Sunday May 24th / Sponge Bomb Splat
Toddler and Preschooler
You need a bucket or buckets of water and sponges. We each had our own bucket. This is an outdoor activity!
Fill the buckets and soak the sponges until they are full of water.
Demonstrate to your children how to take the sponges out of the bucket (quicker is better but it doesn't matter) and throw them.
The sponges will SPLAT! After trying this numerous times, we found the higher in the air, the bigger the SPLAT. Water goes everywhere and leaves a great water mark.
Get sponge, soak up water in the bucket, repeat as many times as you want. My personal scale is if an activity is entertaining for 15-20 minutes it is a winner or if they ask for it later. This one hit on both scales.
Extension: We added chalk circle to the driveway and tried to throw the sponges in the circles. Our toddler spent most of her time taking the sponges in and out and squeezing the water in the chalk circles then yelling, "Look it!" and laughing.
Tip: Remove shoes if they can't get wet. Learn from our mistakes. Also wear a swimsuit unless they can get their clothes wet.
Monday May 25th / Old Fashion Fun / Clothes Pins
Toddler and Preschooler:
You need: Clothes Pins and a jar. I suggest a large empty pickle jar.
I remember playing this game at one of my birthday parties as a child!
Turn a chair around and have your preschooler kneel on it with arms over the back. Try to drop the clothes pin into the jar. Pick them up and do it again! Toddler, I would not suggest kneeling on a chair. Have them stand next to it and try to drop them in.
I attach all the clothes pins to their shirts and pants and they pull them off to drop them. Sometimes I just attach them all over their clothes and they pull them off, end of game! We also add the pins to the side of the jar and build a tower until it falls over.
Opening and closing clothes pins is a really good fine motor activity.
Tuesday May 26th / Totally Terrific Tunnel Tube
Todddler and Preschooler and Dad
You will need a mailing tube or something like it.
We have an expanded collection of tubes: one long mailing tube, one short fat mailing tube, one clear plastic tube from the hardware store ( I have no idea what it is really for!), and the inside tube from home decorating fabric from the fabric store. We tried the inside tube from gift wrap but it was not sturdy enough.
Idea #1
Attach the tube to your railing on the steps. Show you child how to put small balls or match box cars in the "top side" and watch them come out the bottom. You will be pleasently surprised at how exciting this is to a child. Repeat, repeat, repeat!
Idea #2
Same mail tube. Just place this one in the middle of your couch. It will stay because you balance it on the back of the couch and secure it between the couch cushions. Now place a hat, bucket, bin, anything and catch all the objects that roll out. I let me preschooler climb on the couch and do this one. His favorite thing to put through the tube is small cars and he figured out that if they are "wheels side down", they go much faster!
Idea#3
My daughter is a toddler and too young to climb up on the couch, for her we got a shorter fat mailing tube. We put it at a shorter height for her as well. She can fit many different items through it!
This one deserves a video! If you video your little ones playing this send me your youtube link and I will insert it here!
Wednesday May 27th Toesies / Large Motor
You two people, toes, and the ground
Lay down in the grass feet to feet with barefeet.
Touch toes.
Try to roll and keep your toes touching.
Good Luck!!
Have friends over? Match up by twos and everybody roll!
Thursday May 28th Paint and Smell the Flowers -Really!
Toddler or Preschooler:
You need:
1 tablespoon unsweetened powered drink mix (or more)
1 tablespoon warm water
Muffin Tin or place for colors
Paintbrushes
Paper
Mix different flavors in different muffin tin compartments
Paint a Picture (like water color paints) on paper
Let it dry
Scratch and sniff your picture!
Send me an image of your picture and I will make a gallery on this idea!
Terrific Toddler / Artsy Fartsy / 10 Tips
Adapted from Karen Miller and "Things to Do With Your Toddler and Twos"
1. Toddler years are not the time to worry about final projects.
2. Let them enjoy the process and explore new materials to create with.
3. It is the time to focus on "What can this do?" and "How does this work?"
4. Consider all of your art projects a time to explore.
5.Introduce crayons, markers, paints, pencils, pens, highlighters, chalk.
6.Also introduce different ways of applying these materials like brushes, cotton swabs, feathers, sponges, tooth brush, paper towels, eye droppers, let your imagination go.
7.Watch and see how your child discovers pushing, pulling, dotting, the feel of things etc.
8.Can your child do it alone? Sit close but resist the need for perfection. Only assist when asked or intervene when necessary.
9. Allow them to do all of these art activities over and over again.
10. Make an area to display your childs art work!
Friday May 29th It Takes Time, Carnation Colors
Preschool:
You need: three white carnations, food coloring, two vases.
Put water in vases and add food coloring
Cut the flowers stems half way up. See picture
Put flowers one flower in each vases and place one flower with a stem in each vase.
Leave the vases in an undisturbed area.
Wow! Ask your child "What happened?" or "What changed?"
Extensions:
Study the flowers with a magnifying glass.
YOu should be able to see the color in the veins of the flower petals.
Draw a before and after picture.
Saturday May 30th Nature Walk / Textures
Toddlers and Preschoolers
Try a walk outside some place where you have never walked before.
