Challenge your young learners to use these colorful cups, tubes, and balls to build their creations on the light table. It's art; it's engineering; it's fun!
There are so many ways to explore light in the classroom with your students I have a small light table that is always out and available for play in my classroom. I use this light table for simple activities and try to keep something out and available for light table play every single day...
Simple DIY water xylophone takes a couple minutes to make and is a great sound activity, experiment, and music activity for kids too!
Learn what a sensory diet is, how it can benefit your child's learning, focus, behavior, and emotional regulation, and discover which activities should be part of your child’s individual sensory diet.
No study of architecture and engineering would be complete without talking about the Great Pyramids. Egyptian architecture is as mesmerizing in the 21st century as it must have been mystifying when they were constructed. And thanks to Bubble Guppies, a subject of great fascination to my preschool and toddler too! Egyptian Architecture…
Free printable Bible lesson for kids on the book of Psalms. Ideal for home or church use. Coloring pages, worksheets, Bible crafts, games, study guide and much more.
I am linking up with DeeDee and sharing a peek at my week... and year. It's been a little chaotic around here lately, so I created a weekl...
FREE printable puzzles to teach preschoolers about antonyms and opposites. Includes 12 self-correcting puzzles with visual cues to find the matching pair of antonyms.
Preschoolers will enjoy building shapes with marshmallows and toothpicks for hands-on math practice. Perfect STEM activity for little ones.
Two Points: This is MY method, and not necessarily right for you, your teaching or care philosophy, your set-up, or your students. Curriculum participation by my students is VOLUNTARY. I invite them to participate, but if they choose not to, then that is fine. I usually offer them a choice of a few of the activities and let them decide where we start and where we go. An engaged child learns, a dis-engaged child rebels. The 3-year rotating curriculum is theme based. Some times we stick to the plan, but usually I observe what they are interested in learning about, what they are asking questions about, and suggest up to three different themes they can choose from for us to study. I make my own 3-year rotating curriculum for many reasons: Packaged curriculum is often only one year. Since I teach for 3 years, this would be redundant. Most packaged curriculum focuses on skills my students master early. My 2s count to 20, know 11 colors, know most of their phonics, uppercase and lowercase letters, 10 shapes and some of their numbers and I still have 3 years of curriculum to teach them. They often are worksheet intensive. My students usually are cognitively advanced from their fine motor skills. I have 4 year olds that still can't write well. If I had relied on worksheets for the last 2 years, there is no way they would have the skill sets they have. Worksheets are also not considered Developmentally Appropriate Practice [DAP] for children under the age of 8. We use them here for writing practice starting at age 4. [Yes, worksheet-intensive public schools are not using DAP for kindy through 3rd grade!] They can be expensive. If you are purchasing worksheets, why would you spend even $1 a week/$52 a year when you can purchase a 400 page Scholastic preschool workbook from Sam's Club for $8 that covers probably more material, is most likely aligned with the public school expectations, and is colorful. Colored copies are NOT affordable to make from packaged curriculum. Most [ALL!] preschool learning should be interactive. Pinterest is a better source for ideas. My students change every time I do a theme. I have to be able to tweak it to the interests and capabilities of those currently in my care. Plus, I'll find more interesting activities on Pinterest, have an idea for a new game, etc. It's a constant evolution to keep my curriculum relevant to our current group, situation and resources. However, curriculum planning and creation is very time consuming. Even with older curriculum I spend several hours going over it prior to teaching - updating, creating new materials, purchasing and setting new classroom decorations. While I have had my 3 year curriculum, this year I found myself wanting a more specific schedule to focus on specific skill sets for this particular group of children. Most of these skills can be incorporated into our themed curriculum, or they take 5 minute sessions to pop into our day. I have two groups, the younger preschoolers are 2-3 years old and the older ones are 4-5 years old, all at the same developmental and skill set level within their group. This makes it easier, as I can tailor everything to just 2 groups. If I were to have additional levels of children, then it would be tailored to each level. Children here are taught at their developmental level, not age. Asychronastic development is normal, so I may be teaching a child at various levels depending upon the subject matter. For the younger preschoolers, I came up with this structure. For the older pre-k students, I came up with this one. For instance, both of them have Measurement & Comparison on Friday for Reasoning. However, for the younger students, this would be a