Preschool Fathers Day Idea - Golden Shoe

June is here and in the US it means summertime and our celebration of Father's Day. We all try to come up with ways to show dads how much they mean to us. Try this preschool fathers day idea with your kids; dads will be pleased for sure!

It doesn't have to be a father; it can be any male figure who is important in the lives of a child--grandfather, uncle or friend.

This preschool craft idea was sent in by one of my readers recently to share here with everyone. Thanks for the emails!

Father's Day Idea - Golden Shoe
Need: one old shoe for each child, glue, gold spray paint

I send home a request for an old shoe that the child has recently grown out of.
Let your preschoolers paint it with watery glue.
When it's dry I spray paint the shoe gold.
I glue some felt on the bottom if needed.
They give it as a gift to dad at our "donuts for dads" day.
I include a poem on a paper tucked inside the shoe that says: "I love you so much I wish you knew, think of me each time you look at my shoe."

It's a wonderful fathers day gift ideas preschool for all to enjoy.

Keep your ideas coming in and I'll share them here for all.

If you like this preschool fathers day idea, you'll love the other ideas in the Preschool Planner.

Check them out:

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


Mary
marys.plans@gmail.com


PS: If you would like to receive my free newsletter for more ideas for your preschool class, enter your name and address at the site below:

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Preschool Science Activities - Where do Pearls Come From?

Preschool science activities offer so many opportunities for hands on exploration. You can also use them to encourage the use of dramatic play fun that preschoolers love.

One of my circle time ideas is to talk about the next month that is coming up. For June, talk about monthly birthstones. The one for June is the pearl. Do they know what a pearl is? Where does it come from?

Talk about how oysters make pearls. In nature, a pearl is unusual, and finding gemstone quality pearls is rare. The pearl starts out as an irritant in a oyster or mussel. The "irritant" can be a bit of shell or parasite that gets caught in the soft tissue, which the pearl oyster tries to expel. If it can't get rid of it, t/he oyster coats the bothersome piece with a coating called nacre, forming the June birthstone.

Use the following ideas to continue the theme of pearls.


Secret Pearl Coloring Page
Since June’s birthstone is a pearl, show students where pearls come from by giving them an underwater scene to color and decorate. Give them a pearl to hold and look at and ask them to draw a secret pearl somewhere on their page. Then, they can trade pages and see who can find the hidden pearl.

Find the Pearl
Bring in three closed containers and put a pearl in one of them. Show the students which container the pearl is in and then mix the containers around. Students must try to follow the container with the pearl in it until you stop moving the containers. You should try to make them forget which one holds the pearl. When you stop, they can guess and you can see if anyone is right. Try this several times to improve their skills at attention and memory.

Dramatic Play: Underwater Divers
Send your students on a scuba mission to find valuable pearls at the bottom of the ocean. They must avoid sharks, jellyfish, and other dangerous animals as they venture to the bottom of the sea. They can comment on the types of animals they encounter and what it feels like to be able to breathe underwater.

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

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


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

Pirate Theme for Preschool - My Town Treasure Hunt

One of the favorite themes my children enjoy is the pirate theme for preschool. This is a theme you can use to teach any topic you wish--colors, directions, letters, counting, reasoning, etc.

Thanks to one of my readers for sending the idea below for an incredible, town-wide Treasure Hunt.

My Town Treasure Hunt

I have used this for several years to help learn the letter X as well as help my preschoolers explore the world around them. This activity is done with their parents. It is a lot of fun. I call it "My Town Treasure Hunt."

I make up 6 or 7 clues that relate to stores or land marks in our area. At each stop they get the next clue along with a small treat or sticker. I speak with the store owners ahead of time and they are always glad to help (It is free advertising for them!)

At the last stop I give them a simple map to follow that leads them to "X marks the spot!" I put together a simple bag of things the kids can do like bubbles, playdough, crayons and a small notebook etc. I put the bags in a treasure box for them to take home.


If you like this pirate theme 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

Preschool Activities for Cinco de Mayo

This is a fun week to teach your preschoolers about another culture. Use the following preschool activities for Cinco de Mayo for their fun celebrations!

I like to begin by showing my students where Mexico is? Bring out a globe and
show the children where you live and where Mexico is. Discuss how long it
might take to get there by car and then by plane.

This holiday is more of a celebration of Mexican culture, food, music and
beverage unique to Mexico. Cinco De Mayo is a great way to expose
preschoolers to the Mexican culture.

These preschool activities for Cinco de Mayo are for all the centers of the classroom.

Counting in Spanish

Talk with the children about Spanish, explaining that it is the language
spoken in Mexico. Have children try to count in Spanish with your help. You
may wish to make a chart. (Some of your children may already be familiar
with the language especially if they have watched Sesame Street!)

Counting from 1-10 in Spanish.
1. uno (oo-no)
2. dos (doss)
3. tres (trace)
4. cuatro (kwah-tro)
5. cinco (seen-ko)
6. seis (say-ees)
7. siete (see-ay-tay)
8. ocho (oh-cho)
9. nueve (nuay-vay)
10. diez (dee-ace)

Jumping-Bean Jumping

Play music let the children jump like jumping beans, when the music stops
they must freeze in the postion they were in. When the music starts again the
they all jump again. Good for listening skills and gross motor skills.

Maracas
Have the children make maracas. There are many different ways to do this but
the following is one of the easiest for all ages to do.
Take beans and place between two plates. Staple the plates together. Glue a
craft stick to one side. Allow the kids to paint or decorate the plates how
they like. Put on the music and have them parade or dance throughout the
room.