Today we are going to notice textures. Find shiny cars, smooth rocks, rough tree bark, prickly vines, glittery... You CAN touch things too or just say "That cat is furry."
Words to consider:
flat soft rusty sandy
shiny feathery slimey leathery
smooth furry wet crackled
rough bumpy gooey
Saturday May 30th / Lovin' Language
In Literacy it is called Phonological Awareness.
We just call them Nursery Rhymes and FUN.
Practice saying nursery rhymes to your toddler and preschoolers.
Emphasize the rhyme.
Add actions as you sing and recite. This helps the child break the language into parts.
Singing is a good way to hear different syllables.
Memorize a few for in the car and on walks.
Baa Baa Black Sheep
Baa baa black sheep, have you any wool?
Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full!
One for the master, one for the dame,
And one for the little boy who lives down the lane.
Hickory, dickory, dock
Hickory, dickory, dock,
The mouse ran up the clock.
The clock struck one,
The mouse ran down!
Hickory, dickory, dock.
Little Miss Muffet
Little Miss Muffet,
sat on a tuffet,
Eating her curds and whey;
Along came a spider,
Who sat down beside her
And frightened Miss Muffet away.
Little Boy Blue
Little Boy Blue,
come blow your horn,
The sheep's in the meadow,
the cow's in the corn.
Where is the boy who looks after the sheep?
He's under a haycock, fast asleep.
Will you wake him?
No, not I, For if I do, he's sure to cry.
I See the Moon
I see the moon and the moon sees me
The moon sees the somebody I'd like to see.
God bless the moon and God bless me
God bless the somebody I'd like to see!
Extension:
Make up your own silly Nursery Rhymes.
Also watch after you teach your child Nusery Rhymes how often you see "references" to them in books, toys, Tv, and everywhere!
BONUS Activity!!
Free and FUN Field Trip Idea
How often does your child look up and say "AIRPLANE!" I guess that depends where you live!
From our house we have more then one choice for airport landing and departures strips. We drive to the BIG airport, get off on the frontage road, and park the car. There actually is a place for this and most of the other cars there are doing the same thing. Bring snacks and entertainment for between depatures and arrivals. We sit on the hood of our car to watch and yell "landing" and "taking off".
It is quite loud, you might think about bringing something to cover your childs ears if they are sensitive to noises, or park so you can sit in the front seats and look out the window.
Remember to READ 15 minutes a day to your child!
"The true object of all human life is play. Earth is a task garden; heaven is a playground."
-G. K. Chesterton
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)
Sunday May 10th Young (Mad?) Scientist / Water Play
Today we will learn about Sink and Float
Toddler:
Give them a group of bath toys and drop (plop) them in the water one by one. Be very animated as you announce wither each items "sinks" or "floats".
Preschooler:
Ask your preschooler to help you fill a small basket with household objects that you don't mind getting wet. Ask them to guess if they will sink or float in water. Explain that floating means they stay at the top of the water and sinking means they will stay at the bottom of the tub (bucket, pool, container etc) After you have gathered objects bring them into the tub.
Experiment by dropping them one by one in the water. Ask them if it sinks or floats. Do they notice anything? Do you??
Advanced: After their bath, have your child draw a line down the middle of the paper and make a list or pictures under the headings :SINK FLOAT
Monday May 11th Let's Play Ball! / Balloons Style
Toddler:
Blow up one balloon. Try to keep in in the air for as long as possible. It is good practice just for your toddler to try and hit it while it is in the air! Play catch! Our toddler could do this for awhile and then she ended up just running around holding it, yelling, "balloon"!
Preschooler:
You can count how many times you hit it before it touches the ground. You can play catch. You can set up a string and play balloon volleyball over the string.
Tuesday May 12th Artsy Fartsy
You need: Dishsoap, white paper, large bowl, food color is optional.
Add bubbles to bowl and water. Make sure bubbles reach the top or higher of the container sides. Lay your paper on top of the bubbles and then lift up. You are left with a bubble print. Let this dry. You can draw a picture on top or leave your bubble print. Display.
If you use food coloring you will have different colors. You can also use more than one bowl and create multiple colors on one page.
Wednesday May 13th Music / What Made That Sound?
You need instruments and a way to "hide" them like a box or curtain.
Toddler and Preschooler:
Gather up musical instruments that you have for your child. If you do not own any instruments, anything that makes sound will do...but musical toys are "better". Show your child each one, name it, and show them what sound it makes. For toddlers you can use only two at a time. Then put it inside a box, behind your back, or behind a curtain. Make the sound and have them guess which instrument it is. Work your way up with a preschooler. Move to three - ten instruments and have them guess what made that sound.
Preschoolers: Turn the tables and see if they can copy what you did and now you guess the instrument!
Thursday May 14th All is FAIR in Love and War? / Number Sense
Today divide up EVERYTHING!
Having a snack? Eat some goldfish, teddy grahams, marshmallows, raisins, etc. Start with a BIG pile and divide them between everyone. One for you and one for me! Any left over? Put them back in the bag, add enough to make it equal, or work it out another way...
Now count how many each person has.
