The early years are a time filled with play and non-stop learning. While we all know that children learn during play, it is fascinating to understand just how much brain development occurs during play and how it is really the medium through which young children learn everything. Here is a reminder of just some of the benefits, so that next time you start a fun activity with your children or watch them as they play in the garden, you can be reassured that what they are doing has amazing … [Read more...]
The Very Busy Spider Activities
What little child doesn’t love an Eric Carle book?! The Very Busy Spider is a super fun book that can be used to learn about spiders. I am going to show you how to use it and cover geography, literacy, theatre arts, math, science, art & crafts, fine motor skills, and hand & eye coordination activities. You can also discuss the importance of being a hard worker and finishing your work before you go play as seen demonstrated in the book by the very busy spider. The Arts A fun way … [Read more...]
Fire Safety Activities for Kids
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links to Amazon. Fire Safety Week is October 7th-13th this year. I have to be totally honest we’ve never done fire safety week at our house before. Before now I would have not known what to do in an emergency situation. I feel like we should’ve addressed this sooner, especially since the house behind us had a bad fire recently. Since this was a new topic for me I approached it like all themes. I listed out what I wanted the kids to learn and then put … [Read more...]
Community Helpers Clip Cards
Yesterday I shared with you printable posters for community helpers. Today I'm sharing an activity for child to practice knowing what tools community helpers use. This is a fun way to practice identifying community helpers and what their jobs are! Here's what you need for this activity: clothespins printable (download at the bottom of this post) paper laminator (optional) scissors Begin by printing out the printable. Cut apart each row so you have strips. I used a … [Read more...]
Community Helpers Printable Posters
Learning about community helpers is important for little ones. They need to know the types of jobs people do to help the community keep running. I created a set of community helpers printable posters to help teach this. Before teaching about community helpers, make sure you explain what a community is. It can be small with only a few buildings and homes or the opposite, with a large population. The community helpers are people that help each other by offering goods and services. There … [Read more...]
The Best Songs for Preschoolers
I love music! If you've been following for awhile, you know that I love to create songs and use music and movement for learning. So much research backs up the importance of music. And you know what? Kids love songs! They don't care if they are good at singing, they just do it! Today I'm sharing my favorite music ideas for preschool classrooms. Of course you could use these with younger or older children, too! Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. See my disclosure for … [Read more...]
Find the Letter Printable
Alphabet recognition is a vital skill to have before a child can progress with reading. There are so many hands-on ways to do this! However, sometimes you're in a pinch for time and need something easy to print out. And that's exactly what I'm sharing with you today! This find the letter printable is great for practicing alphabet recognition and awesome to use if you're tight on time! All you need for this activity is the printable (the link to download is at the bottom of this post) and … [Read more...]
Dot Sticker Activities
I'm realizing more and more how much we love using dot stickers! Do you know what these are? They are colorful circle stickers that you can find in an office supply section of a store. I love how you can use them for so many activities! Today I'm sharing some very creative dot sticker activities. Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Why Dot Stickers Rock I love dot stickers for three reasons: They are bright and colorful Peeling the stickers off the paper is super … [Read more...]
Why Do Plants Have Leaves?
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. See my disclosure for details. Has your child ever wondered why plants have leaves? In the book, Why Do Plants Have Leaves, Celeste Bishop explains that leaves are one of the most important plant parts. This little 24 page book is packed with wonderful, fun facts about leaves! I have a few super fun activities you can do to go along with this book, or really any book about leaves. These activities cover geography, literacy, math, science, … [Read more...]
Fall Scavenger Hunt
A fun way to celebrate fall is to go on a fall scavenger hunt. It's a good way to soak in the sights, smells, and sounds of fall. It also helps you slow down and appreciate the season. It's my favorite season of all but always seems to go by too quickly. This printable is designed to use three senses: eyes for sight, nose for smell, and ears for hearing. The first page is all about sight. The goal is to find all 10 items as you go for a walk or look around your neighborhood. The … [Read more...]