If you’re looking for a food-themed field trip destination for your preschoolers the possibilities are almost endless! Here are just a few suggestions:
Archives for November 2009
Kitchen Prints
Real artists see beauty in the ordinary. Take your average kitchen utensils for example. Utilitarian and, well, ordinary. But if you look very closely they are full of different edges and shapes, patterns and textures. Gather a few kitchen instruments for some kitchen prints! (It’s best if these utensils can be devoted to art and sensory activities. Most washable paints will wash off of utensils, but if you can, it’s best to have separate sets.) I found interesting prints by using spatulas, pastry blenders, potato mashers, whisks, cups, pizza cutters, and even forks.
When doing prints, I like to present the paint on an old plastic lid with a ridge. On top of the lid I place several thicknesses of moistened paper towels. Then I spread a thin, even layer of paint on top of the toweling. This creates something like an ink pad. Try it out a few times to make sure that there is enough paint to print, but not so much that you lose the detail of your object in goopy drips of paint.
Book Activity: More Spaghetti I Say!
In More Spaghetti I Say, author Rita Golden Gelman weaves a silly tale of a monkey named Minnie who is so in love with her spaghetti she can’t possibly play with her brother. There’s a wonderful mix of rhyme, rhythm and hilarity as Minnie explains to Freddie, just how much she loves her spaghetti. She not only eats it (and pairs it with almost any other food) but plays in it, and even skis down it! As Minnie, and eventually Freddie, say, “I love it, I love it, I love it, I do!” This book is just classic! A fantastic, simple read that children love!
The Postive Guidance Tools of the Trade: Reinforcing and Ignoring
When you hear the word “Reinforcement” in association with child behavior, you probably think about sticker charts and prizes. And you’d be right…..and wrong. Reinforcement is anything that increases and encourages any particular behavior. Just as a seamstress can reinforce a seam, or a general can reinforce the troops, reinforcement makes things stronger. In the case of behavior, reinforcement makes a behavior stronger, more likely to occur, and perhaps even become a habit.
Welcome to the Pizza Shop! Prop Ideas for Preschool Dramatic Play
Pizza Shop, Pizzeria, Pizza Restaurant, whatever you like to call it, it’s a perfect dramatic play scenario for preschoolers. I would venture to say that most preschoolers have experience with pizza. It’s something familiar and almost universally enjoyed. Here are some prop ideas for creating a great pizza shop themed dramatic play area that will have your children ready to serve you up a slice!
Book Activity – The Seven Silly Eaters
Mary Ann Hoberman’s The Seven Silly Eaters
Book Activity- Pinkalicious!
Pinkalicious, by sister team Victoria Kann and Elizabeth Kann, is a unique and hilarious book about a girl who develops an acute case of “pinkatitis” after eating one too many pink cupcakes. At first, being completely pink sounds like a marvelous improvement to this little girl, until she gradually turns to a deeper shade of red. On doctor’s orders, she eats as many green foods as she can find in her fridge, the only way to return to her normal self. This book is a surefire winner, and not just with the pink crowd. The boys I’ve read it to have loved it as well!
After reading this book, I talk with the children about whether or not this scenario could really happen. Of course not! But then, I ask what would happen if they ate too many cupcakes. They certainly wouldn’t feel well, and their bodies wouldn’t be healthy. Then we talk about healthy and unhealthy foods. I prepare ahead of time, cutting out pictures of food from my local grocery store flyers and laminating them to cards. (Be sure to collect a variety, spanning the food groups.)
Postive Guidance Tools of the Trade: Encouragement vs. Judgment and Praise
My apologies to those of you who were following the Positive Guidance posts. I’m finally back around to posting more details here and plan on making Saturdays for Positive Guidance Posts. For those of you who haven’t read the Positive Guidance Posts, start here!
Scented Playdough–Cinnamon Spice!
If you want great scented playdough, that smells like an actual, natural food scent, try this one out! It’s probably my favorite scented playdough, in large part because it makes your whole room smell like a bakery! In fact, you’ll have to remind your children that in spite of the great scent, it is still not for eating!
Set the Table – A Preschool Food Study
There’s something about November that just makes me hungry! Perhaps it’s the time-honored tradition of gluttony, and maybe it’s the fond association with childhood memories of loved ones around a table……or just around a kitchen counter. Food is not only essential for fueling our bodies, it is often a hallmark of culture and a centerpiece of celebration. This month I’ll be posting activities supporting a food theme to be implemented with preschoolers.
Objectives! You didn’t think I would post something without telling you why, did you? That would just go against everything I believe in! So here’s the nitty gritty. A food study provides plenty of opportunities for children to have cooking experiences, the benefits of which I have discussed here. They also learn about the origins of food, ie that lemonade comes from a lemon not a box, milk is produced by a cow, not a factory. There are plenty of opportunities to talk about choosing a variety of foods, trying new foosd, and the importance of healthy foods for our bodies. I also like to take the opportunity to talk about manners a bit and give them the chance to practice and pretend in a restaurant theme. Here are some of the activities I’ll be posting, and then linking back to this post.