Playing with cars? Little people? Barbies? Divide them up! Same game and you can play it all day with everything!
Create your own little counting wizard!
Friday May 15th Nature Walks / Colors
It is getting nice outside so take your kids for a walk.
Tell them today we are going on a colors walk. They need to find all the colors.
For your toddler just point out colors that you see. It can be very casual. There are green leaves, a red house, blue sky etc. You can try to use the colors of the rainbow a few times through out your walk. Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple (Yes, I know it is indigo and violet...)
Preschooler: For your preschooler make it a hunt. Start with a color like red and see who can find something red. Then move on to the next color.
You can take your camera along and take pictures to make into a "color book". Just print or develop your pictures and put them into a 99cent photo album.
EXTEND: Did they love it? GREAT! Tomorrow do the same thing but use numbers or letters.
Saturday May 16th Terrific Toddlers / Stacking
Toddler:
Toddlers love to stack, unstack, stack, unstack. You may own the toy that has multiple cups that fit inside one another? Here is the same concept but with everyday items. This idea came from both my children (at various ages) doing this over and over again.
Give your toddler a stack of plastic cups. The kind you would use at a birthday party for drinks. They will spend a long time taking them apart (and hopefully putting them together). They may need help and direction on the putting it back together! If they like it change it up and hand them a stack of paper bowls, plastic bowls and cups, anything in your cupboard that fits inside each other and is not breakable.
Saturday May 16th / Preschool DRAMA
Imagination? Preschoolers are filled with it! The same cups that the toddlers like to stack your preschooler can use to pretend to cook dinner. Even if you have a miniature kitchen with all the accessories..they will be delighted with you handing them REAL kitchen plastic bowls, spoons, spatulas, pots etc to pretend to cook dinner while you are. Tell them to add water when you do it, or stir the food, take it off the stove etc. They will get a kick out of playing along. Let's Get Messy?Ok, I read this one. I haven't done it yet...Do you ever throw out leftovers? Try giving your preschooler all the leftovers to "cook" in your sink. They can mix them, stir them, smash them, and do all sorts of lovely creations! (Let me know how it goes for you!!)
BONUS Activity!!
CHORES
Yep chores! You and I may hate chores but your kids haven't had the time to build up that kind of feeling. It is all new to them. Sit down and think of all the chores your children can help out with. I tell my kids they are their jobs and they love it! These are just a start to the endless ways to have your child help out!
Toddler:
Pet:
Feeds the cat three scoops of food.
Eating:
Helps to set the table by bringing the plates, bowls, spoons, cups to the table (not normally in the right place but closer than the cupboard!)
Helps clean under the table after we eat with the dust buster.
Sidenote: The dust buster is one of the best inventions EVER!!
After we eat she brings plastic empty plates, bowls and puts them in the sink.
She can throw wrappers in trash, cans or bottles into the recycling.
She will forever try to put spoons into the right place in the dishwasher, I put in the forks and knives right before I close the dishwasher and lock it.
Diapers:
She can get a new diaper and bring it to me, then throw the other one away after I wrap
Preschooler:
He can do all the same chores as my toddler but we add some more...
He can open and close the refrigerator, so he is in charge of bringing condiments to the table.
He can scrap food into the garbage before he puts the plate or bowl into the sink.
He loves to fold the wash cloths while I fold laundry.
He likes to match up socks in the laundry as well.
The possibilities are endless...
Remember to READ 15 minutes a day to your child!
“If animals play, this is because play is useful in the struggle for survival; because play practices and so perfects the skills needed in adult life”
-Susanna Miller quotes
Sunday May 3rd/ Fine Motor With Food
Warning! Totally unhealthy snack ahead, oh yeah and to top it off, we are encouraging them to play with their food! Yikes!
You need: Licorice string and fruit loop type cereal.
Show your child how to string the cereal onto the licorice. If you have long enough licorice string tie one end so the cereal does not fall off as they try to string it. The food can be a bracelet, necklace, or just eat it. You can work "hand over hand" with your toddler.
May 4th Monday Water Play
Toddler and Preschooler:
Today start to collect your empty ketchup, mustard, shampoo, dishsoap, and other items for the bath tub that can squirt water. Show your child how to put it under the water and get water into the bottle and then lift it out of the water and squeeze! They can also go into the kiddkie pool, or lake this summer too. If you want to make this even more exciting then keep clear plastic containers so your children can watch the water go in and out of the container! If you do not want your bathroom soaked, be sure to show your child (BEFORE YOU START) where they can squirt, and where they can not. If you are outside, be prepared to get wet!
May 5th / Number Sense / Your a BIG Kid Now!
Parent Info: Math includes being able to compare objects by size. Today let's talk about BIGGER and SMALLER.
Toddler:
Today go on a bigger and smaller hunt. Find tings in your house bigger than YOU (your toddler). You could find things inside such as; BIGGER refrigerator, furniture, bathroom sink, or bookcase. SMALLER a book, crayons, potty chair, or kleenex box. You could find things outside such as; BIGGER trees, street signs, swing sets, or fences. SMALLER ants, shovel, grass, leaves, or chalk. It is never ending really.
