April 2009
10 posts
We're Moving to a New Domain! →
I am super psyched to have recently obtained a snazzy domain that I took from my tagline: learnplaycreate.com
Besides the name change and an obvious change in format, content will remain the same! The goal of my blog is still to provide a home for my collection of fun Pre-K ideas for learning, playing and creating :)
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Preschool Movement Activity – Streamer Rhyme →
“Spark movement imagination for preschoolers with this action rhyme about crepe paper streamers. Full of movement and language concepts, this read aloud rhyme launches preschoolers into playful streamer movement that is fun and full of fitness…..”
—PreschoolRock.com
This is another one of my favorite movement activities from PreschoolRock.com. Since this is...
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Paper Plate Bunnies →
I love this paper plate bunnies project I found on the Preschool Playbook blog. Fun, fast, and super easy… what more could you ask for?!
My daughter used crayons to draw in the details. If you will notice, she didn’t think it proper to have a bunny without arms and legs… so that’s what those lines are on either side of the face and below the mouth ;) She’s so...
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Paper Egg Diorama →
I saw this Easter craft in the Family Fun magazine we subscribe to. I have never tried paper mache before, but this project looked too cute to pass up.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that paper mache is rather easy and so, so much fun! Yes, you absolutely need to be patient — but isn’t this a lesson we want to teach our preschoolers anyway?… (not to mention, some of us...
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Sun Catcher Easter Egg
Hello sun; we’ve missed you!
Question: How shall we honor the sun and ring in spring (and Easter)?
Answer: A stunning, kid-crafted sun catcher, of course!
Here’s what you need:
Wax paper
Tissue paper
Liquid starch
We started by cutting our tissue paper into small squares. Then, after sketching out an egg shape, my preschooler used a paintbrush to apply a thin layer of liquid...
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Marble Painted Egg
Today we did a little egg decorating for Easter… but not egg dyeing (not yet, at least). For this Easter art project, we let a single marble do the hard work :)
Materials:
paper (cardstock is best)
paint (we used tempera)
marble
box (or any container you don’t mind getting paint on)
We started by drawing an egg shape on our paper. Then we taped the paper onto our box top,...
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Paper Friendship Bracelets
After making a weaved background for our Eggshell Mosaic project, I had a couple 1.5” wide strips of paper left over. My daughter was eager to work on another project (even though it was time for me to prep lunch!), so I grabbed a strip and told her she could decorate it, and we’d make a bracelet!
She happily got right to work, and was so excited to get the decorating finished so we...
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Eggshell Mosaic
Yay for Easter and its plethora of beautifully dyed eggs! When you go to peel and eat, don’t throw away those shells! A beautiful mosaic is waiting to be created!
It doesn’t get much easier than this: Smear on the glue and press on those eggshells! It may get messy, and your preschooler might end up covered in sticky shells — but it’s loads of fun and the end result is...
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Cardboard Tube Bird Feeders →
Are you talking to your preschooler about birds? If so, I have the perfect project for you! I came across the idea from the Preschool Express website. By turning an ordinary toilet paper roll into a bird feeder, you have yourself a fun and simple (not to mention delicious) project to enjoy with your preschooler!
All you need:
Toilet paper tube
Hole punch (not shown)
Peanut butter
...
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Print & Color Alphabet Flashcards →
It goes without saying that flashcards are an excellent way of learning and reviewing. My son loved to sit on my lap and go over alphabet flashcards with me. He could sit there for at least thirty minutes at a time, going through the cards over and over — and that was before he even turned two!
Needless to say, he learned his ABCs at a very early age! He’s a smart kid, and he loves...
March 2009
22 posts
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Duck Paper Plate Craft →
This week we are learning about birds… more specifically, ducks!
My daughter is a rubber ducky fanatic! If she sees a rubber ducky, she’s just gotta have it :) But really she loves ducks of all kinds — so I thought it would be nice to do some duck projects and learn a little more about this interesting bird!
For our first project, we made a paper plate duck. The idea came...
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Handprint Calendars! →
I found a brilliant website for printing and creating “Handprint Calendars!” There’s a different one for each month, and each one has it’s own special poem!
I’m so excited to have found this at such a convenient time, seeing how April is just around the corner. (Don’t worry, the calendar in the image above is from 2003, but the .pdf file is current with 2009...
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Paper-Mache Bowl →
“Paper-mache is a great way to pretty much make something out of nothing.”
For directions on how to make this Paper-Mache Bowl, please visit Art Projects for Kids!
Can you believe I have never worked with paper-mache?! I know, it’s sad isn’t it? I always wanted to, but never got the opportunity. I remember in elementary school that other classes were doing it, but I was...
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Jasper Johns Numbers →
“Jasper Johns, a master American artist, was the first to use everyday objects as his subject matter. One of his most famous paintings was just a grid with many numbers..”
This is a nifty, artful idea I found on the Art Projects for Kids blog. Please click the link for full description!
Even though this project is geared more towards school-aged kids (the picture above was done by a...
“Every time you engage in positive relationship building with a child it is like...”
