Inside: These last minute Valentine’s Day art activities are simple to set up for your toddlers without needing much prep time. Valentine’s Day is just around the corner! If you didn’t prepare a toddler activity already, no need to panic. The great thing about preschool art is that it’s all about the process! There are lots of great themed art activities that you can create last minute with supplies that you probably already have on hand....
Setting up the Toddler and Preschool Classroom for the Easter and Spring Themes CLICK HERE to see all of our themed classroom tours! Last week we had so much fun with our spring animals theme that we kept some of the decor while we set up our classroom for the Easter and spring themes. While the weather continues to be drab outside, we have lots of color inside, and that makes my heart happy....
We kick off the month of December every year with a gingerbread man theme, and I try to add some sort of gingerbread ornament for the children to make. Some examples: Gingerbread Man Suncatcher Ornament Clay Gingerbread Man Ornament Cardboard Pom Pom Gingerbread Ornament I add these to the gift bags the children give their families and they are always loved! This year I took an easier route and purchased pre-made wood gingerbread man shapes, but you can cut your own shapes from cardboard....
Our farm animals theme is this week and I wanted to add some process art to the activities. Process art that included color mixing and lots of movement. And that’s exactly what this farm pigs painting is all about. Plus, I’ve created a free pig printable for you, too! Scroll down to find the download. Instead, I use golf balls, and they are just as fun! Golf balls White washable tempera paint Red washable tempera paint Container with sides (to contain the paint and balls) Pig printable (available towards the end of this post)...
Inside: Valentine’s Day art for toddlers is super fun when it involves driving cars through paint, and then onto hearts. A fun process art activity that also builds fine motor skills! Toddlers love to paint with cars. If you haven’t tried this yet, you must! I have yet to know a class of toddlers who don’t love to roll paint through paint and then onto paper. In fact, you might recall when we we drove cars through different colors of paint to make a rainbow....
I invited my toddlers and young preschoolers to the art table and reminded them how to turn the bottle upside down while squeezing. There are so many fun Valentine’s Day crafts that my students have enjoyed over the years. However, crafts can be time-consuming with the extra preparation involved. Plus, this year my students are younger, with shorter attention spans. I decided to put together a collage activity using heart doilies and other pieces I found in our scrap bin....
Stickers are underrated. They have so many different uses, especially when it comes to building skills. And yet, they aren’t used near as much as they could be with preschoolers. I make sure to always have a stash on hand for table activities, art, fine motor, color recognition … and so much more! Preschool stickers are also nice when you are looking for some quiet time. Simply grab a blank sheet of paper and some stickers, perhaps some markers or crayons as well, and invite your child to have fun....
We love using playdough for strengthing fine motor skills! It’s a staple in our toddler and preschool classrooms. Playdough also invites creativity. It’s a fun open-ended activity where there are no specific outcomes. During the Christmas season, we love to add some snowman building, making gingerbread ornaments, and building trees. But wow, there are so many more great ideas out there. And I found them in this collection of Christmas playdough activities....
9 Favorite Valentines Day Ideas for Kids Frozen Hearts Sensory Bin Our toddlers and preschoolers love playing with water and ice, so it was no surprise that they loved this frozen heart sensory bin! Easy to set up, easy to clean up. In the past 16 or so years I’ve been teaching preschool, we’ve done lots of different Valentine activities. I wish I had started blogging that long ago so you could see them all!...
There are many simple ways for young children to participate in acts of kindness. From the very first day of preschool, we talk about being kind and loving to each other. In September and October, we read a lot of books about feelings and friendship. In November, we read books and talked about what we are thankful for. In December, we will make gifts for special people in our lives… ....
Easy Toddler Jellyfish Art Activity Let the bowls dry completely. I like to spread this activity out into two days. One of our favorite themes for May – our last month of the school year – is the beach and ocean. CLICK HERE to see how we’ve set up our classroom for the beach and ocean theme! We explore different sizes, shapes and textures of shells, talk about what we see when we go to the beach, sing ocean songs, and get crafty with some ocean art activities....
Inside: During the holidays include jingle bells for your preschoolers – in the sensory bin! This is a fun way to learn about magnets as the children pick up the bells (and other magnetic materials) with wands. What is it about jingle bells that we love so much? No matter what activity we use with them, it is a hit. It’s hard for me to say which activity they’ve loved most, because making and using our jingle bell sticks was a lot of fun....
They were then invited to come to the center of the circle (when called) to sort their shapes into the matching bowls. Note: This post was written when I taught 3 and 4 year olds, not 2 and 3 year olds. During one o our recent circle times, our preschoolers loved this learning colors and shapes activity! After reading a shape book, we set out the color bowls in the center of the circle....
Inside: This preschool Valentines sensory bin adds a bit of science as we explore what happens as the frozen hearts melt. A fun, hands-on activity! I love that even after teaching for so many years, I can continue to find ideas we’ve never tried before! I put together a preschool valentines sensory bin with frozen hearts that is easy peasy simple! I froze water in various heart-shaped containers, added some pony beads and red coloring in some, and tossed it all into a sensory bin....
Inside: Work on color and number recognition with these printable toddler and preschool gardening theme circle time props. This set includes colorful plain and numbered flowers for learning fun! We’ve had fun using props all year long with our toddlers and preschoolers. In fact, now they look for them as we gather on our circle-shaped carpet. So whenever I plan a new theme, I make sure I have props that they can hold and that I can display in a variety of ways....
Inside: Learn more about promoting diversity in the preschool classroom with these activities and approaches and why this is important for young children. As a teacher, it is extremely important to be aware of implicit bias within our behaviors. While a teacher may already be very aware of how different races are treated, sometimes we do not realize that our own learned behaviors are affecting how we teach. Keeping our minds open to changing our methods allows us to grow as educators, ensuring that we are offering the best support for our children....
Teach Toddlers Colors with Easter Eggs What you will need: Plastic eggs Light table or overhead projector (You don’t need fancy equipment! Consider making your own simple light table!) Getting started: It’s really this easy: place the eggs on the table and let the children do the rest! Some fun ways to use this activity: Place all the eggs in a container beside the light table or projector. Invite your toddler to put a specific color of eggs on top of the light....
Inside: This Ten Little Dinosaurs circle time activity is a fun way to work on simple math skills with preschoolers. Free printable props included! Do your toddlers and preschoolers love dinosaurs? If so, grab the free dinosaur printable provided towards the bottom of this page and use them while reading one of our favorite new books, Ten Little Dinosaurs! Once you turn the printable into dinosaur stick puppets, you will have your students’ full attention as they are invited to help you count to ten, forwards and backwards....
Inside: Have a child who doesn’t care for art? Try this transportation art for toddlers and preschoolers. Process art has never been so fun! Transportation Art for Toddlers and Preschoolers What you will need: Different colors of tempera paint Small toy cars Large sheet of white paper Paper plates, 1 for each color of paint More fun ideas to try: Activities that Use Toy Cars Transportation Sorting and Painting Activity Painted Roads Using Duplos...
Inside: There are so many fun toddler alphabet activities that are simple, playful, and fun. Each of these 16 activities expose toddlers to letters through play and hands-on exploration. No flash cards necessary! You have started hearing your toddler sing the ABC song. Now you’re wondering about other toddler alphabet activities. How can you add them to your day? Through play and exploration! With art and play dough! In the sandbox, in the pretend play area, in the sensory bin!...