Preschooler:
Game:I Spy except today you can say "I spy with my little eye something bigger than_____________" or "I spy with my little eye something smaller than_________________"
Game: Pick up an object. "Let's find something BIGGER than this car." or "Let;s find something smaller than this drum." Then join your preschooler and go on a hunt looking for objects.
May 6th Wednesday Young (Mad?) Scientist / Magnetism
You will need several magnets, any type will do.
Toddler:
Be sure to watch carefully or only use very large magnets with your toddler. You do NOT want them to swallow these! Toddlers can try to stick them on different objects or just repeatedly take them on and off your refrigerator. Most likely they will lke to pull them off, have YOU put them back on and do this over and over...
Preschooler:
Give your preschooler a few magnets and kep a few for your self. Jump righ tin and start going around your kitchen and checking EVERYTHING to see if the magnet sticks to it. Announce loudly "It is magnetic" when it sticks or "OOPS, it is NOT magnetic" when it falls on the floor and does not stick. Soon your preschooler should be joining in and sticking them to different objects, if they just watch encourage them to try it too. Try your refrigerator, dishwasher, pots and pans, cookie sheets, silverware, table legs, try wood and plastic objects as well. This game had two highlights at our house. 1st when the magnets did not stick and fell on the floor (very funny stuff!) and 2nd when the magnets stuck to a butter knife it was super exciting!!
Advanced:
Get your science notebook or piece of paper out. Draw your "observations" or pictures of part of the experiment.
May 7th Thursday Music / Your Body as a Musical Instrument! / Baked Potato
You need: Your Body
Show your children all the ways you can think of to make music with differrent parts of your body.
Clap with open hands
Clap with cupped hands
Snap your fingers
Pat your cheeks, head
Open your mouth and pat your cheeks
Tap Slap Clap Rap your knees, thighs, tummy
"Pop" your mouth
Rub your hands back and forth
Give directions like: Soft, Loud, Fast and Slow
Everybody do their own sounds and you have a Human Band! :-)
Baked Potato Song
We haven't sang this one in a long time, but when we started this wee,k they wanted it over and over again. I made a video to show all of you and it is quite a risk for me because I can not sing a note, but the kids could care less...
We use scarves at music class and washclothes at home. Anything will work.
First have them squish it up in their hands.
Come and get your baked potato ,baked potato, baked potato
Come and get your baked potato
Careful it might be HOT
They shake or bounce the scarf while you sing and throw it at the word hot.
May 8th Friday / Old Fashion Fun / Pony Rides
Toddler and Preschooler:
Do you remember Pony Rides?
It is a simple and fun game. The grown up gets down on the floor on all fours. The child climbs up. If they have the balance skills to handle it, they can sit up like they are riding a horse, if they are younger they will lay down and hold on around the neck. The adult goes fast and slow around the room on all floors. It's a great workout too!
I think this naturally leads to piggy back rides. :-)
May 9th Saturday / ZipLock Bag /Ordinary Items, Extrodinary Fun
Toddler and Preschooler:
You need a ziplock and large tape.
What can you do with a Ziplock? The possibilities are endless...
We are going to fill the bag and give it to your child to squish. You will need to reinforce the seal with large packing tape to avoid a large mess.
* Fill with one, some, all
hair gel ketchup and mustard shaving cream toothpaste
hand lotion thick fingerpaint pudding yogurt
You can put the bag in the freezer and make it cold or heat it up for an added sensory experience. Or make two bags and make one warm and one cold.
BONUS Activity!!
Build It and They Will Come!
This is a cute idea.
After your kids go to bed for the night, or while they are taking a nap, build a structure with blocks.When they wake up tell them you built them a special structure (house, building, thing) and they have to find it. Repeat as often as you like, but vary where you build and what you build. They will be excited to find what you have built for them! After they find it let them play with it, or knock it down.
Remember to READ 15 minutes a day to your child!
“It is paradoxical that many educators and parents still differentiate between a time for learning and a time for play without seeing the vital connection between them.”
-Leo F. Buscaglia quotes (American guru, tireless advocate of the power of love, 1924-1998)
Sunday April 26th / The Sunday Paper!
Toddler:
We know toddlers do not read but they ARE aware of print. You can use the Sunday paper and look at the pictures and words. The ads are a great place for your toddler to look at. Try a "Picture Walk" with your toddler. Look through all the pictures and see if your toddler can name and identfiy objects. You will need to start and they will jump in. Try the food ads and see what foods they can recognize by the pictures.
Toddlers are known for seeing a symbol and recognizing where they are or what it is. Examples; Does your child know Mc.Donalds as soon as they see the golden arches?? (I'd love to tell you mine don't but....) What else do they know? What else can they "read"? Mine also recorgnize the Target symbol, and the sprint logo (because we were at the store often for awhile!!), and many others. These are excellent pre-reading skills!
Preschooler:
You will need the Sunday paper, and two scissors.
One child size scissor and one adult.Take out the food ads and look through them with your child.
Show them how to cut out pictures. Then you cut out around 10 items that you have in your kitchen. Allow them to cut another ad of food items (cub and rainbow where I live), it doesn't matter if they cut correctly, just let them practice their cutting skills.
