New Year Celebration! 1st week of January

This is a short week, so there won't be a bunch of activities. We still need to have some fun, learn something, and celebrate the New Year!

MATH

Counting Down to the New Year (or anything else you like!)

This is a great opportunity to learn how to count backwards! Perhaps you could count down to lunch or snack time! Use a visual of some printable numbers or fridge magnets and help them count down to various activities throughout the day!


Confetti Sorting

Cut out circles in various sizes and colors and put them in a bag or bowl. Prepare a few bowls with one of the types of confetti stuck to the outside of each one. Or (for sorting by color) provide bowls matching the colors of the confetti.  For the first round, ask them to sort by color. After counting down to 1, toss them into the air and hoop and hollar with happiness! Make it really fun and exciting! Once the confetti has settled, have the children collect the confetti. Ask them to sort their pieces into the appropriate bowl. Once they have completed this, you can start over again and this time have them sort by size. This is a little tougher and will need more direction.




MUSIC/GROSS MOTOR

New Year's Parade!

Give the kids some children's instruments or the hand made kind. Some examples would be moraccas, jingle bells, tambourines, kazoos, etc. Have a parade around the room making as much noise (music) as they can! Play some festive music while you do this.

ART

Firework Pictures

Materials Needed:
Construction Paper
Glue (not stick, liquid)
Tempera Paint (powder)
Glitter
Shaker Can with Large Holes


Create firework-like formations on the paper with the glue. Allow the children to sprinkle the tempera paint with glitter onto the paper. Shake off the excess and allow to dry.


-OR-

Materials Needed:

Construction Paper

Tempera Paint
Glitter
Drinking Straws


Put the tempera paint in several bowls. Poke the straw into the paint, hold straw over the paper and blow through the straw. Repeat as many times as needed. Sprinkle glitter over the paper and allow excess to fall off. Hang to dry.



READING

P. Bear's New Years Party! By Paul Owen Lewis
Available on Amazon!  http://www.amazon.com/P-Bears-New-Years-Party/dp/1883672996

A really fun book which will teach counting and the hours on the clock!

Christmas Break Boredom Busters!

For the week of Christmas, I will be taking a break from the structured "school" week. I know most kids will be home and looking for ways to get in to trouble. Here are a few ideas to keep them busy! You can also use the "Basic Free Play Ideas" I have on the blog. Have a wonderful Christmas and we will be back the Wednesday after New Year's!


Baking

Cooking, baking, decorating. These are all fun things for the kids to do. Bake some Christmas cookies, then give them a bunch of frosting and sprinkles to decorate with. I usually buy the pre-made sugar cookie dough. It is just as yummy and you get to the fun decorating part much quicker!

Dress Up & Dance

Little kids really love to dress up in special clothes. They don't even need to be going anywhere! Dress them up in something fun and then play music. Make it like a special party. Dancing in their nice clothes will be such a treat, and they will most likely wear themselves out for a really good nap!

Picture Gallery

Buy a disposable camera or two. Take them on a walk in the woods, around the neighborhood to see the Christmas lights, or just to a local park and tell them to take pictures of whatever they want. Get them developed and make a gallery on a wall in your house. Help them name the pictures. When its all done, you can have a showing for their friends or family.

Placemats

Tell them they are going to make a special placemat for themselves (or someone else, if they prefer). Give them colors, stickers, pictures and glue, whatever they would like. When it is all done, cover it in contact paper and use it for a special meal.

Bird Feeder

Take a big, full pinecone and spread peanut butter on it. Roll it in birdseed. String it with yarn or cloth ribbon. Hang it outside and then make it a point to watch the activity over the next few days.

Visit a Working Farm

They are pretty easy to find. Some organic milk farms, Christmas Tree farms, etc will give tours. Kids always love to see animals close up. They will also be learning at the same time! If it is cold, warm up with some hot chocolate and watch a movie (possibly farm related) cuddled in a blanket afterward. Fun day!

