Activities

Have each child bring an empty water bottle to the classroom. Read One Small Place by the Sea by Barbara Brenner. Talk about things that you find in the sea and how the water in the sea moves from one place to another.

Create search-and-find games by placing a variety of small objects on a poster board and then photographing the collection. Use buttons or other small math center manipulatives, LEGOS,® small block figures, vehicles or magnet letters.

Fill the sensory center table with beans or rice and items that are magnetic. Use large magnets or magnetic wands to search for items. Create cards with pictures of magnetic items hidden.

Place sand and seashells in the sensory table and invite the children to explore the items and feel the texture of the seashells.

Provide a seasonal clothing prop box in the dramatic play area. Have rain boots, raincoats, umbrellas, scarves, gloves, hats, shorts, sunglasses, a sun hat and other seasonal clothing for the children to wear.

Create seasonal file folder games to place in the math center. The children can match activities to clothing. For example, the children can match a picture of mittens to a picture of a snowball.

Encourage the children to hide little notes and pictures outside for their friends or other children to find during outdoor time. Provide miniature snack-size zipper bags to put the notes in to keep them from getting wet or dirty.

Create various sets of picture cards or small objects that begin with the same sound. For example, one set could all begin with the /b/ sound. Provide each child with a card or an object from the first set.

See you later alligator

In a while crocadile

We'll come back another day

To see our friends and learn and play

Read The Skeleton Inside You by Philip Balestrino. Have the children hold the palm of their hand over a bright flashlight. Encourage the children to dictate what they see.

Place a bean in a baggie with a damp paper towel. Hang the bag in the window and ask the children to observe it on a daily/weekly basis. Have them journal how the seed develops and grows.

Read the book Seeds, Seeds, Seeds by Nancy Wallace. Provide three shallow containers or separate a tray into three sections.

Read What Are Sound Waves by Robin Johnson. Cover a large bowl with plastic wrap. Sprinkle rice or salt on top. Place the bowl next to a boom box or speakers. Ask the children what will happen to the rice once the music starts.

During outdoor time, use bubbles and encourage children to slowly blow their bubbles outside. Have them continue to slowly blow until the bubbles pop.

Use self-talk to help the children understand how you cope with strong feelings. They will watch you and learn through your words and actions. Demonstrate how to manage feelings. For example, say, “I spilled the milk all over the floor.

Collect a variety of earth-toned paint chips samples from a home improvement store. During outdoor time, give each child a plastic bag with a colored paint chip inside.

Place different textures, such as soft, scratchy, rough and smooth, on a board. Help the infant touch each one as you use descriptive words.

Gather a variety of floor sample materials, such as linoleum, indoor grass and carpet. Glue the samples to a poster board. Place it on the floor. Encourage the infant to explore it.

Make homemade play dough using different spices or extracts for different scents; add glitter for appearance/texture. The children can use their hands and cookie cutters to play and create with the dough.

Gather bubble wrap, rice, sand paper, beans and cotton balls in individual tubs. During outdoor time, have the children remove their socks and shoes, then step in each tub. Have them describe how the different items feel on their feet.