Coolest Preschool Matching Game! Thanks, Pinterest!
If you have an active preschooler, you know how challenging it can be to keep them entertained. Three-year-old Derek has completely given up naps, so I’m always looking for new and interesting things for him to do in the afternoons when his brother and little sister are sleeping. I have a love affair with Pinterest because it supplies me with constant cute and creative ways to keep Derek busy. Yesterday afternoon nothing seemed to interest him, so I logged on to Pinterest, typed “preschool” into the search box, and sorted through new ideas until we found one just right for us. Several minutes later, we made a fun new game!
I came across an adorable, printable paintbrush matching game and knew we found something great. Not only would he have fun, but he’d also practice his colors. Double score! We cut out paint buckets of various colors and lots of paintbrushes together, practicing cutting skills. Next, we taped them to a large sheet of paper and pinned it to the easel. Derek loved putting his paint brushes in the correctly colored paint bucket and did a little happy dance every time he got one right. We played the game three whole times. That’s a long time for a little guy! Plus, we can play it many more times. I think we found something great!
The best sort of game is the one that is fun AND educational. Free is nice as well. I love to see his mind working hard and the joyful smile of pride when he masters something new. Keep ‘em coming, Pinterest, keep ‘em coming. 
What are your favorite activities for keeping your little ones busy?
Watch me! Watch me!
So cute!
So proud!
Arg, Matey! Welcome To Pirate Preschool
If there’s one thing three-year-old Derek loves more than anything else, it’s pirates. He talks about them morning, noon, and night. He has pirate clothes, pirate costumes, a pirate ship, and a collection of toy swords. He’s got a treasure chest full of “gold” dubloons and a colorful vocabulary of pirate words. His favorite cartoon of all time is Jake and the Neverland Pirates. I happened upon a free pirate lapbook for preschoolers today and I knew immediately that I’d stumbled across something big. What better way to get Derek to practice his preschool skills than to make it all about pirates. Arg, matey! Welcome to pirate preschool!
We’ve been making lapbooks as part of our unit studies throughout the year, but this was Derek’s very first. I was thrilled to find something so age appropriate! We got to work this afternoon, cutting out pirate words and tracing our ABC’s. He did great! Here’s where I found the pirate lapbook, along with many, many more awesome preschool lapbook ideas and printables: http://homeschoolcreations.com/PrintablePacks.html.
Derek opens and closes his mouth as he cuts! Too funny!
Derek got a lot of cutting practice in and didn’t complain once. Instead, he talked my ears off about pirate adventures as he worked. I don’t think he even realized he was doing school. “Can I keep this in my room?” he asked over and over again. “Please, please?”
Once he cut out all of his letters, we arranged them in alphabetical order on the floor. This was great practice for him! He practiced letter recognition, letter order, and his ABC song to boot. He nestled them into his Pirate ABC’s folder and practiced the Pirate Words, which included things such as pirate ship, treasure chest, and parrot. He also cut out little pirate themed pictures and glued them to his book.
Sorting Letters
The best way to learn is through play. Second best is to make school work fun and enjoyable. Capitalizing upon your child’s interests is an awesome way to connect with them. Had I got out the letter flash cards, I can bet you that we wouldn’t have spent the afternoon practicing alphabetical order. He would have laughed and ran. If it has to do with pirates, it must be good!
We’ll be working on our pirate lapbook for a while. We finished only the cover and page one before his attention span ended. We’ll have more pirate adventures tomorrow! If you need something to occupy your preschooler, definitely check this site out! We’ll be doing lots of their activities. School doesn’t have to be boring. Putting fun into learning makes it a joy for everyone.
Derek was so proud of his work!
Look what I did!
Stepping into Spring With Bright Rainbow Crafts!
I love the bright colors of spring, and rainbows tie in with both St. Patrick’s Day and the beginning of spring next week. We began a fun rainbow craft yesterday and continued it to completion today. What preschooler doesn’t love cutting up paper and using lots and lots of glue? Mine sure does!
Derek practices his cutting skills
Bella draws a "rainbow" with markers. She loves coloring!