Drive In Movie

Make a car out of a cardboard box. Then get some snacks such as popcorn, candy, pretzels, etc. Make a place in or around the car for the snacks to sit. Turn out the lights and sit in the cars while watching a Christmas movie. So much fun.


Christmas Light Car Trip
For a really fun and magical experience, get your child all ready for bed. In their jammies and the whole thing. Place a magic ticket in their bed where they will find it when they crawl in. When they find it and wonder what it is, explain that it is a ticket to ride the Christmas Light Express tonight! Have them get bundled up in a blanket, slippers, whatever and put them in the car. Its fun to have a yummy snack and some hot cocoa ready too! Then take them on a ride around your neighborhood to see all the wonderful lights!

Cardboard Fort

Inevitably there will be pretty big boxes after the gifts are opened. Use this FREE resource and make the kids a fort! Poke holes in the ceiling and stick Christmas lights through the holes and make it even more magical...

Winter Sensory Bin

Collect some blue pom poms, cotton balls, dollar store snowflakes, little glass beads, etc and put them in a bowl or box. Allow the children to explore the items.

Winter Playdough

Use this recipe:

• 2 cups of plain flour
• 2 tbsp. of cooking oil
• 1 tsp. cream of tartar
• 2 cups of water
• ½ cup of salt
• food coloring

• Add the food coloring to the water.
• Place all of the ingredients in a medium size or large pan.
• Cook slowly on medium to high heat and stir until the playdough thickens.
• Done, very simple!

Keep the finished playdough in the fridge in a plastic container, that way it lasts longer. This playdough recipe takes less than 10 minutes to make and is super simple.

BUT ADD peppermint extract instead of food coloring and then add craft glitter at the end.

Stuffed Animal Search

Hide several of their stuffed animals around the house. Have them find them. Easy and fun!

Christmas! December 17-21

This week we will celebrate Jesus and also embrace the other symbols of the season. This week will be packed full of fun, learning, and prayer. Merry Christmas!

ALL ABOUT THE CANDY CANE

Candy Cane Poem Printable

Prep for this by purchasing a candy cane for each child. The mini ones work great for younger children. Print the poem and attach to the candy canes with a ribbon. Read the poem to the children and then allow them to eat! Or they can take them home to their family.

SHAPES/CRAFT - Shape Christmas Trees

Print the template pattern HERE.

MATERIALS:
Brown construction paper
Green Construction Paper
Yellow Construction Paper
Other various colors, for the ornaments (if needed)

Cut out all the pieces. It is a good idea to make one yourself as a guide for the kids. Discuss each of the pieces of the tree. Talk about the sides, color, etc. Then allow the children to construct their trees. Glue the pieces to a piece of red or white paper. Add colorful, small circles as ornaments, if you wish.

RELIGION - True Meaning of Christmas

There is an excellent site, ministry-to-children.com, which put together 3 booklets which are free and printable. Print these booklets out and read them with the children. This will help them to understand what Christmas is really all about, the joyous celebration of our savior, Jesus Christ!

http://ministry-to-children.com/christmas-story-booklet/

Read them with the children and answer any questions they have. Then continue on with the following lesson:

SENSORY/PRETEND PLAY - Manger Scene

Provide a "manger" and a baby doll. You can make the manger out of a box and some baby blankets. You can get as elaborate or simple as you want. Add animals, dress up clothes, a barn, star, etc. Allow the children to pretend play based on the story you just read them. This is a great way to enforce the images they received from the story.


You can also print these FREE printables HERE and use them as part of your lesson. These little puppets are so cute and will really get the kids involved in the lesson!

MUSIC - Go Crazy!
What I mean is, there are so many great Christmas songs that I couldn't possibly tell you which ones to sing with your kids! You can create a Christmas Station on Pandora, there is a Christmas Station on IHeart Radio, etc. SO many options.

 

FINE MOTOR - Ornaments

Materials:

Pipe Cleaners

Beads

Have the children string beads on the pipe cleaners to make ornaments. If you have a class tree, put their creations on the tree. This makes them feel so special!

