A delightful preschool experience
“Of all the forms of water the tiny six-pointed crystals of ice called snow are incomparably the most beautiful and varied.” — Wilson Bentley (1865-1931) Make learning about science “cool” by inviting your students to make their very own shimmering snowflakes at the light table. This is a fantastic way to introduce a winter lesson…
Our preschoolers need lots of opportunities to practice writing in ways that are developmentally appropriate. Sometimes we practice writing the letters of the alphabet in salt trays and, of course, we always practice writing our names. Another way that our students like to practice is with dry erase markers. We made these Alphabet Practice pages to…
Last year, our neck of the woods got a ton of snow. Fifteen snow days, to be exact. I lost track of the number of delays. This year there hasn’t been a flake of snow in the sky, so we have to do a lot of winter art to make up for it! Sparkly Snow Paint…
A “Cool” Way to Paint! Penguins Love Colors by Sarah Aspinall explores what happens when six little penguins, tired of living in a world of snowy white, take matters into their own hands and give their Mama a colorful surprise! This book expands preschoolers’ color knowledge by tying each color to a different flower (which also…
The dramatic play area is the center of our classroom community. So much fun, hands-on learning takes place there! We love to set it up with simple themes, like a restaurant, and elaborate themes, like this cookie shop bakery. But, at its basic level, the dramatic play area is a kitchen where preschoolers engage in…
It’s no secret that we love creative dramatic play, and sincerely believe it is one of the best ways for children to learn and grow in preschool. Our basic dramatic play set-up is a housekeeping center, but we like to change it for a week or 2 every month to keep things exciting. Here are 16…
February is Dental Health month, but this dental health art project is perfect for any time of the year when your students need a little extra reminder about brushing their teeth! Sometimes the simplest projects are the best, right? For this one, we printed a tooth outline (print your own at the bottom of the…
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…
If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you already know how much we love our dramatic play center, right? Well, we’re trying a new theme this month and I am over-the-moon excited to share it with you. It is one of those centers that is so fun and complex that the students play with…
What is the most important sign of a high quality classroom? Is it the books? The art supplies? The cleanliness? How about the methodology? Lesson plans? Organic home-made snacks? I’ll tell you a secret: It’s not any of those things. But it is something that will not cost you a single penny. You won’t have…