Ethan does a St. Patrick's Day Worksheet
Cutting is an important preschool skill to master. It develops and hones fine motor skills and builds confidence. Derek has really gotten the hang of it the past month and loves to cut paper into lots of tiny pieces, making a confetti of sorts all over the table and floor. Silly boy. I thought we could put his cutting skills to a good use and keep him busy too by cutting various colored strips of construction paper into squares and making a pretty spring rainbow. The best part was that it kept him busy for a very long time! I love it when Derek is constructively occupied. The house loves it too… it’s a short reprieve from his other hobby: making messes. 
Derek's Bowl of Colors
Rainbow Construction Time!
Hard at Work
I also love the fact that Derek got to practice color sorting. We’re always looking for opportunities to practice colors and it’s always best if he doesn’t realize I’m quizzing him. We mixed the colored squares up in his bowl and he had to choose out one color at a time. For example, he had to choose enough blue squares, one at a time, to span the rainbow. This 3-year-old is a color master. He loves to glue too. He got so much glue on the table that Hubby’s flight suit arms stuck to it when he sat down for lunch. His solution was to stick paper towels to the glue bits…. they stuck too. My poor dining room table. It’s sure seen a lot of love– and projects– in its time!
On the topic of Spring and St. Patrick’s Day, Something funny happened yesterday while Alex was doing a reading comprehension project about St. Patrick’s Day. She was reading quietly and then suddenly sat up straight, “What do you mean there’s no such thing as Leprechauns? They’re not real? Well, that ruins all my plans.”
Hmmmm. I’m not sure what those plans were, but she was really bummed! I had no idea she had pertinent plans involving Leprechauns. The things parents don’t know about their kids these days!
Derek was very proud of his rainbow!
Ethan made one too!
Derek finished his rainbow this morning and hung it proudly on the easel for everyone to admire. Ethan and Alex made their own creations out of his leftover squares. Now our house is all ready for spring, bright and cheery and merry. Just don’t sit down at the dining room table… you just might stick to it.
What sort of projects do your kids love to do in the spring?
Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day With Adorable Hand Print Shamrocks!
It’s almost St. Patrick’s Day, and while the holiday won’t be marked by partying and green beer in our house it does offer inspiration for some craft projects. Today we made hand print shamrocks during preschool time! They turned out so cute, I just had to share.
With some simple supplies (paint, paintbrush, and paper), we made an adorable St. Patrick’s Day keepsake. Here’s how you can make one too:
First, apply paint to your preschooler’s wiggly little hand. Be prepared for lots of giggles!
Place hand on paper, pressing firmly to made a hand print. Lift hand and turn paper clockwise. Repeat until you have a hand print facing each direction.
Now that you have a four-leaf shamrock, paint on a stem and write a St. Patrick’s Day message! This makes an adorable fridge decoration or a gift for grandparents. Derek loved it and is still painting everything with green paint as I type. He’s on his 4th or 5th paper now… and his arms and the table are completely green. It’s the color of the season, right?
At least I got some more stain remover at the store yesterday!
Related articles
- St. Patrick’s Day Children’s Crafts (thecraftycrow.net)
- 5 St. Patrick’s Day Symbols and What They Mean (greetingcarduniverse.com)
- 10 Ways to Do St. Patrick’s Day With Class (bellasugar.com)
- 5 Fun and Eco-Friendly St. Patrick’s Day Projects! (craftingagreenworld.com)
Learning Through Imagination- Pirate Princesses Have Never Been More Adorable
Arg, Matey!
Little kids love dressing up. Whether it’s costumes, jewelry, or mom’s old clothes, dressing up allows them to be imaginative and pretend to be someone else. Role playing and imaginative play is great for little kids, and playing dress-up is actually very beneficial to a child’s growing brain. With dress-up play, a child can be anyone they want: a princess, a knight, an Army ranger, a pirate, and so much more. Haven’t you ever wondered what it would be like to be someone else, if even for just one day?
Derek Made His Crown Himself During Preschool Time!
Where's the Fire?
A well-stocked dress-up supply is a fun part of any preschool classroom. We have several large bins of dress-up supplies in our home. Alex has her own in her room full of princess and fairy supplies, which she would not try on for the camera because it’s “lame.” The younger kids have an overflowing bin in our play room, brimming with hats, shoes, and outfits of all types. I love stocking up on costumes and accessories after Halloween and paying a fraction of the price. My husband always rolls his eyes and wonders what I could have possibly found that we “needed.” I do always find something.
