Animal Photo Blocks

I was recently given the task to come up with some activities for infants and toddlers with the theme of animals.
I found these photo cubes at Target in the Dollar Spot.
I googled images of animals, cut pics to size, and assembled them.
When infants or toddlers play with these, they can name the animals and make the animal sounds to go along with that animal.

Thanks, Target!

Tutus and Butterfly Wings

My dear friend's daughter wants to have a tea party for her birthday. I said, "I will make the tutus and butterfly wings!"
It's really easy (and inexpensive).
You will need:
black felt by the yard for the wings
various colors of felt squares for the wing design
ribbon
3/4" elastic for waist band
sewing machine or hot glue gun
thread
scissors
Measure the waist of your little fairy and cut the elastic to that exact length then sewing to make a circle or band.
Cut the tulle/netting in strips of 2 inches or so. You can vary it.
Simply tie the strands of tulle/netting around the elastic band. I put it over my knee to make it easier to tie. I added a ribbon in every 4 or 5 strands of tulle/netting. Add tulle/netting until you get the fullness that you want.
Here are the wings laid out. I double layered the black felt for sturdiness. I just used simple shapes to make the butterfly wings and stitched them on. You could hot gun them if you are sewing challenged.
Here is the finished project. Isn't she cute. She did not want to take it off! Oh, it's going to be an adorable fairy tea party.

Nest Corsage

So we are planning a baby shower with a nest/bird/woodsy kind of theme. I wanted to make special corsages for the mommy-to-be and the grandmas. I have been deliberating for weeks. Then POW! it hit me. Nest corsages! Of course.
I used:
*brown felt
*green felt
*plastic eggs
*scissors
*a pen
*a cd for tracing
*glue gun
*pin backs (Package of 10 - $1.29 at JoAnns)
1. I traced the cd onto the brown felt.

2. I roughly cut out the circle to make it look more natural.
3. I cut the circle in a spiral.
4. I used a paper punch and brown cardstock to make the back look more neat.
5. I took the spiral and formed it into a 3d nest-looking shape.
6. I cut out 2 leaves but folding the felt in half and cutting out a leaf shape.
7. I turned the nest upside-down and hot glued the edges.
8. I glued the leaves onto the edges.
9. I glued the cardstock circle onto the back.
10. Next, I glued the pin back on.
TA-DAH!

Monster Truck Painting

Make tracks!
Art on the go!
Zoomin' good time!

My little guy loves monster trucks, so I decided to incorporate them into his art.
I placed printer paper in the bottom of an disposable pan ($1 store) for less mess.
I squirted a dab of paint in the middle of the paper.
He zoomed that monster truck through the paint, leaving tracks.
Fun, huh?

Smelly Sand

I have a new invention!

It's called Smelly Sand.

The Kids looooove it! And it's cheap and easy - so adults will love it, too.

I used 3 containers of salt. They were $.49 at Kroger. I used the Kroger brand. Then I add 10 packs of any flavor of Kool-Aid (again, I used generic). Then just stir. I used tropical punch.

Smell is the sense that signals the brain. Some smells even "activate" the brain and help the learning process.

The kids can sift and stir and the smells just keeps wafting through the air.

One child said, "Ms. Mel, I wish the beach smelled like this."

:)

Graphing Preschool Style

This child colors in the spaces on the graph every time she removes on of the fruits.
Here one child sorts the items and puts on his graph.

Data collection and recording is a math skill.

Making a footpath

Making a Footpath is so easy!
I am going to walk you through it now. You can do these with a variety of themes to fit any occasion - classroom theme, birthday party theme, etc.

You need:
butcher paper
stickers
construction paper
glue
laminator (optional)

#1 Lay out 2 pieces of butcher paper side by side. Mine are about 6 feet long each.
Find stickers (or clipart) that you want for your theme. I used these ocean stickers and color copied, enlarging them 400%.
I matted the color-copied stickers with construction paper for durability and to color coordinate with the path. I placed them on the paper but NOT directly across from one another.
Then I began making my path. Here, the yellow matted fish coordinate with the yellow strips of construction paper that I cut. I made the path twisty and turny for added fun.
Here my lovely assistant is gluing them down for me.
The process continues with each color. Blue here.
Then orange. See how the colors criss-cross and overlap?
Purple came next.
Last - green. Here's a view from the top. Children will start on one picture, say the shark, then follow that path until they reach the other shark. It's even more fun when more than one child is on the footpath at a time.
I laminated mine for durability but you don't have to. I saw this done at a children's museum in London, but they painted it onto the floor. Kids love it.

Add sparkle

Preschoolers are nature scientists. They are curious about everything. Here I have added strands of beads and mirrors to the window for a daily lesson in light and reflection. The children are curious about the light beams, the way the morning sunlight hits the beads and mirrors, and the sparkle catches their eyes. You could do this is a child's bedroom or any room of the house that has a lot of sunlight.

Plants and Preschoolers

Spring is a great time for science in preschool. New growth is all around us. Here, we put beans in a ziploc baggy with a damp paper towel. The seed (aka bean) will open up and start to get roots. The children are eager to come into the classroom to see if their seed is growing or how much it has grown.
Here to show how the roots soak up water, we dyed water with food coloring and placed a stock of celery in it. The food coloring with turn the leaves blue (or whatever color you use). Preschoolers understand by seeing that the colored water will travel to all areas of the plant.
Here are some of our bean plants growing. This is only after 2 weeks!

I Spy Name Bottles

To help with name and letter recognition, I made these I spy bottle. Start with rice, empty water bottle, and letter beads.
Fill the water bottle 3/4 of the way full. That way the letter beads can move around.

Spell out the child's name. I used my nephew Kyle's name.
Put the beads in and tighten the lid. You may way to glue it shut.
On a piece of paper, write out the child's name.
Every time, he (or she) rolls the bottle around and finds the letter, they get to circle it.
Keep rolling the bottle around.


When all the letters are circled, you can start again!