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Create Your Own Print Blocks

February 21, 2009 by notjustcute Filed Under: Create, Learning through Play and Experience Leave a Comment

dscn0368For a great creative art activity in your preschool, consider print-making.  You can create these texture print blocks in a matter of minutes.  It’s quick and easy! 

Take a few wood blocks, about 3 or 4 inches on each side.  I used leftover MDF, used for finish trim in our house, but you could use other wood boards as long as they are sanded smooth.  MDF is great because it is already smooth.   Buy a length of trim from Home Depot, or even better, you can sometimes ask if they have any remnants and they’ll give it to you or sell it to you at a bargain. 

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Mixing Colors the Easy (and Fun) Way!

February 20, 2009 by notjustcute Filed Under: Building Readers, Create, Learning through Play and Experience 4 Comments

dscn0535Here’s a color-mixing project that is quick, easy, and inexpensive.  Fill three clear containers(jars are great) about 2/3 full with water colored blue, yellow, and red with liquid or powder water colors, or with plain old food coloring.  Provide a few extra empty containers for mixing.  Place all of these on a towel-lined tray, or in a sensory table.  Provide a baster or dropper for transferring water, or provide several different instruments of varying sizes for experimenting.  Children will be absorbed in this activity, transferring water and creating new colors, while building a bundle of developmental skills! 

Mixing colors is a cognitive, as well as creative, activity.  Moving the water with a variety of tools is a provides small motor strength, hand eye coordination, and an exposure to basic science tools.  As the amount of water in each container changes, or as tools with varying capacities are used, discussion can be guided toward math concepts such as “less than” and “more than”.  To support literacy, use this activity in conjunction with a great color mixing book, such as Mouse Paint, by Ellen Stoll Walsh.

Preschool Paleontologists – Digging for Dinosaur Bones

February 18, 2009 by notjustcute Filed Under: Building Readers, Learning through Play and Experience 3 Comments

dscn1157

What child wouldn’t love the chance to unearth the mysteries of dinosaurs?  Here’s how I gave some preschoolers the chance to be paleontologists!

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How to Build a Mailbox for Your Preschool Post Office

February 18, 2009 by notjustcute Filed Under: Building Readers, Learning through Play and Experience 3 Comments

dscn1174Have you ever looked at those darling mailboxes designed for dramatic play in the supply catalogs, and just wished that you could rationalize a few hundred bucks for such an investment?  Well, stop trying to rationalize because I have a more budget-friendly alternative. 

These mailboxes were made from “Costco-sized” diaper boxes.  I spray painted them blue, cut a letter slot by cutting the three sides of a rectangle.  On the fourth side, I made a crisp bend (may be aided by making a shallow cut through the first layer on the inside with a razor) and reinforced it on the inside with packing tape so that it wouldn’t wear out from being opened and closed.  The handles were leftovers from a kitchen remodel, but you can also buy simple handles pretty inexpensively at your hardware store.  Poke holes through the cardboard, basically “pilot holes”, and then thread the screws through like you would on a cabinet.  Cut a similar slot at the bottom of the back for the letter carrier to retrieve the mailed letters.  (I skipped the handle in the back and cut a notch instead.) 

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Five Silly Dinosaurs

February 18, 2009 by notjustcute Filed Under: Building Readers, Learning through Play and Experience, Music and Movement Leave a Comment

dscn1188To prepare for this song, I draw a picture of a dinosaur driving a car on five index cards.  (The pictures don’t have to be perfect, the kids are generally easy critics in this department.  Look at some dinosaur illustrations to give you inspiration.)  I arrange the pictures on my pocket chart and ask the children if they think dinosaurs drove cars.  We talk about this idea for a bit, and generally conclude that these are five silly dinosaurs.  In fact, there’s a song about these five silly dinosaurs!

Five Silly Dinosaurs

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Flying Fish and Other Playdough Pets

February 16, 2009 by notjustcute Filed Under: Building Readers, Create, Learning through Play and Experience Leave a Comment

dscn1143While implementing a Pets theme, I gave the children some playdough, a paper plate, and an assortment of items with varying textures (feathers, googly eyes, pipe cleaners, batting, sequins, etc.).  As part of a book activity, the children had just read But No Elephants, by Jerry Smath, a truly fantastic book, and were asked to use the materials to make their own pet – real or imaginary.  The picture above is just one example from a 5 year old:  “a flying fish”.  Other children used the batting as fur to make “fancy poodles”, and “hamsters”.  Try this activity as a stand alone or as part of a book activity. 

As the children work the playdough, they build fine motor strength and control, as well as gaining a sensory experience.  Creating the pet in both image and character builds creative and language skills as well.  Children also display an awareness of pet characteristics and detail as they transfer their mental image of a pet to a playdough representation of that idea.

Book Activity: Snowmen At Night

February 16, 2009 by notjustcute Filed Under: Building Readers, Learning through Play and Experience 1 Comment

Snowmen at Night by Caralyn and Mark Buehner, is a wonderful tale about the adventures snowmen get themselves into when they come to life at night.  It’s all in an attempt to explain why snowmen don’t always look the same the day after they’re built; a little hunched over, a bit more ragged.  The illustrations are detailed and fantastic, and even contain some hidden pictures that kids love to find!  The storyline is just as enjoyable with rhyming text that aids in building phonological awareness.

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Percussion Band – Syllable Style

February 16, 2009 by notjustcute Filed Under: Building Readers, Learning through Play and Experience, Music and Movement 1 Comment

dscn1171Percussion instruments are great for young children!  Perhaps the human voice is the only instrument that comes so naturally!  Try this activity for combining music and language activities together.

Begin by showing an assortment of percussion instruments.  This could include drums, rhythm sticks,  cowbell and mallet, wood blocks, anything that produces a sound when struck.  Let the children know that first they will watch and listen, and then they will get a turn to play the instruments as well. 

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Paper Plate Snowmen

February 16, 2009 by notjustcute Filed Under: Building Readers, Create, Learning through Play and Experience 1 Comment

dscn1160Build snowmen indoors, no matter the weather!  Here’s what you need:

White paper plates

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Cookie Cutter Prints With a Spin

February 13, 2009 by notjustcute Filed Under: Create, Learning through Play and Experience 1 Comment

dscn1144In case I haven’t given you enough excuses to go out and buy your dream cookie cutter collection, here’s another way to get your money’s worth.  It’s very similar to the cookie cuter prints, but with an extra step.  Instead of using tempera paint in your plastic lids, use good old Elmer’s glue.  Once the cookie cutters have been dipped in the glue and pressed on the paper, the children can shake colored salt onto the glue.  Shake the paper around, and there is a new, colorful, raised print!  You could also use glitter in place of or in addition to the colored salt.  As the children use several colors on the same page, their prints will take on a cool multi-colored design!  Enjoy all the ways you can put these prints to good use!

This activity builds motor control and creativity as the children manipulate the cutters and shakers and create their own designs.

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I’m Amanda Morgan. Here’s what I’m about…

In early education, there is too much distance between what we know and what we do. I bridge the gaps that exist between academia, decision-makers, educators, and parents so that together, we can improve the quality of early education while also respecting and protecting the childhood experience.

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