We have recently begun a study on food and grocery store, so here is one of our activities. In the sensory table, I placed spiral pasta, foam letters, and various scoops, shovels, etc. Then, I added some sight words onto a bulletin board right above. The children are to hunt out the letters to try to spell their sight words. Not only does this give them practice with sight words, but alphabet recognition as well.
Also, I chose these sight words intentionally to reinforce what they have been learning on the bus.
We did a car study with the afternoon class a few weeks ago. Here are some of our activities.
These are some streets we made with construction paper in the shape of letters. They can be put together to make different paths and then they drove matchbox cars around it.
We read this book...
and the kids loved this page about the tunnel. Some of them decided to build their own tunnel.
They used the train table lid as a ramp.
Then they went to work building the tunnel at the end.
When the tall one would not stay up easily, I suggested that they build a shorter one.
They had lots of fun racing the cars down the ramp and through the tunnel. As you can see, we also got out some measuring tools and measured and compared the distance each car went when it reached the bottom of the ramp. We predicted whether the big cars or the little cars would go further.
Here are the felt cars I made and below is the chant we did, starting with one car and adding one for each verse.
Here are the books I chose for my son to go along with our Valentine's sensory tub since we are so busy at school working on our All Around the World study.
I mostly chose books about love or friendship that I had around the house. It was so cute tonight, after 2 days of playing with his sensory tub, he pointed to the picture of a heart in his bedtime prayer book tonight!
Here are some photos of how I put it together: (Keep in mind this is for a 1yo, so I tried to use larger items to cut down on choking hazard although the tinsel could be potentially harmful, but I am right there with him when he plays)
Plastic placemat in the bottom. (It doesn't really serve a purpose, I just decided to stick it in)
Tinsel next.
Then hearts, there are 3 different kinds each with a different texture: rough (glitter), smooth and shiny, and soft (velvet).
I added the heart-shaped measuring cups and spoons.
Silicone heart-shaped ice cube trays and cupcake tray (?)
Other random things I had: red boa, pink heart wire, a harmonica, silicone cupcake wrappers, and a frog.
Then the containers were added. He LOVES to put things in containers and the pour them out again. I used a mailbox and a lips-shaped plastic container.
Then added a heart-shaped box and a ruler.
Put a letter (made with Cricut) in the mailbox.
Next, to apply the scratch and sniff stickers for ultimate sensory experience. Chocolate flavor of course!
I wanted L to help me, but he wasn't too interested, so I did it myself.
Here is the final product.
I also purchased this small box (for .09!) because I know how much he loves opening and closing containers.
I painted that red and here's how it turned out. I also placed this into my sensory bin.
And, last but certainly not least, L's favorites: The Valentine's duckies! He can make the sound of a duck, so cute!!!
Oh, and I got most of the materials from Deals, Target, and Michael's.
I am so sorry that Wishlist Wednesday got messed up this week! I made a scheduling mistake and accidentally reminded the wrong person to get their post ready, so I will hopefully be rescheduling the person who I thought was supposed to post for today.
Anyways, instead here is some things we've been doing with rice in the sensory table this week.
We measured and poured. Using the sand toy, we discovered how pouring something into the top makes the wheel spin.
We shoveled, raked and funneled.
We used seasoning shakers from the kitchen area to fill with rice and pretend it was salt or just to shake them up and hear the sound it makes.
Tomorrow, we will be having an ABC treasure hunt by digging in the rice to find some hidden letters!
What have you done with rice? Next time, I want to try to make the colored rice I have been seeing all over other blogs and Pinterest such as these...
Here is my selection of snow/winter books for this week. These are only few of the MANY great children's books about winter. They were just a few I happened to have in my personal collection that I have been using with my son this weekend as we have begun exploring snow. The Snowy Day is an older book that I'm sure most of you have read. I like it because it describes actions that children can replicate in the snow. While not particularly about snow, the book On the Night You Were Born is a wonderful book and there are some really awesome outdoor pictures including the polar bears in the snow.
Here are some photos of my sensory bin I used with my 1 year old. I actually left the blue lights in here from the light box I had made and covered it with a white towel then lined it with cotton balls. The blue lights shine through a little bit, just enough to give it that glow that ice sometimes gets when it's really thick.
CAUTION: DO NOT TRY THIS WITH THE LIGHTS! I had to take my lights out today because they got nearly hot enough to melt the toys inside. Just use some tissue paper or foam under the towel or no towel at all. Just to eliminate the fire hazard completely. Sorry.
The snowflakes are cut out of wrapping paper. There is metallic wrapping paper for a frozen pond with a small snowman figure.
After L played awhile, I decided to give him another empty bin to transfer the cotton balls into since he mostly wanted to take them out of the bin. Also, we added some measuring cups for scooping and pouring.
At school, we brought some snow inside as it was too cold to go outside. The kids had a blast with it and wanted some art materials to help them build their snowman. I also brought snow in for L to play with at home this weekend and some ice from our newly working ice maker, but as soon as I went to take the photo, L began to fuss. Figures!
We also made sparkly snowflakes with glitter. We used the printable pattern from here. I was going to let the kids cut them out, but once folded, it was too thick for their little scissors to cut through, so I did it for them.
Is this a familiar sight this time of year? For most of us, by this time we are getting a little tired of fighting the crowds just to find that perfect gift for our loved ones. And just think about our children. If you're like me, you may have been dragging your little ones around to all the store with you until they are ready to pass out. But if we take just a little time while we are out to make the trip fun and educational, it can make all the difference. Maybe even become your own family tradition.
0-2 Year Olds:
With this age group, they are taking in everything they see around them. Make a game out of shopping like looking for a particular item and whoever spots it first, gets to choose the next item to look for.
For younger children who aren't speaking much yet, teaching them new vocabulary is a great idea while you are going around to places and seeing things they don't see everyday. Point something out and repeat the word a few times.
Make a game out of waving at people, of course only the ones who are friendly enough to initiate the interaction themselves or people who work at the store like the cashier. Teach your child to say hi, bye, and other polite greetings.
3-5 Year Olds:
Signs are a great learning tool. Have your child point out letters or numbers they know on the sign, especially letters that are in their own name. Let them compare the different types of writing they see on the signs. Talk about the difference between capital and lower case letters.
Sing a song. In the car, maybe in the store depending on the atmosphere of the store you're in. Let the children choose songs they like, but also add in some with rhyming words, ABCs or counting.
Have the kids help you make a list before you go to the store. Some of them may even be able to help you write down some of the words. Give each person an item they are responsible for finding in the store such as a gift they will be giving a grandparent. This will help keep them on task so they don't get bored as quickly and distracted by that brand new toy that Santa already got them.
Talk about safety in the parking lot and have them tell you some safety rules they already know such as look both ways before crossing the street.
Older Children:
Get them involved in the shopping. Maybe even give them some money (unless they already have their own). Pull out the calculator (or smart phone) and have them do some math. Adding and subtracting the amounts things cost to see how much the total cost will be and how much will be left over. Have them estimate what they think the total will come to.
Measure distances between things or how long an aisle is using footsteps. (Not recommended in a crowded store)
Compare prices on different brands of a product by looking at the 'per unit' pricing label.
Talk about caring and sharing. See if they can come up with a way to help people who are less fortunate. Offer to let them choose a gift to buy for Toys for Tots or some other organization or encourage them to save their own money to buy an item to donate. Have them put some change in Salvation Army's bell ringers bucket. You could even have them go through some of their old toys, clothes, etc and choose a charity to donate them to.
