Father's Day Craft for Preschool

Hello there,

I know it has been a long time, but I am back and just in time for Father's Day!

It will be celebrated here in the US on Sunday, June 15th.

Here is a simple but fun idea for a gift for dad that is a little different from the usual. Easy to make and all ages can do this with a little help. Make a windchime for dad with some of his favorite things.


Windchime

Need: screws, nuts, bolts, keys

You can use a hanger or a piece of wood for your base, and then hang a variety of screws, washers, nuts, bolts, etc with string or fishing wire! Be sure to tie them tightly (teachers give an extra tug on the knots just to be sure). Suspend these fairly evenly and close enough together so that a slight breeze will make music!

Just a little different and the chime will remind dad of that special little person in his life.

Hope you enjoy this. Look forward to more ideas.

Let me know how you like the ideas and also send me yours to share on the blog.

You can reach me at:

marys.plans@gmail.com

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

Preschool Craft Ideas - Valentine Flowers

Hello,

Hope you are having a good weekend so far.

I am busy going through my archives of preschool craft ideas for Valentine's to share with you.

It is never too early to get started with projects for gifts or ideas for parties!

I do have a favorite idea that was actually something my children made for me and I was able to use them year after year.

Valentine Flowers

Need: juice can
red foil, paper, lace or ribbon
Green Pipe cleaners
Many paper hearts, cut the same size in red, pink and white

First let your child cover his can with the paper or foil he chooses. Glue a band of ribbon or lace to the top edge. This is the Vase!

Next, give each child at least 10 hearts and 5 pipe cleaners. Glue a pipe cleaner on one of the hearts at the point of the V then glue the other heart on top so that the pipe cleaner is in between the hearts. This will be your flower and stem. Do this with the remaining hearts. 5 flowers is plenty but if you can, more is even better.

Scrunch up some paper, foil, packing peanuts (whatever you may have on hand to act as filler) and put it into the vase to hold the flowers in place. Arrange the valentine flowers in it and they have a Valentine Centerpiece or bouquet to give to a special person.

This is something that I was able to use a centerpiece at home and then put away in the cabinet until the next year. They were always amazed to see their special gift year after year.

Let me know how you like the ideas and also send me yours to share on the blog.

You can reach me at: marys.plans@gmail.com

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

Preschool Valentine Craft

Hi there,

It's hard to believe but Valentine's Day is only a few weeks away. It is never too early to start planning. Try the following ideas for your party this year.

I like to provide time for my kids to prepare their own valentine specials for their friends and family.

Here are a few simple ideas that are great for all the age ranges you may have from the youngest on up.


NO-BAKE CINNAMON SHAPES
(Start these a few days or weeks before your holiday celebration so that they have time to dry well.)

1 cup ground cinnamon, 3/4 cup applesauce

Blend cinnamon and applesauce in mixing bowl. Stir until a stiff dough forms.

Roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into shapes with cookie cutters.

Air-dry several days on a wire rack, turning occasionally.


Tips: To make sweet-smelling holiday ornaments, poke a hole at the top of the

shape, lace string through the hole and tie a loop for hanging.


Heart Paintings & Jazzy Glue!

Need: oak tag or construction paper.
Heart Cookie cutters, all sizes,
Paint brushes
Kool-aid mix

A creative way to jazz up plain old white glue and make a new way to paint is to add kool-aid packets of various flavors( colors) into approximately 1/4 cup of glue. Mix thoroughly with paint brushes and amazing colors come through.

Show your children how to trace the cookie cutter onto construction paper.

Have them decorate their shapes with glue, glitter, crayons, or paint.

This smells great and when it is dry it is glossy. A wonderful sensory activity!

I hope you enjoy these ideas and can plan for a fun Valentine's Day celebration with your kids.

I welcome your suggestions at any time and will share them with all of my readers. Just send them to me at marys.plans@gmail.com.

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

Preschool Creative Activities - Trip to the Moon

Hello,

Most people think of art class when they hear of preschool creative activities. Teaching preschool science ideas will change your mind and show you just how creative science lessons can be.

