Sunday May 17th / Blow Soccer
You know you have a winner when your kids have asked to play this game everyday this week!
You need: Straws, bits of paper, goal markers
Preschooler:
You put a goal marker on one end of your kitchen table. Then set several small bits of crumbled paper on the other. Show your child how to blow them across the table and into the goal. You can make this competitive, but we had so much fun just blowing them across the table and between the goal markers, I thought it wasn't necessary. I also allowed him to crawl on the table if the "ball" was in the center of the table and he couldn't reach it from standing on the side. This may have been what made the game super exciting.
I also had a straw and so did my husband to help. Then everyone had their own paper to move toward the goal. Lastly, we found if two people blow at the same piece of paper at the same time it will "jump" in the air. This produced squeals of delight!
This game could also be played outside with the field and goals drawn with chalk.
Sunday May 17th Terrific Toddlers / Homemade Toy
Toddler:
This is not actually super easy to put together, but it has been a favorite toy in my house for two years. I made it when my son was a toddler and it keeps coming back out of the closet and is always met with excitement.
You will need: an empty liquor box with the compartments, empty clear plastic bottles, numerous different objects (keep reading)
When you go to a liquor store, be sure the inside compartment piece is still inside your box. Collect empty clear plastic bottles that will fit into the compartments. I used water bottles. The box we have holds 12 bottles.
Ok, now fill each bottle with something different. Your toddler will take these out and put them back in repeatedly. They will also look, shake, tip, and explore each bottle. Try things that will make great sounds like beans, rice, small bells, tea, glitter, and buttons. Try putting half water and half oil in a few bottles with food coloring. These bottles will make waves or be kind of like a lava lamp. Put water in only half the bottle with a little dishsoap, so when they shake the bottle there will be bubbles. Put in water and small pieces of yarn, the yarn will seem to dance when you tip the bottle back and forth.
HOT GLUE ALL TOPS ONTO THE BOTTLES SO THEY CAN NOT BE OPENED!!
Tip: I did not like the look of a liquor box in the playroom :-), so I used mod podged pictures on the side of family, friends, and characters. The sides of this box have been equally fun to look at and talk about.
Monday May 18th /Water Play / Carnival Duck Game
Toddler and Preschooler:
Gather all your rubber ducks and empty squirt bottles. This can be an indoor or outdoor game.
Option one-
Fill the bathtub with a few inches of water.
Load it with floating ducks, frogs, etc.
Show your child how if you squirt the animal it moves.
Our ducks wouldn't tip, but that did not stop us from trying.
I filled the bottles when they were empty and we added food coloring.
This was entertaining to them for 45 minutes (I consider that success!)
Option 2 -outside
Fill your kiddie pool.
Same game, except provide another bucket for children to fill their own squirt bottle.
It was not warm enough this week to try this outside, but I think I would let them try the house with the attachment on it, to see if they can squirt and flip the ducks.
Tips-
I never knew an empty Heinz ketchup bottle could be so fun! Try it!!
My toddler could not squeeze the ketchup bottle but she could squeeze an empty joy dishsoap bottle.
Tuesday May 19th Sorting and Classifying
It is a big part of mathematical thinking to be able to sort and classify. Help your preschooler with this concept by having them match socks. Extend their thinking and discuss pairs and after you have all you matches count them up by two's.
You can use your laundry socks or go through your drawer to find socks with different colors, shapes, and patterns. Take out your holiday socks! knee high socks! and booties! Make sure they are not hooked together and dump them in one big pile. Sit down on the floor with your child and show them how to make a match. Put matches in a special place and continue.
Discuss colors, size, and pictures. Use the words: sort, match, big, and small. DOn't forget to also use words like fun and I love you!
Wednesday May 20th Old Fashion Fun/ Build It and They Will Come!
Toddler and Preschooler:
You need a sheet.
Ok this is not new, but if you haven't done this in awhile, try it again. Kids have been buiding forts for years because it is FUN.
Put a sheet over a table and build a fort inside, put your sheet over two chairs, put the sheet over a small card table, or even arrange your couch cushions so you can crawl inside.
Here are ideas for inside your fort. Under the table set up a large train track system with train cars.
Under the card table put in books, pillows, and a flash light.
Tent
Go ahead and set your tent up in the middle of your living room. Put sleeping bags, pillows, back pack, flash lights, and play food inside. You might want to add your plastic bugs?!
