Activities

You will need a timer, sponges, water and buckets for this activity. Divide the class into teams and have them line up. Place an empty bucket across from each line and place a bucket filled with water next to each line.

Use white or colored plastic spoons and matching clear plastic spoons for this letter matching activity. Write upper case letters at the top of the colored spoons and lower case letters at the bottom of the clear spoons.

During outdoor time, at the end of your outdoor game, have the children line up and shake hands as if you were on a real field. Be sure to tell everyone “good game.

During music and movement time, gather the children into a circle. Encourage each child to take a turn to dance in the middle of the circle to the music being played.

During outdoor time, write letters on pavement with sidewalk chalk and give the children spray bottles turned to the spray/stream setting. You could also use squirt bottles from condiments such as catsup or mustard.

With the infant in your lap, squeeze a squeaky toy. Place the toy in the infant's hand. He/she will grasp it as a natural reflex and be surprised when it squeaks. Keep giving the infant the toy and he/she will realize he/she is making it squeak.

With the infant in your lap, squeeze a squeaky toy. Place the toy in the infant's hand. He/she will grasp it as a natural reflex and will be surprised when it squeaks.

Create a Squishy Marble Run in the science center. You will need duct tape, a gallon-sized plastic bag, child-safe dish soap and a marble. Fold the duct tape, sticky side out, into six small tubes that are about five inches long.

Fold a small washcloth and place it in a shallow pan of water so it can soak up the water. Encourage the infant to press the cloth and feel the texture. Wash the cloth when done.

Using “squishy” stress relief toys/balls, have the children hold a hand out in front of their bodies and squeeze the item. Then have them toss it to a friend to swap.

Provide a variety of choices of stacking and nesting toys such as cups, foam blocks or rings. Have the children choose from the selection to practice stacking and nesting.

Provide the children with three to four different size cups of various widths and heights. Help the children place the cups in order from shortest to tallest and/or skinniest to fattest.

Provide rainbow-colored stackable cups. Demonstrate how the cups can be stacked. As you stack the cups, count them. “I'm placing my cups on top of each other, one, two, three.” Then knock them down. “Look! They just fell over.

Provide a collection of plastic lids in a variety of sizes and colors. Challenge the children to stack them as tall as they can using as many lids as they can. Encourage them to try many possible solutions.

Provide a set of stacking rings or cups. Have the infant attempt to place the rings or cups on top of each other.

Soak hard-boiled eggs in soda/flavored drink mix overnight. The next day, talk with the children about what happened to the egg. Tell the children that the food we eat, particularly sugar can stain our teeth just like it stained the egg.

You will need a number cube, numeral stamps and paper. The children roll the number cube, and then stamp the number that is rolled on their paper. They will repeat this process until they all fill up their papers.

Using construction paper and stampers in the writing center, have children create a border/frame with their stampers on the paper. Then have them draw a picture inside the frame. Be sure to discuss how the picture and the border do not touch.

Provide a wide variety of rubber stamps, paper and small boxes. Encourage the children to stamp the paper and the boxes independently.

Place toys on top of a small shelf. Support older infants as they attempt to pull up to a standing position to reach the toys.