Penguin Math

This was an old Math Their Way activity that I used years ago.  I used some dried lima beans and spray painted them black on one side.  The result was a bean with one side black and one side white.  During this small group activity, children worked on counting and tallying the results of the game.  Each child had between 3-10 "penguins" in their cup.  They shook the cup and then spilled them out on the table.  They counted how many black ones they had and how many white they had.  Then they made marks on each side of their recording sheet to reflect their results. 

It was fun to see the various abilities of my students shine through in this activity.  Some could complete the entire activity independently.  Some needed help recording their findings.  Others needed help counting and recording their findings.  Some students just enjoyed shaking and dumping and counting their penguins.  This is a great activity that can be used with children at all levels!

Keep it Popping!

One of the biggest hits this winter was the day I brought in the air popper and let the popcorn pop all over the place.  We put a blanket on the ground and all gathered around.  Many of the children had never seen an air popper before.  They were used to having popcorn from the microwave.  I explained to them the effect of the heat from the popper and they used all their senses as they observed what happened next!

They were captivated as they watched the kernnels pop here and there and change as they reacted to the heat!  As soon as it was done, guess what they said..."Can we do it again?"  And of course, the answer was "YES!" 

I couldn't believe how much they enjoyed eating the popcorn when it finished popping.  It didn't have any salt or butter on it!  They were so intrigued about what they had experienced, they couldn't wait to eat it!

Ice Play

It has been an unusually mild winter around here.  There has been very little snow and the temperature feels more like spring that winter.  It has been interesting talking and learning about winter while you barely need a jacket outside!
This week, we used some heart-shaped ice cube trays to make colored ice for the discovery tubs.  We also used some ice tubes that were from a tray I got at the Dollar Tree.  We added a drop or two of liquid water color to each tray of ice before they were frozen. 

We added some tools like tongs, scoops, and cups for them to use as they explored the ice. 

Some of the kids discovered that the ice made their hands different colors as it began to melt.  We got some paper and explored what would happen if we used the ice to color on paper.  They even tried using the tongs to hold the ice while the were writing.  What great hand strengthening activities!

Reserved Parking Only: Parking Lot Playmat

We made this parking lot to use in our block center the last few weeks.  We used a large piece of brown felt for the pavement.  The colored spaces are parking spots for the cars.  Each parking spot is made of felt.  We guided the children in matching their cars to the space that was "reserved" for that color car.  We added the corkscrew racetrack as a "parking garage" at one end of our parking lot.  This was very easy to make.  The hardest part was squeezing the Tacky Glue out of the tube!

Math Trays for Multi-Age Preschool

One of the challenges we face in our program is the multiple ages and developmental levels of the children we serve.  We constanly strive to meet the learning needs of all the children in appropriate ways.  One activity that we have started doing this year is math trays.  I found these baskets at Target for $1 each.  Everyday as the children arrive they complete their arrival routine and then find their tray on the table with activites that are appropriate for them.  At arrival time, we focus on math readiness skills.  This particular week we were focusing on counting skills. 

This pink tray is a ice stick tray from the Dollar Tree.  We used a permanent marker to write a numeral in each slot.  The child is then given a small manipulative (buttons in this case) to count into each slot.

This child has the written numeral as well as a visual cue to help them count the correct number of tokens for each square.  The children also enjoy playing with their manipulatives and have some free exploration time while they are working at the tables as everyone arrives and gets settled for the day.

This child is using the same tokens as the child above, but he is focusing on color sorting.  He is using a wooden tray that I found at the Dollar Tree to sort each color and give him the visual cues he needs to help him make the groups.  You just never know what fun tools you'll find at the dollar store!  The nice thing about all of these materials is that they can be used over and over in multiple ways.

As you can see in some of the pictures, we have dry erase boards and markers in each basket as well.  One of the things the children do when they arrive is practice writing their name.  According to their developmental level, they may just be making lines or working on the first letter of their name.  Some children are working on fine tuning their hand writing skills for kindergarten and beginning to write their last name as well.  I found those little dry erase boards 2/$1 at Target before school started this year.  We needed something to erase with and we found some little gloves in the classroom that weren't being used so those are our erasers.  One board and one marker fits nicely into the glove for safe keeping.  The children also enjoy trying on the gloves and it is great fine motor practice for them to try getting all their fingers in the correct holes. 

Ten in the Bed

When I was a child I remember my family snuggling in my mom  and dad's bed and playing this game.  We would say, "There were 5 in the bed and the little one said, 'Roll over'".  Slowly but surely each family member would roll out of the bed until finally only one remained.  It is such a fond memory, that I enjoy sharing this song with my preschoolers as often as I can.
These are little dolls that I made using colored clothes pins.  I simply drew on a face and glued on some yarn for hair.  I used a small piece of extra material for a blanket to cover them up.  As we sang the song as a class, each child had a chance to come up and roll one of the dolls out of bed.  They loved it and these little clothes pins were just prefect for rolling!

