Activities

Establish an estimation station in your math center using manipulatives. Gather a number of small plastic jars and fill each jar with different things. For example, cotton balls, marbles, buttons, toy cars and bottle caps.

Tune: “Frere Jacques” Estoy esperando 
Estoy esperando 
Que mis amigos 
Que mis amigos 
Entren a la rueda 
Entren a la rueda 
Sientense Sientense Translation:
I am waiting
I am waiting

During large group, read I Can Save the Earth! One Little Monster Learns to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle by Alison Inches. Talk with the children about the amount of paper they use each day in the classroom.

During outdoor time, put a shallow pan of salt water in direct sunlight on a warm day. After talking about the water cycle, discuss with the children what they think will happen to the water.

Read the book, Everybody Cooks Rice by Nora Dooley. Have the children dictate ways that they cook or eat rice, then chart them on paper. This can be done in small group.

Tune: “Shortnin' Bread”
Everybody have a seat,

have a seat, have a seat

Everybody have a seat on the floor

Not on the ceiling, *not on the door

Everybody have a seat on the floor
*Alternate: not on the stair

During outdoor time, engage the children in exercises the same way as characters from familiar stories might exercise.

Go on a trip around the school or center to look for EXIT signs. Have the children call out or point when they see one.

Provide children with an opportunity to examine and touch a bar of Ivory® soap. Place the soap on a microwave-safe plate and microwave it for approximately 11/2 minutes. The soap will expand.

Use a large box to create an outer space replica in the art center. Include beads, glow in the dark stars, sparkly pom-poms for “meteors,” plastic planets from a toy store and a yellow bouncy ball for the sun.

Have a variety of rocks available for the children to explore in the science center. Have the children use the magnifiers to explore the rocks and compare them to rocks in books or pictures. Use the scale to weigh the rocks and compare them.

Fill your sensory center table with water. Turn your sensory table into a polar region by freezing water in bowls; pop ice into the sensory table and it will float! Place tiny polar animals in the table to use.

Provide a large variety of blocks, such as cardboard, juice boxes, and foam, and change them regularly throughout the year.

With a small group of the children, explore a raw egg. Crack the egg into a bowl and talk about how it looks. Use words such as runny or slimy. Encourage the children to describe other features such as the egg yolk.

Provide old items for children to take apart such as a flashlight, record player, telephone, keyboard or remote control in the science center. Provide small tools, such as screwdrivers and pliers, for disassembling.

You will need jumbo marshmallows, magnifying glasses, small plates, cups of water and medicine droppers. Give each child a marshmallow to explore by smelling it and looking at it through the magnifying glass.

Show a non-fiction book on an interesting topic such as National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Bugs by Catherine Hughes or The Mystery of Magnets by Melvin Berger.

Provide old-fashioned devices, inside the dramatic play area, for the children to explore such as a manual egg beater, a rotary dial telephone or an old fashioned doll.

Provide paper squares and scissors. Demonstrate how to fold the square into simple origami figures. While in the math center encourage the children to experiment with folding the paper in various ways.

Take the infant outside, and show him/her the plants ensuring that plants are nontoxic and safe for children. Talk about what the infant sees. Describe the plant. “Here's a pink flower. These leaves are long and skinny. These leaves are smooth.