Activities

Play classical music, and encourage the children to dance with a partner and sway to the beat. Talk about how the music makes them feel and what it makes them think about.

Create a buddy system that pairs children together to introduce an area of the classroom they may not normally go to, such as the science center. Encourage the buddies to help one another explore the materials and become familiar with the materials.

Give the children picture cards that have been cut in half. For example, a picture card of a bus is cut so that a child sees the front of the bus on one half of the card and the back of the bus on the other half.

Give one group of five children cards with the numerals zero to five written on them. Give another group of five children cards with sets of objects zero to five, such as one apple, five balloons and so on.

Have the children partner up, choose a puzzle and go to a table or find a space on the floor to work together. Encourage the children's interactions by asking open-ended questions and prompting them to talk to one another.

Give the children a ball to pass. Draw names and actions until everyone has had a turn. “Chris is going to roll the ball to Jasmine, Jasmine is going to bounce the ball to Alan.”  This could be done in large group.

Begin large group by introducing the concept of onset and rime. “Boys say /h/ and girls say /op/, ready? Boys /h/, girls /op/, boys /h/, girls /op/ HOP!” Do this several times with different action words such as:  sit, clap, smile, tap, wink, jump.

You will need Unifix® cubes, a bag and number cards one through 10. Place numbers one through 10 in a bag. Have one child from the group pick a number from the bag and grab one Unifix® cube.

Cut out pictures of faces showing various feelings.  Place them in the hat and pass the hat while music plays. When the music stops, the child holding the hat pulls out a picture, describes it and tells about a time he/she felt that way.

Play “Hot Potato” using an ice cube. Play music and pass the ice cube as the music plays. When the music stops, the children observe the ice and discuss how much it has melted. Continue to pass the ice until it has completely melted.

During mealtime, give the infant some peas on the highchair tray or a plate, as well as a small bowl. Model for the infant how to pick up the peas and put them in the bowl.

Using toy food in dramatic play, model for the children how you would ask them to pass you something. Say, “Please pass me the peas.” Have them ask a friend to pass something. Continue until all the children have had a turn.

In small group, give children a sentence to repeat.  For example, "the puppy likes to eat macaroni and cheese".  Have the children practice saying the sentence two times before starting the activity.

Read Rocks Hard, Soft, Smooth, and Rough by Natalie Rosinsky. Collect a variety of textured rocks for the children to sort. Have the children form a circle and place baskets in the middle. Label the baskets Hard, Soft, Smooth, Rough.

Have the children create a passport by folding a piece of construction paper into four squares. Decorate it with stamps, and have them write or dictate other countries or cultures they would like to visit. This can be done in small group.

Make a class book to help children understand past and present. Each day, take several pictures of the children doing activities. At the end of the day, have children look at pictures and choose one to represent their day.

Prepare a set of cards showing how things were done in the past and how those same things are done in the present. For example, a typewriter and a computer, a Conestoga wagon and a car, a quill with ink and markers and pencils.

Show the children a 3-frame cartoon of a simple activity. For example, Frame 1: A person walking into a restaurant to eat (a few minutes from now). Frame 2: Same person with fork in hand chewing on a half-eaten steak. (He's eating in the present.

Provide the children with uncooked, short pasta such as rigatoni. You can color the pasta with food coloring first if desired. Also provide lengths of yarn.

Add a variety of dried pasta to the art center to use when creating faces. The pieces can be used for eyebrows, noses and mouths.