Inside: How to use Scholastic’s My Big World in the Preschool Classroom We love to explore the world around us. I’ve mentioned many times how young children are more interested when what they are learning is connected to real life experiences. We read books and share our experiences during circle time. We have hands-on exploration and play during centers time that connect to these themes. However, it can be a challenge to find literature and activities that are appropriate for our younger children....

Learning the Color Yellow with a Fun Collage Activity Setting Up this Activity: Place the small pieces in a container. Learning colors with toddlers and preschoolers does not need to be complicated. In fact, the easier activities seem to be more inviting, not to mention less stressful for teachers and parents! I created a free sun printable that encourages toddlers and preschoolers to recognize the color yellow while creating a collage....

If you are looking for more math activities, head on over to my math board on Pinterest! How we used these counting cards: Assembling these cards: Cut the card stock to desired size. Remove the backing on the adhesive numbers and press one number on each card. How many numbers you decide to use is up to you. . Math resource books: . Math toys: . More learning activities for preschoolers: ....

Inside: This preschool ocean counting activity works on counting and number recognition. Simply count the fish and mark the correct number using a clothespin or other small object. We love connecting activities to favorite books, especially when they help build important skills. This preschool ocean counting activity is a fun way to practice counting while also working on number recognition. After reading Ten Little Fish to your preschoolers, place these count and clip cards on a tray along with a clothespin or other small pieces....

Inside: Add some simple counting with these preschool winter math count and clip cards. A fun way to work on counting skills! During our winter theme we love to explore ice. In fact, we love this topic so much that I’ve created a collection of winter ice activities that you can see here. I decided to create a set of preschool winter math count and clip cards that are a great companion to this theme....

Inside: This frosted pinecone craft creates a beautiful decoration for winter. Goes perfectly with the book Penguin and Pinecone! Adding white paint and glitter is a festive preschool winter pinecone craft! We call them “frosty pinecones”. We asked our preschoolers and their families to collect pinecones in their yards over the weekend. They brought a nice collection to school on Monday, so we had variety to choose from. This activity tied in nicely with the book “Penguin and Pinecone” by Salina Yoon....

Inside: Put together a rainbow sorting activity for preschoolers that will not only work on color recognition, but also fine motor skills. The final product creates a nice hanging decoration for your window. Free sorting printables included! I love classroom decor that is made by the children. I also love a good clearance sale. So, when I was planning our rainbow theme, I recalled the clear plastic baubles I had purchased after Christmas that were a steal....

Inside: Snowflake ornaments for kids couldn’t get any easier. With a few simple materials they can create some festive ornaments for their tree! These simple snowflake ornaments are perfect for kids to make. The jumbo popsicle sticks are easier for preschoolers to hold. Brushing the glue and sprinkling the beads add some extra fine motor to this activity, too. (And those of you who’ve been following my blog awhile know how much I love that!...

Inside: There are so many fun activities to add to the toddler and preschool rainbow theme. It’s a great way to expose young children to colors and color mixing in all areas of the classroom! We love to explore the colors of the rainbow towards the end of the winter, when we are tired of all the white and grey. I get so excited pulling the colorful toys and activities from our storage room, setting them up in our classroom....

Inside: Toddler and Preschool Spring Learning Activities Packet – 36 Pages of Printable Fun Work on fine motor, counting, number and color recognition with this spring learning activities packet! We’ve developed 36 pages of printable activities that go perfectly with your spring theme. Scroll down to see how each activity can be used, including additional ideas! Toddler and Preschool Spring Learning Activities Packet Here’s what you get in this 36 page printable packet:...

If you are looking for a simple activity during the month of December, this toddler Christmas painting is perfect! Add some extra painting fun by using corks instead of brushes. Toddlers love dipping them into the paint, stamping them onto the paper. Lots of motion, plus it strengthens fine motor skills. Teachers appreciate this activity during a busy season because it’s so simple to assemble! We’ve been doing this for years and our toddlers always have fun with the stamping motion....

Inside: This collection of Christmas dramatic play activities is perfect for the holidays! Easy to set up in your home or classroom. Fun for the imagination! Christmas is a fun time for pretend play, isn’t it? There are so many great ideas out there for your classroom dramatic play center or in your family’s home. If you are looking for ideas, you will love this collection of 12 fun Christmas dramatic play activities!...

CLICK HERE for more dinosaur theme resources! Dinosaurs are a topic that gets talked about a lot in our classroom. Our toddlers constantly request that we play We Are The Dinosaurs by The Laurie Berkner Band and stomp around like dinosaurs. With over 700 different species of dinosaurs discovered, there’s a lot to teach about! These preschool dinosaur activities will add some dino-themed fun to your classroom while you discuss paleontological facts, such as which dinosaurs ate meat and which only ate plants....

Inside: These are our favorite colorful turkey crafts for preschoolers that focus on thankfulness. Printable included! As we get closer to Thanksgiving in our preschool classroom, we add some thankfulness activities to our curriculum. We read books about what being thankful means, we sing songs, and we make a thankful craft at the art table. Every year I change it up a bit, so I decided it would be fun to share 3 of our turkey crafts for preschoolers....

Then, they will lift their bears off the paint … January is our favorite time to talk about hibernation, placing extra focus on sleepy winter bears. We create a bears’ den in the dramatic play area, use bear props while reading and singing during circle time, and enjoy painting bears at the art table. Several years ago I added another fun art activity that involves dipping toy bears into paint and creating tracks....

Inside: This fall process art for toddlers is all about mixing and stamping colors onto large sheets of paper using corks. A fun way to explore autumn colors while strengthening fine motor skills! Painting with corks is a fun way for toddlers to strengthen their fine motor skills while stamping paint onto paper. This fall process art for toddlers is all about the motion of moving the cork up and down and side to side while mixing an assortment of fall colors....

Inside: This collection of preschool squirrel theme activities is great to add to your fall collection. Preschoolers will love learning about these furry friends! During our outdoor play time in the fall, one of the things that our preschoolers love observing the most is the squirrels. Something about the way they travel through the trees and on the fence posts fascinates them. Because of this, we like to incorporate activities about squirrels in our nature themes so that they have a chance to learn more....

Inside: Learn how to teach counting to preschoolers using toys. This collection of math activities is playful and fun, for home or school! You know all those toys you have in your classroom or home? They make easy learning activities! Recently I wrote a guest post over at the Melissa & Doug blog showing how toddlers and preschoolers can learn how to count with toys. You can take all of a toy, or just pieces from a toy, even mixing several toys together....

Inside: No Mess Pumpkin Art with Free Printable! This activity is a go-to for toddlers and preschoolers that don’t like the feeling of paint, and it’s fun! Our toddlers and preschoolers love to mix colors, and in October we do quite a bit with yellow and red. I love to come up with different ways to do this type of activity. We’ve mixed colors with paper tubes and rolling pins and Legos....

Inside: Add these butterfly circle time activity props to your classroom this spring. A fun way to work on color exploration, number recognition, and counting skills! Toddlers and preschoolers will love these printable butterfly circle time activity props. The plain butterflies can be used as stick puppets that the children can hold while singing butterfly songs. The numbered butterflies can be placed on flannel boards and cookie sheets as a fun way to work on math skills while reading butterfly counting books and singing songs....