* Write a story book. Have children write their own or dictate to you, then
have them draw pics to illustrate. use construction paper and comp paper and
staple them together!
*Make carpet drawings- Using yarn or string you can "draw" pictures on the
carpet
*Make beautiful scribbles together. use a black crayon and scribble on a
blank piece of paper- make sure to make lots of loops and open spaces. then fill
in the spaces with brightly colored crayons. fill each space- the result will be
as beautiful as stained glass!
*Discover a new country. select a spot on the globe or on a world map where
there is no land. draw a small "county" on a piece of paper. cut it out and tape
it to the globe or map. ask you kids to name the country, describe the weather,
vegetation, people, customs, etc. you can even plan a pretend vacation to the
country.
*make a flip movie. draw a face in the upper right hand corner of a stack of
3x5 cards. make the eyes roll, the tongue stick out, or a beard grow by changing
the drawing a tiny bit on each succeeding cad. staple the stack on the left
side, make sure the cards are in order. flip quickly through them and your
drawings will actually appear to move.
*Draw with your toes
*make a butterfy- using small chips of crayon, sprinkle the tiny chips ino a
folded piece of paper, keeping the crayons inside, iron the paper. when you
unfold you will have a beautiful butterfly
*Search for shapes. see who can find the most shapes around the house.
*make heart flowers. cut out tiny hearts from pink construction paper, and
set them aside. have your child draw a stem on a piece of paper, then glue the
tiny hearts, onto the top to create flower petals.
*make faces- draw ahead about 15 circle "faces" and fill in only the nose and
eyes, make sure they are all identical. then have kids add mouth eyebrows, etc
see if they can make the faces look mad, afraid, surprised, and happy, etc.
*Make a paper clothesline- draw a clothes line on a piece of paper, the cut
tiny shirts, socks, and pants, out of scrap material, construction paper, etc.
discuss how people all over the world dry their clothes this way, to save
energy, be efficient, and save money.
*Play simon says
*Make a terrarium. use a clean jar, bottle, or glass bowl. spread a thick
layer of pebbles on the bottom for drainage. cover with soil and tiny plants.
now arrange colored shells driftwood, aquarium gravel, even tiny figurines
inside.
*make bunny puppets. hold a paper bag upside down so that you can put your
hand up inside of it. the flap at the top will serve as the bunnys face. cut out
bunny ears, two eyes, nose, and whiskers ( you can use pipe cleaners etc. for
whiskers) glue these on the face part. ext cut out a pink oval for a tummy. a
cotton ball glued tot he back of the bag becomes the tail and completes the
puppet.
*make lace easter eggs- blow up and know several small balloons. dip lenths
of lightweight string in liquid starch found near laundry det in most stores.
yarn stores etc usually sell thin, multicolored string that works good) coat the
balloons with pretty swirls of string, covering most of the surface. let the
balloons dry on wax paper. tonight, pop the balloons. the dry strings will stay
stiff in the beautiful swirly designs you made.
*Make a puzzle- cut out magazine pages and cut into uneven pieces so that the
kids can put them back together.
*
Water and Beach activities
* water table or tub- make it a beach- put sand at bottom, add water and blue
food coloring, and seashells, boats, and the little squeezy water animals. have
kids help the water animals take drinks, by squeezing them, have them feel the
seashells and describe how they feel. hard, soft bumpy smooth sharp pointed,etc.
can also add pails and small scoops with more sand and less water and rocks or
green craft grass for seaweed.
*water toys- spray bottles, small sprinkling cans, soda bottles iwth holes
punched in bottom, water wheel, shampoo bottles with a teeny bit of shampoo left
in them., clear plastic tubes from plumbing section,
*clear water painting- give each child a small pail of water and a paint
brush, let them paint the building, grass, tree trunks, benches, etc. with the
water, watch the water "paint" disappear
*bathe the babies activity- baby bubble bath, towels, empty powder
containers, baby blankets, doll clothes, baby dolls, etc. fill the water table
with warm water, just a little bit of it, and have the kids give their baby
dolls a bath. then rock the babies in a rocking chair or just standing up , and
have the kids sing the babies a song to go to sleep.
* sprinkler day- have kids wear bathing suits, and have beach towels and
sprinkers. make sure to send a note home with kids telling the parents that tom.
is sprinkler day, have them bring their suits, etc. have plenty of chairs around
, etc so kids can play in sprinkler or rest in the chairs.
*
daily activity ideas
* finger painting- with regular finger paint , shaving cream, etc. types of
surfaces to paint on- shower mats, cookie sheets, bubble pack, etc. make sure
the kids wear smocks.
*instruments and music, have a parade, clap and march, wrist bells ( pipe
cleaners and bells made into little bracelets) maybe find some w/s or other
activities involving music, etc.
*bird watching- take a walk and look for birds. watch what they are doing.
sitting on the ground, flying in the sky, searching for food, resting in trees,
perched on wires, drinking from puddles, etc have kids draw pics of birds, and
use binoculaurs etc. have them imitate the different bird sounds. after you are
done with walk- make a bird feeder for outside the classroom window- or just
hang one you have purchased and put bird seed in it.
*plant flower seeds- flower seeds like zinnias, etc. potting soil, window
box, rocks, small scoops or spoons. do this outside if possible, let each child
plant a seed. put it in an untraveled sunny area. let the kids water it as
needed and watch the flowers grow, check on them every few days.
special activities
*curdoroy party with teddy bear theme-
story- corduroy- read this story
song- little bear
story- a pocket for corduroy- read this story
activity- a pocket and button hunt
project- make a bear puppet
snack- bear cookies and juice
story bags-give to children as there parents come to pick them up
***************************************************************************
decorations- teddy bear theme, pictures, cups, napkins, etc.
name tags- use bear shaped paper, and write kids name on it
story bag- brown lunch sack decorated with teddy bear picture. they will have
their art project, puzzle etc and maybe make a bear bookmark for them. label the
childrens names on them.
**************************************************************
see instructions for song, puppets, etc in file on big computer. they have
been scanned etc. possibly, might just print these out and have in
file.
http://www.suite101.com/lesson.cfm/16658/160/2
reading center
letter writing center
art center
play kitchen
dress up
math
science
music
blocks/building center
sensory table
mommy /preschool group activities
gospel abc quiet book- enrichment cottage
recipe swap
quiet books- homemaking cottage deluxe kids crafts section
Things to do
************
color
puzzles
playdoh
games
legos
magnets
transformers
dolls
barbies
playhouse
post office with valentine cards
tea party