Derek loves to get out the dress-up bin and cover the entire living room floor with his supplies. I love watching his imagination at work. Bella loves playing dress-up now too. Watching them play, talk, and take turns is so cute (there is plenty of fighting too, of course). When Derek dressed up as a doctor, he grabbed the doctor’s kit from the playroom and gave the rest of us “check ups” for the next half an hour. When he was a fireman, he ran around the main floor making siren sounds and putting out imaginary fires. So cute!
Bibbiti Bobbiti Boo!
Dress-up allows kids to try out different roles and to apply what they know about the world around them. They learn best through play and through imitation. I don’t direct their pretend play but go along with the story lines they create. If Derek wants to take my “blood pressure” or listen to my heart for the millionth time, I let him. If Bella wants me to watch her dance for the millionth time of the morning, great. There will always be laundry to fold, dishes to wash, and articles to write… but they won’t be this small, precious, and curious for long. It seems like yesterday that my 7-year-old loved dressing up and now she thinks it’s for babies. Sigh.
Doctor in the House!
Mama's Princess
I haven’t been good about posting many pictures this week, but I couldn’t resist sharing these. These are memories I want to remember. If I could bottle them up and store them forever I would. After all, I’ve never seen such a cute pirate princess in my life nor been treated by such a dashing doctor. It’s quite an exciting life.
Dressing Up is So Tiring!
Help! We’ve Got a Bad Case of CPS (Crazy Preschooler Syndrome)!
Help! We’ve got a bad case of CPS, or Crazy Preschooler Syndrome! I believe it’s also known as MPHWTMFE, or My Preschooler Has Way Too Much Freaking Energy. Symptoms include: bouncing off the walls day and night, rarely sleeps, often up till 11 pm if napping quota was met, crazy sense of humor involving bodily functions, laughs like a maniac at the slightest provocation, and possesses more pent up energy than a boiling kettle. Have you heard of it?
I’ve always heard that boys are constantly on the move but never knew exactly what that meant until we had Derek and he turned three. This boy seriously never stops moving! In order to get him to concentrate on a little preschool work, I’ve got to let him run wild and expend a ton of energy outside. This means three hour-long outside periods. That is three hours of our day walking about, riding bikes, running around the playground, chasing and kicking balls, etc. I took him outside one last time before baths and bed for a nice long walk and he ran the entire time! This way and that, here and there, discovering rocks, acorns, sticks, tree stumps, and anything else that captured his fleeting fancy. I took the camera along to capture our crazy walk.
Derek insists on jumping over every single crack in the sidewalk. Alex is an extremely accommodating sister and plays with him. Derek pretends that there’s an alligator hiding in each crack and if you don’t jump over it you get eaten. He ran, jumped, and squealed for the entire walk. He amassed a collection of pine cones and flowers, rocks and sticks, forgetting the last treasures every time he found something new and exciting.
Derek: Alex, Alex, guess what?
Alex: What, Derek?
Derek: The alligator is gunna eat you! You had better run faster! If he come after me, I am gunna kick him. I can kick him and run cause I am really fast and strong. I am gunna get that alligator with my stick. Plus I has rock. Lots of rocks. Alligators not like to eat rocks.
(Pause)
Derek: Alex, Alex, guess what?
Alex: What, Derek?
Derek: The sun is going to bed and the owl is coming out of his home. When I was a mouse, I was really scared cause the owl was going to eat me! I ran and ran. But I is not a mouse, I is a Derek, and I can kick owls. They not want eat me. Cause I is a Derek.
(Pause)
Derek: Alex, Alex, guess what? I is going to walk over that bridge (pointing in the distance) and I is going to walk and walk till I get to the store. Then I is going to get us a birthday cake.
Alex: It’s not your birthday, silly.
Derek: I is needing a birthday cake cause I like them. We can have a picnic, but not at night. At night there are raccoons and bats, and those is scary. But I can get my stick and hit them. Cause I is a Derek and I am not a baby.
On days I am on top of it and get Derek outside numerous times a day, he’s a pretty manageable little boy. He went to bed so nicely tonight and is sleeping soundly! It only took three long play breaks: morning, noon, and night. Yesterday we missed our morning playtime AND he took a short nap. Guess who was running around the house like a crazy person until nearly 11 pm? Yes, Derek. I am not ready for him to give up naps completely. I need a little down time and he is a very intense, in-your-face kind of child. On the other hand, I really don’t enjoy him being up so late either. Which is worth more: an hour of peace in the afternoon or quiet time all evening? It depends on how tired I am, I guess.
