Monday, April 30, 2012

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Tile Prints (Preschool Craft)




We had so much fun making tile prints that I think I should warn you:  you will enjoy the activity at least as much as your preschooler will!  You can make the prints as an artwork or let your child sign and date it and give it away as a Mother's Day present--the possibilities are endless!

We recently replaced our bathroom floor with tiles and had quite a few leftover tiles.  Tiles are wonderful to use with young children because they wipe off so easily and are relatively inexpensive--if you didn't just replace your floor you can purchase laminate tiles from a hardware store for under $1 each.  Keep them when you're done with this craft--there's more to come!

Simple Supplies for Tile Prints:
  • a tile for each child (and adult!)
  • paints and paintbrushes
  • print paper (white computer paper, watercolor paper, etc.)



The Easy How-To:

1- Paint the tile.  Let your child enjoy this process!  The tile is a unique texture and can be painted on with paintbrushes or fingers.  If you use any letters remember that the prints will come out in reverse.




2- Carefully press your print paper onto the painting.  Some children may need help making sure they don't slide their paper around.


3- Peel the artwork off the tile!  My kids loved each step, but this part was truly thrilling.  Everyone wanted to do it again!

When you're done, you can clean the tiles with a wet paper towel.

I did this with 1-5 year-old children, and they all loved it.  The 5-year old spent the most time and made the most pictures, but each child enjoyed it and was proud of their final products.  If you make some, I'd love to see what you did!


Have a wonderful week, and be sure to join us tomorrow for Teach Me Tuesday!




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Thursday, April 26, 2012

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Life-Size Maze

Does your preschooler like mazes? It's time to find out! Try this life-size maze with your kiddos! You can use books, toys, or more!



Turn your play room into a maze!  Even better, turn your whole house into a maze!  Mazes do wonderful things for your child's development, and actually building a maze pays off in even more ways!


Here are a few benefits from playing with mazes:
  • Mazes can enhance your child's spacial awareness and perception.
  • Solving mazes can improve your child's confidence and patience.
  • Focusing on mazes can sharpen your child's memory.
  • Concentrating on mazes can strengthen your child's problem-solving skills.
  • While paper mazes may increase your child's eye-hand and small muscle coordination, this life-size maze uses their large-muscles too!
  • Actually helping build the maze demands fun, new workouts from their quickly growing cognitive skills!



Making a Life-Size Maze
The supplies are simple--you can use books, jump-ropes, yarn, blankets, or anything else to create maze-like barriers.  You can identify the safe path in your mind or actually build it first.  Then add a few distracting paths.  Let your children help!  Even though they helped build this, my kids loved going through it.  I put some gold "pirate" coins at the end as a treasure and they were thrilled to "go on a hunt" through the maze.  After they knew the route, my preschoolers enjoyed taking my younger children though the maze so they could get their gold too, and then retracing their exact steps.  "Now, how did I get here?" and "Let's see if we can get out of this," were phrases I heard several times! 

Next time, I want to find a way to make walls they can't see over.  It will add a whole new dimension to the maze! 

Happy Educating,
Carla


Have you seen HEEP? It is a preschool homeschool curriculum! Learn more here!



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Tuesday, April 24, 2012

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Teach Me Tuesday (4-24-12)

Yay!  Teach Me Tuesday is here!!  I love coming to your blogs, pinning your posts and sharing them on Facebook, and getting ideas to use at home!  THANK YOU so much to everyone who linked up last week--you make this party great!

This week I'm making a change to the features...I think you'll like it!  Instead of featuring only the most clicked on posts, I'm going to choose some that I think will be most beneficial to you!  I will still include the most clicked on (because they are always awesome!), but I will also include a couple less-clicked on that are also awesome.  To make this work the best way possible, I'll be featuring four (instead of three) links today!  So, without further ado....I give you this week's features:  

Teach Me Tuesday at Preschool Powol Packets
<div align="center"><a href="http://PreschoolPowolPackets.blogspot.com" title="Teach Me Tuesday at Preschool Powol Packets" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1082.photobucket.com/albums/j368/cmg38/TeachMeTuesdayButton.jpg" alt="Teach Me Tuesday at Preschool Powol Packets" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Our features this week (a combination of most clicked-on and my choices) are:

Welcome to Liberty Hall shared this fizzy, fun Science Experiment, along with a few other experiments and a little honesty about blogging!  Check it out here!


