Looking for a sensory activity that will get your kids’ attention? Spray some shaving cream into your bin. The sight and sound of that alone will get them running. Add some colored salt shakers and paintbrushes or spoons (for those who are a little less eager to dive in with their hands). Let the children [...]
Entries from January 2009
January 26, 2009
The Secret’s in the Sound – Phonological Awareness and the Preschooler
Photo courtesy of djeyewater. Research has shown that the best indicator of future reading success isn’t naming letters, or learning to print one’s name (though both are important tasks) but phonological awareness. This ability begins developing early, and is completely auditory and oral, meaning it is independent of print. It has to do with hearing [...]
January 20, 2009
A Puzzling Mess
Tell me I’m not the only mother with a two year old who thinks the best thing to do with five boxes of puzzles is to put them all into one bucket together. Luckily for me, I learned at a university lab preschool, that it is very handy to number the backs of your puzzle [...]
January 18, 2009
Goopy Goop
It’s colorful, cheap, and a little bit slimy. What’s not to love? Goopy goop, is pretty much colorful paste. Get a few of the plastic bottles they sell for hair dye. Fill them about 1/2 full of flour. Add water and food coloring or water color powder. Adjust the flour to water ratio if necessary so that [...]
January 13, 2009
Work in Progress
Do you ever run into this problem? You have a child who has been slaving away on a block project and is devastated when it’s time to clean up? Here are a couple of ideas for handling that situation. Take a picture, it’ll last longer. Keep a digital camera handy and snap a few shots. [...]
January 12, 2009
Colored Salt
Here’s a quick way to create a new art medium. In a jar or baggie, pour in enough regular, table-grade salt to equal the amount of total colored salt you want to end up with. About a teaspoon at a time, add tempera paint powder. (If you don’t have paint powder, and you’re in a [...]
