Activities

Before reading, explain to the children that they will be giving you a sign when they feel a connection to the story, something in the story that makes them think of something else.

Read “The Three Little Pigs” a few times until the children are familiar with the story. Introduce a new concept of houses by opening a suitcase full of straw, sticks and bricks.

Add props to the block area, such as construction hats, vests, cones, signs and flags to encourage children to build structures. Have families donate blueprints or have children design their own to document what they are building.

Add brightly colored fabric, bubble wrap and paper towel rolls in the block area.  Encourage the children to use these items as they build and construct with blocks.

During outdoor time, take a book outside, such as The Construction Alphabet Book by Jerry Pallotta. Show children the pictures and talk about what the various machines do.

The book Construction Zone by Tana Hoban contains full-color photographs of machines found at a construction site. Encourage the children to put on hard hats and to point out and talk about the various things they see.

Add new blocks and accessories to the block area. Ask the family to bring in empty cereal boxes. Stuff the boxes with newspaper and tape them securely shut. Encourage the children to build structures using the new blocks.

Bring in old tires or old plastic containers to create an outside vegetable or herb garden, during outdoor time. Fill the tires or containers with soil and let the children plant vegetable or herb seeds.

Infants are attracted to contrasting colors, black, white and red. On a sheet of white paper, draw a face with black hair, eyebrows, eyes, nose and a red mouth. Tape your “masterpiece” to a wall.

Have the children find a partner. Explain that you will give them a word and they will see who can talk about that word the longest. Use interesting, complex words such as “bulldozer” or “manatee.” Add in some nonsense words such as “kalleewompus.

Cut pastel colored paper into heart shapes and write a conversation starter on each shape. Some examples include: “If you could be an animal, what animal would you be and why?” “Tell about a time you were surprised.

Provide old landline telephones or cellphones in the dramatic play area for the children to use during pretend play conversations.

Create cards with new vocabulary words and corresponding pictures related to the current theme. Place them in the writing center for the children to use in stories or conversations.

Provide magnetic letters and a cookie sheet in the writing center area.

Provide a simple cooking activity such as making “Dirt Cups.” Guide children in following the steps to create their own treat: chocolate pudding, crumbled cookies and gummy worms. Have children then recap the steps of the recipe.

Add a timer to the cooking area of dramatic play. Model for the children how to set the timer to “time” their recipes.

Bring in a variety of safe cooking utensils for exploration. Big spoons, whisks, rubber spatulas and basters are good examples of different tools the children might find interesting.

Make a set of cool down cubes. Use a plastic jar and reusable ice cubes. Write a safe “cool down” strategy on each one. For example: walk away, count to ten, take a deep breath or talk to a friend.

Scatter hula-hoops or rings throughout the large group play area. Use music or a signal to cue movement. Children move about stepping anywhere except inside a hoop. When the music stops, everyone finds a hoop and steps inside as quickly as possible.

Sit with a few children and make different facial expressions. Encourage the children to guess which emotion you are expressing. Next, encourage the children to make the same face. You can be silly with this activity.