SCIENCE - Density Experiment

Materials Needed:
4 small water bottles
4 bowls
funnel
water
clear shampoo
clear hair gel
corn syrup
glitter in Christmas colors
paper towels

Begin by putting water in one of the bowls. Allow the children to dip their finger in the water and stir it around. Dry their fingers on the paper towels. Pour the water into one of the bottles using the funnel. Add a pinch or 2 of the glitter and screw on the lid. Ask the children if they think the water will move fast or slow when you shake the bottle. Shake it up and set it on the table so the children can watch what happens.

Repeat this entire process with the shampoo, hair gel and corn syrup, allowing the children to guess at what will happen when they are shaken up.

Once the experiment is complete, tape or hot glue the lids on and keep these in a science center for later exploration.


GROSS MOTOR - Gift Stacking Game

Gift wrap several old boxes in varying sizes. Allow the children to stack them and make "tall towers" with them. Guess how high they will be able to stack them before they fall over. Try to use different configurations in order to make the stack more stable.


COLORING PAGE - Elmo Wreath

http://www.allkidsnetwork.com/coloring-pages/Images/elmo/Small/elmo-christmas.jpg

ART - Christmas Card for a Loved One

This one is super easy and lots of fun! Provide a piece of construction paper folded like a card. Also give them a variety of pictures from magazines or the internet, stickers, glitter, pipe cleaners, etc, glue, crayons. Allow them to freely create a Christmas card for anyone they choose. So fun to see what they come up with!

MATH - Memory Game/Matching Game

DLTK's website has an amazing feature which lets you create custom memory game cards for any subject! It is super easy too! Go HERE to get started. Select the number of cards you want. You should base this on how many children will be participating. Next select your theme. For this week choose Christmas, religious or secular, its up to you! Choose color or black and white. Then just print and cut out. Awesome and a great math game!  **For younger kids, make it into a matching game. Place 1 set of cards in a row and jumble up the other set. Ask the children to match the jumbled set to the other set.




SNACK/ART - Sugar Cone Christmas Trees

This is a much easier way to make gingerbread houses with your young children.

Materials Needed:
Sugar Cones
Frosting with green food coloring

Christmas M&Ms

Coconut

Various Sprinkles

Gumdrops
Red licorice
Whatever else you can think of!

Give a sugar cone to each child and have a bowl of green frosting and a spoon for them to cover their "tree" with. Put the decorations in little bowls in front of them and have them go at it! This is such a fun activity for them and is even more fun if you eat them when you are done.



STORY - Twas The Night Before Christmas

Such a classic! A definate must read this time of year. Available on Amazon!


http://www.amazon.com/Night-Before-Christmas-Little-Golden/dp/0375863591/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0

Winter (Cold Weather) Animals - December Wk 2

Preschool aged children just love to learn about animals! This week we will talk about some animals that live in the cold regions of the world and can incorporate snow and cold weather in as well.


Letter - W (winter)  

Letter W activity - You can use the above color sheet or print a large W on a piece of construction paper. Give the kids snowflake stickers and have them place the stickers over the letter.

Color - Grey


What are winter animals?  Animals that live in cold areas of the world, or places that stay cold most of the time. These animals are penguins, polar bears, fur seals, and caribou. There are also animals that live in places that are warm sometimes but are cold other times. They are rabbits, foxes and wolves. The animals that have to survive in the cold have thick layers of fat and fur to keep them warm.



SCIENCE

How do winter animals, like polar bears, stay warm in the cold?

Materials Needed:

Bucket or large bowl

Ice cubes
Thin gloves (like latex)
Vegetable Oil
Large plastic baggie

Make a bucket of ice water. Have each child put their bare hand in the ice water, but just for a second! Feel how cold it is. Now put a glove on one hand. Put vegtable oil into the plastic baggie and then place their gloved hand into the baggie. Make sure the oil isn't so deep that the oil goes into their glove! Place their hand with the oil baggie around it back into the ice water. Feel the difference! The oil (like the fat on the animals) helps to protect their hands from the cold.

