Activities

Sing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" or "The Itsy, Bitsy Spider" while using hand motions for the children to imitate.

Bring in a variety of fruits that may be unfamiliar to the children for them to taste. Examples may include star fruit, mango, kiwi and pomegranate. Encourage the children to use language to describe the look, smell, feel and taste of each fruit.

When the rain comes down

Drip, drop, drip, drop 
(move fingers back and forth)

Windshield wipers

Flip, flop, flip, flop 
(move arms back and forth)

And boots in puddles

Plip, plop, plip, plop 

Create a prop box for recreating a day at the beach. Include beach towels, chairs, empty sunscreen containers, umbrellas, floaties, picnic supplies, beach balls, sea shells, buckets and shovels and use during outdoor time.

Provide a variety of dolls, small doll beds, doll clothing, blankets, combs, small bowls and plastic spoons. Encourage the children to select dolls and play with them. Use the dolls to model dressing, feeding and sleeping routines.

Create a book of familiar animals. Include the pets of children in the class and common animals like squirrels or classroom pets, such as goldfish. Look at the book with the children. Point out the animals and say where you might see them.

Make various props available in the different center areas for the children to explore their uses. Include telephones, old cell phones, a keyboard and mouse, and a CD or MP3 player with music.

Cut out large leaves from cardboard or Styrofoam®. Punch six holes, fairly close together, in the boards. Use extra-long pipe cleaners in different colors for caterpillars.

Provide board games in the math center , such as Trouble, Candy Land and Memory that require following multiple-step directions.

Play games from different demographic regions during out door time: • Hopscotch in the round
• Chinese hopscotch

• Takaratori

• Jankenpon

• Jarabadach

• Human sundial
Search the web for directi

Play games from different demographic regions during outdoor time:
• Hopscotch in the round
• Chinese hopscotch
• Takaratori
• Jankenpon
• Jarabadach
• Human sundial
Search the web for directions on ho

Provide the children with small aprons, garden gloves, sun visors, small plastic flowerpots, play dough, silk flowers and greenery. Put balls of play dough in the pots to hold the plants in place.

For a spring theme, encourage children to dance making a garden: dig the holes, plant the seeds, water and weed, watch plants grow and harvest the vegetables or flowers.

During outdoor time, plant a garden with fruits and vegetables in it. Have the children monitor and care for it all year long. Discuss what to plant.

Fill a plastic bag with child-safe dish detergent or hair gel; add glitter if you want. Seal the bag securely with tape. Give the children small craft sticks to make shapes and draw with.

Provide GeoBoards with rubber bands in the math center for the children to make a stringed instrument similar to a guitar. Show the children how to stretch the rubber bands to different lengths to make different pitches.

Provide each child with a geoboard and geobands. Challenge the children to create various shapes and have the children use descriptive language to describe the characteristics of their shape. This can be done in small group.

Provide geoboards, rubber bands and shape cards in the math center. Encourage the children to use the geoboards and rubber bands to recreate shapes.

Work with a small group to write clues about where to find an object in the classroom. The next small group can follow the clues and find the object. Then write a set of clues for another group to follow.

Teach the children a song, such as “Get Funky” from The Learning Station, which has specific actions to complete. Encourage the children to participate in the movements.