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WATER DOTS
On a "messy tray", provide colored water (BioColors), eye droppers and a turned over bath mat. Children drip and mix colors. This activity encourages fine motor skills and scientific inquiry. |
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SORTING INDIAN CORN
Children enjoy using their fine motor skills to pick kernels out of the corn ears and their emerging math skills to sort them. The kernels give some resistance which makes it a nice activity for building finger and hand strength needed for later writing skills.
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Raising Monarch Butterflies
Children watch the lifecycle of the butterflies first hand in their classroom. We grow milkweed in our garden to keep them fed and enjoy releasing our mature monarchs! |
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Cracked Corn in the Sensory Table
It doesn't always have to be sand or water! Frequently changing materials in the sensory table keeps children interested in going there. Some of our favorites are: cracked corn, dried beans, colored rice, saw dust, hay, gravel, jewels, ice blocks, foam shapes and in the winter, . . . snow!
More sensory table activities
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| Two artists at the easel . . . creates opportunities for discussion amongst peers. |
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Cornstarch and Water
Add a few drops of coloring after it's made. Let the children work the color in themselves and observe the changes. |
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| Clip boards throughout the classroom provide children with writing opportunities in a variety of settings. |
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Need to spice up your painting area? Try dried pasta (or marbles or pennies . . .) inside a nylon! These bouncy balls not only make a great painting tool but are full of sensory experiences as well . . . movement, sound, texture, and weight to name a few. |
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| Here teachers froze water balloons then paired them with regular ones for a chilly float and sink experiment. |
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Using natural elements for sorting and counting give children an abundance of variables to choose from. The example shown is mixed nuts, but it could be stones, indian corn or seeds. |
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Drawing a still life.
Paired with the Van Gogh still life Sunflowers, our real sunflower was the model for some budding artists. This approach lets children know that artists sometimes use models for their work. Try it with your favorite painting.
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Gardening
In addition to the many science lessons to be learned, gardening provides a wonderful opportunity to engage in conversations with young children. |
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SUNFLOWERS |
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(Above left ) Children like things big! And it didn't get any bigger than the mammoth sunflowers in our garden this year. Children became interested in height and measurement, how tall, how big are the leaves, how many petals? When they had finished blooming the sunflower heads were brought inside for closer observation. (Above) This teacher paired the flower head with a book the class had read about sunflowers. (left) This flower head was left to naturally dry on the science table. Children observed the changes that happened over time. |
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