Resources / Activity
Place one empty container such as a box, bucket, half cone or bowl in each of the four corners of a square area. Place another container with four tennis balls in the center of the area.
Give the children a sheet of waxed paper and several writing or drawing tools like chalk, water- based markers, crayons and tempera paints. Tell them you are trying to figure out which of these will be the best choice for writing on the paper.
Place a smartphone on the copier with an open box for texting. Make copies and place them in the writing center. Assist the children in writing simple “texts” to each other as greetings or other messages they might want to communicate.
Place a variety of items with different textures in a basket and encourage the infant to explore them. Include things such as a piece of soft felt, a bumpty squeeze toy or a smooth ball. Talk about what the infant is experiencing.
Use colorful contact paper and wrap some tissue boxes. Create texture blocks by securely gluing various textured fabrics onto the sides of the wrapped boxes. Try corduroy, vinyl or velvet fabric.
Provide construction paper and a variety of materials of different textures such as foil, burlap, sandpaper, smooth fabric and furry fabric in the art center. Encourage the children to make a texture book.
Provide the children with writing tools such as chalk or crayons. Give them clipboards with texture under the paper such as sandpaper or feathers. As the children scribble, comment on how it looks: "Your drawing is bumpy.
Place four large buckets in the middle of the circle.
Provide letters in various textures in the art center. Cut letters from sandpaper or embossed wallpaper. Write letters in white glue and let dry. Use these letters and peeled crayons for rubbings.
During outdoor time, tape a variety of textures to the rings from a ring toss set. Call out the different textures and have the children toss the matching textured ring onto the peg.
Place a large piece of foil on the table for the children to paint on in the art center. Use muffin tins to provide a variety of paint colors. Add sand or flour to paint to give it texture.
Create thank-you cards for special visitors that have visited. Have the students discuss what they liked most about the visit.
While in the writing center have the children write a thank-you note to someone special. Have them dictate what they want to say, draw pictures, sign their names and decorate the cards.
Provide the children with paper cut into squares. (HINT: If you cut 81/2" x 11" paper into 81/2" squares, then the left-over strip will be just the right size for lists.
Have all the children stand in a circle. State a child's first and last name to the group. When the child hears his/her name, the child should sit down. You can repeat the activity, but this time when they hear their name, they will stand or jump up.
Set up small group activities with individualized space. Use colored masking tape to create a grid on the table. If you don't want to put tape directly on the table, use a plastic tablecloth. Divide play dough and give each child a ball.
Sing this song to the tune of “Row, Row, Row, Your Boat” and make airplane motions with the infant's arms and hands:Fly, fly, fly your plane,Fly your plane up high.
After reading The Alphabet Tree by Leo Leonni, have children create their own alphabet tree. Use a green stamp pad and leaf stamp to make the leaves. Then use letter stamps to add a letter to each leaf.
Add ice cream scoops in a variety of sizes to the play dough area, along with cookie sheets and serving trays. Encourage the children to use the scoops to measure the play dough onto the baking sheets.
