Preschool Games

Hi there,

Here in the States we are in the midst of winter--meaning cold, blustery weather. Getting ready to go outside has given me lots of ideas to use in the classroom.

Here are some fun "Mitten" ideas that come to mind. Try some or all of these and let me know if you have others!

Hide and Seek is always a big hit and can be done on so many skill levels.

Classroom Hide & Seek--FOR EYES ONLY
Have all the children hide their eyes while you "hide" a mitten somewhere in the classroom. It should be out in plain sight but still not in any obvious place. Emphasize that they are to keep very quiet and not shout out when they see the mitten. Tell the class to open their eyes and look all around the room, staying very quiet and use their eyes to search for the Hidden Mitten. They are to raise their hand when they see it but not to shout out or let others know where it is. Pretty difficult to stay quiet but it is possible! The first time they will shout out and one of the learning skills is to learn to keep very quiet. Do this a few times and see who can remain quiet! They always love a challenge.
Choose one of children to show where it is or if they are older have them describe where it is.

Hot & Cold

Play this game by hiding a mitten somewhere in the room or you can have one of your kids do this. This time make it a little more difficult than the one above. Next choose a student and tell them to walk around and search for the mitten giving the clues of "hot" and "cold" until they find it. If one of the children hide the mitten, they give the clues to the one searching. This is fun at circle time and can be used until all the children have a chance at hiding the mitten or searching for it.

Sensory Painting
Need:
Knitted mittens
Fingerpaints
Large paper or poster board

This is great for all ages from toddler to five year olds.
Have parents bring in old knitted mittens or buy some in bulk at the discount store. Pour some fingerpaint into trays. Spread large sheets of fingerpaint paper or poster board on the tables. Have them put on the mittens, dip their hands in the paint and start painting with the mittens on. It is a so much fun and gives good sensory feedback as well.

They really enjoy this and it is a new use for mittens!

Mary

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Preschool Games - Counting Games

Are you looking for ways to make learning numbers and counting fun?

Try some of these suggestions:

1 For quiet play for individuals, give each child several baggies each one marked with a number on it. (I like to start at 3 and then go higher maybe to 10 depending on the level of the children in the class.) Then give them a bag of cottonballs(ping pong balls, anything small enough to fit) and ask them to fill the bags with the correct number of cotton balls as the number on the bag.

2. Take the class on a type of scavenger hunt through the classroom. Start with trying to find out how many shoes are in the room, then go to how many jackets are in the room, windows, etc. Children could be divided into teams and limited to certain areas of the room to make it more manageable.

3. Use the game of Simon Says to help with counting. Simon will give commands to do do things a given number of times--such as "Simon Says, Clap your hands 4 times." This can go on for a long time and the kids love it!

All the things you do throughout the day can be opportunities to learn numbers! Repetition that is fun is what makes learning fun for this age.

Let me know your ideas! I'm always looking for more ideas.

Until next time,
Mary