It is also why we wear more clothing like sweaters and jackets when it is cold outside. The extra layers help to keep our bodies warm.



MUSIC & MOVEMENT

Walking through the artic (echo)
And what do you think I saw (echo)
A great big polar bear
He said Sta-and UP! (everyone jump up)
And shake, shake, this way, shake, shake that way (everyone shake)
Shake, shake, this way and then sit down (sit down)

(Explain that the polar bears shake the water off their fur just like a dog does)

MATH

Winter animal matching game. Print out the images and cut up into individual animal cards. There should be at least 2 of each animal. Place all the cards out on the table face up and make sure they are well mixed up. Begin by showing them how to play. Pick one animal card and place it next to yourself. Then show them how to find the match and place it on top of the first card. Next allow the children to match cards in turns. Discuss the animals while playing the game.

GROSS MOTOR

Follow the footprints game!  Draw a few different types of footprints on paper. Or you can print some out HERE.  It is also helpful to make each set a different color. Once you have your prints, lay each set out in a trail. You can criss cross different tracks across each other. This is best set up while the children are napping! Have the children pick a trail to follow! It is even more fun to have a special sticker or something for them to find at the end of their trail. Once they have followed the trails, you can then discuss what animals might have made the different tracks.

MUSIC & COUNTING

1 little, 2 little 3 little penguins
4 little, 5 little, 6 little penguins
7 little, 8 little, 9 little penuins
10 little penguins in the snow!

10 little, 9 little, 8 little penguins
7 little, 6 little, 5 little penguins
4 little, 3 little, 2 little penguins
1 little penguin in the snow!

(This could be an excellent felt board activity!)




ART

Cotton Ball Bunnies!

Materials Needed:
White Construction Paper
White Cotton Balls
Glue

Print out the TEMPLATE.  Cut out as many bunnies as needed. Provide the children with a supply of cotton balls and glue. Talk about how the bunnies are white in order to hide in the snow.

You could add touches such as googley eyes, black pipe cleaner whiskers, and a button nose!

COOKING

Peanut Butter Snowballs

Ingredients:

Peanut Butter (creamy works best)

Dry Milk Powder

Honey

Coconut

Empty peanut butter into bowl. Add 1 TBSP honey and ¼ cup dry milk. Add more milk until it has playdough consistancy. Roll into balls and roll in coconut.

The children can help by rolling the balls and then rolling into the coconut. Lots of fun and very messy!



FINE MOTOR
Playdough Animals

This is just as it sounds! Give the children playdough and have them create animals with it! Great fun.

Snow*Snowflakes*Snowman

Even though we don't get much snow here in South Texas, it's fun to talk about it and incorporate a snow week into our December lessons!

Letter: "S"

  Print coloring page HERE

Have the children first trace the letter with their finger. Next trace it with a crayon before coloring the page.

Color:  White

The best way to show preschoolers "white" is to use white chalk on black paper! For this lesson, ask them to draw a winter picture.

SCIENCE - What is snow?

Snow is a type of precipitation. Precipitation includes rain, sleet, and snow. When the weather is warm, water falls from the sky as rain. When the weather is cold, water becomes frozen and falls from the sky as snow.

Water can be many different forms such as liquid, which is the water we drink or bathe in, frozen, which is the ice cubes we put in our drinks or snow, or steam, which is what floats up when we boil a pot of water or run a hot bath.

When water is "room temperature" it is liquid. When it is really cold it is ice or snow. When it is really hot it is steam.

              

 

EXPERIMENT!

If your child doesn't get to see snow much (like mine) it is fun to make your own by shaving ice cubes. A good way to make snow (really shaved ice) is to take a cardboard milk container and cut it in half and thoroughly clean it out. Fill it with water and let it freeze for 2 days. Then use a cheese grater to shave the ice. This will be as close to snow as you can get if you don't have access to the real thing.

If you have snow where you live, this is still a fun experiment. You are lucky that you can just go outside and do it!

Once you have your ice, allow the children to explore it. Touch it, how does it feel? What happens if you hold some in your hand? How does it change? Taste it. What does it taste like? Squeeze some together. Can you make a ball? Provide shovels or other items to manipulate it with.

