CLICK HERE to see all of our teacher back to school resources! Our toddler learning centers time is an important part of our school day. We create inviting, hands-on activities that allow for much exploration. As with our 3 year olds centers time, our 2 year olds can spend as much or as little time desired at whatever centers they wish to go. Because this is usually their first school experience, we want them to feel welcome, safe, and happy....
How to Teach a Toddler Colors with 20+ Fun Activities Printables More color activities: Preschool Color Mixing Activity Around the age of two, toddlers begin to grasp the names of some colors and begin to excitedly point out which names they know. A great way to encourage this color learning is to incorporate hands-on activities into your classroom and home. Through fine motor, large motor, and sensory activities, your preschoolers will enjoy interacting with these color learning activities!...
The black construction paper heads were glued onto the plate, and then the google eyes were glued on top of them. During our nature camp, our preschoolers had fun putting together this simple ladybug art. I love to add some learning to our activities, so we did some counting while putting the ladybugs together. My inspiration for this activity came from this post. Supplies I poured black tempera paint into individual dishes and we used a circle stamp to make black spots on the red plate....
Inside: These easy Christmas activities are super simple to put together with minimum prep time so that you can add some easy fun activities last minute before the holidays. The week before Christmas can be extremely stressful. It’s difficult to plan fun activities while also making time for last minute shopping and family events. Because of this pressure, we’ve compiled a list of super simple Christmas themed activities that you can add to your home or classroom....
I love process art. Especially when it involves large motions! During our snow and ice theme I decided to add an ice painting activity that also involves color mixing – with penguins. Once I prepped the colored ice in advance, it was easy to put together on the day of the event. We had very happy two and three year olds at the art table that day! CLICK HERE to see this activity in action during our snow and ice theme!...
Inside: After reading the book Bear counts, put together a fun preschool counting activity using toys. Hands- on fun! Books are a big part of our every day. We’ve found that they become even more meaningful when we can connect activities with them. You’ve seen us do this with Zoo Looking, when we put together a zoo small world play scene. We also did a color mixing activity that related to Little Blue and Little Yellow....
If you are planning a 4th of July camp or children’s party, or if you are wanting to add some kid-made Independence Day decor to your house, check out these easy crafts! You’ll find red, white, and blue to hang, light, squeeze, shake, and even eat. Perfect for toddlers and preschoolers. Even older children can join in the fun! Recycle water bottles to make red, white and blue discovery bottles....
Punch a hole in the top of the star and hang in the window for some instant color! It’s a busy time of year and you are looking for something quick and easy the children can put together during your Christmas theme. Even better if it’s no mess so they can take it home the next day. Well, we’ve got something for you: a colorful star suncatcher that looks gorgeous in the window....
More ideas: 25+ Mother’s Day Ideas for Kids to Make A simple cute Mother’s Day idea is making necklaces with white clay that can air dry. This activity is so easy that even our toddlers can participate! They love rolling the clay out and pressing beads into them. Once the clay is dry, they can work on their fine motor skills by threading yarn through them. The gift wrapping is also made by the children with a watercolor feature....
Easy Homemade Name Puzzle We have small groups at the very end of our preschool day. We break 16 children into 4 small groups. During that time we have 3 teachers available, so each teacher takes a group. The fourth group independently works on puzzles or other manipulatives. Small groups is short, around 10 minutes, but allows us time to get to know the children and their skills on a more personal level What you will need for this literacy activity: Some sort of card stock (thick paper) Marker to write the names...
More preschool fun: 18 Outdoor Art Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers Young children love to move, so we made sure to find games that can build large motor development while also focusing on other cognitive skills. You can set these games up in your backyard or a nearby park and they are perfect for play dates, neighborhood get-togethers, and summer parties. Many can be adapted for children of different ages, too!...
Inside: Teach your preschoolers how to care for butterflies with this super fun spring science activity! Learn what food they like to eat and then add some fine motor by threading beads on yarn to make an outdoor butterfly feeder. See more resources: Bugs and Butterflies Theme Resources We are lucky to be surrounded by mature trees and flowering shrubs that invite butterflies, birds, bees, and squirrels. Our toddlers and preschoolers are lucky to see all of this in person every time they are out there....
Inside: We found the easiest way to make Valentine brownies with our toddlers! Not only did they help make these yummy treats, but they also served them to their families at our Valentine’s class party. These would also be fun for a Mother’s Day tea! I love to cook with our toddlers, but this year I made it a regular part of our curriculum. I regret that I have taken so long to so do, because I see all the benefits of including them in cooking activities....
Inside: How to put together a toddler and preschool gingerbread theme that is full of fun hands-on activities. Free printables included! The gingerbread theme is always a favorite for December. This could be a good alternative for those who don’t include Christmas in their classrooms, as you don’t need to add any holiday to this unit. (That being said, since our preschool does include Christmas, you will see some Christmas activities combined here....
Inside: Gather an assortment of preschool classroom ideas while touring six different environments! Are you a new teacher who is wondering how to set up a preschool classroom? Or have you been in your setting for awhile and want to make some changes? Six other early childhood educators and myself joined together in a classroom blog hop. We each put together a virtual tour of our environments. Scroll down to get the links to each tour!...
Inside: Put together an easy toddler apple craft that looks great in the window! Comes with a free apple printable template. We love making sun catchers. There’s just something about all that color hanging in the window! Last fall we made the most beautiful leaf suncatchers with our toddlers, so this year I thought we’d do something similar, but using an apple template instead. And while this toddler apple craft looks gorgeous in the window (especially on a sunny day) as a decoration, it’s also a fun way to work on fine motor skills....
Inside: It’s easy to put together a toddler and preschool color mixing activity. After reading Little Blue and Little Yellow, grab some paper tubes, yellow and blue paint, and let the stamping and blending begin! Your children are starting to identify objects by color, but you aren’t sure where to go from there. They are still busy little people and want to be engaged by actually doing something. I thought about this as I put together our Little Blue and Little Yellow toddler and preschool color mixing activity....
Inside: Put together a preschool sunflower activity that builds fine motor skills while removing the seeds! We love to explore sunflowers for science, then creating large sunflower art for our classroom wall. We ask our preschool families if they have any homegrown sunflowers that they’d like to donate. We then add some fine motor fun to our day with the sunflowers. We place the plants on a flat surface and invite our toddlers and preschoolers to remove the seeds with tongs....
Inside: This pumpkin painting for toddlers activity involves lots of action to make the paint move around. Perfect for busy kids who love to keep moving! Toddlers are busy. Their favorite activities allow them to use the big movements. I decided to put together an activity that mimics the same movements as golf ball and marble painting, except this time we used pumpkin bells. As the container is tipped side to side, the different colors of paint blend to make a new color....
Inside: This blueberry cake recipe is perfect to make with kids, with easy instructions that invite them to help add the ingredients! In our 3 year old class we love using parent helpers to help with cooking activities, so I found an easy recipe for blueberry cake. Easy recipes such as this work well with young children because they can gather around and help add ingredients and it’s not overwhelming....
