A delightful preschool experience
Preschoolers love reading fairy tales! There’s something so exciting to a 4-year-old about having a “bad guy” in the story and they just can’t seem to get enough of it. We love to do an entire fairy tale unit where we study 1 fairy tale each week. I introduce it during circle time, and then…
Beginning color theory is all about mixing colors to obtain new shades. As children are naturally attracted to bright colors, the light table is an exciting tool to help them understand color theory! It’s a bright and beautiful world, and children love bold colors. Recognizing the colors and identifying the color names is an important…
What is better than a color theory experiment? A color theory experiment that includes chemistry and fine motor skills to boot! This fizzy rainbow activity is an excellent (and easy!) way to present all 3 things to your preschoolers. Give each student a shallow tray of baking soda. Allow them time to explore it with their senses–…
We are always looking for new and exciting ways to practice fine motor skills in preschool. Lacing and sewing are super for helping to strengthen those little muscles and improve hand-eye coordination. The invitation to play at this center was simple: a bowl full of large, colorful buttons, sheets of plastic canvas and lacing cords…
We love any art project that is process-based, and can be transformed into something fridge-worthy that we can send home. This Rain & Wind Process Art project is the perfect example. The kids made so many observations about the paint as they worked, so it turned out to be a good science experiment and oral…
One of the main goals of preschool literacy instruction is to teach young children the alphabet. For some children, this comes very easily and naturally but for many others, it takes a lot of time, energy, and practice. It is tempting to think that sit-down practice with paper and pencil is the best way for our…
Preschool is a fantastic time for hands-on learning. And nothing is more hands-on than finger-painting! Part science project, part artistic expression, and part sensory experience, this activity gives students first-hand experience with the science of color theory. Setting Up for Success Art smocks are a must. It’s best to not have to worry about the…
You might know that we really, really, love the Dramatic Play center. By changing it regularly from the basic Home Living center to other scenarios we give our students the opportunity to take on different roles. Since it’s the beginning of the year and we are just exiting survival mode and moving toward real playing and learning, we…
The dramatic play center is the perfect place for young children to “play to learn”. Our basic home living center is a kitchen, with play food, dishes, babies, dress-up clothes, and a phone. For a week or two each month we transform it into something extra special. This Sandwich Shop is a great one to…
Whenever we set up a new Dramatic Play Theme in our Home Living center, it’s important that we have 1 “Centerpiece” prop… something that really makes the area enticing and special for the students. When Super-Gemma and I were setting up this Taco Stand Mexican Restaurant, she had the brilliant idea to create a Soda…