As crazy and over-the-top as he is, I adore Derek at this age. He’s so inquisitive and full of wacky ideas. He talks my ears off and tells me lengthy made-up stories that take a great deal of creativity. He still loves cuddling too, when he isn’t beating up on his brother or running from one end of the house to the next. He asks “Why” at least a hundred times a day and wants to know everything about the world around him. He wants to hit every tree we walk past with a stick to hear the sound it makes, step on every acorn, run through every mound of grass, and jump in every puddle. Everything is interesting and worth investigating.
I’ve read that boys are really being left behind in today’s schools because they’re not prepared for the amount of energy these kids have. Modern kids in daycare and preschool spend 95% of their day sedentary. Kids like Derek don’t sit still. They need a serious amount of play time outside, climbing and running and exploring. He won’t get that at a traditional school. I’m glad that we can work around his style, providing him with both the exercise and activity he needs as well as a great education. Walking Derek definitely wears me out too!
Do you have a crazy preschooler at home? I think one day I’ll look back and miss this phase. He’ll have outgrown it (hopefully!) and be embarrassed by the crazy stories of his wild antics and crazy aspirations. As his mom, I’ve really had to learn to let things go. Does it matter that our walks often have no real direction and take 10 times longer than I’d like? Not really, in the grand scheme of things. I think that watching him discover his world and laugh like a mad scientist at everything that he finds hilarious is much more valuable. I don’t think I really mind having a kid with CPS after all….while he wears me out, breaks things, and has caused his fair share of headaches, he certainly keeps things interesting.
Birds of a Feather Make Messes Together– Preschool Feather Art Fun!
My Oriental Trading Company order came in this week and the kids were excited to rip open the modest cardboard box and discover the treasures inside. If you’ve ever seen their catalogue, they’ve got some weird stuff! The craft supplies are a great price, though, and I stocked us up with buttons, pipe cleaners, stickers, buttons, sequins, stencils, and… feathers. Why feathers? We’re talking about birds this week, and feather art is a fun sensory activity for little hands.
I asked Derek, “What kind of animals have feathers?”
“Giraffes,” he stated, matter-of-factly.
“What? Did you say giraffes?” I was pretty confused. I thought this project would be a bit more straightforward.
“They has feathery tails!” he said.
Good observation… although I did explain to him that a giraffe’s tail is fringed with hair, not feathers. It’s interesting to look at the world through the eyes of a 3-year-old. I suppose a giraffe’s tail does look something like feathers.
We talked about birds a bit and I filled a bowl with colorful feathers. Derek loved grabbing handfuls and feeling them. I also provided him with glue, a paintbrush, and some construction paper and showed him how to smooth some glue onto his paper and stick a feather to it. Today’s project: feather collages.
A bowlful of feathers!
Derek's "Bird-brain" look
And this is what happens when you give a 3-year-old a bowl of feathers...
Derek's feather collage
By project’s end, the feathers were all over the dining room floor. Bella wanted to play with them too, so I scooped them into a large mixing bowl and placed the bowl in the middle of the living room on the rug. I gave Bella and Derek an extra bowl and tongs to pick up the feathers and play with them, scooping them from bowl to bowl.
Bella delicately scooped her feathers and placed them neatly in the smaller bowl. Derek scattered them around the entire living room. Wow. That boy is something else. This would have really gotten on my nerves a year ago, but now it doesn’t even phase me. I guess that’s what happens after having 4 messy, creative little monkeys and homeschooling them. Things like that just aren’t a big deal anymore. I did make him clean up all the feathers when he was done “decorating.” I’m rather thankful the neighbors didn’t come over at that moment!
These things are tricky, mom!
Play is vitally important for preschoolers and it’s amazing how long they’ll play with the simplest things. It just has to be novel and the fun can last for an hour (an eternity in my house!). Play is the foundation for learning, and giving kids a variety of things to play and experiment with stimulates their imaginations.