After several readings of the book Ten in the Bed we also took an opportunity to act out the story with our classmates.  The children all snuggled up under a quilt that I brought from home and slowly but surely they rolled out of the "bed" until the final child said, "goodnight."  It is a hit for sure!

As a part of our Night-time theme we also enjoyed several readings and activities with the Five Little Monkeys books by Eileen Cristalow.  The activity below was a class favorite!  We used a small basket with a picture of a bed and small monkey finger puppets to "bounce" while we repeated the rhyme.  At the end of the rhyme the child would give the basket an extra "bounce" and see how many monkeys fell out of the bed.  It was a great opportunity to squeeze in some math concepts by discussing how many monkeys remained in the bed.

At the end of the week, our speech therapist came in and did more "monkeying around" with the preschoolers and made a special monkey snack with the children.  They loved their little monkeys!  The were almost as much fun to make as they were to eat!

The base of the head is a mini pancake that was warmed up in the microwave.  They added some chocolate frosting "fur".  The ears are mini vanilla wafers and the nose/mouth is another vanilla wafer with a little piece broken off.  The eyes are m&m's and the smile is gel frosting.

The Napping House

Throughout the month of January we have been enjoying stories and activities that have to do with Night Time.  This week, the preschoolers really enjoyed the story The Napping House by Audry Wood.  After introducing the story we added some story props to act out the story.  

We used my old lady from "The Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly" to represent granny.  The baby doll represents the child, then we used beanie babies for the dog and cat.  On top there is a "catnip mouse" topped off by a flee.  The flee is actually a plastic bed bug from the board game "Bed Bugs".  The first time we acted out the story using a doll bed as the bed.  Each child got the opportunity to choose a character and follow directions to place it directionally around the bed (in, under, beside, behind, etc).  The next day we used a big blanket and stacked all the characters on the blanket.  When the flee bit the mouse, we all pulled on the blanket to send the characters flying into the air just like in the story!  In our final reading of the story, each child had the opportunity to pretend that they were granny and we stacked all the characters on top of them until they were awakened by the flee!

These pictures were in the Preschool Mailbox Magazine several years ago.  We used them throughout the week to help us introduce and retell the story.  Next week they will be placed in the reading center along with word cards for the children to continue retelling the story.  The stuffed characters from above will be placed in the pretend play center for the children to continue retelling the story in that area as well.

Teaching Kindness...It's Like Magic

I was at my favorite store this week, Target, and low and behold found another treasure in the $ Spot!  As a part of Conscious Discipline, we encourage children to look for ways to be helpful/kind.  I found this little Valentine Tree with heart shaped ornaments and knew right away that it was the perfect "Kindness Tree"!

Whenever someone in our house does something helpful/kind we notice it and then put a heart on the tree.  We would say somthing like this:  "You hung your coat on the hook so you could find it when we are ready to leave.  That was helpful!"  Then you put the heart on the tree.
The morning after we began using this Kindness Tree, my 10 year old son came to me and said, "What do we get when the tree is full?"  You see, in the past we have used systems where our children worked to fill a jar with marbles and then we rewarded them with  toys or a special family activity.  When he came to me with his question, my initial response in my head was "oh no, what do I say?"  Then I took a deep breath and responded like this.  "When we fill up our Kindness Tree you get to enjoy the feeling of living in a connected family where everyone cares deeply about each other and lives in harmony...just like a really pretty song."  He thought for a moment then said, "Well, I think we will have it full by tonight!"  He proceeded to go over and begin making his SISTER'S (and his) sandwiches for lunch that day.  He has never done that before and he did it with such a spirit of love and deep caring for his sister.  He even asked her what she wanted on her sandwich!   It's working already!
For more information about Conscious Discipline go to http://www.consciousdiscipline.com/

Making Commitments

This week I began teaching my first Conscious Discipline class for parents.  As a part of our "Brain Smart Start" we make a commitment.  Since Conscious Discipline is a journey, I chose to use the vehicles to represent each of the class participants.  They chose their preferred "mode of transportation", read the commitment for the evening, and then safely placed their symbol in the box.  You could do the same type of thing in your classroom or home.  This is a great way to help you and your children set goals and work toward achieving them!  

    I found these vehicle erasers at Target in the $ Spot.  The box was one I had at home and I printed out the road map to decorate the top.  Conscious Discipline gives us skills we need to safely "travel" through life learning how to handle our upset and passing those skills along to our children. We learn to discipline out of love rather than fear. This helps us establish ourselves as the "Safe Keeper" and define our new job to our children.
    At home, a commitment you might make with your children would be:  "I am going to put my dishes in the sink after dinner."  "I am going to get out of bed the first time the alarm goes off."  At school you might make a commitment such as:  "I am going to raise my hand to answer one question today."  "I am going to use my listening ears."   At the end of the day or at the end of class, we go back to our commitments and reflect on whether we did it or need to try again tomorrow.
    For more information about Conscious Discipline go to http://www.consciousdiscipline.com/.  The concepts of Brain Smart Start, Conscious Discipline, and Safe Keeper are used with permission from the Loving Guidance Inc.