http://www.ehow.com/list_6788340_squirrel-art-projects-preschoolers.html
Lots of easy, fun activities to do with your preschooler for fall that won’t break your bank. You can sing a popular song with your children too.
Title: Gray Squirrel
“Gray Squirrel, Gray Squirrel
Swish your bushy tail.
Gray Squirrel, Gray Squirrel
Swish your bush tail.
Wrinkle up your funny nose.
Put a nut between your toes.
Gray Squirrel, Gray Squirrel
Swish your bushy tail.”
File folder games are a great way to practice skills. During the summer all kids need a little practice to keep up with the math and reading skills they have learned throughout the school year. By ‘disguising’ the practice as a game, you can help your child retain important skills and your child can have some fun.
Here are a few websites that offer Free File Folder Games:
http://www.filefolderfun.com/
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/filefoldergames/
I have also written an article about the assembly of file folder games for eHow. When the article is published I will post the link.
We spend lots of time with our children outdoors especially in the summer. I have recently written an article for eHow on setting up an outdoor environment that is interesting and exciting for your children. My three children 3, 5, and 8 years old all enjoy these activities.
I have recently written an article for eHow on teaching capacity to children.
http://www.ehow.com/list_6506885_ideas-teaching-capacity.html
I think you will find these activities both informative and fun! Try them out with your kids today!
With all of the GREAT weather we have been having your children will have a lot to predict and record. Make a chart (make it look a calendar) and write the Days of the week at the top of each column. Then go outside every morning and talk about what you see, hear, and smell and how it relates to the weather. Then go inside and make a prediction with your children. Will it be sunny? rainy? cloudy? warm? cold? windy? Draw a picture of the predicted weather in the box under the column heading for that day. At the end of the day reflect on your weather prediction. Were you correct?
This is a great activity that introduces math concepts of charts and graphs. Language skills like prediction and reflection are also practiced. So get outside and be a weather person today!
This one sounds complicated but it isn’t. Get out something long and flat…a board, a block…then roll some cars down it—inclined plane. (Use the language with your children too!)
We made a ‘Diego’ zip line by attaching a thick piece of plastic beading string (for kid sized beads) with clothes pins to the window frame at the high point and a magazine bucket at the low point. We attached the toy man with a elastic hair band that we threaded through the string before attaching it to the low point. Ta Da…..zip line. (A type of inclined plane.)
How about a pulley? Drape a jump rope over the back of a chair or couch. Sit behind the chair/couch and pull a doll or animal toy up to the top of the couch. You can use this same concept on your jungle gym or at the park and pull a bucket to the top of a platform.
Lever: Use the same board you used to roll the cars and put a small block under it in the middle. Now put a light small block on one end and stomp on the other…flying blocks. Try moving the block that is under the board closer to either end…what happens?
Explore using simple machines today!
Even if your child has just learned to walk you can label objects in his/her room. This is a great way to tie spoken language to the written word. Children love to ‘stick’ the labels on and you will be surprised with how much they remember. Remember to use basic rules of good english and printing. Write all letters in lower case (unless it is a proper noun like ‘Justin’ or ‘Wyoming’.) Use blue painters tape or masking tape for easy removal later. Have fun!
Okay I have heard this one said a million times, but it is still VERY true at our house…”the box is more fun than the toy that came inside.”
So today I want you to find a BIG box (or a medium sized box that your child(ren) will fit inside.) Then I want you to PLAY. Make it a rocket ship, a school bus, a train, a house, a ‘cage’, a treasure chest, a submarine, a pirate ship, a cruise ship, or ANYTHING else you can think of.
Then send me the pictures of your play…I will post them here! Email Me here and HAVE FUN!
Using stuffed animals and building blocks build a zoo. Then give zoo tours. One child can be the zoo director/docent and another child or parent can be the zoo guest. The zoo director/docent gives the tour of the zoo and explains the animals’ age, behavior, and other characteristics. Don’t know a lot about the animals? Make it up or look it up online. Either way have fun with your new zoo!
Go online and visit the webcams at the Montery Bay Aquarium.
http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/efc/cam_menu.aspx
Then paint with water colors. You can draw with crayons on your paper first. Then paint with water colors over the crayon. The crayon will resist the water paint and the entire page will look like an under water scene.