Glue your pictures to a piece of paper and decorate it like a teasure map. Explain to your child you are going on a treasure hunt in the kitchen to find the foods on your paper. You can add the word to the picture for literacy skills. Ask your child where they think each item will be...Is it in the refrigerator? freezer? cupboard? shelf? pantry? etc. Follow their lead through the kitchen and make a large X over the pictures when you find them.
Practice literacy pre-reading skills by starting at the top left and "reading" across the page. We finished with the last picture (oreo cookies) and had a snack! My son thought making large X's with the sharpie marker was great, and he laughed if he guessed the wrong place for something.
April 27th Monday Music
MusicToddler Open Shut Them!
Open shut them
open and close fists
Open shut them
open and close fists
Give a little clap clap clap
clap three times
Open shut them
open and close fists
Open shut them
open and close fists
Give a little tap tap tap
Tap your knees three times
Open shut them
open and close fists
Open shut them
open and close fists
Put them in your lap lap lap
fold hands in your lap
Creep them ,crawl them
slowly creep them
right up to our chin chin chin
Crawl hands from tummy to chin
tickle your child along the way
Open wide your little mouth
Touch lips with finger tips
But do not let them in!
Quickly run hands down and tickle tummy
April 28th Tuesday / Number Sense / A Counting Day!
Parent Info: Give your preschooler three of soemthing to count. Now hand them two more objects. You will notice at age 3-4 they start to count over again; 1, 2, 3, 4,5. At around 4 1/2 or 5 years old they advance to "counting on". They will say "4,5 without starting over at 1!" Try it!
For toddlers it is a big deal when they recognize to count one objects per "point", meaning they understand each object only gets one number.
Today both Toddlers and Preschoolers can count! Tell them today is a COUNTING DAY.
First we have to find something that has only 1! Then find something that has 2! You can keep going until your child is no longer interested. We made it to 20 with the preschooler. Your enthusiasm will rub off on them quickly, and you could be searching the house for items.
There are no rules. If your child picks up one block froma pile of 20 blocks, GREAT they know we count each one seperately! These are big accomplishments!
April 29th Wednesday I SPY
Toddler:The toddler version of this game can really be called "Where is it?" Just ask your toddler where things are and they will have fun looking for and bringing things to you. You can try and describe it such as; "Can you bring me the animal that says meow?" or "Can I have the person INSIDE the car?"
Preschool:
I spy with my little eye something that is "______________."
OR
I spy with my little eye something that can "_____________."
Ok, this where the game is RICH in language. Fill in the blank with colors, directional locations, size, etc.
Directional locations: On, Under, Beneath, Inside, Next to, Above, etc.
Preschoolers are old enough to understand the game and ask you questions too. My favorite is when my son says "I spy something with my little eye that is red. It's a stop sign!" silence "oops!" and cracks up because he didn't mean to tell me the answer!
The best thing about this game is it can be played ANYWHERE! ANYTIME! Once they know it play it while waiting at the doctors office, traveling in the car, or sitting in the backyard!
April 30th Thursday April Showers, Bring May Flowers
Tomorrow is May Day!
Let's make some May Flowers.
You will need coffee filters, water colors or water and food coloring, paint brush OR an eye dropper.
Lay the coffee filter out flat. Use an eye dropper to drop small drops of color that will expand on the coffee filter and leave a nice design. You can also use a paint brush and just lightly tap the brush to the filter, you will get the same effect.
Let the flower tops dry.
Glue the tops to the top of a piece of paper. You can add stems with crayons, markers, or cut stems from a piece of green construction paper.
Extend: Make your flowers into May Day cards and give them to others with a special greeting!
May 1st Friday / Muffin Tin
You need one large plastic bowl and a muffin tin
Toddler:
Put things to sort in a bowl on the floor and the muffin tin next to it. Shw your toddler how to place objects in the compartments and take them out. Toddlers will do this over and over. They may dump the bowl and be even more excited by the noise and action, just pick the things up and start over. You can also start this game by filling the compartments and putting out an empty bowl. (or switch it next time)
Things to sort in a muffin tin for toddlers: ping pong balls, cheerios, any cereal, any colorful objetcs that they can not swallow...
Preschooler:
This can be more advanced and use smaller objects. Most preschoolers no longer put objectsin their mouth. We have used buttons and small beads. I found a small bag of assorted beads at Michaels craft store. It is very fun to sort because it has many different things like; animals, shapes, colors, different textures etc. I will sit and sort too. Then I explain how I am sorting my and introduce new vocabulary and ways to sort objects. "I am putting all the blue ones in here and all the red ones in this compartment." or "I am putting all the hearts in here and all the squares in here" and/or "How are you sorting yours?" I did have to say that the beads were NOT CANDY because they looked like it.
Things for preschoolers to sort in a muffin tin: buttons, colored pasta, different shaped pasta, beads, anything that will fit into the tin compartments.
May 2nd Saturday / Water Play
Toddler and Preschooler:
Funnels. That is it really. Just add funnels to your bath toys and the result is amazing! I bought three funnels in a set and they have had hours, and hours of fun with them. They have small, medium, and large. They get a kick out of pouring cups of water into them and watching them go through. They also jus scoop water and watch it run out. They can put the funnels in a baby bottle and fill the bottle wth out spilling. -Try it!