One of Bella’s favorite things to do is to play with an assortment of dried pasta, sorting them between various bins with spoons, tongs, and her hands. The feathers added a bit of freshness to this activity. The feathers were soft and light, colorful and interesting to touch. The kids liked sorting them and throwing them into the air, watching them fall slowly to the ground. Bella was interested for about 20 minutes and Derek played with the feathers for about an hour. That gave me a lot of time to focus on the other kids’ lessons. I’d say that was a good morning all around!
Now, I wonder if Derek will make a connection between this project and birds? I think we need to take a trip to the library for some age-appropriate bird books. After all, I don’t want him to grow up convinced that giraffes have feathers.
Valentine’s Day Preschool Math!
Valentine’s Day is a fun time of year full of sweet cards, cute hearts, and sugar-high children running around like maniacs. Is it crazy that I don’t really associate the holiday with romance anymore? My husband and I exchange cards and small gifts, but it’s really about the kids. Each of the kids made cards for the other children, telling them something they like or admire about them. Not only do their creative juices flow, but it feels so great to hear people tell you what they like about you. Plus, it’s proof that they like each other in some way or another, right?
Valentine’s Day is also a fun opportunity to incorporate cute treats into learning math. How so, you ask? Quite simply, conversation hearts make wonderful counters for preschool hands. I picked up several boxes of conversation hearts at the commissary yesterday. Derek was so excited for his project. He was asking to do it before breakfast. He had no idea what the project was, but he wanted those candies!
I split a piece of paper into 10 sections and asked him to put that number of hearts into each box. For example, one heart went into the 1 box and 8 hearts went into the 8 box. He did awesome up to 5, then got sidetracked after that. With a little bit of urging and several attempts, Derek mastered the concept and had a good time practicing his counting! One-to-one correlations can be hard for preschoolers to grasp and this is an easy activity to strengthen those skills.
Next, we worked on color patterns. I began a pattern for him and he completed it. He wasn’t sure exactly what to do at first. With some practice he got the hang of it. We’ll definitely continue working on patterns.
The conversation hearts mysteriously disappeared throughout the project. Hmmm…. I wonder what happened to them?
Derek also practiced his fine-motor skills today, cutting out heart-shaped valentines (with mom’s help) and decorating them with stickers. I loved it because it kept him actively engaged. He had fun too. My Derek Valentine is covered with lots of bright stickers and crayon pictures. Ethan’s is brown with one sticker. At least he expresses himself right? Derek was thrilled to put his cards into each child’s valentine’s bag.
I love holidays of every shape and size. They provide us with constant inspiration, project ideas, and preschool themes.
Happy Valentine’s Day!!! I hope you get a bug-sticker-covered Valentine from someone you love too.
Outside Art Time on a Summer-Like February Morning
Punxutawney Phil may have predicted six more weeks of winter, but we’re certainly not feeling it here in Florida. Did winter even happen? Today was another lovely, sunny day in the upper 70′s to mid 80′s. It was so nice that we couldn’t help but take school outside to the park. That is a definite benefit of homeschooling: our classroom is not confined to one space. The world is our classroom.
While the kids got ready to go outside, I gathered together a bunch of art supplies: construction paper, yarn, scissors, crayons, paint and paintbrushes, newspaper, pipe cleaner, and more. I cut our egg carton into three pieces and stacked everything into a rather precarious heap to be transported outside. We staked out the picnic table and covered it with newspaper to contain painty messes. Today’s first project: Egg carton caterpillars!
The kids had so much fun creating colorful caterpillars. Do you remember making these crafts in elementary school? I do. Bella ticked Derek off trying to paint his caterpillar. “No, Bella!” he exclaimed, “You is not invited! You is ruining it!” Ruining it is an interesting concept considering he likes to paint by flinging.. yes, flinging… the paint at his creation. Wow. We went through many, many baby wipes cleaning up Derek’s paint job.
Derek ran off to play and the bigger kids did a symmetrical cutting project, cutting butterflies from construction paper and making them into a pattern banner. Alex designed a variety of interesting butterflies and merrily cut them out. I drew Ethan’s butterflies and he cut most of them. He has had a lot of trouble listening this week and wouldn’t follow directions at all, frustrating both of us. In the end, we ended up with two pattern banners of colorful butterflies. Ethan ended up with fewer butterflies because he would not listen and kept unfolding the paper and cutting the butterflies in half.
