Sharing Corner
Providers and Teachers share activities and ideas-from the Child Care Lounge newsletter.
Water
packets
Pour water into
thick plastic covers Seal the packet in less heat Poke small
holes Ask the children to squeeze the liquid using both hands in
opposite direction into the buckets Extension - Add
food colors Add rocks or vanilla for texture and smell Play in
the out door gym They enjoy and they develop hand eye
co-ordination They develop using both hand at the same time in
opposite direction improving the right and left brain They learn
colors They improve tactile and sensory skill Helps them in
fine and gross motor skills ~ Thanks Lakshmi
Egg Carton
Flowers
First I cut the
egg carton into two rows after they were dry we cut them
individually with some decorative scissors that we have for
scrapbooking and as a final step we pocked a hole with a pen and
put a pipecleaner through the flower making a little loop on the
other end of the pipecleaner to make the center of the flower
~ Clemencia
I keep a set of
headshots of all of the children in my care on hand. If
they are good, colored quality then even black/white photocopies
look
quite nice. I personalize a lot of my art projects with the
photos, such
as making the kids pilots, drivers, animals, angels, whatever the
moment
suggests. The kids and their parents always LOVE the personal
touch. ~Heide
I don't know if
you've ever tried this yet, but I decided to open a diaper
(unused of course) shake out the tiny white specks under the
white cottony material into the sensory table. I then
filled the table with pitchers of water. After a few
minutes the table was filled with a jellylike substance. No
matter how much water I added, it became more and more
jelly. It was so much fun to squish and squash between our
fingers. It's very messy so we did this outside in the
yard. I Iooked up some ideas on the web to help this
experiment along and they mentioned that table salt breaks up the
polymers and turns the jelly back into water. We tried it
and it really did. Pam Katz SmartyPants Childcare Home
I have great
idea for spring for you. My kids love Mr. or Mrs. Hairy Head
Take knee high panty hose and fill toe part with grass
seed. Take ball of poly fill stuffing and put in new on top
of seed. Need the stocking down when doing. Cut off
some of the knee high to not real long. Tie it off to form
a person's head. (rubber band, string, twist tie) Now
stand upright and you have the beginning of a person's
head. Add some wiggle eyes or felt, depending on your kids
ages, can use paint or sharpies to make face. Can tie off
couple small pieces on either side to make ears if you
like. Sit in dish of shallow water, (toe is on top now
where hair will grow out) and watch your hairy head
person grow hair. Kids like to use the scissors and cut the
grass (hair) when gets too long ~Kim Glaubitz
My pre K class
uses white boards, not the expensive ones but these are just like
them. From Home Depot buy a 4' X 8' sheet of shower board. The
cost is $12.00, and cut them into 12" X 12" boards. I
have my husband do this as the Home Depot saws will not make the
boards even. I sand the edges to make sure they are not sharp and
in about an hour I have 32 12" X 12" white boards.
White socks work great for erasers because you can take them home
and bleach them ~DeAnna
Lopes, Pre K teacher
While doing
our earth day lesson I was looking for a way to recycle
Styrofoam trays from our lunch delivery. I came up with the idea
of making white boards which we needed but could not afford to
buy. I cut off the sides of the tray so I had a flat piece of
board I wrapped it in card board for extra support, than I added
a piece of lined writing paper and covered it with a clear
plastic binder sleeves, I sealed the end with tape. Now we have
wonderful white boards for every student to practice their
writing on. The bonus is we don't waste any paper .This is a
very earth friendly idea and the kids love when we use white
boards. The markers can be purchased at office supply stores or
through school supply catalogs it saves a lot of paper and
money in the long run. The teachers also use the white boards for
word lists and bar graphs etc,
Here in
Rainbow Toast
Set out small
cups of milk. Add a drop or two of food coloring to each color.
Children then paint white bread with the colored milk using clean
brushes or Q-tips. Set under a broiler to toast. ~Yvonela
For a fun St.