Remember to READ 15 minutes a day to your child!
“Play is the only way the highest intelligence of humankind can unfold.”-Joseph Chilton Pearce, author on child development
April 19th / Toddler /Mirror Mirror on the FLoor
Mirror, Mirror, On the Floor
Mirror, Mirror, On the Floor,
Who’s the cutest of the all?
YOU ARE!
Put a non-breakable mirror on the floor.
Let your child make all sorts of faces and see themselves from a totally new perspective. Stand next to them and look down too.
Extend this and talk about feelings. This is how our face looks when we are sad, happy, tired, laughing, crying, shy etc.
April 19th Sunday /Preschool /Young Mad Scientist
Preschooler:
Collect between 10-20 rocks.
You can take a nature hike and make a big deal of finding them or simply go outside and collect them with your preschooler.
Put half of them in the freezer. We left them over night.
When you are ready to actually do the experiment put the other half of the rocks in hot water. (NOTE: we boiled them and the rocks were way too hot, we had to let them cool down before we could sort them.) Rocks hold cold and heat very well.
Now put all the rocks in a pile and sort them into hot and cold. Ask your child a lot of questions. Which are hot or cold? How did they get that way? What else do we make cold in the freezer? What else do we make hot in water? Have them guess before they pick up the rocks which will be hot or cold. Remember to use the words experiment and scientist!
Advanced: Is your preschooler able to write? Draw? Record your “observations” on paper or in a notebook.
Monday April 20th /Because Your Mine, I Walk the Line
Toddler and Preschooler
You will need one long ribbon or a piece of string
Roll out the ribbon (make a show of it). Now show your child how to walk the line like a tight rope walker or a gymnast on a balance beam. This is more difficult than you might guess.
If you have more than one child it is a good game to practice waiting in line and taking turns.
Perfected walking the line? Can you jump? Balance on one foot? Walk the line sideways? Turn? Go on tip toes?
We keep our ribbon on the shelf and the kids like to try unrolling and straightening it by themselves.
Tuesday April 21st /Music Time / Drive The Fire Truck /Itsy Bitsy Spider
Toddlers:
Grab your firemans hat and lets sing and pretend with actions!
My daughter’s favorite song is:
Hurry Hurry Drive the Fire Truck (tune of Ten Little Indians)
Hurry Hurry Drive the Fire Truck
(Pretend to drive the fire truck)
Hurry Hurry Drive the Fire Truck
Hurry Hurry Drive the Fire Truck
Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding
(Pretend to ring the bell)
Hurry Hurry Climb the Ladder
(Pretend to climb the ladder)
Hurry Hurry Climb the Ladder
Hurry Hurry Climb the Ladder
Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding
(Pretend to ring the bell)
Hurry Hurry Put the Fire Out
(pretend to spray water)
Hurry Hurry Put the Fire Out
Hurry Hurry Put the Fire Out
Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding
(Pretend to ring the bell)
Preschool:
Hands up, voices on, LET”S SING IT!
My sons favorite action song:
Itsy Bitsy Spider
The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout
(walk the your hands up finger tip to finger tip switching sides)
down came the rain
(fingers wiggle like rain coming down)
and washed the spider out(move your arms and hands like "out" in baseball, Dramatically)
out came the sun(form a circle with your hands above your head)
and dried up all the rain
(Wiggle your fingers like rain but go up not down)
and the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again
(walk your fingers finger tip to finger tip up again)
April 22nd Wednesday /Let’s Have a BALL!
We have two ideas for you this week for either toddlers or preschoolers.
*Clothes Line
You will need a string, balls with holes (like wiffle balls), and a place to tie the string on both ends.
First string the balls and then hang the string. You could put it outside between two trees or inside attached to two chairs. Your child can spin and slide the balls on the string.
*Beach Ball You need a beach ball and a ribbon.Attach the beach ball to the string(at the place you blow air in) and hang it from your ceiling or a tree. Your child can kick, hit, push the ball and it always comes back. This has been an amazing delightful game at our house!
April 23rd Thursday / "Shell" Game w/o the Gambling!
You will need three shells, cups, or small boxes and one object to put underneath.
Toddlers:Put three cups facing down on the table. Put an object under one cup. SLOWLY move the cups around and ask your toddler where the object is. Please remember this is a fun game and NOT meant to trick or frustrate your child. Cheer for them if they guess correctly and encourage a second guess, third guess if they are wrong.They have just learned object permance and will try to figure out which cup the object is under.
Preschooler:After you have played this game a few times your preschooler will enjoy moving the cups and asking you to guess where the object is!
April 24th Friday / Blanket Bonanza
You will need a blanket.
This is good for toddlers and preschoolers.
Have your child lay on the floor and lay the blanket on top of them. Quickly lift the blanket up and let it fall back down on them. This is a small version of the parachute game. If they don't like it -stop...if they love it keep going! (one of my children loves this and the other one does not care for it.)