more/less, longer/shorter, big/little, etc. activity, while the older students would be measuring with rulers, yardsticks, tape measures, measuring cups, unit blocks, foot steps or themed units, and graphing the measurements to compare. Same skill set, differentiated at vastly different levels. Even this needs conditional tweaking. All the pre-k's know how to spell their last names now, so that is no longer a relevant skill activity for music and will be changed out. In another post I'll get into the curriculum components and the importance of each. For instance, how counting on Friday teaches 1-to-1 correspondence and creating method processes for counting groups of objects. CLICK PICTURES TO VIEW LARGER I use this MS Word template, available for FREE on TPT, for curriculum planning. Often, the daily skill sets above are either already incorporated, or can easily be incorporated, into the theme planning. For an example of a completed curriculum unit, check out our Owls Theme. Each monthly theme is broken down into 4 sub-themes. For instance: SPACE Astronauts & Rockets The Universe Our Solar System Aliens & Robots We also have a musical component, often classical, and an art component, often a master, and Spanish vocabulary component that we incorporate. This planning form may not include all games, file folder games, manipulatives, room-set up, etc. that I utilize. For those of you trained in curriculum creation, I do NOT do a full curriculum development for each activity. With having these children usually from infant to school-age, I keep an internal evaluation of progression and plan out only weekly learning objectives. Since I am creating the activities for my personal use, I do not need to create written procedures and evaluations. My curriculum is stored currently in file folders in a large office bookcase unit. I would like to get it into boxes so that I could have EVERY theme-related item, including dress-up, room set-up, manipulatives, etc. together for an easy pull. File boxes will most likely be the easiest, but they do take up a lot of space. In each file some of the things I probably have: Completed planning sheets All the books I own for that theme Flannel board Sentence and word walls File folder games Samples of previous crafts DVDs CDs Coloring pages Mini-book(s) Build-a-[theme item] game Curriculum creation is one of my great joys. I love the research and compilation, the creativity and excitement of bringing something fun and educational to my students. Learning is rarely linear. Children take developmental leaps, sometimes in odd directions. As a teacher, it is important that I keep each one challenged without pushing or inhibiting their growth, and that takes constant evaluation and a good eye for when those leaps happen so that we can move on to a higher level of instruction. When we do an activity, I constantly question if they WANT to do another round, another activity, and I usually cut them off while they are still engaged. I want them wanting more, and they will usually ask if they can continue. One of the most important desires and abilities I can instill in them is that of self-directed learning. So as they choose to go off with their rulers after we've spent several minutes doing a measuring activity, conferring between themselves as to procedures and what to measure next, I step back and let them. They know I am here as a resource, rather than an intrusive director. It is my job to ensure that when I invite my students to learn, they glow with excitement and anticipation of a fun, interactive, playful time. The results, so far, have been astounding. A few of my complete curriculum units are available through my TPT store. Apples Dental Ice Cream Penguins Rainbows St. Patrick's Day Valentine's Follow Connie -'s board Classroom on Pinterest. Tags: preschool, child care, pre-k, curriculum, development, teaching, education, homeschooling, homeschool, home, school, preschool curriculum development, planning
My 5 Senses - Activities and Printables - Touch, taste, smell, sight, sound... so many fun kids activities!
If you're happy and you know it clap you hands!! Or in the case of these super fun body gross motor dice... twist your hips, bend your elbow or shake your head! My preschooler loved this fun gross motor game and it was a great way to get her moving on a cold winter day!
Montessori ideas and activities for Martin Luther King Day; Martin Luther King Day activities for classroom or home for multiple ages!
This salt and ice experiment encourages kids to do some critical thinking. A fun penguin themed STEM activity for kids using salt and water to melt ice. Playing with ice is such a fun way to engage in science fun with kids. Ice forms when a water freezes
Do you remember how to make a paper cup phone? Does yarn work for cup phones? Teach your child how to make a string phone with cups and test how far it works.
Learning how to play school can be super fun and helpful for young children. Get more ideas and suggestions to get started!
Today, I'm sharing a number of ideas for DIY Montessori mystery bags, including DIY drawstring bag tutorials (both sewn and no-sew drawstring bags), ideas for a variety of mystery bag activities, and mystery bag presentations.
A photo journal of our day reading and doing activities on The Worst Princess as part of The Summer Book Exchange project.
100 sensory play activities for babies, toddlers, preschool and school.