Patrick’s day snack... use refrigerated breadstick dough to
make clover shapes - make 3 sections of dough into hearts and
then press them together, attach a stem - sprinkle with
green sugar mixed with cinnamon and bake according to the
package directions. I served these last year to my kids and
they thought they were the coolest thing! Enjoy!~Pamela
For a
Valentine's Day gift I have made "Hershey kisses" using
rice krispie treats. Make a batch of the krispie treats,
spray a funnel using Pam, push some of the treat into the funnel
making a kiss shape then put the kiss shape onto a piece of foil
and wrap it up. You can add a piece of paper saying I love you or
whatever you like.~Jenn
Home made toss-able beanbags
We just went through all our sock drawers and any old socks that
don't have matches or have holes in the top we used to make
beanbags. What you do is cut in the middle or top (however big
you want them) of the sock. We also tie died them with food color
and rubbing alcohol mixed together. The children can dip them or
dip q-tips in the die and make designs on the socks. Let them dry
then fill with whatever size beans you want. Then sew the top and
they make great beanbags that cost little to nothing and you are
recycling as well. Hope this ideas works for others too. We had
fun and the (older) kids love them. When we play with them they
show them off and say "I made this." ~littletreasuresks
Ice Paint
Have children sprinkle dry tempera paint powder on their paper.
The "paint brush" is an ice cube on a Popsicle stick
you made in advance. Have children glide the ice over the paint
powder and watch the colors run when the ice melts. ~Davenna
HI, HERE IS AN
IDEA FOR CHILDREN TO LEARN HOW GRASS GROWS. WHEN YOU HAVE EGGS
FOR BREAKFAST, YOU TAKE A SPOON AND TAP THE TOP OFF OF THE
EGG.USE THE EGG WHITE AND THE YOLK FOR BREAKFAST OF COURSE, AND
RINSE OUT THE EGG. LET DRY AND SET ASIDE. YOU CAN PAINT A FACE ON
THE EGG OR PUT GOOGELY EYES TO MAKE A LITTLE PERSON.DECORATE AS
YOU CHOOSE. TAKE THE EGG AND PUT SOIL INSIDE, PACK DOWN, AND THEN
ADD GRASS SEEDS OR FLOWER SEEDS AND WATCH IT GROW. IT WILL LOOK
LIKE YOUR EGG FRIEND HAS HAIR. THANK YOU~JENNI MC BRIEN
FROM
With my pre-K
kids I made a wreath of their hand and footprints for the
Holidays and they all told me something that they did that was a
family tradition. They copied the sentence that they dictated to
me and then drew a picture of their family engaged in that
activity. I displayed this in the hallway with the caption:
A Wreath of Traditions.~Ivan Cole
5 little Christmas Trees
5 little Christmas Trees
Standing all alone
Their heart were very sad
'Cause they hadn't found a home.
Then chop went the ax
And down fell the tree
And off they went
with a happy family!
(continue from 4-1 Christmas Trees)
No little Christmas Trees
Standing all alone
Their hearts were very happy
'Cause they all found a home!!! ~Beckie
My day care
children and I put together fun ornaments to hang from the
ceiling or on a window. They look great! What you will
need for this project. MATERIALS
Clear/Transparent contact paper ~ 2 each cut at 10" X
10" or what ever size you like BIG or SMALL Tissue paper what ever color you like ( We used solid
green and green and white polka dots) cut in to small squares or
strips Assorted colors of glitter Children's scissors Permanent marker
( To write the child's name ) ART PROCESS
1. Take one 10 x 10 sheet of contact paper peel off the
back. sticky side up put on table in front of the children.
2. Apply a little glitter 3. Stick tissue
paper flat all over the center of the contact paper.
4. Take the second 10 x 10 sheet of contact paper peel
off the back apply this 10 x 10 sheet to cover the other. (sticky
sides together) 5. Cut into the shape off an ornament.
6. Wright name on it with marker 7. Hang it up to enjoy for the holidays.
This year, our
When it is
almost time to for us to go to lunch the children don't want
to wait in line or stay so we sing this song called Baby Bumble
Bee and we tell them to catch their bee and we have our hands
together and make a buzzing sound then we sing this song I'm
taking home a baby bumble bee, won't my mommy be so proud of me.