Thursday May 21st Ordinary Item / Socks
Yep, socks again!
Toddler or Preschooler:
Take those socks and make them into puppets. Kids love puppets. They will talk to the puppet and do what ever the puppet wants. You really can just use the sock as is. If you really want to sew on eyes, go for it.
What can a puppet DO?
Help your child learn their letters. Do you have refrigerator magnets or the alphabet on cards? Put them out and have the puppet ask for a certain letter. When your child brings the letter to the puppet have the puppet "eat it" in a crazy fashion. Have the puppet thank your child but tell them it is still hungry and now needs another specific letter.
Have the puppet ask your child crazy questions. "Does a dog say mooo?" "Does an elephant fly?" "Does a bird say meow?" etc. Why do toddlers and preschoolers find this funny? I don't know!
Your child will be more than happy to get things for a puppet, even if they wouldn't get the same thing for you! :-)
Have the puppet ask for different objects around the room and watch as your child runs to find then for the puppet.
Puppet extension: You can buy beautiful and expensive puppets, brown bags with faces drawn on, a banana with bubble eyes glued on, sock puppets, stick puppets, and finger puppets and they all are great for learning vocabulary, and helping with your childs imagination!
Friday May 22nd Nature Walks / Scavenger Hunt
It is getting nice outside so take your kids for a walk.
Toddler or Prechooler
Take a piece of paper and draw 10 or so objects on it. Make sure some of the objects WILL be on your walk, and other objects MAY be on your walk. Ask your preschooler to help make the list by asking what you normally see on your walks.
Draw each object and label it with the written word.
Bring your paper and marker on the walk.
Make large X's over the pictures as you find them.
Our paper had: windmill, trees, eagles, Mississippi River, bear statue, cow statue with sun glasses, American Flag, Neighbors Truck, swingset, motorcycle, and train.
Saturday May 23rd Artsy Fartsy / Drama / Face Painting
Toddler or Preschooler
You need: Your make-up bag and a mirror
This is a sad but true story. I was getting ready to go out and brought out my make up bag. My son said, "Oh mommy, What are you going to be tonight??" This stems from the fact that my make-up is used more often for dress up / face painting time than me going out! (How sad )
You can make up their faces like clowns. Use eyeliner pencil to make triangles above and below their eyes, lipstick for a big clown smile, eyeshadow for circles on cheeks and nose.
Your kids will like to add pictures to their cheeks and hands such as: butterflies, hearts, truck, or ANYTHING
We also use eyeliner to make whiskers and freckles. Then they can really pretend to be a kitty or lion. The freckles started after they saw someone with freckles and wanted to know what they were.
Saturday May 16th / Lovin' Language Preschool Style JOKES
Has your preschool just started the art of jokes or have they been doing it forever? We have just started jokes as of a few weeks ago. This is so fun to watch. I love when he tells a joke and uses the wrong punch line. "Why does the chicken cross the road? -To get to the mooovies!" "knock Knock. Who's there? Banana. Banana who? What are you cryin about?" This cracks me up!
Here are some simple jokes you can do with your preschooler. Watch how they try to figure out how these work. There are hundreds posted on other websites if you need more.
Knock Knock
Who's there?
Butter
Butter who?
I butter not let you in.
Knock knock
Who's there?
Boo
Boo who?
What are you crying about?
Knock Knock
who's there?
Interupting cow
Interupting c....(You have to interupt the person!)
mooo moo moo
Why did the chicken cross the road?
To get to the other side
Why did the turkey cross the road twice?
To prove he wasn't a chicken
Why did the cow cross the road?
To get to the moooovies
BONUS Activity!!
Waiting Room Activity
Use an old wallet and fill it with different things that your child can find as they search through it.
Keep the fake credit cards that come in the mail.
Write your child a small letter and stick it in a compartment.
Use old wallet size photos or cut photos to the size that will fit.
Find flat objects, medals, coin chips.
Put in fake money.
Cut out and laminate pictures of their favorite characters.
Keep this away from your regular toys so that it is new to them in the waiting room. Give them the wallet and let them open, close, and take out everything. You can talk about the things they find or just let them explore it. It will be a large challenge for toddler to put things back into the right places because it requires good fine motor skills. Be prepared to help with this.
Remember to READ 15 minutes a day to your child!
“Play is the exultation of the possible.” -Martin Buber quotes (German Jewish biblical Translator, Philosopher and Interpreter. Master of German prose style. 1878-1965)
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