Our mornings aren’t all fun and games and we did accomplish more than fun art in the park. After we finished and cleaned up all the mess, we headed indoors for the serious business of math and reading. Derek got his own profile on IXL.com today! The bigger kids love IXL and practice their math drills using the program daily. Now Derek is a registered preschooler. He had so much fun counting and labeling shapes! What a smart boy. He’s also rocking his phonics. Alex did awesome with her typing tutor today and made some big strides forward in math. We had a very productive day today, the best kind of day.
Now we have some adorable caterpillars sitting on our counter and pattern banners hung around the dining room. We sure know a lot more about butterflies today than we did this time last week! This has been a very fun unit. Who knows what we’ll do next?
Tiny Hands+ Construction Paper= Adorable Handprint Butterflies!
This afternoon, the little kids crafted some adorable handprint butterflies! What is more adorable than tiny handprints? Nothing much, really. I began by tracing Derek’s hands while Alex worked on her butterfly book and Bella wanted in on the action too. That kid is growing up too fast! She wants to be involved in everything the bigger kids do!
Tracing Hands!
Tracing Baby Hands!
We traced a total of six handprint per child, two handprints per color. I cut them out and made butterfly bodies. Then the kids helped staple their wings to their butterflies and colored them. They had so much fun!
Derek was very proud of his butterfly!
Busy Coloring!
Bella and her BFF coloring
I love seeing the kids so passionate about their projects. Learning can be such fun! Once the butterflies were merrily colored, we taped them to the window for everyone to enjoy. Derek and Bella couldn’t stop talking about their butterflies!
Finger Painting Preschool Madness!
Derek’s full Horizons Preschool Curriculum arrived in the mail yesterday, and he was so excited to start that he was begging to get out his books before we had even eaten breakfast! His attention span is really improving, and we figured it was time to introduce him to more formal book work (just a bit). He dug right in. Our lesson ended with a cutting, gluing, and painting exercise. He loved spreading the glue with his paintbrush and carefully added colorful paints with another brush… at first. Every time he got a bit of paint on his hands, he would hold the hand out in disgust until I washed it.
Then…. something happened.
“What will happen if I put my hands in the paint?” he asked.
“Nothing,” I replied. “You are supposed to paint with your hands. It’s finger paint.”
He put one finger in the paint, then two. One hand, then two. A grin spread from ear to ear and the mess began. His hands moved at the speed of light, back and forth and round and round, and the paint began splattering far and near. “I made brown!” Derek exclaimed, excited, painting his newspaper like a madman.
One picture turned to two. Two turned to three until eleven colorful Derek creations covered our dining room table. By the time he finished, the entire Derek side of the table was greenish brown, as were his hands, arms, clothes, legs, and part of his hair. I carefully extracted him from his chair and carried him to the kitchen sink for a thorough scrubbing.
It may have been messy, but I haven’t ever seen Derek that creative. I love how much focus he’s developing. He can actually focus on a project for 30 minutes or so now, something we couldn’t have imagined only several months ago. My little boy is growing up. I love him so much, green-paint-splotched arms and all.
My hard working preschooler
Look what happens!
So happy!
My messy boy!
Derek's masterpieces line our table!
Bringing Winter to Florida: Homemade Snow and Cool Science
Snow!
All of the snowy pictures from the Pacific Northwest make me long for some real winter weather. Even a sprinkling of snow would be nice. With this 70-80 degree winter weather here in Jacksonville, that’s not likely to happen anytime soon. The palm trees are rustling in the warmish breeze and the robin’s egg blue sky beckons for outdoor adventures… most days. For Wednesday’s preschool time, I thought it might be fun to make some “snow” for Derek.
First, we put lots of ice in the blender and added some water to help with mixing. Derek helped whir the ice into a shaved ice blizzard. It took lots of stirring to get all the big pieces properly shaved. Perhaps it’s because my blender is old and cheap. It works! We drained out the excess water and poured the “snow” onto a large plate for science time.
Derek helps make snow
Derek was so excited for some snow science. He measured and scooped, patted and balled. He separated the snow into piles and into containers of various shapes and sizes. He sloshed it around his plate and made a watery, wintry mess. We had to make a second batch of snow to replace the melted variety and the table ended up covered in towels. He had so much fun, though! He stuck with his project for at least 40 minutes! That’s a whole lot of attention for Derek to devote to a single activity!
Snow!
We talked about the properties of snow while Derek played.