I'm taking home a baby bumble bee ouch he stung me (jump like you
were stung) and then we sing I'm squishing up the baby bumble bee
won't my mommy be so proud of me (do hands like squishing) then ewe
he is all over me (show hands like it is all over) I'm shaking
off the baby bumble bee won't my mommy be so proud of me.
(shaking hands) and then look I'm all clean. They love it and
even start singing it on their own~ ms anne
TomTom turkey
run away run away
Thanksgiving day is coming
Thanksgiving day is coming
Yum Yum Yum
Run Run Run
~ michelle Peterson
And he's feathered and he's fine
And he wobbles and he gobbles
And he's absolutely mine!
He's the best pet you can get yet
Better than a dog or cat
He's my
And I'm awfully proud of that!
And my
Is so happy in his bed
'Cause for our Thanksgiving Dinner
We have spaghetti instead
~Sylvia C.*
PROP BOXES "WITHOUT" A THEME
Mystery Prop Box: "What can I do with this box?"
Choose a plain shoebox—plain is the key because you want the
child to think about it and in doing so, create something from
basically nothing and make it interesting. Inside the box, put a
few items at random that you think might spark your child’s
imagination. You might have a thought based on the items you put
into the box, of what you think the children might do with it but
be prepared….you just never know what a child is capable of
until you give them an opportunity to express themselves in their
own time on their own terms. I started my children off with a box
at circle to give them an idea of what they might be able to do
with the box and items inside…then let the children do one
themselves the next day. Of course it immediately was a group
effort because all the children were curious. I was amazed to say
the least, what these children would do with the items in the
Daily Mystery Box. When they came to class, they could hardly
wait to get a chance at the Mystery Box! So…..Prop Boxes can
be done in different ways. I became just as excited making up the
Mystery Boxes as did the children exploring them!
~Deborah Evans (Tdeb), ImaginationPlay/TdebCreations
I have a cloth
bag with Nursery Rhyme print, when I sit down; with it the
children are so excited. They all take turns reaching into the
bag and pulling out a figure that goes with a nursery rhyme or a
favorite song, such as a cat holding a fiddle for Hey Diddle
Diddle, or candlestick for Jack Be-Nibble or a Star for Twinkle
Little Star just use your imagination and start collecting
figures from wherever, when the children see the figure they tell
the class the rhyme or sing the song that goes with the
figure the kids love it.~Tammy
I came up with
the idea of wearing different hats during story time. I found a
couple of construction hats, a Navy Dixie cup hat, beach hat,
train engineers hat, cowboy hat, a straw gardening hat, a Minnie
mouse hat with ears, and a London fog rain hat. Now the kids all
sit nicely and pay attention during story time. ~Deb
I came up with
an activity to play during fire safety week. I cut out a
flame shape out of red and orange construction paper and applied
a piece of Scotch tape on the back. I had the kids all stand in a
circle to play "Smoke, Smoke, Fire". Like duck, duck,
goose, but when you get to the player that you are going to say
Fire, you stick the "flame" on them, and they drop to
the floor and roll, to learn "Stop, drop, and roll"
when clothing catches on fire. This was a big hit with the kids,
especially when they stuck the "flame" on me, and I had
to "Stop, drop and roll"!
During fire
safety week, I make cell phones from empty juice boxes. I use
file (circle) stickers, label 0-9, and practice calling 911 and
giving our addresses ~Cathy Atwood
Here is an idea
that we do in my class. It is very quick and simple as long
as you have the ingredients available. We make playdough!
2 cups of flour 1 cup salt 4 tsp cream of tartar 1 cup hot
(very warm) water 2 Tbsp cooking oil food coloring (optional)
Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and
knead. Add food coloring or mint extract or anything else
that may go with your theme. After the first time I did it
I made a copy of the recipe, put some playdough in a bag, then I
sent it home with the kids. The parents enjoyed getting the
recipe. Many said this playdough lasted longer than the
store bought stuff. I took this recipe out of a book
but I don't remember the name of it. ~Jennifer
Cornstarch
Finger Paint
*3
tbsps. sugar
*1/2
cup cornstarch
*2
cups cold water
*Food
coloring
*Soap
flakes or liquid dishwashing soap.
