Activities

You will need two plastic berry baskets and yarn. Help the children cut the yarn into pieces 4- to 6 inches long. Place the yarn in a berry basket. Cut the bottom from another basket for a lid.

Help the children make bird feeders out of pine cones by rolling the pine cones in a mixture of vegetable shortening and oats and bird seed.

Tell the children they can paint with many kinds of objects. Provide a variety of items such as forks, straws and toy tires. Talk with them about which were easiest and hardest to paint with.

During outdoor time, play Four Corners on the playground. Label each corner with a different feeling, such as happy, sad, mad and scared. Have the children start in the middle of the playground.

During outdoor time, draw a four-square grid on the pavement with sidewalk chalk. Tape a picture in each square. The children take turns bouncing a ball in the squares and naming a word that rhymes with the picture.

Use flannel-board characters for familiar stories. As you tell the story, substitute a different character for one that belongs. For example, have one of the Three Little Pigs come and sit beside Miss Muffet instead of the spider.

Cut out the center of a paper plate, one for each child. Vary sizes of holes. Have the children view their environment through the frame during outdoor time. The frame helps children focus on specific elements. Have children describe what they see.

Play music and have the children dance freestyle while the music is playing. When you stop the music, show the children a picture of a pose, such as standing on one leg. They should freeze in that pose.

Take large construction paper shapes that have been laminated outside, during outdoor time. Spread out the shapes. The teacher will call out, “Go!” and the children will begin to walk from shape to shape.

Have the children stand in a circle.  Model a motor movement and have the children copy you.  Point to a child to be the new leader.  The new leader models a movement for the class to imitate.  Continue until each child has had a turn.

Begin playing any upbeat song and encourage the children to move in different ways. For example, have them jump up and down or wave their hands in the air. Periodically pause the music. When the music stops, the children have to freeze.

Play music, and encourage the children to dance while the music plays and freeze when it stops. Dance quickly for fast tempo songs, slowly for slow tempo songs. Then reverse the cues. Fast music means slow dancing. Slow music means fast dancing.

Play a game of freeze tag during outdoor time, but change the rules slightly. Instead of just tagging someone to unfreeze them, the children must also say their name.

Inside your writing center provide clipboards made from cardboard, paper, and butterfly clips. Encourage the children to interview classmates or families as they enter the classroom.

Take pictures of the children engaged in a play activity. Print each picture on 81/2" x 11" paper and wrap it around a PVC pipe and place them in the block center. Use these as bowling pins. Provide a ball to knock them down.

The children play bingo, taking turns calling the item to be placed on the game board.

For a small group activity, say a child's name and have the other children say the name.

Use a puppet to play a gentle hugging game. The puppet tells the children that a hug can make you feel better when you are sad or mad. The puppet then hugs a child. Encourage the child to hug a friend.

Take one white cake mix and follow the directions on the package. Give each child a Dixie cup with batter and have them add food coloring to create the color batter of his/her choice. Each child then pours their batter into a greased Bundt pan.

Give each child a strip of paper to decorate using markers or paint. The teacher then attaches all of the strips together into a friendship chain to display in the classroom. This activity could be done in small group.