Inside: Learn how to put together a pom pom snowman sensory bin that will also strengthen fine motor development! Our snowman sensory bin was a big hit with our 2 and 3 year olds. My regular readers know how we love to add a variety of textures to our sensory bins, along with tools to challenge fine motor development. Just as we did in our letter sensory bin and our pom pom sensory bin, we added containers for filling and finding the matching tops....

Planning our Thanksgiving Program: The teachers meet in late October to discuss what songs we will include in our program. We then put out sign-up sheets listing all the food we will need for the feast. Rehearsing: Every Friday our classes join for music. In November we practice the songs we will sing at the Thanksgiving feast. The week of the feast, we practice on the stage, so the children will be familiar with it....

One of our favorite preschool activities is painting with toys, such as our Lego painting activity. But this year I noticed that our preschoolers wanted to get our toy vehicles involved in everything. I kept finding them in the play dough, in the sensory bin, and on the light table. So, during our toddler and preschool transpiration theme, I decided that we needed to get some paint involved. After talking about different types of transportation vehicles, we painted with them!...

Inside: 10+ fun preschool Valentine’s Day science activities with a variety of exploration. Fun, hands-on learning! You are filling out your lesson plans for the Valentine’s Day theme and are struggling to find something for science. You start cruising Pinterest but become overwhelmed by all the different possibilities. So I made it easier by collecting simple, hands-on preschool Valentine’s Day science activities that are perfect for preschoolers. In fact, some can even be adapted for toddlers....

It’s always nice when children can explore the real thing during any theme. While we couldn’t take the children to the beach, we did have opportunities to visit the fish aquarium in our preschool’s building. There is so much learning taking place when we have our toddler and preschool beach theme! Over the years we have acquired a nice collection of various shells and pretend ocean animals. These allow us to create several learning centers where we explore textures and sizes, as well as small world activities that invite the children to have fun with pretend play....

Going to the zoo is a favorite topic with our preschoolers. They visit the zoo with their families (many have zoo passes) and love to name off the animals they saw. I decided to start our school year with some zoo animal activities. I knew this would be very meaningful, getting the preschoolers excited to be involved in one of our very first group activities. After reading Zoo-Looking during circle time, we held the plastic toy versions of each animal and played a matching game....

10+ Easter Ideas Using Plastic Eggs Plastic eggs are popular for Easter egg hunts and Easter baskets. But did you know they can also be used to build an assortment of skills? Skills such as Math Literacy Fine Motor Large Motor and more! If you are like me, and save plastic eggs when spring is over, you will love knowing you can put them to good use. Check out this collection of over 10 different Easter ideas to use with them!...

17+ of the Best Preschool Fine Motor Activities that Involve Squeezing Squeeze playdough using a citrus squeezer. Parents and teachers are concerned if their preschoolers cannot write. Their preschoolers might get frustrated when given writing tools. Hold on! Their little hands and fingers need to be strengthened. Good news! I have a collection of squeezing activities that can do just that. We start working on strengthening fine motor skills in with our toddlers....

Simple Threading Activity to Strengthen Fine Motor Skills What you will need for this activity: Plastic straws, cut into small sections Tipped threading yarn Setting up this activity: We separated the cut straws by color and placed them in small containers. I like to tie one straw piece to the end of the yarn so that the rest don’t slip off during the threading process. When finished threading the straw pieces: Untie the straw that was originally attached to the end of the yarn....

Centers It can be a challenge returning from winter break, knowing you need to have a plan in place for January. You don’t want to spend your own time searching Pinterest trying to figure out what will work, hoping they also build all the necessary skills. You want activities that can be used at different centers. Activities that build skills and are hands-on. Well, I’ve done the work for you with this big collection of January themes ideas for preschoolers and toddlers, too!...

Inside: This preschool rainbow activity works on color recognition while also building fine motor skills. The result is a colorful necklace! Making a necklace is a great fine motor rainbow threading activity for preschoolers. Each year we do some version of this, such as last year when we made a necklace with cut straws. I did this particular activity during small groups. I showed them a picture of a rainbow and they sorted the colored macaroni so that they had one of each color....

Inside: Add some corn painting to your fall theme this year. This process art activity is loved by toddlers and preschoolers, and is so easy to set up! We love adding corn activities to our fall theme! We’ve added it to our science table for a fun tweezing, strengthening fine motor skills. (You can read about that experience here.) Corn is also fun to explore while learning about squirrels. But how about at the art table?...

When our toddlers arrive each morning, we immediately begin our free-choice centers time. (You can see our morning schedule here.) One of their first stops is the art table, so we make sure it’s ready to go. This toddler art might look like a craft, but it’s really process art. And you know I am all about process art, right? Recently our preschoolers made colorful jellyfish. While those also involved process art (spraying the tentacles with watercolors), I knew we needed something simpler for our toddlers....

No paintbrushes are required for this easy kids art activity with freezer bags! In fact, this art activity is so easy that you only need a few materials. I set this up for several preschoolers to do at once, but it’s a good independent art activity, too. Painting with freezer bags is also a fun sensory idea as well. The feeling of the paint and marbles through the bag is a delight, and is especially appreciated by those who don’t like to get paint on their hands....

Inside: Here is our collection of favorite toys that help develop large motor skills with toddlers and preschoolers. We use these toys daily in our school gym, but they can also be used at home, and some can be used outdoors as well. It’s important that children work the large groups of muscles in their arms and legs. At our preschool, we make sure our toddlers and preschoolers get time outdoors and in our gym....

Inside: This free garden printable counting book helps toddlers and preschoolers identify numbers from 1-10 as they turn each page. Fine motor skills are also used as each page is colored. A fun activity to go with the gardening theme! They will sit, listen, and watch as each page is turned. But have you ever given your children their own little book? One that they can hold in their hands, color in, perhaps identify some letters or even words?...

Inside: This is the easiest Halloween playdough recipe that provides a fun fine motor activity for toddlers and preschoolers. Perfect for the home or classroom! We use playdough daily in our toddler and preschool classrooms. Not only is it a comfort (who doesn’t like squeezing and pulling the dough?), it’s also one of our favorite ways to build fine motor skills. Here’s the thing: I don’t like store bought playdough....

Recently we were given some new kitchen furniture and accessories. This was like Christmas! New boxes to unpack, a kitchen set to assemble. I was like that parent who could not wait to watch her children as they found their gifts under the tree. I was so excited to see my little friends as they entered the classroom, seeing these gifts for the first time. I imagined how they’d learn through play in the dramatic play area....

I called each preschooler to pick out a leaf or two from the leaf tray and sort it by color. Fall is here, the colors are vibrant, and you are looking for a way to share it with your preschoolers. Teachers, I (sort of accidentally) came up with a great activity! While we were outside during recess, one of my students noticed a few leaves on the ground. One was completely brown....

Once they started painting, I could step back and just watch. Welcome to the Christmas season, where life can feel so rushed as we try to do a million things at once. Even we teachers are guilty of bringing that stress into our classroom. As soon as Thanksgiving break is over, we are making our lists that include gifts for parents, extra activities, perhaps a Christmas program, too. It can be crazy....