STORY - "Mouse's First Snow" , "The Biggest, Best Snowman!" & "Snowflake Bently"

Available through Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Mouses-First-Snow-Lauren-Thompson/dp/0689858361/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1351190317&sr=1-1&keywords=mouse%27s+first+snow

A story all about the fun this little mouse has playing in his first snow.

 Also through Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Biggest-Best-Snowman-Margery-Cuyler/dp/0590139223/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1351256059&sr=1-1

This is a terrific story about a little girl who was told she is too small to do anything, but she shows everyone when she makes the biggest, best snowman!


http://www.amazon.com/Snowflake-Bentley-Caldecott-Medal-Book/dp/0395861624

This is something a little different. Check this one out, it is really amazing and will capture your child's imagination!

POEM - "Winter Time Poem"

by Mary Ryer

 Icy fingers, icy toes, 
 Bright red cheeks and bright red nose. 
 Watch the snowflakes as they fall, 
 Try so hard to count them all. 
 Build a snowman way up high, 
 See if he can touch the sky. 
 Snow forts, snowballs, angels, too, 
 In the snow, so white and new. 
 Slip and slide and skate so fast. 
 Wintertime is here at last.

MATH - Snowflake Number & Pattern Matching

Pre-cut out a large number of different snowflakes from white paper. Make some large, some medium and some small.

For the numbers version, write numbers 1-5 on the large snowflakes. Help the children place the numbers in the correct order. Then ask them to count out the small snowflakes and place the correct number of them with the corresponding numbered snowflake. For example, place 5 small snowflakes with the large snowflak numbered "5".

For pattern matching, make a line of snowflakes in a pattern using the different sizes. For example, place 1 large, 1 small, 2 medium, 1 large in a line. Then have the children match the pattern you made with their own line of snowflakes.

CRAFT - Snowy Tree

Materials Needed:

Grey or Light Blue construction paper

Brown craft paint

Cotton Balls

Glue

Give each child a piece of paper. Coat their forearms and hands in the brown paint make an imprint on the paper. It will look like a tree! After allowing the tree to dry, ask them to add "snow" to their branches using the cotton and glue. They can also draw snow or other items in their winter picture.

**UPDATE - They actually used a cutout felt tree this year! It still came out super cute :)

MUSIC (and math!) - "Snowmen"

There were five little snowmen,  Each with scarf and woolly hat,  Out came the sun and melted one;  It's sad- But that was that!

 There were four little snowmen etc.

 There are no little snowmen,  Just scarves and woolly hats,  Sitting in a puddle  In a very wet  muddle;  It's sad -But that is that! 

COMMUNITY - Snow Plow Drivers

When the roads are covered in snow, people who drive Snow Plows come out to move the snow off of the roads to make it safer to drive on it. Snow and ice is very slippery and cars can slip too. Snow plow drivers are really helpful! They come out when it is really cold and windy to help make sure people are safe in their cars.

If you love the snow and driving big rigs, the job of a Snow Plow Driver is the one for you. As a Snow Plow Driver, you operate the truck that shovels snow off the road’s surface to make it safe for cars and trucks. This is seasonal work, but be prepared to be on call when Mother Nature unleashes her fury.

SNACK - Marshmallow Snowmen

Ingredients:

Mini marshmallows

Pretzel sticks

Raisins

Use the pretzel sticks to connect the mini marshmallows in order to make a head, body, and legs and the raisins can be their hands and feet. You can take it a step further and add a face and buttons using chocolate frosting.

 COLORING - Kids playing in the Snow

Color Page

Airplanes & Pilots (week after Thanksgiving)

This is a fun subject to use a "filler" between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Airplanes are a subject most kids can get in to and everyone needs a bit of a break between all the holiday madness!

