JMonday July 27th / Bug Collecting
You need:
Glass jar with holes in lid
leaves
sticks
bugs
magnifying glass
I suggest collecting pill bugs, ants, spiders, caterpillars, or beetles
Toddler:
You can let them look at the bug and tell them about them. Toddlers may be afraid of bugs and shouldn't be pushed to hold or touch bugs if they are afraid.
Preschool:
Put them in your jar and ask your child to notice what was around the bug when you found it.
What do you think the bug needs to feel at home? Offer silly suggestions like seaweed, TV's, or palm trees!
You can teach them the word Habitat and discuss different habitats such as; where do fish and whales live?, lions?, elephants?, penguins?, moles and ground hogs?, etc.
What do bugs do? You may have to look up the particular bug you found. Some bugs aerate the dirt, pollinate flowers, or eat other harmful bugs.
Have your preschooler look at the bug through a magnifying glass. How many legs does the bug have? What kind of eyes? What else do you notice about the bug?
Teach respect for Nature and have your child let the bugs go when you are finished playing with them.
Tuesday July 28th/ Toddlers and Music
Toddlers love banging things to make music!
Hang a bunch of spoons on different strings around inside one room or outside. We hung them from shelves around our play room. Then we took spoons and banged the hanging spoons. It makes a sort of bell like sound. At first we hung the spoons close together but they kept getting tangled up, so we moved them apart. They liked this because they could run around the room and make music all over the place.
Warning: Noisy, do not do this on a day you have a headache! :-)
Tuesday July 28th / Preschool Letter Recognition
Preschooler
You need:
magnetic or plastic alphabet letters
a bag
Show your preschooler 3-4 letters
Name them and feel them together
Now place the 3-4 letters in the bag and see if your preschooler can find the letter you ask for.
You want your preschooler to feel successful. Start with letters that are not very similar in feel such as; A T and C.
Do not use things like N and M together or lowercase d and p.
Wednesday July 29th / Finger Plays
Toddlers love to sing. No worries about you not being able to carry a tune, they could care less.
Little Robin Redbreast
Little Robin Redbreast
Make thumb and small pinky finger into a small bird
Sat upon a rail
Sit your "bird" on your other hand
Niddle Noodle went his head
Shake your thumb
Wiggle Waggle went his tail
wiggle your little pinky finger
Once I Caught A Fish Alive
One, Two, Three, Four, Five
Count on your fingers
Once I caught a fish alive
Wiggle hand like a fish
Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten
Count on your fingers
Then I let him go again
Pretend to throw fish back
Why did you let him go?
Because he bit my finger so.
Shake hand vigerously
Which one did he bite?
The little finger on the right.Hold up little pinky finger
Wednesday July 29th /Young (Mad?) Scientist / Invisible Ink
This is another preschool activity about science.
You need
2 tbsp lemon juice
cotton swabs
1. Put lemon juice in container
2. Soak cotton swabs
3. Draw picture or write words
4. Hold the paper up to a light
-the heat will "reveal" the picture or words by turning the lemon juice brown
Ext: make TOP SECRET notes or TREASURE MAPS
Thursday July 30th / Build Your Own Mini Golf Course
The number one way to get your kids interested in an activity is: get on the floor too, at least in the beginning, and then let them take over and play by themselves.
Toddler and Preschooler
You need:
golf clubs real or platsic
gold balls real or plastic
Keep in mind your child's age and ability when designing your course.
You can build ramps, tunnels, and buildings. You can use toys, chairs, books, or anything you can think of.
Outside courses can include digging holes, wood ramps, fairy twig houses, etc.
If you make a great game, take pictures and post them on Play is Essential's Facebook Fan Page!
Friday July 31st / Leaping Lizards, Krazy Kangaroos, or Fearless Frogs
Toddler and Preschooler:
Rearrange your furniture. Place all couch cushions on the floor. Make tunnels. Stack Pillows.
Pick the title of the game.
Leaping Lizards must leap and not touch the floor. Kangaroos jump, and frogs hop from lily pad to lily pad. Use imagination and get moving inside on a rainy day!
Saturday July August 2nd / Sensory Table
Toddler and Preschooler
Here are more ideas of what can go into a sensory table.
Fill it up with an edible squishy food like applesauce!
Make a few batches of noodles or spaghetti and put it in our sensory table. It will feel fabulous for your kids to run there hands in, squish, and stir it around. Make sure to let them at it while it is still warm! and then again when it is cold. Ask them about the difference. If it becomes sticky and icky, add a little olive oil.
If you want an idea that is a little less messy, put in rocks. We have agates from a nature walk, and colored stones we bought at a store, plus regular rocks from outside. They are interesting to look at and to touch with many textures, colors, and shapes.
Sunday August 3rd / Your name in GLUE!
Write your child's name on a paper.
Outline or trace there name in glue and let it dry.
Now give them the paper and show them how they can trace and feel their name.
When they are done with feeling there name they can take markers and draw over the glue, it is a different texture than just drawing with markers.
Lastly, peel their name off the paper and look at it in just glue!
For added fun use glitter in your glue or colored glue.
Bonus Idea
Krispy Kale / Veggie Snack
You need:
Kale
Sea Salt
Olive Oil
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
Get a plate and put olive oil on it.
Dip and rub Kale in olive oil for a single coat.
Lay Kale out on cookie sheet
Place in oven for 5-15 minutes, depending on your oven
Kale should be Krispy but not dark brown.
Add Sea Salt (regular salt is ok but sea salt is much better)
-Note- My kids did not like the texture the first time. The third time they tried it they were hooked. They love it and ask for it because it is a rather fun feeling as it crunches and falls apart in your mouth.
Remember to READ 15 minutes a day to your child!
"It's never to late to have a happy childhood"
-Anita Stackhouse, Celebrate the Child Within Inc.
Read more: http://www.gaia.com/quotes/topics/child#ixzz0MTevPiO5
Activity Based Books:
Unpluggged Play: http://www.parentsjournal.com/unpluggedplay/
By far the closest to my own view points. As soon as I picked this book up I devoured the preface and introduction while consistently saying "Yeah!, I agree, Yep, That's what I think too" I loved the ideas and have adapted and expanded on many of them with my children. This is THE book!
Things to Do with Toddlers and Twos by Karen Miller
These books really helped me when my son was a toddler to understand why he was doing what he was doing. The chapters are titled: Cause and Effect, Playing with Water, Banging, Twanging, & Shaking, Making a Mark, Sensory Exploration, Mimicking, Language Development, How Things Work, Different Ways of Moving, Teaching Strategies to Help with Special Problems of Toddlers in Groups. I loved it and have referenced it many times!
Montessori from the Start: The Child at Home, from Birth to Age Three: Paula Polk Lillard
http://www.amazon.com/Montessori-Start-Child-Birth-Three/dp/0805211128
I became very interested in Montessori this past year and read a few books.
.