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Whole Child Development

Leaf Pounding

by Filed Under: Create, Get Outside, Learning through Play and Experience, Music and Movement 3 Comments

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This is one of my favorite activities!  Help your child take a leaf and place it between two strips of muslin or other white, cotton fabric.  Together, hammer the muslin with a rubber mallet.  As the mallet strikes the leaf, the chlorophyll is released from the leaf and absorbed by the fabric.  Colored leaves in the fall work also as long as they have not become too dry (though their red and purple colors come from a type of sugar in the tree instead of chlorophyll.  Check out this website  for more science information about fall leaves.)

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Happy Children

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

happy childrenOnce you’ve done your Four Seasons chart, you can extend the discussion (perhaps the next day) by singing the “Happy Children” song.  What makes this song so great, is that it’s written, in part, by the children!

Start out with your Four Seasons chart, as well as five pieces of paper.  On one paper write the title, “Happy Children” and perhaps add some quick drawings of smiling children.  On the next paper write, “Happy children in the spring time…”  Repeat this line on the other papers, substituting for the four seasons (“summer”, “fall time” or “autumn”, “winter”). 

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Pom-Pom Grab

by Filed Under: Learning through Play and Experience 2 Comments

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My posts have been very wordy and heavy lately, so I thought I’d break it up a bit with an activity post.  A while back I mentioned these fine motor activities, and I wanted to show one of my own adaptations here.  I’m all about saving money, so instead of buying the cool ice cube tray, I used an empty Ferrero Rocher container I had on hand.  You know, those delicious hazelnut chocolates.  Their container is just the right size for medium sized pom-poms.  Go ahead and buy yourself some.  Do it for the children.  If you’re morally opposed to self-indulgence, you could also use an egg carton, ice cube tray, or mini muffin tin.  Just try to match the container as closely to your pom-pom size as possible.

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Shape Scoop

by Filed Under: Learning through Play and Experience, Music and Movement Leave a Comment

scoopKids love to scoop!  It’s great for their hand-eye coordination and both large and small motor skills.  Cut shapes from craft foam (or find pre-cut ones, non adhesive of course)  and set them floating in your sensory table  or bathtub.  Give the kiddos fish nets to scoop with (you can find them very inexpensively in almost any pet store or pet supply aisle of a grocery store or Wal-Mart).  As a bonus, when the foam is wet, it will stick to smooth surfaces, so your children can create pictures as well!  Talk to them about the shapes and colors they’re using to increase their awareness of shape and color names and characteristics.  (“Wow!  You made that house by putting the red triangle on top of the yellow square!)  Happy scooping!

For more Welcome Weeks activities, click here!

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