Create With Ana Louisa Dziengel shared this neat way to incorporate smell, sight, and matching in a Smelling Game!  Check it out here!


Mama of Many Blessings shared this awesome Outer Space Sensory Bin! She included her supplies and learning activities they did with it!  Check it out here!


School Time Snippets shared lots of fun jelly fish activities, as well as a few other lessons in Fiar: Night of the Moon Jellies!  Check it out here!



Many thanks to these awesome ladies for sharing their great activities with us!  If you missed them last week, but sure to check them out!


Now, onto this week's Teach Me Tuesday linky party!

The guidelines are simple:

1- Link to your post, not your whole blog.  By linking up you are giving me permission to share a picture and link to your post.
2- Your post must be family-friendly.
3- Your post must somehow relate to education (this includes crafts, games, experiments, printables, recipes, essays, and anything else related to education!).
4- After you link up, visit some of the other links and let them know what you think!  Everybody likes to get feedback and know their post is appreciated!
5- This is optional, but I'd sure be grateful if you spread the word by posting the Teach Me Tuesday button (above) on your blog or post!  The party only gets better with more bloggers!
**Please make sure you picked up the button from Preschool Powol Packets, and not my old blog!**

That's it!  I can't wait to get to know you and see what you're up to!  Also, you're always welcome to follow me on GFC, Facebook, Google + or subscribe to my monthly newsletter (links are in the sidebar)!











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Monday, April 23, 2012

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Science Experiment: Make Colored Fire



If you're doing this science experiment with preschoolers, making colored fire is more of a demonstration that they get to help organize...see the safety precautions below for this science project!

Simple Supplies:
  • tissues or other flammable kindling
  • rubbing alcohol
  • powdered boric acid
  • long-handled lighter

Easy How-To:
  1. In a dark, well-ventilated area, pour some alcohol onto your kindling.
  2. Sprinkle boric acid on top of the alcohol.
  3. Use the lighter to carefully ignite the alcohol.
  4. If you want an extra splash of color as the alcohol and/or kindling burn, carefully sprinkle a little more boric acid on the flame!


A Few Notes on SAFETY:

1-- Alcohol is very flammable and fire is hot.  Please take the necessary precautions to keep your children safe.  Never let a child handle fire or lighters.  
2-- Make sure you perform this experiment outdoors or in a well-ventilated area.  Do not breathe fumes.
3-- If you do additional burning experiments with chemicals you are unfamiliar with, look up their MSDS to make sure they are safe.  NEVER mix or burn chemicals unless you are certain the result is safe.
4-- When you are done, be sure your fire is completely extinguished and there is no danger of it re-igniting.

If you are careful, this is a fun and memorable science experiment.  As I mentioned last week, my daughter has been very interested in experiments that explode, burn, and sparkle lately, so this is a natural step for her.  She actually brainstormed (and I helped her attempt) several other ways to get colored fire before I did this one for her.  She was most disappointed when food coloring did not yield the right color flame but was very happy with the way this one turned out.  Different chemicals release different amounts of energy, which results in different colored flames.  Children really enjoy choosing different items to burn and anticipating the results in this science project.  Just remember Safety Note #3 above!




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Friday, April 20, 2012

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Aluminum Foil Sculptures (Science Experiments, Art, and Language)



Science experiments, art, and language...here's one morning's adventures with aluminum foil!  

Language:  We started the aluminum foil boat-making started with a poetry lesson from my free Poetry Unit for Preschoolers. It also took a bit of practice for the kids to be able to say "aluminum!"


Art: Everyone designed their own boats!  Then, they moved on to create many of their own ideas, including crystals, jewels, statues, animals, people, and Pokemon.

Science:  The science experiment options with aluminum foil boats are endless!  My kids predicted whether or not their boats would float and then tested them!  Their science project included making boats of different sizes and shapes.  They also tested other objects while we talked about floating and sinking.  They experimented to see what would happen when they placed a rock that sank inside a boat that did not sink.  They experimented to see how many rocks a boat could hold.  And, they felt the difference in wet and dry aluminum foil.