“What do you think snow is made of?” I asked.
“Cold stuff,” Derek replied, swirling his snow into an ever-more-watery circle.
“Do you see how the snow is melting? Do you know what that wet stuff is?” I prodded him.
“Water!” he laughed. “I making it melt by wacking it and stirring it.”
“Kind of,” I answered. “It is water! Snow is made of frozen water. What happens when snow melts?”
“It turns to water!” answered my smart, wet, goofy preschooler.
After the last of the snow melted and Derek ran around for a while to get his energy out, we read a few colorful picture books about snow and winter. We played a few snow-related finger plays too. Here’s one that Derek really enjoyed:
Make a Snowman
Start with a very tiny ball. (Form ball with fingers)
Roll it through the snow. (Push with right hand)
Over and over and over again. (Repeating pushing motion)
Each turn makes it grow.
Now the ball is big and round. (Make ball with arms)
Make it broad and tall. (Indicate with arms)
Add a head and then some arms. (Motion as if setting them on)
Firm so they won’t fall.
Here are buttons for his coat. (Pretend to place)
A broom for him to hold. (Pretend to hold a broom)
Let’s put a hat upon his head, (Pretend to put hat on own head)
So he won’t get cold.
After circle time, I put the Finger Play book on the counter and moved on to help Alex with her project. “Where did you put that book?” Derek asked.
“Why do you ask?” I questioned him. You see, the Finger Plays book keeps disappearing for weeks at a time. I search the house for it and can’t find it anywhere! Then it emerges in odd places, like behind the couch or in the laundry room.
“I pretty much hate finger plays,” Derek replies with a mischievous twinkle in his blue eyes, retreating to the play room to dump his cars and trains all over the floor. Hmmm…. that explains things.
Today’s lessons were really run and got Derek involved in learning. A little homemade snow brings a bit of fun to a Florida winter day. I hope that next year they get to see some real snow. You know, the kind that actually falls from the sky.
This is what happens after a morning full of learning!
Really Cute Song for Teaching Opposites!
Cover of Opposites (Concept Sliders)
I came across an adorable song today for reinforcing opposites and just had to share! It’s called “Opposites” and it comes from the Scholastic Professional’s Book “50 Learning Songs Sung to Your Favorite Tunes- Teach & Delight Every Child With Skill-Building Songs That Are Fun to Sing & a Snap to Learn!” by Meish Goldish. That’s a lot of title!
I introduced the song during Circle Time at the start of our school day. The kids weren’t sure what to think the first time through, but after a few times they were having a blast. I would start each sentence, “You say hot (or whatever) and I say _____.” They would shout out the second word and liked trying to beat their siblings to the punch. My 5-year-old still struggles a bit with opposites and my 3-year-old is just learning them, so this was an awesome way to reinforce the concept! I overheard them singing (aka shouting) the song at/ with each other during free play time. Yeah!
Why do we bother teaching opposites? To get technical, teaching opposites is one of the first steps to developing higher level thinking. They help us recognize relationships between words and concepts. Opposites are one of the basic concepts young children need to master in order to grasp reading, writing, listening skills, math, and following directions. Opposites also teach kids lots of new vocabulary words and help them learn to describe their environment. Kids who gain a solid foundation with the basics do better academically later on.
That’s a lot of responsibility for such a simple concept. Here’s the song:
Opposites
(sung to “Ten Little Indians”)
You say yes, and I say no,
You say stop, and I say go,
You say fast, and I say slow,
These are opposites!
You say day, and I say night,
You say dark, and I say bright,
You say heavy, I say light,
These are opposites!
You say big, and I say small,
You say short, and I say tall,
You say none, and I say all,
These are opposites!
You say wet, and I say dry,
You say low, and I say high,
You say laugh, and I say cry,
These are opposites!
You say hot, and I say cold,
You say bought, and I say sold,
You say young, and I say old,
These are opposites!
You say fat, and I say thin,
You say lose, and I say win,
You say out, and I say in,
These are opposites!
Apple Painting Art: Watch Out For Splashing Paint!
Alex and Derek Show Off Their Apple Painting Masterpieces
What is one fun and messy way to enjoy Autumn’s abundance? Cut an apple in half and hand it to a three-year old, along with some poster paper and lots of finger paint. Step back and watch your little Picasso at work. Just watch out for splashing paint!
