The story of Stone Soup is a popular old fable that has been retold countless ways. (If you need to brush up on the tale, you can find books at the library or online, and can even find online versions here and here.) You can help your children be a part of this timeless story as you [...]
Entries from November 2009
November 25, 2009
Thanksgiving Turkey Craft Times Two
Now, before you get all worked up over the word “craft”, let me reiterate what I said in this post. Crafts are not inherently evil. They’ve just gotten a bad rap because too many people have misused and abused them as a substitution for creative art experiences. Open-ended creative art activities should be the mainstay of a [...]
November 24, 2009
The Story of Milk – Making Butter with Preschoolers
While exploring a food theme, I really like to teach the children about where food comes from. Milk and dairy products are a great group to explore this way. I start out by asking the children if they have milk at their homes. They usually all reply in the affirmative. Then I ask where milk [...]
November 23, 2009
Book Activity – The Hungry Thing
I was first introduced to Jan Slepian and Ann Seidler’s The Hungry Thing at a workshop on phonemic/phonological awareness (learn more about that here). So, obviously, this book and activity are great for building those critical prereading skills. In this story, the Hungry Thing shows up in a town, asking for food. The people can’t figure out what [...]
November 21, 2009
Positive Guidance Tools of the Trade – Say What You Need to See
Have you ever told a child not to do something, only to have them do that very thing one second later? Infuriating, isn’t it? The child, it seems, is being belligerent and willfully disobedient. But things aren’t always as they appear. You see, children are very suggestible. Once they have a mental image of a [...]
November 20, 2009
Moving Water
Here’s a quick and easy, yet fascinating , activity for your sensory table. (Find how to make your own here.) Inside the table, place two smaller containers. (I used the shoebox size storage containers here.) Fill one box with water. You may want to add a little coloring to make the water more visible as [...]
November 20, 2009
Foods! A Preschool Group Collage
Young children are very emphatic about their food. They love it- they hate it. There are few in-betweens. Let them share their tastes and build their literacy by creating a group food collage. You can do this using a wall or a large piece of butcher paper. Provide the children with appropriate magazines and scissors [...]
