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Whole Child Development

The Perfect Pretzel Recipe…..Really.

by Filed Under: Building Readers, Learning through Play and Experience, Snack Time 11 Comments

I have never found a recipe for big soft pretzels that I really loved.  They were too complicated to make with kids, or didn’t taste very good, or had the wrong texture.  Well, that all changed this last Christmas when my sister-in-law, gave me this little gem as part of a collection of recipes.  (I love getting good recipes for Christmas!)  I tried it out, and it couldn’t be easier!  The kiddos can help from start to finish.  Just mix your ingredients, shape your dough (letters, hearts, geo shapes, or the traditional pretzel knot), brush, sprinkle, and bake.  They’re so fast, but so good!   Here’s the recipe so you can find out for yourself!

Big Soft Pretzels

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You've Got Mail!

by Filed Under: Building Readers, Learning through Play and Experience, Positive Guidance and Social Skills Leave a Comment

Do you remember how excited you were to get mail as a child?  The mail system seemed magical and mystical.  You might get a package from Grandma, an invitation to a birthday party, or a letter from a secret admirer.  The possibilities were endless!  In these days of email and text messages, children still love to get mail!  Here’s a great mail activity that will give them the opportunity to get and send mail while also getting some practice with recognizing and forming their written names. 

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You’ve Got Mail!

by Filed Under: Building Readers, Learning through Play and Experience, Positive Guidance and Social Skills Leave a Comment

Do you remember how excited you were to get mail as a child?  The mail system seemed magical and mystical.  You might get a package from Grandma, an invitation to a birthday party, or a letter from a secret admirer.  The possibilities were endless!  In these days of email and text messages, children still love to get mail!  Here’s a great mail activity that will give them the opportunity to get and send mail while also getting some practice with recognizing and forming their written names. 

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Have You Met My Friend Stinky Face?

by Filed Under: Building Readers, Celebrate! Leave a Comment

I Love You Stinky FaceI have a friend who has made a tradition of giving books to her children on Valentine’s Day.  (No, she’s not the one named Stinky Face.)  She tries to find some kind of love themed book to give to each of her children.  I love this idea, and as I thought about my favorite love themed children’s book, particularly from the perspective of a mom, my hands-down favorite is “I Love You Stinky Face” by Lisa McCourt. 

This is a great story about a child who keeps asking his mother “what if” questions to test how much she really loves him.  Questions like, “What if I were an alligator with big, sharp teeth?” or “What if I were a green alien from Mars and I ate bugs instead of peanut butter?”  Of course the mother answers in perfect, funny, unconditionally loving fashion

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The Pied Piper of Hamelin

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

I try to fit a nursery rhyme, fable, or fairy tale into each unit.  As I’ve mentioned before, these are the literary classics of childhood!  When talking about the arts and the senses, I like to introduce the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin!

You can check out a book to read out loud, create a flannel board story, or use the coloring pages from this website.  Whatever your method, get familiar with the story and bring it to life in your storytelling.  After the story, talk about whether or not the children think it could really happen.  Probably not….at least not exactly (though the story’s historical roots are actually debated).  Nonetheless, listening to music can make us want to move in different ways, depending upon the way it sounds.  Play a few samples and have the children suggest what type of movement the music makes them think of.  Choose samples that remind you of a lullaby, a dancing tune, a quiet tip-toe song, etc.  End with a march and have the children march, parade style, to your next activity!

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Book Activity: My Crayons Talk

by Filed Under: Building Readers, Create, Learning through Play and Experience 3 Comments

My Crayons Talk

My Crayons Talk by Patricia Hubbard is a perfect introduction into the interplay between color and language.  The girl in the story explains how her colors talk as she draws.  For example, “Yellow chirps, ‘Quick, Baby chick.'” The accompanying picture shows the girl sitting in a straw-colored meadow, surrounded by baby chicks, while wearing a sunny sun dress and funky sunglasses. 

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Book Activity: Mouse Paint

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

Mouse Paint

Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh is one of my very favorite books for teaching about primary and secondary colors.  The children absolutely love it as well.  In the story, three mice climb into three jars of paint (red, yellow, and blue) and then begin dancing, stirring and mixing with their feet as they blend the primary colors together to create secondary colors.  (Incidently, White Rabbit’s Color Book by Alan Baker is also fantastic and follows a very similar format.  Just in case one is easier for you to get your hands on than the other!)

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Introducing the Five Senses!

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

My Five Senses Big Book

As I mentioned before, the purpose of teaching about the five senses in preschool is not for the children to be able to recite the five senses, but to build sensory awareness.  Whenever I introduce the five senses, I like to start out with the book, My Five Senses by Aliki.  It does a great job of simply introducing each of the senses, and then pointing out how we may use several of them at the same time, and that we use them to be aware of what’s around us.  It’s very brief, very simple, and right to the point.

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Wonderful Winter Books!

by Filed Under: Building Readers, Get Outside, Learning through Play and Experience Leave a Comment

I love picture books!  In our family library, my husband’s beautiful leather-bound tomes  line one section of shelves, while my continually growing collection of children’s literature fills another section.  I’d say our respective collections take up about the same amount of real estate, but since I can fit about 20 picture books in the same amount of space as one “War and Peace”, I’d say my collection is larger.  There just never seems to be a bad time to read a good children’s book.  Start of an activity – great!  Rowdy transition time – perfect!  Bedtime – ideal!  It reminds me of the iPhone commercials (“There’s an app for that”).  Any situation, there’s a book for that.  New puppy in the family?  There’s a book for that.  Having a really bad day?  There’s a book for that.  Want to become a pirate?  There’s a book for that too.  Ate too many cupcakes and now you’ve turned pink, which you were really excited about at first, until the birds and bees thought you were a flower and swarmed you, and after one more cupcake you’re actually red, which isn’t nearly as neat as pink and now you need to know how to get back to your normal self?  Wouldn’t you know, there’s a book for that too! (If you think I’m totally off my rocker with that last reference, you need to read Pinkalicious!)

During a winter themed preschool unit, there are plenty of opportunities for a great book.  You might use one to start off outside time, an art project, a game, or a discussion.  Or you might just read one to enjoy it together with your little ones.  For any occasion, here’s a quick list of some of my favorite winter-themed books. Instead of summarizing them myself, I’ve linked each picture to Amazon, which also gives a story summary. 

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