so happy to have these eclipse activities ready for you! Little ones can struggle with these kinds of special events because they just don’t have the frame of reference to understand why they’re a big deal to the adults in their lives AND what is actually happening. The eclipse activities that I’ve put together will help work through both of those challenges in a way that is developmentally appropriate, while also supporting the other work that they’ve been doing throughout the year. I firmly believe that none of us can truly understand any topic if we don’t have the vocabulary to discuss it with others. Vocabulary cards like these…
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February Month of Preschool Activities
I shared the list of everything included in my January Month of Preschool set a couple of weeks ago and wanted to make sure that I did the same with the February set so that you can make next month’s prep a little easier on yourself! Here’s EVERYTHING that’s included in the February Month of Preschool set: Wow! There are so many materials in this set! At 290 pages, these activities should keep your class busy, and learning a ton during the month of February. You can purchase the set here, and learn more about each monthly set (and the 12 month bundle) here.
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Valentine’s Day Language Activities
Valentine’s Day has a special place in my heart (see what I did there). January can be a long, dreary month and having something fun to look forward to can really change the mood. If you’re like me – looking forward to a holiday that’s all about warmth and love – and you’re planning what this will look like in your classroom, then I have some materials that might be just what you need! Here’s my Valentine writing center: I want children to get excited about using these materials, and I do that by making them inviting – adding decorations, related textiles, and touches that create a homey and comforting…
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Printable Valentine’s Day Math Activities
I’m back with some more Valentine’s day ideas! Math centers can be tricky because we want children to enjoy the activities and WANT to do them, while also being able to use the materials independently. Here’s what’s in my Valentine’s Day math center: It doesn’t get more exciting than chocolate! This game is one that your students will definitely want to play – although you might have to monitor the game pieces or they’ll disappear. To play, children pick a candy and match the number on the bottom to the number on their mat. It can be done individually or you can print two sets and have a partner game. The…