– Topics in Early Childhood Education: Building Those Relationships
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PreschoolRock.com - Body Part Balance Challenge →
Body Part Balance Challenge - Preschool Fitness Activity
Preschoolers will learn body part names and increase their coordination skills as they try to balance in different ways. No equipment is required for Body Part Balance Challenge so game set up is simple. Pose balance challenges to preschoolers and watch them think and complete the challenges. Body Part Balance Challenge promotes balance...
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Paper Chain Caterpillar →
Teaching your kids about the letter C? Try this fun and super easy project — a Paper Chain Caterpillar! What better way to demonstrate the letter C than with a cute caterpillar?!
All you need to make a paper chain caterpillar is:
construction paper
scissors
tape/glue
wiggly eyes (optional)
black marker
Visit this DLTK site for detailed instructions..
I love to see little hands...
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Bedtime Race →
Time: 15 minutes
Materials: Small timer
Directions: Preschoolers love a challenge, and you can use that to your advantage at bedtime. Set a small timer for 15 minutes as a signal for your child to run for the bedroom, change clothes, brush her teeth, and hop into bed. Your child wins if the timer has not gone off. Follow with a favorite storybook.
Visit fun.familyeducation.com to see this...
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Tidy Up Song
[Sung to the tune of “Mary had a little lamb”]
Now it’s time to tidy up Tidy up, tidy up Now it’s time to tidy up And put our toys away
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The Clean Up Song
[Sung to the tune of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”]
It is time to clean up now Clean up, clean up, we know how. We can clean up; you will see Just how clean our room can be.
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April Fool's Snack! →
Idea:
Make your favorite flavor of Jell-O according to directions. Pour the warm Jell-O into drinking glasses (make sure the cup/glass is heat resistant) Insert a straw into each glass and refrigerate until Jell-O is firm. The kids think they will get a tasty drink but can’t suck the liquid up through the straw. April Fools!!
*Elle here: April Fool’s Day is in just one week! I...
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C is for Cactus... Potato Cactus! →
This potato cactus project is by far one my favorites! I got the idea from the Everything Preschool site. The instructions are short and sweet:
What You Need:
Potato or cucumber or paper or play dough
Toothpicks
Paint
What You Do:
Either give your children a potato with the bottom cut off or a piece of paper cut into the shape of a cactus. Let them stick toothpicks in it and paint it...
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Washcloth Fitness Fun for Preschoolers →
A dry washcloth makes a great fitness prop for preschoolers to explore creative movement. On rainy days or indoor play days, reach for a washcloth and these simple instructions to keep preschoolers active and healthy in creative fitness play. In addition to exploring creative movement, preschoolers will explore abstract concepts such as large and small and over and under. Fitness for preschoolers...
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Coffee Bear →
When doing a lesson on the letter B, I decided to try a “Coffee Bear” project. I found on one of my favorite preschool resource sites, everythingpreschool.com, simple instructions on how to make said project:
What You Need:
Glue (or Paint)
Coffee Grounds
Construction Paper
Googly Eyes
What You Do:
Have the children paint bears with glue (or paint) that has coffee grounds...
Poem: What Are You Doing Teaching Preschool →
What Are You Doing Teaching Preschool Original Author Unknown
There are those days when the logical mind says, you must move on and do a better job of supporting yourself. Those days when the logical mind say, why did you choose this career, it is not reasonable. If the heart can still the mind, then the answers are apparent. Perhaps logic did not play a great part in choosing our jobs as...
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Alphabuddies!
One of my daughter’s favorite activities is the DLTK alphabuddies! The alphabuddies are silly characters based on the letters of the alphabet (as the name implies). We do one alphabuddy every Friday. (Check out the DLTK site to print off the super-simple templates!)
Kids love to glue things, there’s no question about that! This is a fun project with lots of gluing and a fun way to...
PreschoolRock.com - Adding Natural Light to the... →
Adding Natural Light to the Preschool Classroom
Natural light may not be one of your primary concerns when planning your preschool classroom but recent studies by Heschong Mahone Group, an energy consulting firm for the California Board for Energy Efficiency and the Pacific Gas and Electric Company, shows that natural light can increase the ability of students to learn.
The study found a strong...
PreschoolRock.com - Five Senses Poem →
Five Senses Poem
In Preschool Songs and Poems you will find poems, songs and activities that are both fun and educational. Preschoolers are just now really starting to understand what their senses are-hear,see,touch,taste and smell. Now that they are older,there are so many new experiences for them. Here is a fun game and poem to help your preschooler learn what their five senses are all about. ...
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Letter A Arts and Crafts: Hand Apple Tree →
Hand Apple Tree
What You Need:
Paint
Paper
Other Materials you choose
What You Do:
First Paint the kids hand brown and press it on paper to make a tree trunk. Then Give the kids red, yellow, and green paint as well as any other supplies you choose. Then let the kids create their own apple tree.
**Variation: At the time, we didn’t have any paint at home, so we used construction...
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Letter Rubbings
Children clip paper on the rubbing plates with clothespins (I used masking tape) and rub over the paper with the flat side of a crayon. The letter will “magically” appear on the paper. Rubbing plates were made by writing letters on pieces of poster board and tracing over them with hot glue. (via http://www.prekinders.com/letters.htm)
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