This science center display helps children explore sound with common objects. I collected "found" items to display on the tray with a sign, "What
I might have missed last week's Ten Pin but I am back in action for this one! Leave it to the linky parties to keep me blogging this Summer! Ashley at Just Reed combined Science and Social Studies and I am glad she did! I am seriously lacking in these subjects on my Pinterest boards! I'm hoping this linky will help beef them up! Be sure to leave me links to your science and social studies boards below so I can follow for more inspiration! Here are my top 10 Science and Social Studies pins! My top 5 science pins from my spectacular science pinboard! 1. I am obsessed with this nature table! What a perfect way to bring nature into the classroom and inspire budding scientists! Source cannot be found. Let me know if it is yours so I can credit! 2. Mr. Potato Head senses. I love the idea of using Mr. Potato Head to teach the senses! This craft goes great with playing with the actual toy to learn senses! Source cannot be found. Let me know if it is yours so I can credit! 3. Dancing Oobleck to teach sound waves! This was one of the coolest things I have ever seen! It is a must do in the classroom! Your kiddos will be amazed! Source: http://www.housingaforest.com/dancing-oobleck/ 4. Scientist bulletin board. I love driving home the fact that even the youngest of children are true scientists. This bulletin board is just an adorable way to do so! Source: http://www.pre-kpages.com/science/ 5. This steps the traditional celery trick up 10 notches! Look how amazing the colors are on this Napa cabbage! Can't wait to try it out in the Spring! Source: www.flickr.com/photos/mslaura/4023084459/ My top 5 social studies pins from my superb social studies pinboard! 1. Teaching diversity using eggs. Such a genius idea that is effective for conveying this important message to the youngest of children! Source: http://kidsactivitiesblog.com/23747/what-is-diversity 2. Classroom timeline in pictures. This is such a smart idea to document important events in the classroom. This will definitely be making an appearance in my future classroom! Source: mrstsfirstgradeclass-jill.blogspot.com/2011/10/first-grade-timeline.html 3. Creating a community wall mural. I love this idea! One of the first units we do is our neighborhood. This would be the perfect addition to the unit! I know the children would have fun with it as they love anything involving art! Source: http://aplacecalledkindergarten.blogspot.ca/2011/11/welcome-to-our-community.html 4. Personalized guess who! The possibilities are endless! I could see it being perfect using the historical figures from a 5th grade wax museum. It would be great to use to introduce the faculty at your school. You could use it for all the children in the classroom to get to know each other. Love this one! Source: http://mandydouglass.blogspot.com/2012/04/more-details-on-segment.html 5. I am all about free! I have so many collected paint samples that I wasn't sure what to do with them. Well now I am! These thankful turkeys are too cute for words! Love how simple and low prep they are! Source: http://preschoolalphabet.blogspot.com/2011/11/thanksgiving-is-just-around-corner-i.html Well there you have it! A small collection of some of my favorite science and social studies pins! I'm off to find some more fabulous pins out there and get those pin boards growing!
Figuring out how to balance objects is something that fascinates children. Whether it is trying to balancing the same type of objects on either side of a
Check out this giant collection of dice games for preschoolers! You and your little one will have a lot of fun trying out these activities.
Need some guidance for teaching preschool Spanish? You’re in the right place! Young children are the perfect age to soak up a new language. I'm currently raising my own three kids bilingually, and have taught classes to this age group as well. It's never too late to start, and 3-5 year olds are really fun to teach! In this post I've compiled my favorited strategies for you. To get started in learning Spanish together, you Can Do three things: 1. Outline some beginning topics. You can create your own list, with common preschool topics (think numbers, colors, greetings, etc.)Take a
Given your unique space, consider organizing your room to best fit the needs and traffic patterns of your children. Ask yourself these questions when designing your space: What is the purpose of each space in your room? Where will quiet places in my room be? Where will louder activities happen? Consider putting loud and quiet […]
52 weeks of FREE themed curriculum for kids ages 1-5. Perfect for daycare and homeschooling preschoolers, toddlers, and infants.
Should you focus on academics in preschool? What subjects do preschoolers need you to teach? Get the ansers & curriculum recommendations!
Easy to download + print at home! Simply download PDF and print to paper of your choice— I recommend using card stock and laminating for best results. Please note this is not a physical product. When printing, you can resize image to match your desired outcome.
Over 200 preschool activities that are fun and easy. Children learn best through play, so these activities are play based.
This instant download is a PDF file - 8.5x11 for you to print. The size of each card is 5x7 once trimmed! I included a thin border for easy cutting. This is not an editable file or template. If you have any questions or issues with your download, feel free to message me and I'll quickly help or fix it! Keywords: daycare activities daycare playrooms daycare crafts for toddlers daycare ideas daycare learning activities daycare curriculum daycare room setup daycare lesson plans daycare supplies daycare infant room ideas daycare printables daycare teachers gift daycare bulletin boards daycare ideas toddler daycare teachers daycare tips daycare designs daycare routine daycare transition tips daycare bulletin board daycare at home daycare ideas toddlers daycare decor
In this daycare vs preschool article, I'm going to tell you how they're different and similar to help you make an informed decision for you and your family.
Editable Daily Daycare Schedule Home Daycare/ Childcare Form/ Infant/Toddler Childcare Sample Schedule for daycares, preschools and other childcare centers. 2 formats one is editable
We love our Do-A-Dot markers! We’ve used them to create various artistic masterpieces, as well as numerous colorful arts + crafts projects. While these wonderful, kid-friendly paint markers are amazing for promoting creative artistic expression, we also love using them for educational purposes. Today, we wanted to share four of our favorite Do-A-Dot Learning Activities! […]
Holy moly, this just got really real, really fast. The governor just shared the unprecedented order that each and every school in our entire STATE would be closed for 3+ weeks due to COVID-19…
A free printable with over 80 preschool themes. The themes are organized by season, but also has a list of general themes for preschoolers.
Lesson planning is easier when we take the time to plan themes and units for the entire year. These 4 steps are a good starting place.
This Preschool Learning Folder is an awesome, hands-on learning tool. It teaches letters, numbers, shapes, patterns, colors, and more!
Little ones crying at school drop off? These tips for parents and teachers can help ensure a tear-free drop off time any time of the school year.
Preschool weekly themes: A list of over 100 ideas for weekly preschool theme ideas, plus a free printable planning page
