Activities

Plant several containers of the same seed, and place them in different environments. Place one in soil with water in full sun. Place the second in soil with water and no sun and the third in soil with no water and no sun.

During outdoor time, take painting out and encourage the children to paint with the paint brushes in a variety of ways; for example, by hitting the paper, flinging the paint brush towards the paper, dabbing or making linear or circular strokes.

During outdoor time, take painting outside and encourage the children to paint with the paint brushes in a variety of ways; for example, by hitting the paper, flinging the paint brush towards the paper, dabbing or making linear or circular strokes.

Play multicultural music for infants to hear various voice tones. Choose music such as “Hush, Baby, Hush!: Lullabies from Around the World” by Kathy Henderson and Pam Smy.

Add a digital food scale to the dramatic play area for the children to measure weight.

Read The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins. Encourage the children to make predictions of what might happen next. This could be done in large group.

The children will enjoy pretend play in the kitchen with this rhyming activity. Put pictures on plastic plates, then have the children use spatulas or chopsticks to transfer rhyming pictures to the correct plates.

You will need a dinosaur puzzle and a sensory tub full of sand. Bury the dinosaur puzzle pieces. Have the children work as a team to put the puzzle together as they uncover each piece.

Create dinosaur feet from cereal boxes covered in duct tape. Use one color for the toes and another color for the foot. Cover a narrow piece of cardboard in tape to make a strap and secure this to the box.

Read the book Dinosaur Roar by Paul Strickland and Henrietta Strickland. Give the children three dinosaurs of different sizes and to put them in order from biggest to smallest.

During outdoor time, take dinosaur steps around the playground to increase balance and strength. Name different types of dinosaurs and encourage the children to move like the different types.

Take dinosaur steps around the playground to increase balance and strength during outdoor time. Name different types of dinosaurs and encourage the children to move like the different types.

Take a shower curtain and lay it over a table. Cut it to fit the table exactly. Use markers to color a scene on it, such as a mountain scene with a forest and lake.

Prepare chocolate pudding as directed. Give each child a small cup about ¾ full of pudding. Have him/her crush one to two chocolate sandwich cookies and mix them into the pudding. Add a gummy worm to the dirt cup and enjoy.

Place three shapes in front of the large group and discuss each shape. Then, have the children close their eyes and remove one of the shapes. Have the children open their eyes and guess which shape is missing.

Create individual discovery bottles filled with rocks, soil, sand and mud in the science center. Provide magnifying glasses for the children to examine and identify specific properties of each.

During outdoor time, provide an outdoor discovery box containing binoculars, insect catchers, magnifying glasses, containers for rock, leaf, and stick collections or small shovels and pails.

Have books available in the reading center that discuss community helpers. Talk to the children about the books and the helpers that are described in them.

Provide the infant with one or two dishes, bowls and cups from a play dish set. As the infant explores, talk about how to use the utensils. For example, pretend to drink from the cup and then offer the infant the cup to mimic your actions.

Face the infant and make eye contact. Carry out a simple “conversation” by imitating the sounds and facial expressions that he/she makes. Repeat “ma ma ma” and pause to give the infant time to respond.