Activities

Cut out small shirts and color polka dots on each shirt in different quantities, one through 10. Cut out small pants and place a numeral on each pair of pants, one through 10.

Read the book Clothesline Clues to Jobs People Do by Kathryn Heling. As you read, have the children guess which clothes belong to which community helper. This could be done in large group.

During outdoor time, find an open area to create a clothesline pulley. Have the children bring in old tee-shirts and provide them with small tubs of water and child-safe soap.

Make a birthday chart using ribbons and clothespins with the children's names. Review the chart with the children, and talk about who has birthdays this month, next month, last month or how many months until a particular child's birthday.

Make a birthday chart using ribbons and clothespins with the children's names. Review the chart with the children, and talk about who has birthdays this month, next month, or how many months until a particular child's birthday.

Attach feathers, short ribbons or sponges of different sizes and textures to clothespins for the children to use as paintbrushes in the art center.

Sit on the floor with the infant. Place an empty container and several old-fashioned, wooden clothespins without springs on the floor. Demonstrate how to place clothespins in the container, and encourage the infant to imitate.

Provide the child with a clean, narrow-mouth container, such as a water bottle or a milk jug, and a large quantity of non-spring, one-piece wooden clothespins. Model how to turn the clothespin to drop it into the opening.

Paint wooden clothespins. After the paint is dry, write a letter on the pin. String a line across the front of a shelf in the classroom and invite children to clip the clothespins on the line.

Have children work with their families to find one or two shirts or pairs of pants that they can no longer wear. Bring in the clothes and share with the children how the clothes can be recycled and reused as a quilt.

Show pictures from the book It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles Shaw. Provide the children with a piece of construction paper with a blob of white paint in the middle. Have the children fold the paper and describe their cloud.

Help the children follow a recipe to create cloud dough. Have them combine four cups of all- purpose flour and one cup of baby oil in a large bowl and mix it together with their hands. Have the children describe the dough and how it feels.

During outdoor time, take a few moments to observe the clouds. Provide chalk for the children to recreate the clouds on the side walk.

Read Clouds by Anne Rockwell, and then take advantage of a cloudy day to go for a cloud walk. Look for clouds in the sky. Talk about their color and shape.

Read Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett and Ronald Barrett. In aa large group setting discuss the story and how the food falls out of the sky.

Pair up the children as a coach and a player. The coach gives the commands while the player does what the coach says such as run in place, stand on one foot, turn around or jump high. You will tell the children when to switch roles.

Collect as many coins as you can and store them in a large container. Decorate four small, plastic bins with coins using hot glue. For example, glue pennies on the outside of one plastic bin, glue nickels on another.

Place coins in the art center for the children to make coin-rubbing pictures.

Lay out a variety of coins and encourage the children to sort the coins however they choose, such as by brown coins, coins with smooth sides, or big coins. Have the children discuss how they sorted the coins.  This can be done in small group.

In the fall, have the children pick up leaves and place them in paper bags during outdoor time. Create small groups outside and have the children dump and sort their leaves. Encourage them to sort by attributes such as shape, color and size.