Activities

Play upbeat music and have the children enter the large group area as they finish cleaning up. While the music is playing, the children dance freely.

Play upbeat music and allow the children to enter the large group area as they finish cleaning up.

After reading If You Give a Pig a Pancake by Laura Numeroff do this activity to emphasize the circular nature of the story: Assemble props for each portion of the story and a small hula-hoop.

After reading If You Give a Pig a Pancake by Laura Numeroff, do this activity to emphasize the circular nature of the story: Assemble props for each portion of the story and a small hula-hoop.

Read “Humpty Dumpty.” Brainstorm ways the king's men could try to to put Humpty Dumpty back together – using glue, band-aids, paper clips, tape or staples. Chart responses. This could be done in large group.

During large group, read “Humpty Dumpty.” Brainstorm ways the king's men could try to to put Humpty Dumpty back together – using glue, band-aids, paper clips, tape or staples. Chart responses.

Read Ten, Nine, Eight by Molly Bang. Have the children sing along to “Ten in the Bed” and count backwards, using their ngers for visuals as they count. This could be done in large group.

Durin large group read Ten, Nine, Eight by Molly Bang. Have the children sing along to “Ten in the Bed” and count backwards, using their fingers for visuals as they count.

To encourage children to make connections and use prior knowledge, organize some books around themes. Place three to five books with a common thread into large zipper bags and take them outside, during outdoor time.

Start by adding one cup of flour to a gallon-size Ziplock bag in the science center. Next, add three tablespoons of sugar, one package of yeast and one cup of water. Seal the bag and mix up the ingredients. Encourage the children to squish the dough.

Give each child a cutout of a butterfly or a similar shape. Have the child sit quietly and try to balance the butterfly on his/her nose, holding it there for several seconds.

Place a balance beam on the rug in the block center for children to walk across.

Place a balance beam on the rug for children to walk across in the block center.

Have a set of scales in front of the group. Have a certain number of objects on each side making sure they are not equal. Ask the children which side is heavier. Ask how the scales can be made even and have the children explain.

Place a balance scale in this area with a variety of objects to compare in the science center.

Put tape lines on the floor in varying directions such as straight, zigzag or curves. Have the children try to “balance” as they walk along the tape lines with their hands out.

Tape lines in varying directions on the floor. Have the children try to “balance” on it with their hands out as they walk along the tape. You can even place stuff ed animal alligators on the floor to play a game of “Don't Fall In.

Put out trays with a variety of LEGO®s, blocks and small levels in the math center. Encourage the children to test a structure to see if it is level. If not, encourage them to move the blocks around to see if they can make them balance.

Use a large box that has raised edges on the side. Have the children roll a ball around the box or try and keep it centered in the middle of the box by working together to tilt the box or hold it steady. This can be done in small group.

Create a homemade balance scale using a plastic dress hanger (with two indentions on the top), yarn, tape and two cups of equal size. Tape yarn around the top of the cup and form a loop to hang from each side of the hanger.