Preschool Winter Theme ~ Wednesday

Preschool Winter Theme

We are learning about some Polar animals today. We used our Tangram Patterns to make a Penguin. You can download your own Tangram here and here.

We also went "Ice Fishing" using our Fishing Busy Bag. You can download your own fish pattern here.

He also felt a little musical today. Here, making his debut is the One-Man Band.

He was having such a good time. Sometimes, noisy = priceless. 

We also did some reading today: Penguins, Penguins Everywhere and And Tango Makes Three. After we finish The Fantastic Mr. Fox, we may start Mr. Poppers Penguins.

Busy Bag Ideas - Playdoh with Mats

Cherry Pie Mat

Face Mat

Playdoh Fun Factory

Playdoh is fun for everyone!

   We don't play with playdoh often. It can be very messy. When we do, it is played with for a long time and it is worth the clean up. Last night, I went to Walgreens to get batteries. I knew they would have some leftover Valentines on sale, but I had no idea they would put some toys on clearance. I love a good clearance sale. They had this large playdoh set for $4. I also got a few things to put in their Easter baskets.
   He had so much fun playing playdoh, he even thought of what he wanted to be when he grows up. He wants to be a "gingerbread man giver-outer". That's right, he had so much fun making gingerbread men he wants to make a career out of it.
(I couldn't keep the big kids away from the table, but everyone needs to have a little break from school.)

                                                            Busy Time: 1 hour

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Make your own Rainbow Macaroni

What you need: 2 Tbs of alcohol, 3 drops food coloring, 1 cup elbow or penne macaroni

Pour 2 Tbs of alcohol and 3 drops of food coloring in bowl and stir

Put 1 cup macaroni in a bag and add color mixture

Mix by squishing around for 2 minutes

 

Pour out noodles on a papertowel covered baking sheet and let dry for 5-10 minutes. Follow these steps with different colors for a Rainbow of Macaroni.

Busy Bag Ideas - Macaroni Art

We are going to do a Rainbow Theme next week, so I thought I would make some Rainbow Macaroni to play with. Today he was just threading it on a ribbon. I also have pipe cleaners and yarn to thread on.
Variations: Say a color and have your preschooler thread it
                   Preschooler makes his own pattern
                   Makes a Great Mother's Day present
                  
Next week, we will glue the Macaroni on Pictures or ABC's for rainbow week.

Busy Time: 10-15 minutes

Busy Bag Ideas - Animal Match

Today's Busy Bag was animal match. Here is how to make your own:

Using your own clip art software, create a document with 5 columns and 5 rows for 25 animal pictures.

Print 2 copies of your document

Cut out one of your copies and get your preschooler to match the animals

Variation: You can print out an ABC match.

                                               a color match

                                               a seasonal match

                                               a theme match ( snow related, fireman related, etc.)

                                                         Busy Time: 15 minutes 

Busy Bag Ideas - Caterpillar Counting

Today we played with the Busy Bag Caterpillar. To make your own, you need: 

 a sturdy piece of rope, knotted on the end

a swim noodle cut into 21, 1" pieces

googley eyes and pieces of pipe cleaners for antennae

We assembled a caterpillar face on 1 noodle piece and drew numbers 1-20 on the other pieces. My preschooler then puts the pieces on the rope. I work with him to get his numbers in the right order, then he takes them off and plays with them any way he likes. 

Busy Time: 10-15 minutes

Busy Bag Ideas ~ Pom Pom Patterns

This was the first activity we tried. With the preschooler busy bags, they concentrate on shapes, colors, ABC's, numbers and just plain fun. He had a lot of fun with the Pom Poms. It was easy for him to match his colored Pom Poms to the colored circles already given. We received a sheet for color patterns and he could continue the pattern to the end of the sheet. There was also a black and white pattern sheet so he could create his own patterns, but that wasn't as much fun for him. You can find the sheets at http://unsolicitedadvice-n-such.blogspot.com/ . I am going to do more on my own, maybe Pom Pom patterns that make the Abc's and numbers.  
                                                                     Busy Time: 10-15 minutes