Lay the blanket on the floor. Have your child sit on it and you take one corner. Drag them around the house. Be prepared to do this over and over and over again. Keep in mind your child age and there balancing ability. For small toddlers you must go slow...
April 25th Saturday /Obstacle Course
Toddler:
Ok your toddler has just learned to walk so they won’t be jumping over hurdles and swinging on ropes yet but we can spice up the floor to make it a challenge. Get a large pile of pillows (throw in the couch cushions if you want) and let your toddler explore how to get up and over the pile. They may want to get up it and roll down too!
Preschool:
Label pieces of paper 1-5 and mark each “station”. Make five areas for your child to go through. Here are a few ideas but it could be anything as long as they have to go through a whole “course”. Make a start and finish line. You may have to go through it a few times with your child before they understand what to do and in what order.
1. Pillow crawl
2. Tight Rope Line
3. Build a Tower with Blocks
4. Throw a ball into a basket
5. Run around the cones.
FINSH LINE!
Remember to read 15 minutes a day to your child!
"Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning...They have to play with what they know to be true in order to find out more, and then they use what they learn in new forms of play."
-Fred Rogers of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
Sunday April 12th Egcellent Eggs Game Day
You will need hard boiled eggs or plastic eggs / Large kitchen spoons
Egg Race: Try to balance the egg on the spoon and run around with it falling off. This can be inside or outside. It can also be a race or a free for all running around game.
Egg Hunt: Hide eggs filled with candy around your yard. Have a egg hunt / treasure hunt and collect the eggs. Remember to count the eggs before you hide them so you know if you have found them all!
Monday April 13th Let's Play Ball / Ball Challenge
Toddler and Preschooler
You will need one ball.
Challenge your child to move the ball in different ways and with different body parts. This is an activity rich in language and movement.Can you kick, push, throw, bounce, sit on, roll...the ball? Can you push it with your nose? Bounce it off your head? Kick it with your knee? Can you move the ball with your ear? hands? elbow? toes? feet?
Be prepared to demonstrate!
Tuesday April 14th Music / Tune In!
You need one radio.
Toddler: Turn on the radio. Go through different stations and move to the music. If it is classical slowly sway and try to have your toddler mimic your movements. If the music is upbeat clap, dance to the rhythm. This is difficult for toddlers. They may become more interested in turning the dial or pushing the button to change the station! Keep introducing movements related to the music.
Preschoolers: If you take your preschooler to a music or dance class or a large focus will be on distinguishing rhythm and following directions. You can do the same activity as the toddler but with more directions. Try to have your preschooler keep the beat with stomping, clapping, and swaying, tapping, etc. Have them try to mimic what you are doing. Watch and see how long it takes them to pick up the differences in movement based on what they are listening to. Once they have it, change stations, wait to see what they do, and now you follow their lead!
Wednesday April 15th Young (Mad?) Scientist / Simple Machines
Toddler: Ramps
It is easy to build a ramp from materials in your house. You can prop a book on top of a block and let cars and other objects roll down it. If you have a large book prop it on the couch and send your cars down. This is simple to build and use. Look around for other materials to build a ramp with, get creative! You may find your toddler building their own ramps all over the house.
Preschooler: Levers
You need one round object shaped like a stick and one ramp shaped object. Our favorites are a rhythm stick and a shimmy. This is wild and crazy fun. Place the stick down and the rectangular object on top. The official names here are fulcrum and lever. I love hearing my preschooler ask for his fulcrum and lever (it cracks me up!) You could also call this a catapult. We place little people on one side and see if we can catapult them to the ceiling by hitting the other side with our hand.
Thursday April 16th Raid the Kitchen/ Stop and Smell the Spices
Toddler and Preschooler
Take down your spice rack and sit on your kitchen floor. Smell the spices one by one. They may want to help take the caps on and off or hold the spices. This can be messy! They will be amazed and surprised at all the different smells. Discuss your senses and how you smell through your nose and taste with your mouth. You can tell them this is only smelling time or open it up to the sense of taste as well.
Extension- This became a favorite activity for my kids. I started saving all my old spice jars and put them in a large plastic bin with a top. I also asked friends to give me their empty spice containers. Then I can take out the bin and let them open and close the containers and smell them on their own. They love the smelling of the spices and the challenge of trying to open and close the containers.
Friday April 17th Bath Time / Water Play
You will need several inexpensive sponges and a bathtub.Toddler and Preschooler:Show your child how the sponges work. They soak up a lot of water and can be squeezed out. They can soak up water from a cup until it is empty and then be squeezed out to fill it up again. The can float like a boat in the water. They can be squeezed to pour water onto your body. (remember all those parts we talked about with the ball?) elbow, knees, etc and now add tummy and back, name the body part and squeeze water over that part. Let your child find different ways to get water in and out of the sponges. If you don't have a small basket for bath toys, start one now.
