Preschool Themes - Snow Day at Preschool

I absolutely love "theme days" in my classroom. I start talking about the preschool themes a couple of days ahead to set the stage and get their imaginations going.

All of the day's activities focus on the theme using fine motor skills, gross motor, memory, and social skills of taking turns, paying attention and most of all having fun experiences.

Here is a theme day that one of my readers shared recently and it is a great example. With the lack of snow this year in the US this is just what we need to bring back the feel of winter. Thanks for sharing this with us all.

“Snow Day at Preschool”

Everything for the day had a snow theme.

Snack time - We ate snowballs for snack. These are popcorn balls – made just like Rice Krispie treats but with popcorn instead of Rice Krispies.

Catching Bubbles - We blew bubbles inside and pretended like it was snowing. Try to catch and pop the bubbles as they fall.

Gross Motor Skills- we had a “bilibo” center and pretended to sled around the room in bilibo’s (using huge large motor skill). (These are such fun to have in your center. If you don't know about bilibo chairs you can check them out online. They are versatile hard plastic chairlike toys used to promote balance and gross motor skills.

Art-We glued scrunched up pieces of white tissue paper on blue or black construction paper and made a snow storm picture.

Circle Time- We read “The Snowy Day” by Ezra Jack Keats.

If you like this preschool theme activity, check out the other ideas in the Preschool Planner.

http://www.mypreschoolplan.com/p/ar.html

There are Two Editions now for the Preschool Planner: Basic or Platinum.


Send me any ideas you would like to share and I will post them on my Blog.

Mary


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Alphabet Concentration and Lunch Time Circle Game

Teaching the alphabet is one of our key goals in preschool. One of my readers sent me this "green" idea for creating Alphabet Concentration. I love getting these ideas on ways to recycle and teach all at the same time. The next game is a fun way to spend lunch or circle time with your preschoolers. It involves color recognition and food identification. Try these alphabet concentration and lunch time circle game with your kids.

Alphabet Concentration
This game is a concentration/matching game.
I cut empty cereal boxes into approx. 2" squares. Label them with 26 upper case and 26 lower case letters. Mix up the cards, lay them face down and begin turning them over 2 at a time to find matches.

I have taken this one step further and made doubles of the large case and small case letters. This way I can modify the game and use it with all ages. With my younger ones, I just use the doubles of the large case and only 10-12 letters at a time and see if they can match the letters and challenge their attention span to remember where a letter is to make a match.

Fun Lunch Time Game
Use a set of color cards. Sit in a circle. Let your student pick a color card of their choice, they than pass it to their neighbor. Then they have to guess a fruit or a vegetable of that color. Continuue passing until it has gone all the way around. (We have a chart that is up to help them pick from.) Some of them use it others don't.

Thanks for sharing your ideas. Send me any ideas you would like to share and I will post them on my Blog.


If you like these ideas for preschool, check out the other ideas in the Preschool Planner.

http://www.mypreschoolplan.com/p/ar.html

There are Two Editions now for the Preschool Planner: Basic or Platinum.

Mary
marys.plans@gmail.com


P.S. If you would like to receive my free newsletters for ideas for your preschool class, enter your name and address at the site below:

http://preschoolplanner.com/preschool-activities.html

Indoor ideas for Preschool - Popsicle Painting and Pendulum Play

January in the US for most of us means finding as many indoor ideas for preschool to do that teach, motivate and uses the pent up energy that results from "cabin fever".
Preschoolers need to be active. They learn best when they are physically involved in the lesson.

All of my readers are sending in wonderful ideas to share and here are a couple of them that use the "learn by doing" philosophy that I use every day.

Popsicle Painting
Here is a craft one of my readers sent in that she does with the children in the winter and it is also a science learning experiment.

The children love this. Take water and fill the ice trays. Add food coloring to the water, lay a piece of plastic over and poke a popsicle stick in the middle. You can also use small bathroom cups. We then freeze them and talk about what we think will happen to the water and why. Then in the afternoon or the next morning we pull them out and discuss what happened and why.

Best of all then we paint beautiful pictures with the ice popsicles.

Pendulum Play
String up a tennis ball in a stocking from the rafters.
Have your children construct a building or tower from assorted size boxes, cardboard cylinders, small yoghurt/butter containers, etc. Then let them take turns knocking them down with the pendulum.

NOTE: Be sure to be have this done in a controlled manner and each child gets a turn to knock down a tower. Set a place for the child to stand and have the others stand back so that no one gets hurt.

If you like these indoor ideas for preschool, check out the other ideas in the Preschool Planner.

http://www.preschoolplanner.com/thefullstory.html

There are Two Editions now for the Preschool Planner: Basic or Platinum.


Send me any ideas you would like to share and I will post them on my Blog.

Mary
marys.plans@gmail.com


P.S. If you would like to receive my free newsletters for ideas for your preschool class, enter your name and address at the site below:

http://preschoolplanner.com/preschool-activities.html

Preschool Cooking Activity - Dairy Free Ice Cream

My preschoolers are as excited about the holidays as adults. They want to celebrate and get into the festivities so I though a preschool cooking activity is ideal.

You may be hosting a classroom party or small get together for the children and their parents so I suggest serving something that the children helped to prepare.

One of my readers sent this excellent recipe to share. If you have children with severe dairy allergies,try this recipe for creamy popsicles and our dairy free ice cream.

