Kinetic sand in the sensory bin is amazing. If you have not explored this stuff yet, you simply must. It’s a sensory experience for kids (and grown ups) of all ages! During our transportation theme, I found some mini construction vehicles and recalled our alphabet construction sensory bin that we had awhile back. I used a similar idea, except did not add the letters and changed the vehicles. But it was loved just as much, if not more....
As you can see here, the larger bulbs on the basters fit inside the palm of the hand, the fingers and thumb wrapping around it. Long before children can start writing, they need to first develop their pre-writing skills. This means strengthening those muscles that will help them have the ability to hold a writing tool. One of my favorites is this toddler fine motor water activity that involves basters....
See more of our favorite counting activities here! Preschool math activities can feel overwhelming, especially when you are trying to figure out what part of your day to place them. Believe me, I’ve tweaked our schedule so much in the past 24 years! I tried math trays during centers time, large group math activities during circle time, and even math activities during small groups time. Eventually I came to a perfect solution, which I will share later in this post....
Playdough is a staple in our toddler and preschool classroom! During our apple theme we worked on fine motor strengthening with playdough tools and apple cookie cutters and small fake apples. Let me show you the fun we had! Watch the video: In fact, I have a whole collection of toddler fine motor ideas in this post! The hands get quite a work out while squeezing and pulling playdough, and we always provide an assortment of tools that also involve the fine motor muscles....
Looking for an easy (and fun!) sensory bin your toddlers and preschoolers will enjoy? An activity that includes different textures for the sense of touch? Something that goes perfect with your Christmas theme? We’ve created this candy cane Christmas sensory bin that is festive with little stockings, candy canes, red and white dyed rice, and more! Make sure to check out all of our sensory bins here! Our toddlers and preschoolers love the way it feels as it falls from their hands, between their fingers, and into the bin....
In the above photo, the children are making space for each other. Had more children arrived, I probably would have pulled the unit away from the wall so that there would be more room. If you’ve spent any time around toddlers and young preschoolers, it’s pretty apparent that they love to scoop and pour. During our Easter theme, I decided to recycle the multi-colored rice from our rainbow unit along with some of the many plastic colorful eggs we have collected over the years....
How to Learn Colors While Making Rainbow Crayons This is a great way to use up old crayons, especially those that are broken! What you will need: CrayonsMuffin panSilicone liners (or paper liners, or a silicone muffin pan)Color sorting bowls (optional, but fun for adding some color recognition) They then placed a few of each color into the muffin pan. More color activities: Color Activities To Do At Home 30+ Rainbow Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers Fun Activities for Teaching Toddlers Colors...
I will never forget the first time I did a cooking activity with my 2 and 3 year old students. I found the recipe and hauled all the ingredients to my classroom. I placed everything out on the table. I was so excited! I opened my classroom door, greeting my sweet little friends, and invited them to join me at the table. I fumbled to find the recipe I printed out....
Learning how to make math fun for preschoolers can feel like a challenge. Are they having fun? Is this enjoyable? The key to getting young children excited about math is to make it fun so that they don’t even realize they are learning something. There is no pressure. No drilling. I’ve put together a collection of activities that will build that foundation for kids to enjoy math. Take a look and let me know which ones you try!...
How to Put Together a Frog Art Activity that Builds Counting Skills Before starting this activity, I pulled out my 5 Green Speckled Frogs set and we counting while singing one of our favorite finger plays. I then gathered my materials for this 2-step frog art activity. I love that math can happen just about anywhere, including the art table. We had so much fun with our ladybug craft and when we made our spiders....
At first they tapped the brushes on the paper. I’m one of those teachers who looks at an item in the store and wonders how it could be applied in the classroom. Even something like a facial brush, which is what I found in our local dollar store. I bought 4 of them, knowing they could be used with a small group for some toddler painting. It didn’t take much thought as to how they’d be used, as I had been observing how our toddlers have reacted to painting activities since the first day of school....
Inside: Learn how to encourage toddler literacy skills using Vooks, an educational service providing a library of video-books to watch with your children. Includes a free year-long membership offer! Vooks has recently updated their teacher appreciation campaign to remove the sign-up deadline, offering caregivers a free year of Vooks access indefinitely! As the years have advanced, I have witnessed the incorporation of more screen time and technology in early education....
Inside: This yarn-wrapped star activity is a fun way to work on preschool fine motor skills during the holidays. No mess, too! Are you looking for an easy Christmas activity that requires no paint, no glue, and can be taken home that very same day? If so, you will love these preschool Christmas yarn wrapped stars. We’ve done yarn wrapping before, such as when we made our yarn wrapped Christmas trees....
Working on the alphabet at home? Check out this post! Teaching the Alphabet to Toddlers and Preschoolers Through Play As we plan each week’s theme, I start pulling out the books that we will display throughout the classroom. I love using the tops of our shelves to prop books either on their own, or in a stand. I will often find objects that relate to the book and display them side by side....
Inside: Looking for some fun toddler Easter egg decorating ideas? These alternatives to traditional Easter egg dyeing are perfect for toddlers, while also adding some fun new designs to your decorations. Dyeing Easter eggs with young toddlers can be a bit of an experience. The tiny cups, the little metal hooks to pick up the eggs, the strong vinegar scent… not to mention the tragedy of breaking one of the eggs!...
Have you noticed that when you display your children’s artwork and projects, they beam? They are so proud of what they worked on, and love pointing it out to anyone. “I made that!” It also makes our classroom feel more homey. It’s their classroom, so it only makes sense that their work is what is hanging in the windows and on the walls. Even on the shelves! I’ll take child-made classroom decor over commercial decor any day....
A fun way to strengthen hands and fingers is by introducing a fine motor threading activity to your preschoolers. I’ve shared how we’ve threaded macaroni to make a rainbow necklace, and how we’ve introduced a plastic sewing needle when threading small pasta. However, some young children’s fingers might not be strong enough for those threading activities, so we like to start with pipe cleaner threading. We came up with an easy way to make your own simple threading board!...
As soon as we return from spring break, we are ordering our live caterpillars while getting ready for our bugs and butterflies theme. A tradition during my twenty six years of teaching has been to introduce five live caterpillars to my students, watching them grow and eventually turn into beautiful butterflies. They love this, especially when we release them outdoors! During this time, I like to show our butterfly life cycle figurines at circle time, as well as feature them on our science table....
Inside: Get your toddlers and preschoolers engaged during the transportation circle time with these free car props. A fun way to work on color and number recognition, too! The transportation theme is always a hit with our toddlers and preschoolers. In my 22+ years of teaching, all of my students have enjoyed learning about different vehicles in a variety of ways. In fact, I highlight them in my largest collections of transportation activities....
The rainbow theme is a favorite that I wish were longer, to be honest. There are so many wonderful ideas! For this rainbow painting idea, I took our Lego rainbow printable and paired it with Lego Duplos for a simple and colorful painting activity. Get ready for some stamping fun! While that looks great, it’s not reasonable for the age group I teach – 2 and 3 year olds. I don’t focus on the order, nor do I focus on the colors staying apart....