Bean Bag Toss
Need: Bean bags and sombrero.

Toss beanbags into a sombrero and lots of fun! You can teach color
recognition, counting by telling them how many bean bags they get to throw
and/or counting how many make into the hat and how many did not.

If you like these preschool activities for Cinco de Mayo, 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 Opposites Activities - In & Out, Up & Down, Fun & Serious

Teaching a preschooler the concept of opposites is so much fun! One of the best parts is that they already know some and start off feeling so good about what they know. These are just a some of the preschool opposites activities I have used over the years.

Please take these ideas and then add your own. Once you start this for your day or week's activity, the children will learn so much and have fun doing so! This is how preschoolers learn the best--by doing!

Some of the easiest to start with are big and little, cold and hot, front and back, over and under, in and out, wide and narrow, day and night, on and off.

Circle Time Idea
When I use this concept for the week, I start each day's circle time with one of the concepts I am teaching. One day I will wear shoes that are much too big for me. I ask their help on what the problem is with my shoes. After they point out that my shoes are too big, I ask them if I can borrow one of their shoes. This leads them to say they are too small. How better to start off the idea of big and little!

Another day, I will wear my shirt or smock backwards. I engage them to ask what is the problem and they tell me that the shirt is on backwards and that I need to put it on frontwards. They love this. We talk about front and back in terms of clothing, classroom, etc.

One day you can start off with a very serious facial expression and then change to a smile or broad grin. See if they notice that your face is changing throughout the circle time. Ask them for other ways we have opposite facial expressions such as laughing and crying, happy and sad, peaceful and surprised.

You get the idea. Encourage them to come up with ideas for opposites and write these on the whiteboard. You can then use these for other activities.

General Activities
Beads--Provide them with large beads and small beads. Ask them to string them with different patterns of beads to learn about large and small.

Sorting--You can use all of your recycling items such as boxes, cans, paper tubes, styrofoam pieces, blocks, etc and ask your students to sort according to size. They learn big and little, large and small, soft and hard. Ask them if there are other ways to sort.

Gross Motor Play--Design a maze through the classroom or circle time area with yarn, sheets, furniture and then talk with your preschoolers about going over and under the obstacle. Have them tell you the direction they will be using to see if they really understand.

Fine Motor--Provide them with magazines and have an "eye scavenger hunt" to find different opposite ideas. For example: can they find pictures of things to do inside and then pictures of things to do outside; search for winter pictures and summer pictures; search for pictures of front and back.

Opposite Day--Send home a note to parents and ask them to have their child come to school on the last day of the week with something opposite from usual. They can come with their shirt on backwards, with a breakfast food rather than a typical lunch food, pajamas rather than day clothes, etc. They can choose what the "opposite" will be and at circle time we all try to guess the concept and review how much they have learned during Opposite WEEK!


If you like these preschool opposites activities, 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 Name Recognition Theme - Puzzles and Placemats

Watching a child's face as he/she learns to recognize their own name is joy! Here are ideas I use for preschool name recognition theme in my classes.

These ideas allow for visual and fine motor skills for your preschoolers to learn to know their names.

Whiteboard Name Puzzle
I print my preschool students name in large font on magnetic paper with a photo of them. Next I cut it into a few pieces and lay it out on the whiteboard so they have their own personal jigsaw puzzle that helps with name recognition.

Personalized Placemat
I send home a paper placemat with the child's name written on the top. Parents work with children looking through magazines & ads, to cut and glue their favorite foods or just draw them on the mat. When they are returned, we laminate the placemats and each child uses his/her during meals/snacks. This works great with name recognition for everyone and while we're waiting for our lunch, we trace our names with our finger!


Preschool Zoo
something I like to do for my children when we are doing a Zoo, or even a jungle theme, is to cut out picures of the children's faces and glue them into animals - the children love to find themselves on the wall and the parents love it as well.


The preschool name recognition theme is such an important one in preschool and I hope these ideas works for you. 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 Science Activities - Textures & Magnifying Glasses

I can't remember ever having a preschooler who isn't intrigued by a magnifying glass, insects and exploring adventures. Try these preschool science activities with your class. Your students will love it, learn, explore and ask questions. You can use this activity for so many opportunities to teach shapes, numbers, textures, discovery of the world around them.

The kids will help you with the set up of the sand table. Start at circle time to discuss what they will be doing and then introduce the steps.

Texture Exploration!
Activity area: Sand/Water table

Materials: Magnifying glass, picture of an ant, measurement cups/spoons, big spoons, bowls, funnels, cotton balls, foam packing peanuts, birdseed, sand, rice, dried beans, pebbles and stones

Hook: Hold up a magnifying glass and say that they are all going to be scientists, this morning! Pass around the magnifying glass to each child and have the children look at the ant picture, with their new "lenses." Explain that the magnifying glass makes everything appear bigger and that we can all be like scientists and explore.

Activity
Explain that the ant in the picture) uses their feelers or antennas to explore and we, as humans, use our hands, eyes, ears, nose and mouth to explore. Point to each of these body parts. After this discussion, have the children create their own sensory table using their own feelers or hands.

Allow the children to pick from the materials listed above, which item they would like to add to the sensory table. After their choice, ask the child how the object feels.
Let the children use the magnifying glass to see the textures. After all the children have added their item have them all put their hands, in the table, to mix together. Give them plenty of time to explore and experiment!

If you like these preschool science activities, 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