Saturday April 18th It Takes Time
Preschooler: This is an activity that takes time and patience, good things to start to learn at this age. Take your child outside with a small paper cup. Fill the cup with dirt and plant a few small seeds. Explain that seeds need three things to grow; dirt, water, and sun. It is a good time of year to start your seed because you will be able to transfer it outdoors into a larger container or garden in a few weeks. Then put the cup in a window sill. This will take some explanation, especially if they have seen a seed grow in a few seconds on TV. (like my son had) The concept of time and waiting is developing in your child and they will need help to understand why it didn't grow "right now". We used sunflower seeds and had small buds in a few days. We also needed to discuss how much water a small seed needs. :-)
Saturday April 18th Lap Sit
Toddler: This day is a completely separate activity for toddlers. You can certainly plant a seed in a cup with them and they will enjoy digging in the dirt but the whole concept of what a flower needs and how long it takes to happen is a little too advanced at this point.
Grand Old Duke of York / Lap Sit Song
You sing this song while you have your child on your lap. I suggest sitting on the floor with legs straight out.
Sing Actions
The Grand Old Duke of York -small bounces
He had 10,000 men -small bounces
He marched them up to the top of the hill -alternate legs (up and down) and "march" your toddler up til your knees are bent
and he marched them down again -alternate legs (up and down) and "march" your
toddler down till your legs are flat
And when your up your up -lift knees until bent up (you can lift with arms if you
are strong enough)
and when your down your down -straighten your legs flat
and when your only half way up -lift your knees half way up
your neither up -bend knees and lift toddler up
nor down -straighten legs straight infront of you
Remember to Read 15 Minutes
a Day to Your Child!
"It is a happy talent to know how to play"
-Ralph Waldo Emerson, philosopher, poet
April 5th- April 11th
Toddler and Preschool Activities
Sunday: House Tour
Toddler: Take your toddler on a "tour" of your house/apartment. See how many things you can give your toddler to touch, open, feel. Talk about textures (use words like smooth, rough, bumpy, sharp, breakable) and explain how things work.
Preschooler: Have them take you on a tour. Ask them to tell you about everything they see. What is important to them, what do they tell you about? Listen and repeat what your child is telling you about.
Monday: Colors/Bath Time
Toddler and Preschool
You will need food coloring. Add drops of color to the water in the tray. Use different colors in different sections. Freeze.
When your child takes a bath put ice cubes in the tub, one at a time. Watch how they melt. Discuss colors, how things melt, and temperature of water and ice cubes.
Tuesday: Let's Play Ball
Toddler: Sit on the floor and roll a ball back and forth. Get a small bin and try to throw the ball into it.
Preschooler: Take a laundry basket and try to throw the ball in it. Keep track of where you are standing and take steps back every time you make a basket. Discuss distance and speed. (Use words like fast, slow, far, near, closer, next to, and under)
Wednesday: Music/Raid your kitchen!
Toddler: Bang on pots and pans with spoons. Shake smaller plastic bowls inside larger plastic bowls. Watch as your toddler puts one bowl in and dumps it out repeatedly.
Preschooler: Use plastic bowls with plastic spoons, metal pans with metal utensils, and wooden spoons on a wooden surface (cutting board, small stool). Talk to your preschooler about the different sounds and different materials. See if they can notice anything about the sounds, or if they prefer one material over the others.
Thursday: Let's Get Messy!
Toddler and Preschooler
Let's finger paint. No worries about your toddler eating the paint...we can make edible finger paint! Pick a recipe from below. Use the "paint" on paper, paper plates, or directly on the tray of your highchair.
Recipe Ideas:
Flour and water
Pudding
Rediwhip
If you want different colors add food coloring.
Friday: Artsy Fartsy
You will need paper and crayons or pencils.
Toddler: Draw, show your toddler how to draw lines... "Big Ones" from top to bottom of the page, "little ones", curvy, circles etc. They will scribble and that is GREAT! Now write their name on the top and put it on the wall with blue tape or hang it on your refrigerator. Show any one who stops by and watch how proud your child is.
DISPLAYING ART-Blue tape is painter tape and a treasure with small children's art work. Hang it up and take it down with out ruining the wall. Another idea is to get a clothes line and hang that in the playroom, bassement, or on a bedroom wall. Use clothes pins to hang art work and easily take down and add to the line.
Preschooler: Ask your child to tell you about something they are interested in...dinosaurs, cars, babies, grandma, or family pet. Using only the bottom half of the paper, write down the "story" they tell you. You can do minor adjustments but try to stick to their version as close as possible. Then give them the paper to draw a picture on the top. Remember to hang it up and tell them they are an author!
Ask questions to help guide them.
"What color was it?"
"What happened next?"
"How did they feel?"
"What did it look like?"
Saturday: You Can Count On Me / Number Sense
Toddler: Show your toddler everything about their faces and how they have two of some things and one of another.
Two-eyes, ears, cheeks, eyebrows, nostrils
One-chin, nose, mouth, lips, tongue.
Be silly: Wink, blink, sneeze, stick out your tongue, PLAY!
Preschooler-Same as toddler but they have a longer attention span so you can move onto fives and tens.
Two-legs, arms,knees, wrists, hands, feet
Five-fingers on one hand, toes on one foot
Ten- fingers altogether, toes altogether
Extent this and talk about symmetry!
ALWAYS REMEMBER TO READ 15 MINUTES
A DAY TO YOUR CHILD!
"You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation"
-Plato, Greek Philosopher
|
RSS Feed