A - Airplane  Print color sheet

P - Pilot   Print Alphabet Page

SHAPES - Squares

Square tracing/coloring page

Print the color page. Have the children trace the squares first with their fingers, then with colors. Talk about the different sizes. Have the children color the largest squares a certain color. Then color the smallest squares another color. Count the largest, count the smallest. This can even be a fine motor skill activity if you have them cut out the squares. Once cut out, you can arrange them by size and make it a math activity!

Squares Game!

Collect a selection of different items in different shapes. In circle time, hold up the different items and ask the children to shout out when they see a square! Put the correct square answers in a different pile for each child who shouts out first. The child with the most squares in their pile at the end of the game gets a prize! You could give them a square graham cracker or some kind of square sticker.

COMMUNITY - Pilots

What is a Pilot's job?

Pilots fly airplanes and helicopters to do many jobs. Most pilots fly people and cargo from place to place. Some pilots test new planes, fight fires, do police work, or rescue people who are hurt or in danger.

To keep passengers safe during travel, pilots are responsible for numerous flight checks where they verify that the instruments, controls, engines, and other flight systems on their craft are functioning the way they should, checking off each flight system as they finish inspection.

In order to make this task more understandable for the children, make a plane out of boxes or styrofoam. Give them a copy of a Pre-Flight Checklist and have them check out the plane you provided.

Once they have finished their pre-flight check, you can give them their "wings" to show that they are pilots! You can cut them from construction paper or use a sticker.

MATH - Colorful airplane sorting and patterning

Use stickers or pictures found on the internet or in magazines. Make sure there are 2 of each airplane and there are many different colors. It is a good idea to attach the airplanes onto index cards. Mix them all up in a pile and ask the children to select an airplane from the pile. Once they have put a plane in front of them on the table, ask them to find another plane from the pile that is the SAME. Repeat this a few times to match all the planes.

If you have a good enough selection, you can set out all the planes that are the same (ex: jets) and then just one plane which is different (ex: bi-plane). Ask the children to identify which is DIFFERENT.

Next, line up one set of airplanes on the table in a pattern. Ask the children to create the same pattern using their set of pictures.



 SCIENCE - Paper Airplanes (How do airplanes fly?)

This is a great book to read to help understand airplanes. Available on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Amazing-Airplanes-Machines-Tony-Mitton/dp/0753459159/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_3

 Explain that air flowing over and under the wings is what causes the plane to fly. Show pictures of birds gliding, kites flying, and planes flying. It is the same effect for all of these that causes them all to fly. Bring a few large leaves to class. Hold the leaf high in the air and drop it. Explain that the air is why it drifts down so slowly. The leaf is like a wing. Allow the children to do the same experiment. (This is VERY basic, but they won't be able to understand much more at this age!)

Using the template, create a paper airplane. Demonstrate how it flies to the class. Allow the children to fly an airplane too!

MUSIC - I'm A Little Airplane

I'm a little airplane,
Now watch me fly!
Here are my instruments
From down low to up high.
First I get revved up.
Then I can fly,
Lifting off the runway
Up into the sky!

This is a fun song when you add the movements! You can add-lib pretty much anything and the kids will think it is so fun!

ART - Airplane Shape Craft

This is a great way to incorporate shapes into the airplane lesson!

Materials Needed:

Several different colors of construction paper

Glue sticks

Scissors

  Cut out several triangles from construction paper. One for the nose of the plane, 2 for the wings, and one for the tail. It is a good idea to have each part of the plane a diffrent color, so that explaining how to put it together will be easier. Then cut out a square for the body of the plane. Have the children create a plane using these shapes. Talk about the different shapes and how they come together to make a plane.



SNACK - Travel Snack Mix

When we travel, it is nice to have a healthy snack to munch on. Allow the children to help make their own travel snack for today. If it is possible, enjoy this snack outside or even at the park!

Ingredients:

Cheerios (any flavor, or a couple of flavors)

Raisins

Mini Marshmallows

Place each ingredient in a separate bowl and add a spoon. Give each child a small cup (best to have their names on them for name recognition) and allow them to scoop the ingredients into their cups as they want. This will also become a fine motor activity. They will be so proud of their mix and enjoy it that much more!