Mix sugar and
cornstarch in medium saucepan over low heat. Add cold water and
stir until mixture is thick. Remove from heat. Divide into four
or five portions (in muffin tins or cups). Add a drop or two of
food coloring to each portion and a pinch of soap flakes or soap.
Stir and let cool. Store in airtight container ~Helmastots
One little cat
on a sunny day Put on his hat and went out to play Two little
cats when it started getting dark Put on their hats and went to
the park. Three little cats when the sky was blue Put on their
hats and went to the zoo. Four little cats by the kitchen door
Put on their hats and went to the store. Five little cats on a
sunny day Put on their hats and they all ran away ~Monica
Watermelon
Art
Let children
paint a paper plate; Green on one side and pink and red on the
other. When the paint dries they can glue on watermelon seeds as
they wish. ~Sussue
Take some old
panty hose and cut the legs off at the top. Make the foot part of
the panty hose look like a fly (Stuff toe and add
wings). Hang them around the room. Give each child a fly
swatter and tell them to get the flies. This is a great large
muscle thing to do. ~EllisonE2
Lacing Cards
Cut colored
poster board into different shapes and punch holes around the
edges. Children can lace yarn or a shoestring into the cards.
~Dona
For those who
have a team of teachers: Many digital cameras have a video
feature or you may use a tape recorder, or the sound recorder on
a computer as well. Make videos or tapes of teachers reading etc.
The children enjoy seeing a video clip of their teachers reading
or singing. The sound recorder can also be used and have
children try to guess what teacher is speaking. Also let the
children speak and guess who is who. You can also video
clip the children doing an activity. ~ Kelly H.
PLAY CLAY ORNAMENTS
2 c. baking soda
1 c. cornstarch
1 1/4 c. cold water
Mix soda and
cornstarch together, blending well. Add the cold water and mix
well until mixture is smooth. Boil for one minute until it has
consistency of mashed potatoes. Stir constantly. Spoon out on a
plate. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to cool. Knead dough and
roll out on waxed paper. Cut out designs with a cookie cutter or
shape by hand. Let dry until hardened, about 1 to 2 days. Paint
ornaments with tempera or water colors. Dry well and coat with
shellac or clear nail polish. Hangers may be mounted on back with
glue, or pressed into dough before it dries.~Brynn 59
Me
Paste a sheet
of paper around the side of a milk carton to cover it .Then paste
yarn on the top of the carton for hair. Draw a face on one side.
Draw pictures of favorite foods one side, favorite games on the
next and have child dictate words about themselves on the next.
Poke a hole in the top of the carton .tie string through it ;now
hang up~GUL HABIB
Here are some
things that I do around Halloween time in my class: Ghost
cookies: Items needed: Nutter
butter cookies, white frosting, chocolate chips
Spread the white frosting onto cookies and add chocolate chips
for their eyes. Spider cookies: Items needed:
Oreo cookies, black licorice strings, red hot
candies, white frosting cut black licorice strings to about
3inches in length, give each child 8 of them--4 go on each side
of cookie, (they slide into the crème center fairly easy)-
then a small amount of white frosting in 2 small places on top of
the cookie to be eyes, add a red hot to the center of each white
frosting dot. One of the kids most favorite
Halloween arts and craft activity is the foot ghost, they
love having their foot painted white and stepping onto
black construction paper., and then they add eyes and nose, mouth
whatever they want to once dry. I also have the Wee Sing
Halloween music cd, and we listen to it all thru out our day!!
during the month of October. I also like doing the spider
web as one of our centers on Halloween day: I get 2
bags of spider webbing, and a bag of spider rings, the kids have
to pull it and glue a spider web onto black paper and add a
spider to it, they love this and it’s a good fine motor
activity! I hope that someone will be able to
use some of these things, I have a lot more and will send some
more ideas from time to time! ~Wendy
Do you get
bored with the same projects everyday painting and coloring well
I did a new painting project and my kids were in awe to see what
happens. First get a salad spinner and cut a piece of paper to
fit inside. Then let the children pour a little of 2 or 3 paints
inside. put the top on and let them spin the top. The face
they make when the cover comes off is so worth it. ~Whitney
1,2 You know
what to do. 3,4 Sit on the floor. 5,6 Your feet you fix. 7,8 Sit
up straight. 9,10 Let's listen again. ~TraceyB
Clean
Crayons
Mix 2 parts
Ivory Snow powder with 1 part water until thick and creamy. Add a
desired food coloring drop. Let harden in small molds, or ice
cube trays. ~Teri L.
