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Preschool activities and crafts with an exploration
fun theme!
Keep
the good times rolling for your preschooler!
August
2005 - Issue 17
Quote Of The Month After all these years, I am still
involved in the process of self-discovery. It's better to explore life and make
mistakes than to play it safe. Mistakes are part of the dues one pays for a full
life.
~ Sophia Loren Return to
top
Editorial
There is no better time then right now to go out exploring with your child!
As a matter of fact, that's just what I'm getting ready to do as soon as I get
this issue online. With school starting in just a couple of weeks, I want
to make the most of our daylight hours and relaxed days. So the kids and hubby
and I are headed out to Starved Rock State Park for an overnight campout and some
canyon exploration. But it doesn't really matter if you have the time to
explore away from your home or outside of your home. There is plenty to explore
right where you are! In a world where our children are offered almost constant
stimulation, through television and video games, battery operated toys and electronic
books, many children don't really know how to use their senses. It's our job as
parents and caregivers to make sure that they do. Be sure to read this month's
featured article, "Sensory Science", for some great ideas. Okay,
time for me to go and play! Have a wonderful month exploring the world around
you. You might just find yourself seeing the same old things in a new and younger
light.
Mari
Return to
top
Reading Rocks! Recommendations
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Rainy Day Play Ever find yourself with time on your hands and
no ideas for your youngsters? With this book on your shelf, you will have no end
to creative fun! With 64 activities organized into 10 different categories,
you'll have a boatload of activities at your fingertips. From solitary activities,
such as "Cozy Corner Play" to group activities, outdoor fun and much,
much more! | | | | What Pete Ate from A-Z: Where We Explore
the English Alphabet (In Its Entirety) in Which a Certain Dog Devours a Myriad
of Items Which He Should Not You would not believe the things this dog
Pete puts in his stomach. An accordion, for starters. Then an eggbeater, a glue
stick, Mrs. Parsley's pink pocketbook, and cousin Rocky's underpants. ("Uggh!")
Pete's faithful mistress, Poppy Wise, is at her wit's end. And yet, she can't
help loving that dog. ("Quite a lot.") So, from A to Z (in a loose, meandering
way), Poppy inventories her insatiable pooch's intake, with loads of parenthetical
asides, witty commentary, and an unforgettable cast of characters. Maira Kalman,
zany and talented source of Next Stop Grand Central, Ooh-la-la (Max in Love),
and other exquisitely quirky picture books, uses the alphabet as a framework for
what is truly an ode to a well-loved if incorrigible--dog. Her spectacularly rich
gouache paintings are just the thing to illustrate this linguistic playpen. Read
this one aloud—-kids and adults alike will sit enthralled. Reviewer: Emilie
Coulter (Amazon.com) | Return
to top
Kid Rock
"Party In The Spotlight" Dora The Explorer It's fun to explore
and no one knows that better than Dora! Invite Dora to your party and help her
search for gifts and discover things along the way! This party may include
the following songs:
- Dora the Explorer Theme
- Backpack, Backpack!
- I'm the Map
- Travel Song
- Chicken Dance
- I Love My Boots
- Let's
All Move Like the Animals Do
- Swiper, No Swiping!
- When You Grow Up What
Will You Be?
Reserve your party date today! Email to parties@rockitkids.com or call
us at 847-961-6584. Return to top
Craft Of The Month Sensory Bottle Materials:
- small plastic pop bottle
- baby oil
- water
- glitter,
beads, confetti, etc.
- funnel
- pitcher of water
Instructions:
- Clean bottle.
- Using a funnel, fill bottle with various
colors of glitter, beads, confetti or anything that looks interesting to the child.
- Pour water into the bottle, about 1/4 of the way.
- Add an ounce
or two of the baby oil.
- Seal the top of the bottle.
- Your child
can now manipulate the bottle to create all kinds of wonderful floating pictures!
Return to top
Having a party? Don't forget to invite Kid Rock! If you are in our
neighborhood, we happily provide stress-free, interactive children's party entertainment
for any function. Or, make it a Kid Rock day no matter where you live, with our
perfectly assembled gift bags and party favors! Visit the official Kid Rock
website at http://www.rockitkids.com/
for more information!
Snack Of The Month Yummy
Dirt Ingredients: - Chocolate pudding mix
- 2 small
Ziploc bags
- milk
- 3 chocolate sandwich cookies (like Oreos)
- cup
- gummy
worms
Instructions: - Put three tablespoons of chocolate
pudding mix in a Ziploc bag.
- Add a small amount of milk and let your child
squish it around to make pudding.
- Cut the tip off the bag and let your
child squeeze it into the cup.
- Crush 3 sandwich cookies in another bag.
- Pour
the cookie crumbles on top of the pudding in cup.
- Add a couple gummy worms
and it's ready to eat!
There is a lot of sensory exploration that
goes on with this snack! Make sure you use this to your advantage and ask your
preschooler questions, such as: What does it feel like to mush the pudding
in the bag?
Is it cold or warm?
How does the pudding smell?
