Preschool summer activities

Hi there,

Hard to believe that the 4th of July is just days away.. Those winter months seem so far away when we couldn't wait to get outside.

Let's enjoy these days! Here are some ideas for the 4th of July to add to your files.

Discussion--The Bald Eagle

This is a good time to talk with your preschoolers about the Bald Eagle. Explain to them that it is a symbol for the US and was declared the national bird of the US in 1782. It is only found in the United States.

Get their ideas of what "bald" means when talking about the eagle. It doesn't mean that it has no feathers on its head (like a person who is bald has no hair). If comes from a Greek word "piebald" which means "marked with white".

GOOD NEWS!--is that as of June 28, 2007 it goes off the endangered species list because the population of birds has grown so large.

Patriotic Punch
Need:
2 ice cube trays
Red juice
Blue juice
Seltzer water or club soda

Simply fill one or more ice cube trays with a red and one or more trays with blue fruit-flavored beverage and let the cubes freeze solid.
Place 3-4 ice cubes in each glass, pour the seltzer over and watch the special effects. As the red and blue ice melts, colored bubbles swirl through the drink.

Parade
White Paper Plates
Red & Blue Paint
Gold Stars
Tissue Paper cut in strips for streamers
Beans

Let the children decorate the bottom side of the paper plates any way they wish. Once their creations are complete, fold the plate in half. Add the dried beans to the plate to make noise makers and staple the edges shut. Just before you get to the bottom, add the streamers and continue stapling until the plates are sealed.

Turn on some great music, grab the colorful noisemakers, Yankee Doodle Dandy is good, and lead a parade around the yard, playground or classrooms. Always fun to have a parade.

Hope you enjoy the ideas.

If you're looking for more ideas be sure to check out my Preschool Lesson Plans at:

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

Bye for now,

Mary

Preschool Ideas

Hello there,

Glad you're here to catch up on some ideas for your preschoolers.

Now that it's officially summer many of us think of camping.

Preschoolers love to pretend and practice what this is like.

Here is a craft idea for building a "campfire" that can be used rain or shine!

Campfire

Need:
Paper Towel Tubes
Glue
Brown Paint
Tissue paper--red, orange and yellow


To make a 3-D campfire have each of the children paint a paper towel tube with brown paint. When the paint dries, hot glue 4 of the tubes into a square shape for the base of the campfire. Then glue the remaining tubes up towards the center, like a pyramid. When the glue is dry and cool, allow the children to glue pieces of yellow, red and orange tissue paper to the wood, representing the fire. This can be used in dramatic play as a real "fire". Watch out, it's hot!

Gather the kids around and have a great story time reading around the campfire.

Check back for more fun summer ideas.

Mary

If you like these ideas, check out my Preschool Lessons at:

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

Preschool Art Project

Hello,

Summer is finally here and kids are ready to have new things to do at home.

While browsing the internet, I found this video which gives a fun idea for an art project. It's really a versatile idea because it can be done inside or out, depending on the weather or the season.

Watch and enjoy! It takes a couple of minutes to load so be patient and it will play for you. (Be sure to click on the arrow to play the video.)





Hope you found this to be something you and your preschooler will try.

Send me any ideas you may have and I'll share them with my readers.


Mary

P.S. If you want help with what to do this summer with your preschoolers check out my Preschool Lesson Plans here:

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