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Watch: Our Favorite Christmas Circle Time Activities You are thinking about your December lesson plans, especially circle time. Your toddlers and preschoolers might be more energetic than usual (if that’s even possible!) because of extra events taking place due to the holidays. The thought of trying to have them sit and listen to a book makes you nervous because you know after a few pages you might lose them. This is when you need props, music and movement!...

Ever since I first started teaching, I have kicked off our December themes with a gingerbread man theme. This year I wanted to do something with salt dough, since my class loves playdough. I found an easy recipe, added brown food coloring, and invited my preschoolers to create their own version of the gingerbread man! The week before winter break, we carefully wrap each ornament in tissue and place in handmade gift bags....

Finding science activities that are conceptually appropriate for preschoolers can be a bit of a challenge for educators. The idea of science in the classroom can make us think of complex information beyond what our preschoolers are developmentally ready for. However, science doesn’t have to consist of big complications. The best way to incorporate science into early education is by simply letting preschoolers explore materials with their hands and allowing them to ask questions....

👉 Bonus! Scroll down towards bottom of this page to find free mitten alphabet upper and lowercase printables! One of the questions I hear often from other early childhood teachers is how can we teach preschoolers how to read. Really, it’s about exposing them to a print-rich environment and plenty of playful literacy activities. We do this all year long, changing some of them so they reflect the current season or theme....

Inside: How do you turn a pumpkin craft into a keepsake Halloween magnet? Come see how our 2 and 3 year olds had fun mixing colors to make something special to take home! We’ve been a bit pumpkin crazy in our classroom lately. But after last week’s pumpkin prints activity, we just sort of kept on going and ended up creating a pumpkin craft that turned into a keepsake magnet....

CLICK HERE for water activities! Kids love bubbles. In our toddler and preschool classrooms, bubbles are almost magical. Really! Add bubbly water to a sensory table and it makes the activity that much better. Blow bubbles outside and you will hear squeals of laughter. Right? Bubble fun activities are always a hit, so we use them often. Are bubbles a hit in your home or classroom, too? Bubble Painting: Make your own vibrant bubble paint and create fun art!...

Inside: Learning about bees can be filled with exploration. During our bug unit, our preschoolers had an opportunity to create honeycomb, taste honey, and play fun bee games! Preschoolers tend to think of bees as bugs that sting, something to fear when we are playing outdoors. During our bug theme, I decided to put together some fun activities that show how bees are very useful, such as when making honey....

Watch: How I Manage the Art Center This simple preschool watercolor art activity is not only fun, but it also strengthens the hands, getting them ready for writing! Using pipettes strengthens the pincer grasp, important for future writing skills. In this activity, we set the paper vertically so that the paint could drip down the paper, creating a waterfall effect. It was a huge hit with our preschoolers! It might seem like a challenge, but truly it can be so easy!...

Inside: Printable Valentine’s Day Learning Activities – 34 Pages for Toddlers and Preschoolers Looking for fun learning activities that can be added to your Valentine’s Day theme? We’ve put together 34 pages of Valentine’s Day learning activities that build a variety of skills for toddlers and preschoolers. These printables can be used in the classroom or at home! Work on counting and number recognition, letter recognition, fine motor, color skills, shapes … and more!...

Glitter. After talking to many parents and teachers, I realize there are 2 feelings about this tiny shiny stuff. You either love it or you really don’t like it. If you fall in the latter category, I’m not going to try to sell this activity to you. Unless you just skip the glitter altogether. That could work! But, just be warned, I’m going to mention glitter here, and share some glitter photos....

Inside: There are so many fun toddler and preschool penguin theme ideas! We not only made penguins, but we also explored them at the light table and the exploration table. We even had fun dancing like penguins! Free printables are included. After kicking off the winter season with our snow and ice theme, we move to the penguin theme. This is a fun time to explore not only penguins, but also black and white....

Inside: Put together a Valentine’s Day circle time color matching activity that is fun for toddlers and young preschoolers! We work a lot on color recognition in our two’s class throughout the school year, especially during circle time. For our Valentine’s Day theme I created a color matching activity using props from our Simple Rainbow Props Pack. This activity got each of the children engaged as we first recognized all of the colors and then, one by one, they matched their own heart to the one on the board....

Inside: Add some snowy fun to your winter dramatic play area, from ice skating to a snowy winter cabin. Fun playful ideas for toddlers and preschoolers! The silver lining of winter is the ability to get very cozy, whether in front of a fireplace or in a snowy cabin. Recreating these snug settings in your dramatic play area adds a little bit of winter coziness to your classroom. It can be difficult to think of winter theme ideas for the time between Christmas and Valentine’s Day, but these ten dramatic play ideas will be sure to inspire you to add some snowy fun to your learning!...

Click here to see other ways we add literacy to our classroom! Reading to toddlers and preschoolers often and providing a print-rich environment are both important for raising readers. While we don’t formally teach our 2 and 3 year olds how to read, we do provide activities that include the alphabet. These activities are all over the classroom, not just in the reading and writing area. Adding letters to our sensory bin is one of my favorites, and I’ve done it often....

When one of my neighboring teachers added new interior ideas to her classroom, I was immediately in love with the transformation. She and I have visited several Reggio Emilia-influenced schools and took an online class from Fairy Dust Teaching. During this class, we had the opportunity to explore various classroom interiors that paid close attention to detail, using natural materials in warm earth tones. We started swapping primary colors and plastic furniture for soft, natural colors and furniture made from wood....

A fruits and vegetables theme water play activity is perfect for toddlers (and preschoolers!). Water in the sensory table is always a favorite, especially when it’s warm with some bubbles. This hands-on activity is perfect while learning about healthy foods, and we had fun connecting it with our dramatic play farmers market. All that scrubbing is a fun way to work on fine motor skills, too! Some previous water play activities we’ve enjoyed:...

Inside: Looking for preschool stocking stuffers that will be used long after Christmas? This collection is not only educational, but they build skills and are fun! We love stocking stuffers, but with younger kids it can be a challenge to find items that aren’t candy or cheap plastic toys that will break. What are good preschool stocking stuffers that they will use and love? Obviously, being an early childhood educator, I prefer toys that are educational....

Inside: How to teach kindness in the preschool classroom is important, especially today when we need it the most. We add different fun and easy activities to our lesson plans that encourage the children to find the good in others, and treat them well. Learning how to teach kindness in the classroom is one of our most important jobs as teachers. From the moment our toddlers start their school year, we are working on teaching them how to care for others....

During our pond theme I wanted to make some sort of prop for my toddler circle time. I’ve mentioned in one of my most popular videos that props are one of the best ways to get toddlers engaged in circle time. When we made our Itsy Bitsy Spider puppets, our toddlers had so much fun holding them while singing the song. So I decided to have our toddlers make their own frog puppets that could be used while singing “Five Green Speckled Frogs”....

Inside: These free printable St. Patrick’s Day circle time props get toddlers and preschoolers engaged. Hold the shamrock sticks while singing songs and reading books! Get toddlers and preschoolers engaged during your St. Patrick’s Day theme circle time with these printable shamrock props. These little shamrock sticks can be used while reading books, reciting rhymes, and singing songs! Scroll towards the bottom of this page to find the link to the free download for your St....