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Thursday, April 19, 2012

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Science Experiment: "Sparkly Explosion!"



My daughter has been requesting science experiments that explode, sparkle, and use fire!  I love child-led learning because it helps cultivate a love for education and skills to learn independently in the future.  Science projects like this can also be a form of assessment because you can see exactly how your child is processing the information you have already taught.  This little gem is completely my daughter's creation, but we all loved it.  I hope you have as much fun with it as we did!  And don't worry--I have several more fiery experiments and demonstrations to put up soon!



Simple Supplies for a "Sparkly Explosion:"
  • vase
  • baking soda
  • vinegar
  • food coloring (we used neon red in the first picture and regular red in the rest)
  • blue glitter (this is very important, though you can use any color)
  • other supplies--see step 4. 
  • pan to contain the mess

The Easy How-To:
  1. Place 2-3 Tablespoons baking soda in the bottom of the vase.  Put the vase in the pan.
  2. Add 6-7 drops of food coloring and 1-2 teaspoons of glitter.
  3. Quickly pour in about 1/2 cup vinegar.  Watch for the sparkles!
  4. When the action is over, repeat the experiment, but this time let your child choose other supplies to add.  What does pepper look like in the "explosion?"  Does salt change anything?  Dishsoap? What about spaghetti noodles?  Remember this is not a demonstration, it is an experiment!  Let your child change the variables, predict what will happen, and enjoy the results!   





Explanation:
At some point during a science experiment like this, I review with my children that baking soda and vinegar react to make the explosion.  Older children can understand that baking soda is a base and vinegar is an acid and mixing acids and bases makes a reaction.  They can also base their science projects in Step 4 on this knowledge.  My children are old enough to know that some things react when you mix them together.







Happy Educating, Carla

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Tuesday, April 17, 2012

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Teach Me Tuesday (4-17-12)

Teach Me Tuesday is here!!  Woo hoo!  I love visiting your blogs and seeing what you're doing!  I really appreciate everyone who shares their ideas here!  This is a great big THANK YOU to everyone who linked up last week--you make this party great!  As usual, we'll start the most clicked on links from last week-- If you're featured, feel free to grab the button from the right sidebar!

Teach Me Tuesday at Preschool Powol Packets
<div align="center"><a href="http://PreschoolPowolPackets.blogspot.com" title="Teach Me Tuesday at Preschool Powol Packets" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1082.photobucket.com/albums/j368/cmg38/TeachMeTuesdayButton.jpg" alt="Teach Me Tuesday at Preschool Powol Packets" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Our features this week (the most clicked on links from last week) are:

Teaching My Blessings shared some fun and low-preparation Easter and Spring ideas and activities!  Check them out here!


School Time Snippets shared this creative Tic Tac Toe idea for a chore chart!  Check it out here!


Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational shared a Step-by-Step on how she and her son made this awesome Button Solar System!  Check it out here




Many thanks to these awesome ladies for sharing their great activities with us!  If you missed them last week, but sure to check them out!


Now, onto this week's Teach Me Tuesday linky party!

The guidelines are simple:

1- Link to your post, not your whole blog.  By linking up you are giving me permission to share a picture and link to your post.
2- Your post must be family-friendly.
3- Your post must somehow relate to education (this includes crafts, games, experiments, printables, recipes, essays, and anything else related to education!).
4- After you link up, visit some of the other links and let them know what you think!  Everybody likes to get feedback and know their post is appreciated!
5- This is optional, but I'd sure be grateful if you spread the word by posting the Teach Me Tuesday button (above) on your blog or post!  The party only gets better with more bloggers!
**Please make sure you picked up the button from Preschool Powol Packets, and not my old blog!**

That's it!  I can't wait to get to know you and see what you're up to!  Also, you're always welcome to follow me on GFC, Facebook, Google + or subscribe to my monthly newsletter (links are in the sidebar)!