One little cat
on a sunny day Put on his hat and went out to play Two little
cats when it started getting dark Put on their hats and went to
the park. Three little cats when the sky was blue ?Put on their
hats and went to the zoo. Four little cats by the kitchen door
Put on their hats and went to the store. ?Five little cats on a
sunny day Put on their hats and they all ran away?~Pamms
One year, I had
noticed that the kids were having problems with identifying and
quantifying any numbers beyond 3. As a result, I created two
projects: A. Ice Cream Cones. Cut out brown paper cones for each
child in your class. Then cut out tons of pink, white, pale
green, yellow, and brown circles to represent the ice cream. Be
sure that the circles are wider than the "opening" of
the cone. Put some handmade flashcards into a container, and let
the children choose one with their eyes closed. Make sure the
smallest number is no smaller than 3; anything else will be too
easy, no matter what the kids have you thinking. If their card
reads 9, then they have to count out 9 scoops of ice cream and
glue them in a stack on their cone. After it's dry, write the
number of scoops on the cone, and hang up on a bulletin board. I
kept this to about 10 scoops. B. Gumball Machines. I used numbers
from 9 to 20 for this project. Use red paper, and cut the base,
and use white paper for the globe, which should have about a
7" diameter. Then, trace a nickel or a quarter, or the
inside of a Scotch tape circle, and cut out a kabillion different
colored gumballs. Again, have the children close their eyes and
draw a number out of a container, this time making sure that the
smallest number is 10! Let the children count out the exact
amount of gumballs and glue them into the globe. Write the number
on the base of the gumball machine, then display on a bulletin
board. ~Aunt Gnatty
One royal
penguin …feeling very blue (hold up one finger)
Called for his
brother then there were two (hold up two fingers)
Two royal
penguins . . .swimming in the sea (swimming motion)
Called for
their sister then there were three (hold up three fingers)
Three royal
penguins waddle on the shore (waddle)
Call for their
mother, then there were four (hold up four fingers)
Four royal
penguins learning how to dive (Make diving motion)
Call for their
father, then there were five (hold up five fingers)
~Amber
Gingerbread
Cinnamon Dough
* 1 cup ground cinnamon
* 1 tsp of ginger
* 1 cup applesauce
* 1/4 cup white school glue (optional)
Add the cinnamon and ginger to the
applesauce. You may add glue for added thickness. Store unused
dough in a bowl with plastic wrap as a cover.
* 1/2 cup oatmeal
* 1/2 cup soap shavings
* 1 1/2 tablespoons cooking oil
* 1 tablespoon water
Put soap
shavings in a plastic bag, and pound them into smaller pieces.
Place the soap and oatmeal in blender, and pulse until mixture
has a grainy consistency. Pour into a bowl and remove any
oversized pieces. Add oil and water and begin mixing with your
hands. Form into a firm ball and set aside a few hours until it
is hard. ~Sami G.
Snow
Painting
Water down
tempera paint and pour into spray bottles. Let children spray
paint designs in the snow. ~Lucy
Rainbow
Viewer
Cut out a large
circle in the middle of 2 paper plates. Glue colored cellophane
to cover the hole on one plate, and then glue the two plates
together. Try different colors overlapped too. ~Mara
Cinnamon
Ornaments
* 1 C. ground Cinnamon
* 1 T. ground cloves
* 1 T. ground nutmeg
* 3/4 C. apple sauce
* 2 T. white glue
Mix spices
together in a medium bowl. Add the apple sauce and glue and
mix well with your hands for 2-3 minutes to form a ball. You
may need to add more cinnamon if the mixture is too wet or more
applesauce if the mixture is too dry. Knead on a bench sprinkled
with cinnamon and divide dough into 1/4s. Roll each out to approx
1/4 inch thick. Use shaped cutters to cut shapes and place flat
on oven trays. Make a hole in the top of each using a drinking
straw. Leave to air dry for 2-3 days. You may need to turn
them over and flatten with a fish slice or metal spatula to
ensure they dry flat. It is faster to dry them in the sun
but you need to watch they don't curl. When hard, thread with
ribbon or gold thread. You can decorate with glitter glue
also if you like. Makes around 2 dozen, depending on the
size of your cutters. Joni, I plan to make a shape of
the child's hand by making a pattern of their hand and cutting
the shape out of the dough. After it is dry...I plan to
write on the back the child's name, age and date. That way
the parent can have it for many years to come. ~Maureen
The wind was
full of tricks today.