Dairy Free Ice Cream Popsicles
Need:
Bananas
Peaches
Fruits that are available
Coconut Milk
Honey

Have the children cut up fruits, such as Peaches, and Bananas. Freeze them in small slices. When frozen put them in the blender with an amount of coconut milk just to cover the frozen fruit and blend. Add small amounts of coconut milk as needed to
allow for blending and you'll have a delicious soft serve ice cream.

Very delicious, healthy, non fat and dairy allergy free. Honey can be used as sweetener if necessary.

Fresh fruits, bananas are always a good thickener, and juice or coconut milk to help blend, honey if necessary, put into popsicle molds and the kids love them, because there is no sugar or icky ingredients, I can use them often.

If you like this preschool cooking activity, check out the other ideas in the Preschool Planner.

http://www.mypreschoolplan.com/p/ar.html

Until next time,

Mary

Preschool Fall Activity - Thanksgiving Treasure Hunt

I want to share this preschool fall activity because it is one that can be adapted for all countries at harvest time.

In the United States, the holiday of Thanksgiving is in November. It is a time for families and friends to get together and share a special meal and talk about what we are thankful for.

Our holiday meal is based on the fruits of the fall harvest. Special recipes are shared among friends and families.

To teach my preschoolers about some of the foods they may have at Thanksgiving dinner, I like to show them what it looks like at harvest time before it is prepared.

We often show baskets or cornucopias filled with these vegetables and fruits. My fun way of doing this is to have a Treasure Hunt. This time the treasure is the food!

Thanksgiving Treasure Hunt

NEED:
Pictures of fall harvest vegetables and fruits. (I cut some out of magazines and laminate them or cut them out of construction paper and laminate those as well.)

Plastic foods can also be used in place of the pictures if you have them available. (Check out the Dollar stores for these.)

Empty cornucopia which I find at craft stores. You can use a harvest basket instead.

ACTIVITY:
Hide the pictures of the food or the plastic food around the room. Be sure to have doubles of everything you hide.

We start with a circle time where I show them what a cornucopia is and what foods are part of a typical fall harvest.

Send the kids on a Thanksgiving-themed treasure hunt to find all the foods they need to fill their cornucopia.

Divide the children into evenly numbered teams.
Give each team an empty cornucopia or basket.
Give each team a picture list of food items that you have hidden around the room that they must find.
The first team to find all of the items that they need to fill their cornucopia can help the other team find what they are missing.

My preschoolers never tire of treasure hunts. They are beginning to learn to work together in a spirit of cooperation.

I hope you like this preschool fall activity.

Please share this by clicking below. Leave me a comment too.

Check out the other ideas in the Preschool Planner.

http://www.mypreschoolplan.com/p/ar.html

There are Two Editions now for the Preschool Planner: Basic or Platinum.


Send me any ideas you would like to share and I will post them here.

Mary


P.S. If you would like to receive my free newsletters for ideas for your preschool class, enter your name and address at the site below:

http://preschoolplanner.com/preschool-activities.html

Preschool Painting - Finger Paint Pumpkin

Fall here in the US is all about pumpkins! If you celebrates Halloween, you will be carving jack-o-lanterns. If you don't the pumpkins are also used for Fall decorations. Try this preschool painting pumpkin activity.

This is something that is for all ages and easily adapted for all ages.

Finger paint is a multi-sensory art experience for your students. They enjoy the feel, the texture and they discover the designs they create.

At first some of them may be hesitant if they haven't done this before. Let them use their fingertips to just touch the paint. It doesn't take long until they are enjoying the experience.

NOTE: Always have a bucket of warm water, towels and/or wipes at hand since they do want to wash their hands often.

Finger Paint Pumpkins

Materials:
finger paint paper
orange food coloring
condensed milk

For two year olds I draw a pumpkin shape on the finger paint paper ahead of time.

For older preschoolers I have a template of a pumpkin shape. Either I help the trace the shape onto their paper or with 5 year olds, allow them to trace on their own.

Mix the orange food coloring with the condensed milk.

Let the children to finger paint the pumpkin on their paper.

The finish results of this is amazing since they have a different texture than regular paint. The pumpkins dry and are SHINY.

Kids of all ages love this project.

Do you like this activities for preschool painting?

Please share this by clicking below. Leave me a comment too.

Check out the other ideas in the Preschool Planner.

http://www.mypreschoolplan.com/p/ar.html

There are Two Editions now for the Preschool Planner: Basic or Platinum.


Send me any ideas you would like to share and I will post them here.

Mary


P.S. If you would like to receive my free newsletters for ideas for your preschool class, enter your name and address at the site below:

http://preschoolplanner.com/preschool-activities.html

Preschool Halloween Craft - Footprint Ghosts

October means fall and Halloween for most preschoolers. To corral this excitement try this preschool Halloween craft with them.

These make fun classroom decorations as well.

Footprint Ghosts
I only do this with 2 children at a time during center time.

Have children take off one shoe and sock. One child sits in the chair and the other child paints the bottom of that child's foot with white paint.

When the bottom of the foot is covered, have the child stamp is foot down on a piece of black construction paper. Have a tub of warm soapy water nearby and a towel for the child to wash his/her foot off. Then the children switch.

When the pictures dry, I let the children put two stickers on for eyes (or holes punched from a hole puncher or googly eyes). The heel part of the footprint is the ghost's head.

It's really cute and it's such an unusual art project that my kids remember it for the whole year!


If you like this preschool Halloween craft, check out the other ideas in the Preschool Planner.

http://www.mypreschoolplan.com/p/ar.html

Until next time,

Mary


P.S. If you would like to receive my free newsletters for ideas for your preschool class, enter your name and address at the site below:

http://preschoolplanner.com/preschool-activities.html