You can use these lessons to teach the letter "M", continue with a Moon theme to teach the sound of the letter, and to follow it through with the solar system theme discussed in the previous blog post.

Here are ideas that have been sent to me by my readers as well as some ideas from my preschool lesson plans.

From Carol - Moon Walk
Here's an idea I used when I taught a unit about "Astronauts" and the Moon. I filled the sand and water table with flour, had the children take their shoes off and walk through the flour, simulating how it felt when the astronauts were walking on the moon.

From Theresa - Rocketships
We are doing the letter M and taking a trip to the moon. I have made a large Rocket out of cardboard and corrugated cardboard so it is large enough for the children to sit in I have read them the story Man on the Moon by Anastasia Suen. For snack we ate English Muffins and talked about the holes look like the craters on the moon. We ran our weeks together and started the letter R for rocket and moon rocks we made rockets out of paper towel and collected rocks pretending to be discovering the moon.

Moon Landscape
Talk to your students about what the surface of the moon looks like. Most students will not know that the moon has craters, mountains, and valleys, just like the earth. It is a different size and composition, but the basics are the same.

Snack Suggestion
The idea for toasted English Muffins and the comparison to the craters on the moon is wonerful. Preschoolers really like the visual comparisons and the snack is great!

Try these out and let me know if you have more to add!

Have a great day!

Mary

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


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Preschool Science - The Seasons

Hi There,

Well, this is our first full week into the New Year. I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday season and are looking forward to new adventures.

I want to share some ideas on how to explore the seasons with your preschoolers. These ideas cover all the seasons and help them to understand why we have seasons. Not only do they peak interest in the Solar System, they also provide lots of ideas for activities and crafts to enhance learning and create lots of fun!


Why is it so Hot?
Bring out a poster or a 3-D model of the solar system. Ask students to show you where Earth is and where the sun is. Ask students if they know why it is hot in summer and cold in winter. Use the poster or the model to show students that in certain times of the year, Earth is closer to the sun than at other times. When we are closer, the weather is warmer. When we are farther away, the weather is colder.


Changing Seasons Worksheet
Give students a piece of paper with four equal squares on it. Tell students they must draw a scene for each of the seasons. They can include whatever nature things they want as well as animals. Give everyone a chance to describe their drawings and why they think it represents the seasons.

Weather Reporters
Take your class on a “field trip” throughout the room as they serve as weather reporters for the local news station. In one corner of the room, it is summer. Give students a chance to report what the temperature is and what it looks like outside. As they move to different corners, make sure students understand that the weather patterns change, so their reporting must change.

Hope you have some fun with these ideas. If you have any special ways of teaching the seasons, send them my way and I'll be happy to share them.

Bye for now,

Mary

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

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Preschool Craft - Reading Center

Hello Everyone,

I'm BACK! Ready to share more ideas for preschool crafts with you.

Sorry for the absence but I too am one of the "sandwich generation" and had to quickly depart to take care of an aging parent. All is well again and I can catch up with my readers.

I receive so many wonderful ideas from around the world that I would like to share. This one is so timely, a "green" idea for recycling, creative and just so much fun.

Heather sent this idea to create an "Igloo Reading Village".

Igloo Reading Village

Need: 200 1 gallon milk jugs--ask parents for these--free is great!!
Glue--(hot glue is quickest but care must be taken)

My class has made an igloo. We made an IGLOO out of more than 200 1 gallon milk jugs.

We use it as a reading center. How cool is this! I bet you will have lots of eager readers in this center.

Art Work for the Walls:

Coconut Snowman

Need: Paper, chalk, paste or glue, coconut, raisins.

Directions: Draw outline of a snowman on black paper with chalk. Spread paste over snowman. Sprinkle shredded coconut over the paste. Use raisins for eyes, mouth, buttons!

These are just a couple of ideas that show imagination knows no bounds!

I hope you can use these. Send me your ideas and I will be sure to share them here.

Mary

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

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

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

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:

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