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Sunday, April 15, 2012

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A "Frightening Conclusion"



Today I am guest posting in the Lesson Learned series at H is for Homeschooling.  I'm sharing a personal lesson I've learned (and re-learned many times!) in parenting and teaching, and why this quote is so meaningful to me!  I'd love to know what you think!




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Friday, April 13, 2012

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{FREE} A Poetry Unit for Preschoolers




April is National Poetry Month, and I am so excited to share this {FREE} Poetry Unit for Preschoolers with you!!  

Preschoolers have a wonderful sense of language and it is incredibly fun to share poetry with them.

I used Shel Silverstein's Where the Sidewalk Ends as a text and chose 10 poems from it to form the basis for 10 poetry lessons.  Each lesson refers to a poem (so it helps a lot to have access to that book), includes an activity suggestion, and instructions for a writing project (mostly poems).  You can use all the lessons, or just a couple!

This unit also works well for older children (up to about Grade 3).  These children will not require the same amount and type of instruction as preschoolers will, but may still enjoy the poetry and activities.  These lessons can also be adapted for older toddlers!

You can download your own copy {FREE} here!

You are welcome to share this file, but please link back to this blog post and not just the file.  Thanks so much!

As always, I'd love to know what you think!  If you post about your family using the file and send me a link, I'd love to include the link on this post too!

Happy National Poetry Month!




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Wednesday, April 11, 2012

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30 Earth Day Ideas for Preschoolers


 

Earth Day is April 22nd, so I thought I would post a list of fun ideas you could do with preschoolers to help them learn more about their planet and appreciate the ways we benefit from it!  I have plans for several of these ideas and will link to them as I post about our activities.  If you do anything on this list, I'd love to have you share the link in a comment or email, and I will add a link to your post after the list.  One thing I love about Earth Day is that we live on Earth all year, so if you don't have time to celebrate on April 22nd, there's no reason not to on any other day of the year.  If you have any more ideas or suggestions, I'd love to hear those too!

Ready?  Here we go!


30 EARTH DAY IDEAS FOR PRESCHOOLERS:
  1. Make your own paper!
  2. Make an artwork using recycled markers or paints. 
  3. Have a Recycle Day!  Talk about how recycling works, gather up materials to recycle, and dump them in the recycle bin.  If you don't get curbside recycling, take a trip to a drop-off location and deposit your recyclables there (schools and grocery stores often have recycle bins).
  4. Start a compost!
  5. Plant a vegetable you can eat.  Even better, start a whole garden! 
  6. Learn what happens when you throw things away.  Where are the landfills in your area?  Make a Diagram showing what happens to trash.  Find out how long it takes different kinds of trash to decompose.
  7. Plant or prune a tree!
  8. Go on a Trash Walk at the park.  Pick up any trash you see and throw it away.  Remember to wear gloves. 
  9. Make your own paint!
  10. Use unwanted catalogs or old magazines to make a craft or paper mache project.
  11. Make a doll dress out of an old shirt.
  12. Donate gently worn clothes to a thrift store.
  13. Cook something outside using solar energy!
  14. Find out how you get electricity--where does it come from?
  15. Visit a garden center!
  16. Make a leaf collection!
  17. Learn about flowers that grow naturally in your area.  Find and identify one.  Press it.  Use it in a craft.  
  18. Learn what natural resources are.  What is the difference in renewable resources and non-renewable resources?  Visit a mine.
  19.   Calculate your ecological footprint at http://www.earthday.org/footprint-calculator.  What ways can you conserve natural resources?  Be careful with this (and any Earth Day activities) if you have a sensitive child.  There's a difference between helping a child appreciate a carpool and making them worry about non-renewable resources. 
  20. Learn what kinds of wild birds are in your area.  
  21. Set up a bird-feeder or bird bath!
  22. Learn how to cook a new meal from scratch.
  23. Use a bus or train to go somewhere!
  24. Visit a farm.
  25. Visit a nature reserve.
  26. Learn about the wild animals that live in your area.
  27. Dissect a seed and identify the parts inside it!  
  28. Create a Seed Display showing different types of seeds and how they spread.
  29. Join a local organization for an Earth Day project.
  30. Learn and diagram where your water comes from.



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