What sound
do the cookies make when they are being broken up?
What colors do you see?
What do the gummy worms feel like?
Are they stretchy?
How does it taste?
Do you think REAL dirt tastes yummy? (Be sure to say NO!!) You get the idea! Make
sure you make one of these for yourself, too. They look terrible, but are really
a delicious treat! Return to top
Music Rocks! Recommendations
|
Classical Music for Children A wonderful selection of classical
music! I bought this one, then started searching for the other CD's in the series.
My 6-year-old daughter LOVES it & I often play it when she's not home. (I even
took it to work for a few weeks & my officemates all commented on the collection
of songs -- there's something on here for everyone to enjoy!) This is the kind
of classical music that makes you tap your foot & hum along -- it's familiar &
fun -- a great collection of songs. Reviewer: "mamabird9" (Dayton, OH United
States) | | | | The Classical Child at the Opera
All I can say is my family LOVES this CD! We have a blast singing along, dancing,
etc. It's made opera a new discovery for all of us. Reviewer: A music fan
(Bolingbrook, IL USA) | Return
to top
Motor Activity
Of The Month Five Senses
(Can be sung to the tune of "Where
is Thumbkin") Five senses, five senses (hold up 5 fingers)
We
have them. We have them. (clap)
Seeing, hearing, touching, (point to eyes,
ears, wiggle fingers)
Tasting and smelling. (point to mouth, nose)
There
are five. There are five. (hold up 5 fingers) Return
to top
Special Guest
Article Sensory Science
By Vanessa Rasmussen, © 2004, All
rights reserved.
Website: http://www.startingadaycarecenter.com Young
children learn best when they can experience new things with all of their senses.
Preschoolers need to see, hear, feel, touch, smell, and sometimes even taste a
learning material in order to really understand it fully. A keen sense of observation
is essential for successful learning. The following ideas will encourage
children to use their senses and help them develop confidence about the world
around them:
- Buy touch and feel books or scratch and sniff for
her first reading material.
- Mix up pudding or other creamy
foods to use as finger paint in writing numbers and words. Or help her create
letters out of bread dough.
- Use Cheerios, raisins, or peanuts
as counters for doing simple math activities.
- Help awaken early
scientific exploration through natural multi-sensory experiences, such as cooking,
building dams and forts, and water play.
- Encourage language
experiences through drama and dress-up activities.
- Make animal
sounds such as that of a cat, dog, sheep, cow, pig and so on and encourage the
children to make animal sounds and identify and draw the animal whose sound they've
heard on a piece of paper.
- Teach children how flowers grow
by planting a flower or any other plant in a pot and watering it and nourishing
it regularly.
- Leaf painting is not only educative it is also
a lot of fun! Put a paper flat on the table and then put a leaf under the paper.
After you've done that, use the crayon to shade the print of the leaf on the paper.
If you are using paint, you put the leaf in the paint and then print in on the
paper.
- Teach children about ice and water. All you need is
some ice cubes and a plate. Show children some ice cubes and let them touch it.
Talk about how they feel, soft, hard, cold, hot and so on. Keep it aside and watch
it slowly turning into water. Keep asking questions and devote a good amount of
time to letting the children come up with answers.
- Preschool
children often engage in finger painting. But for this preschool activity children
will use sensory motor and problem solving skills as they paint with their feet.
Prepare the painting area in advance by carefully taping a long sheet of mural/craft
paper to the floor. Surround the mural paper with taped down newspaper. Take the
time to make sure all paper is taped down securely. Mix tempera paint with liquid
detergent and pour it on the sponge cloths. Next, place a tub of warm soapy water
at one end of the mural paper. At the other end, place flat pans lined with thin
moistened sponge cloths so that the kids won't slip on paint and also won't have
too much paint on their feet. Encourage children to dip their feet in the paint
and walk/dance on the mural paper. Suggest interesting ideas like painting with
toes, walking on tiptoes, trying to draw a circle with toes and so on.
- While talking with young children about the different foods they like
encourage them to use words like sweet, sour, salty and bitter to describe the
foods. Bring samples of food like Lemon wedges and lemonade, candy, potato chips
and unsweetened cocoa and let the kids guess the taste.
- Put
an unbreakable mirror in the class room and invite children to see their reflection.
Talk about what a reflection is and in which shiny items children have seen themselves,
such as metal appliances (toasters or toaster ovens), windows, metal spoons, foil
or water. Together find examples of reflections.
- Finally, provide
lots of art supplies including clay, paints, and paste-up materials, so that your
child can unfold her deeper creative capacities.
Copyright 2001, 2004. All rights reserved. Any reproduction of this article
in whole or in part without written or verbal permission is strictly prohibited.
For information about reprinting this article, contact the copyright owner: Vanessa
Rasmussen, Ph.D, Starting a Day Care Center, http://www.startingadaycarecenter.com.
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Mari Peckham
RockItTimes@rockitkids.com
IPRA "Outstanding
Teacher of the Year" Award Recipient
Publishing Editor, Rock-It Times RockIt
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