Inside: This toddler turkey craft can be adapted for younger and older toddlers, and even preschoolers. A fun way to work fine motor skills during the Thanksgiving theme. Every year I love doing a different turkey craft. We’ve done them with tissue paper circles and popsicle sticks, coffee filters and pipettes, as well as different sizes of construction paper circles. This year, as I was putting together ideas for a toddler turkey craft, I decided to try using doll pegs, watercolors and bright feathers....

Inside: These glittery winter discovery bottles are easy to make and fun for toddlers to look at. Every January we add easy winter discovery bottles to our list of activities. If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile, you know how much we love making them. They are perfect any time of the year, such as when we made our patriotic discovery bottles. Little kids love to hold and look at them....

Favorite Fingerplays for Toddlers and Preschoolers New! I now have printable props to go with each of the fingerplays below. Scroll down to find the link! Plus more! Reciting favorite fingerplays is an important part of our curriculum. We not only perform them during circle time, but we use them during transitions throughout the day. Preschool fingerplays encourage children to participate verbally, follow directions, learn number concepts, and follow directions. I keep a notebook of all our favorite fingerplays and songs that I can pull out at any given time....

Fun Preschool Spring Activities Using Flowers So many to choose from! I get so giddy when spring arrives! After a winter of little color, it’s hard not to be delighted with the beautiful flowers that adorn our neighborhoods. We love to explore color this time of year, so putting together preschool spring activities using flowers is so fun! There are so many learning opportunities using flowers, too. We make sure to have vases of real flowers in our science area and we will grow our own as well....

How to Set Up Your Preschool Learning Centers Note: If you teach toddlers, I discuss centers time with that age group in this post: How to Set Up and Manage Toddler Center Time You have figured out your preschool schedule. You have set up your classroom. Now you are wondering about setting up your preschool learning centers. Well, good, dear teachers! I’m glad you are here, because that’s what I’m going to help you with today....

We all know the importance of allowing a child to get their wiggles out. Besides allowing them to feel satisfied and calmer afterwards, moving around in large motions is very important for a young child’s development. Large motor movements are important for their abilities such as hand-eye coordination and flexibility. However, going outside to run around is unfortunately not always an option. Below are some gross motor activities that can be done safely indoors, while only requiring simple materials to make setting up even easier!...

It might not come natural at first. We show our preschoolers how to dip the pipette into the water. Little kids love to work with water. I’ve shared how they enjoy our favorite water table activities. So, it’s no surprise that when we put together a preschool fine motor activity, it involves transferring water. Seriously! Even our most active preschoolers will stop and work on this for quite awhile! The beauty of this fine motor activity is that it is super simple and can be done at home or in a classroom....

Inside: Work on fine motor skills with this fun watercolor preschool wreath craft. A fun art activity for Christmas! Dropping watercolors is one of our favorite ways to build fine motor skills. I use this method throughout the year and not only is it super effective, but young children love the process. Once they learn how to master transferring and dropping the watercolors, they want to do it over and over again....

Inside: Looking for easy fall activities for preschoolers? This collection has an assortment of seasonal fun ideas! On the hunt for easy fall activities to do with your preschoolers? I’ve got you covered with this collection! I’ve put together an assortment of ideas that kids love, at school and at home. A little something for everyone! Let’s celebrate the season of fall with some fun, hands-on activities that kids will love!...

It’s cold outside and you are looking for more indoor activities to do with your children. Well, how about getting together in the kitchen? I’ve found 17 winter snacks for kids that you can do in your home’s kitchen or in the classroom. They’d even be fun to do during a play date or for a holiday party! Or how about during winter break? No time to read right now?...

Apple Picking Tree We also had a “U-Pick” apple tree, where we picked apples off the tree and sorted them by color. Every October we look forward to setting up our apple stand dramatic play center! We turn our dramatic play area into an orchard and market, complete with a scale and cash registers, and handy bags and baskets for carrying the apples. And, of course, a phone to take orders!...

More Resources: Gardening Theme Activities I love being able to make my own materials for our preschoolers, such as these flower sticks for a spring math activity. I have a very limited budget. If I can make it for a fraction of the cost, that is just what I’m going to do! While I kept this particular activity simple, you can easily adjust it for those who are counting higher....

In the fall we like to take time to explore forest animals in our toddler and preschool classroom. We especially enjoyed learning about bats, owls, squirrels, and raccoons. This gave us the opportunity to also learn that some animals sleep during the day instead of at night! This was also a good time to take a nature walk, noticing the birds and squirrels that shared our play area. 👉 Scroll down towards the end of this post to find free printables you can use during your forest animals theme!...

Inside: This easy preschool Valentine’s craft is so much fun to make, with bright buttons glued on colored felt, and look cute hanging in the classroom or home! With only about a week left, I needed an easy and cute Valentine’s craft. I recalled what a hit our felt trees were and decided to do the same with hearts. My toddlers and preschoolers have loved all the heart activities we’ve done in the past, like our marble-painted hearts, and our 2-ingredient hearts....

Color Recognition Activities that Also Build Fine Motor Skills Looking for color recognition activities your toddlers and preschoolers will love? I’ve got just the collection for you! I took it a step further and added activities that not only teach colors, but also get the hands involved. Adding fine motor to any activity is a great way to get the hands ready for writing, and it’s actually very easy to do....

Inside: How do you set up your classroom for the first day of preschool? Here are my tips to get your school year off to a good start! The first day of preschool is around the corner. You have the keys to your classroom. Then you realize you aren’t quite sure how to get ready for the first day of school. You need tips on setting up the preschool classroom!...

Oh, and I wanted a bit of extra fine motor going on, since we are always working on strengthening their hands and fingers. I didn’t want something cute and crafty. (Pinterest is full of that, thank you.) When I was in Walmart I found white paper lunch bags and the light bulb went off. I had an idea! How to Make Homemade Watercolor Bags for an Easter Activity What you will need to make your Easter bags:...

Centers Light Table It’s time to plan your preschool March themes, but you are wondering which would work best with your children. You don’t have time to waste searching through the thousands of pins on Pinterest. Time is precious. I get that. So I’ve put together this big collection of hands-on activities that are perfect for March and can be done in the home or classroom. Don’t let the title “preschool” fool you....

One of my favorite ways of getting our toddlers involved in circle time is with props. I’ve talked about it in the video My Secret to a Successful Circle Time. Props get the children engaged. They become part of the activity instead of just sitting and listening. I truly believe this is why our 2 year olds enjoy our gatherings on the carpet. They are involved. And that is what I consider successful....

Process art with our own chalk-salt is a great way to add some fine motor and creativity with preschoolers. Combining the salt and chalk is a great hand and finger strengthening activity. Squeezing the glue onto the paper is another way to develop fine motor strength. Pouring the chalk salt onto the glue and shaking the excess off is plain fun, and our preschoolers will often want to create multiple pieces....