It’s Raining!
by notjustcute Filed Under: Learning through Play and Experience, Music and Movement Leave a Comment
Whole Child Development
by notjustcute Filed Under: Learning through Play and Experience, Music and Movement Leave a Comment
by notjustcute Filed Under: Learning through Play and Experience Leave a Comment
When Froebel created that groundbreaking child-centered preschool in Germany, centuries ago, he chose the name “kindergarten”, which translates to mean, “children’s garden”. It seems fitting, that a proper “children’s garden”, might include an actual garden as well! Class gardens are really the best way to teach science topics like seeds, plants, and the origins of food, as well as pro-social skills such as the value of work, responsibility, and working together toward a shared goal. Additionally, few preschool-aged children can comprehend environmental issues in distant places like rain forests and ozone layers, but they will easily learn about the importance of preserving a good environment when it comes to protecting their own prized pumpkins! And we can’t overlook the development of motor skills that takes place as they care for their patch of plants.
by notjustcute Filed Under: Building Readers, Learning through Play and Experience, Positive Guidance and Social Skills 2 Comments
by notjustcute Filed Under: Building Readers, Learning through Play and Experience, Snack Time Leave a Comment
Ahh, doughnuts. Few treats get children so excited! I’m personally not a fan of deep fat frying. My body doesn’t react well to the smell and when I eat it much my stomach feels unsettled. That, and my hips and thighs swell in a strange sort of allergic reaction. At any rate, when I’m the cook at the wheel, I prefer this healthier recipe for baked doughnuts. If you want to, have your little chefs assist you through the entire recipe. It’s not too difficult, and those little hands always get a kick out of kneading and rolling. Observing first hand the effect of yeast is a science project in itself. And since these are baked, not fried, they’re not only healthier, but you also have a little less to worry about in the burn department. As another option, you can have the doughnuts ready, and just let the children help with the topping. Either way, this cooking activity is sure to excite your little ones as they personalize each doughnut. Turn it into a literacy activity by reading a good book like The Great Doughnut Parade beforehand, or while the dough rises!
Here’s the to-do and to-what list:
by notjustcute Filed Under: Building Readers, Learning through Play and Experience 6 Comments
As a seed germinates and grows, it is hard for children to understand what goes on beneath that mystic cover of soil. Of course you can sprout bean seeds in a plastic bag (just drop in a wet paper towel and presoaked bean seed, seal ‘er up and watch it open up over the course of a few days). That’s a great staple among preschool activities, but if you also want to watch the development of the seed into a plant with a root system, you might want to try this idea.
by notjustcute Filed Under: Learning through Play and Experience 8 Comments
If you haven’t done film canister rockets yet, boy are you missing out! I’ll give you a quick run down on the old favorite and then let you in on a colorful little twist I’ve recently discovered!
by notjustcute Filed Under: Create, Get Outside, Learning through Play and Experience 1 Comment
Here’s a great butterfly art project that is not only fun and fancy, but reinforces small motor skills and creativity, as well as the concept of symmetry.
Prepare these supplies:
by notjustcute Filed Under: Learning through Play and Experience, Positive Guidance and Social Skills 5 Comments
Photo by emospada.
I have to admit, I’m a bit of a germophobe. I know that sounds very strange coming from someone who works with young children, often holding little hands that have just been used as Kleenexes, but rest assured, I go through plenty of soap and hand sanitizer! I try, as best I can, to pass on this hand-washing habit (minus the compulsion and phobia) to the youngsters I teach. Teaching young children to wash their hands has always been important. With current flu fears, it becomes more paramount. Simply being vigilant about washing hands goes a long way in promoting good health! So here’s one way I teach children the importance of washing their hands, while interjecting a bit of enthusiasm for the task via a bit of magic (formally referred to as “science“).
by notjustcute Filed Under: Create, Learning through Play and Experience Leave a Comment
If you work with preschoolers, you have them. Those partially unwrapped, broken crayons piled up in a box or ice cream bucket. Well here’s a way to use those nubbins up!
Get an old cheese grater (it’s a pain to clean wax, so use one you can devote to the arts) and let your little ones help you grate up those crayon cast-offs into a colorful assortment of shavings. (While you’re doing this, warm up your iron on a medium setting.) Next, fold a piece of wax paper in half, and have the children arrange the shavings inside the “paper sandwich”. Place the paper sandwich into an art towel sandwich (one on the bottom to protect your surface from wax leaks and heat, and a thin one on top to protect your iron from the same). Depending upon the age and maturity of your children, you may point out that they may hold the handle of the iron with you while you rub it across the towel covered wax paper, or, if that’s too risky, just put them in charge of counting. (Your total counting time will depend on the thickness of your top towel, but start with say 10-15 seconds.) Check to see if the wax has been satisfactorily melted. Add more time if needed.
by notjustcute Filed Under: Learning through Play and Experience 3 Comments
After seeing an erosion table at a nearby museum, I decided to implement the same concept on a much smaller scale in my sensory table. There are three vital ingredients here: sand (you can buy a large bag for a little money at Home Depot), water filled spray bottles, and dinosaur figures. After placing the sand in the sensory table, add the dinosaurs and mix well. You want some to be buried, some to sit on top, and a few somewhere in between. Provide spray bottles filled with water so that the children can spray water to erode the sand and unearth the dinosaurs. Inevitably, they will incorporate some dramatic play as they create storylines involving storms, floods, or dinosaurs trapped in quicksand.
This type of activity gives children that time-honored sensory experience of mixing sand and water. That could be reason alone for doing this activity, but there’s more! Using spray bottles takes a great degree of fine motor strength and control, as well as hand-eye coordination for keeping aim while firing! Science and language skills come into play as the children notice and talk about the effects of the water on the sand; not only that it changes the texture and consistency of the sand pile, but that the sand can be moved by the force of water. This can also lead to discussions about the concept of erosion, or about how dinosaur fossils and remains are found as earth is moved, perhaps by erosion, exposing the prehistoric treasures!
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.
Content Copyrighted (2008-2024), Amanda Morgan, All Rights Reserved