Today I welcome Carolyn from the blog, Pleasantest Thing! I think we’ll be playing this great alphabet game out at our house today!
Wet, Wild Fun for Hot Summer Days
It looks like today is set to be the hottest day of the year here, which is convenient timing since it’s also the first official day of Summer Vacation! I thought this might be the perfect time to do a round up of some exciting ideas for outdoor water play from around the web.
Preschool Study Unit: Water
Water is everywhere in our lives. Without much thought, we bathe in it, drink it, cook with it, and wash our hands over and over on a daily basis. And in spite of its everyday status, there’s still something mesmorizing about it, especially for children. They’ll scoop, pour, and explore, over and over and over again.
Moving Water – Siphoning
We all know about Jack and Jill and their unfortunate experience. Wouldn’t it have been nice if they’d just had running water?
Rainy Day Book Activities
Water is a fascinating topic for exploration! At this time of year, it’s particularly exciting to explore water in the form of rain. If you’re enjoying some April showers, you might want to build some connections with the children you love and teach by jumping into some of these great books and activities.
The Preschool Pirate
It could be all this writing about imaginative play that has got me thinking about pirates. Or maybe it was my 4-year-old’s comments about “the pirate species”. (“You know mom, guys with eye patches and swords – the pirate species!”) Either way, I thought I’d share some pirate fun with you!
Safe Fire-Free Ways to Have a Blast With Your Children This Fourth of July
Fireworks are off-limits in many areas this summer because of the fire threat it poses to foothills, forests, and even neighborhood underbrush. Even if fireworks are allowed in your area, you’re bound to have some children who want an exciting hands-on experience, but aren’t quite old enough for the fire power yet. Here are three fun fire-free “blast-off” experiments you can incorporate into your Fourth of July Festivities. And you don’t even have to wait until dark!
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 it moves. Leave the other box empty. Provide a variety of tools including scoops in varying sizes, funnels, basters and eye-droppers, and clear tubing (available at hardware stores).
Bubble Paint
For the truly brave preschool teacher or parent, looking for a creative art project, I present bubble painting!! This can be a messy project, but very unique and with many opportunities for developmental growth. Directions first, benefits later.
Do Pumpkins Sink or Float?
Sink or float is a classic preschool activity. You gather an assortment of items and have the children guess which will sink or float, and then test their hypotheses. (It made me laugh not too long ago when David Letterman added a gag segment called “Will it Float” with a huge pool of water and random items for the members of the audience to make predictions about. I’m guessing he’d been to his little boy’s preschool the day he came up with that one!)