It blew my
brother's hat away.
It made the
trees bend and dance.
It made the
leaves twirl and prance.
It chased our
paper down the street.
It almost blew
me off my feet!
~ Polly G.
Green Eggs
and Ham
To celebrate
Dr. Suess's Birthday, we do a cooking activity and let the
children add food coloring to make real green eggs and ham! Do
this after reading the book and see how many children will try
them! ~Helen
Color Books
Start with a
sheet of construction paper (any color) fold in half-this will be
the book cover. Take 4 pieces of typing paper, and
also fold in half. This will be the inside of the book.
Place inside the colored cover. Staple together along fold. Title book. (depends on the color) This is my
blue book by _______________ etc. ON each
page the child will do something different. If the book is
Yellow, one page the child only uses a yellow crayon and colors a
yellow picture, next page they can finger paint in yellow next
page they can cut anything yellow out of a magazine and glue in
the page. Next page they can glue on yellow shapes, whatever
shape you are working on. Another page can be ink stamps, only in
yellow. and they can tear up yellow paper and glue on the yellow
paper to a page for a collage. When finished they now
have the YELLOW BOOK, Do this for each primary color. Until they have a whole series of "color books" ~Pat
Alexander
5 little hot
dogs frying in the pan the pan got so hot that 1 went BAM !
4 little hot
dogs frying in the pan the pan got so hot that 1 went BAM !
3 little hot
dogs frying in the pan the pan got so hot that 1 went BAM !
2 little hot
dogs frying in the pan the pan got so hot that 1 went BAM !
1 little hot
dog frying in the pan the pan got so hot that 1 went BAM !
No little hot
dogs frying in the pan.
~ Whitney
We may not be
able to enjoy the fun of a pool, but we can enjoy the items used
in a pool. Pool Rings-We use them to sit on to dry
after sprinkler fun, we place them around our bellies and run
around the play yard pretending we are driving a car-if they fall
it cushions them, we hang them from a tree to use as a bulls-eye
game, we roll them down the play yard like you would a tire, they
are really fun to just throw up in the air and try to catch-if
they land on someone's head no harm done. Pool
Noodles-T-Ball (directions sent in previous email), hang a
hula-hoop from a tree and use the noodle as a javelin, play tug
of war, use as a balance beam (secure both ends with a long tent
stake (green end removed)-or cut into lengthwise and lay flat end
on ground, use the small connectors to play nose roll across the
yard, older ones can learn to balance them in their palm. Beach Ball-attach a wide piece of elastic to ball and hang from a
tree or awning and play battleball, a great exercise is to lay
over the ball and rock back and forth, set up an obstacle course
they can kick the ball through, play over-under ball while
reciting a chain gang chant. Of course all pool toys
can be used in your water table year-round, most of them are
great for sink and float experiments. ~swpreskool
Red Apple
A little red
apple
Hung high in a
tree
I looked up at
it
And it looked
down at me
"Come
down, please" I called
And what do you
suppose---
That little red
apple
Dropped right
on my nose!
~CKBarnet
As a beginning
of the year activity I get 2 white pillow cases. (I have 2
pillows in the book area). During the first week I have the
children use fabric paint/markers to decorate them. Then I put
the book area for them to use while looking at books. The
children always seem to be attracted to these and often ask to
use them at rest time. ~Kelly
You get a brown construction page and a green one. Cut the bottom of the tree and the green wood be the top have kids glue the 2 parts together and then give them a zip lock bag and go outside and look for small leaves that have fallen then have them pick them up and go back inside and glue them to the green construction page. ~Lisette
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