Activities

Read National Geographic Little Kids Look and Learn: Patterns! by National Geographic Kids. Talk about some patterns in the book. Find patterns in the classroom. For example, notice how the rug has red and blue blocks.

Read Simple Machines by Deborah Hodge. Take the children on a walk around the school to try and locate examples of the six types of simple machines: lever, incline plane, wedge, wheel and axle, screw and pulley.

Create a tightrope for children to walk across using masking tape on the floor starting in the block center. Create a path using tape that winds throughout the classroom if possible.

Cover one wall with butcher paper at the children's eye level. Place crayons, markers and pencils near the paper and invite the children to create artwork on the paper.

Explain the differences between real and make-believe.

Provide small tubs of water, baby dolls and washcloths for the children to bathe their babies.

Tune: "Oh, My Darling, Clementine"
Wash your fingers

All your fingers

Add the soap, scrub every one
Wash the one side

Then the other

Rinse them off and then you're done

Tune: "Jingle Bells"  Wash your hands, wash your hands
Before you eat your lunch
Think of all the germs you have
From all the things you've touched, oh Scrub 'em good, scrub 'em good
Wash the germs away

Tune: "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" 
Wash, wash, wash your hands

Play the clean up game

Scrub and rub, rub and scrub

Germs go down the drain (repeat)

Tune: "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" 
Wash, wash, wash your hands

A little soap for you

Scrub them well and rinse them, too

That's all you need to do

Sing to the tune of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”:
Wash, wash, wash your hands

While you sing this song.

Rub and scrub, rub and scrub,

The germs swirl down the drain.

Sing a song while washing hands to encourage the children to follow the proper hand washing procedure.

Provide the group with two plastic cups. Fill one cup with colored water and place next to an empty cup. Fold a paper towel in half and drape from one cup to the other. Have the children observe absorption.

Using the sensory center, provide an ice cube tray, a cup of water, a medicine dropper and small objects that will absorb and repel water such as small pieces of wood, facial tissue, tissue paper, writing paper, paper towel, Unifix® cubes.

Lean a long aluminum pan or tray against a wall. Secure it so it won't slip. Spray water at the top of the pan. Have the children watch the water form beads at the top, then run down to the bottom of the tray.

Add books to the reading center about water such as A Fish Out Of  Water by Helen Palmer and The Water Cycle by Rebecca Olien.

Make a set of water bottles with graduated amounts of water. Use food coloring to make the water levels easier to see. Seal the bottles with duct tape. Ask the children to choose two of the bottles to compare and tell you which has more water.

Prepare water bottles by making several small holes around the bottom with a push pin. Fill the bottle with water and attach the cap. During outdoor time, the children can squeeze the bottle or unscrew the lid to watch the water squirt out.

Cover a table with a plastic tablecloth and place white butcher paper on top in the art center.  Provide a small bowl of watercolor and a medicine dropper for each child to create an abstract art piece.

Fill four plastic bags with water. Freeze two ahead of time. Have the children describe the differences between the bags of ice and bags of water. Have the children drop the bags into a bucket. Describe the properties of frozen and unfrozen water.