Things with Wings

There's a game we like to play all the time in the car.  Today is was 'things with wings".  G named all the things she could think of that had wings.  It's a great exercise in association and classification.   I made this board on polyvore.com, but we have made collages of like items or index card on a ribbon to take in the car or even a small photo book (you know those cheap ones at the dollar store? Excellent for making mini books for kids!).  
Have a fun & playful day!
 Mel

Mommies, Daddies, and Babies

 Children are fascinated with Mommy and Baby animals and are always pairing them.  When I taught preschool, I would gather several pairs of animals and have the children match the Mommies (or Daddies!) to their babies.

 Without them even knowing, they are talking about animal families, life cycles, characteristics of animals, & more.  This is science.

 Sometimes, the babies don't look exactly like their parents.

 Sometimes, they do.

 You can ask open-ended questions to your child to get the conversation going. How do they look alike?  How are they different?  What sounds do you think they make?

 Something that always interests kids is sometimes the mommy takes care of the babies.  Sometimes, it's the daddy.  The mommy seahorse actually gives her eggs to the daddy seahorse.  He carries them in his pouch (like a kangaroo).  The babies hatch in his pouch then >POP< out! They are miniature versions of their parents and completely independent.

 Where do penguins live?  When you ask that question, you are opening up a conversation about habitats and where animals live and why.

 What kinds of baby animals live on the farm?

 Another thing you can do is this.  I found these animal cards at the dollar spot at Target. (I love the dollar spot!)  The photography on these cards is amazing.  Children can match the card to the animal toy.

 I love that the cards show the animal AND has the name written.  Bonus! Science + literacy in the same activity.

 Most of the animals shown at Schleich animals - ranging in price from $1.99 & up.  Exceptional quality, all hand painted.

 I am not sure if that baby camel actually goes with the camel shown but...kids won't care.

 I just gathered up random animals to match the cards.  Any like animals will work.

We've done Alligator through Zebra!

Learning through play is the best way for children to learn.  It's fun.  It's hands-on.  It's investigative.  It's lead by the child's interests - which makes it more interesting to them.

Have a Fun & Playful day!
Mel

Classification Preschool Style

When I taught preschool, everyone always said, "Science is so hard for preschool."  What??? Science is thee easiest thing to teach preschools.  Preschoolers are naturally drawn to nature and animals and bugs and mud and...Guess what!  That's all science.

Classification is a fancy word for grouping.  You can do this when you play with your child.  "Hey, let's find all the hedgehogs."  Easy.  "Let's make a rabbit family."  Easy.  "Can you find all the birds?" So easy.

You can talk about what makes them alike - like rabbits all have long ears and four feet, and longer back legs.

Science for toddlers and preschoolers doesn't have to be hard.  It's not a thick manual of boring facts.  It's around us everyday.  It's weather.  It's nature.  It's habitats.  It's lifecycles.  It's baking.  It's gardening.

I had lots of visitors (other teachers, parents, administrators) to my classroom to see my science center.  They saw a basket of pinecones and twigs and forest animals and said, "Oh, I can do this."  Yes, of course.  Rock science may be hard, but science for preschoolers is fun!