This project was a ton of fun for my preschooler. He loved mixing up his colors, whacking his apples hard on the paper so that paint would haphazardly spray into the air, and creating lots of interesting shapes. By the time he was done, he had paint everywhere. His hands we covered, the apples were unrecognizable, and there was even paint on his forehead and neck. How it got there beats me. It may have had something to do with flying paint particles.
My kindergartener proclaimed the project “Too Messy” and refused to participate, but my first-grader begged to make her own apple poster. I made her finish her phonics first and we salvaged Derek’s apples by running them under water in the kitchen sink. They were … almost… as good as new.
If you’re looking for a fun fall project for little hands, this one is sure to keep your kids busy!
Ten Apples Up On Top! This Week’s Pre-School Theme: Apples!
Derek is Excited For This Week's Theme!
Our pre-school/ kindergarten theme this week is apples. Don’t apples make you think of Fall? Crisp Red Delicious apples fresh from Washington, cool air, and sweaters put me in the Autumn mood. We won’t be wearing sweaters any time soon in Florida, but we will be learning a lot about different types of apples, apple trees, plant growth, harvest, and more.
A fun and challenging part about teaching multiple grade levels is incorporating different ability-levels into a common theme that everyone can enjoy. Here are our goals for today:
Tuesday
THEME: Apples
Circle Discussion: Apple Trees
-Types of apples (red, yellow, green) (Red Delicious, Fuji, McIntosh, Cameo, Rome Beauty, etc)
-Apples have been around since ancient times
-Apple trees grow in orchards and ripen in the fall; Apple trees may live more than 100 years
-Read about harvest and plant growth from “What Your Kindergartener Needs to Know “
-An apple tree may live for more than one hundred years, but a mature tree revisits the same seasonal cycle year after year. In summer tiny buds appear on the branches. The buds develop and grow a protective covering in the fall. During the winter the buds are dormant, protected from the cold by a fuzzy coat. In the spring buds explode into green leaves and little flower buds appear. Insects pollinate the apples flowers, which give way to developing apples. Every apple contains seeds that can begin the process again. Use the poster to reinforce these concepts (From Scholastic website).
Literacy Activities: Read “10 Apples Up On Top,” Tracing A’s for Derek, A-word Word Search for Ethan. The Letter of the week is A.
Songs and Fingerplays: Apple Theme
All Around The Apple Tree
Sung to: “Mulberry Bush”
Here we go round the apple tree, the apple tree, the apple tree
Here we go around the apple tree
On a frosty morning.
This is the way we climb the ladder
-pick the apples
-wash the apples
-peel the apples
-cook the apples
Ten Red Apples
(Both hands high) Ten red apples grow on a tree
(Dangle one hand and then the other) Five for you and five for me.
(Shake body) Let us shake the tree just so
(Hands fall) And ten red apples will fall below
(Count ea. finger) 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10.
Apple Poem
Apples big,
Apples small.
Guess what?
I like them all.
Art: Color Apple Tree Pictures
Number Sense: Workbooks and IXL.com
Large Motor Skills: “Apple Picking” and “Apple Balancing Fun”
For apple picking, see dramatic play.
Apple Balancing Fun: Balance beanbags on head to simulate apple balancing from book “Ten Apples Up On Top.” This can be done in circle time.
Fine Motor Development: Writing/ Tracing- See art and literacy sections
Dramatic Play: Pretend Farm
Pretend Apple Picking:
Wake Up! We’re going apple picking today! (Yawn, stretch, pretend to hope out of bed)
Let’s drive to the farm. (Pretend to steer car).
Get your basket. (Pretend to get basket).
Wow! Look at all the apples! Let’s pick some! (Pick apples off tree)
Put them in your basket. (Bend down, place in basket)
These apples are really high! Let’s climb! (Pretend to climb tree)
Wow! Our basket is really full! (Pretend to lift heavy basket)
Let’s pay for our apples. (Pretend to give money).
Let’s drive home, that was fun! (Pretend to steer car).
Science and Discovery: Learn About Apple Trees and Farms (circle time)
As you can see, many of these important developmental goals overlap. We should have a really fun day ahead of us. Later this week, we look forward to some apple tasting experiments and baking an apple pie. This week will be a blast!
What are some of your favorite Fall learning activities?
