Activities

Tell the children you are going down the “word trail.” During outdoor time, draw footprints on the ground. Read a phrase or sentence, and have a child take one step for each word that was read in the sentence.

Read Hop Jump by Ellen Stoll Walsh. Talk about the different body parts that allow the children to hop and jump. Have the children demonstrate. Secure hula-hoops and blocks to create an obstacle course in the classroom or outdoors.

Read the book Hippos Go Berserk! by Sandra Boynton.

Give a music stick to the infant and encourage him/her to hit the drum. Model the movement with the music stick, then give the infant the stick to explore and use to hit the drum. Play music with a drum beat during the activity.

Cut pool noodles in half to be hockey sticks. Use a soft ball and create two goals. As you teach the children how to play, introduce new vocabulary such as referee, score, puck, goal, kick and penalty.

Play the traditional children's game “The Hokey Pokey” and add a few twists. Have the children stand with their right or left sides facing in toward the center of the circle. After one round, call out, “Flip.” Everyone turns and faces the other way.

Engage the children in singing the “Hokey Pokey” using shapes. Give each child a shape to hold and use to put it in the circle instead of a body part. “Put your triangle in. Take your triangle out. Do the hokey pokey and turn yourself around.

Tune: “London Bridge”
Hola todos, si, si, si, 

Si, si, si; si, si, si. 

Hola todos, si, si, si, 

Si, si, si, amigos. 
Hello everybody, yes, yes, yes, 

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

Take a small group of the children for a walk down the hall or outside. Encourage the children to hold your hand and remind them it is to keep them safe.

Hold the infant's bottle with one hand and place it in the infant's hands. Assist the infant in bringing the bottle up to his/her mouth. As the infant grows older and gains more control, have the infant independently hold the bottle.

Create a game by cutting a hole in one end of a sturdy shoebox lid. Make the hole slightly smaller than the golf ball so the ball will catch in the hole but not fall through.

You will need a cardboard box. Cut several holes in the box, about the size of a paper towel tube. Have the children find different items that fit into the holes such as pom-poms, small balls or cut-up sections of a paper towel tube.

Read the book Llama Llama Holiday Drama by Anna Dewdney. Have a discussion with the children about what they do with their families during the holidays, such as bake cookies, shop, wrap gifts or visit family.

Create one chart with different holiday traditions listed, such as decorate a tree, hang lights outside, light candles, open gifts, sing special songs or have family dinners.

Have the children draw pictures of how they celebrate various special days, such as birthdays and holidays, such as Halloween, Thanksgiving or Christmas. Once completed, have the children label and explain their drawings.

In a prepared garden bed, have the children plant lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber plants. When crops are ripe, have the children assist in harvesting, washing and preparing the food for a class salad.

Have the children discuss what types of jobs they do around their home. They might help set the table, pick up their toys or make their beds. Create a predictable book using the child's name and their job. Aiden's job is to pick up toys.

Provide the children with pictures of items that are found at home and those found at school. Have the children identify which items belong at school, which belong at home, and which belong in both places.

Provide a variety of homemade blocks such as Solo cups, washed milk cartons, shoe boxes or washed yogurt containers. Have the children build and balance structures with these items.

Have the children create a picture frame using craft sticks, glue and stickers. Use pictures of the children from the photo booth activity to place in the frames. The child can display the picture in his/her cubby.