Activities

At the easels, encourage two children to help one another create a masterpiece in the art center. One child is the painter, the other child gives the directions. Encourage the children to draw dots and lines according to the instructions.

Have the children stuff large paper bags with leaves, newspaper, tissue or scrap paper. This activity can be based on the time of year. You may want to use leaves during the fall.

Have the children paint a picture. Once the picture is dry, put it in an inexpensive picture frame and hang or prop it against a wall. Have the children put a “price” on their art work to “sell” in the art gallery. This can be done in small group.

Choose an artist with a distinct style, such as Jackson Pollack, Piet Mondrian or Henri Matisse.

Have the children draw or paint pictures of their choice, show the pictures to the class and tell about them. Prompt with questions such as, “Tell us what you used to make your picture,” or “Tell us about the colors you used.

Have the children create individual expression art. Mount the art around the classroom. Have the children walk around the room talking and describing the artwork that is displayed.

Sit with the children as they create pieces of art, and encourage them to share information about their work. Give them interesting objects to paint with such as brushes, combs, feathers, cardboard tubes and artificial flowers.

Provide paints (liquids) and crayons (solids) for the children to use at the easel in the art center. Ask them questions to get them to compare and contrast the different materials.

Use this song during large group to encourage the children to ask questions. Sing it whenever you want the children to engage in a discussion.

When going outside, ask the children to thinkof all the things they can do with their feet, such as wiggle, point toes, walk, run, stomp, kick and jump. Name these words and ask the children to do the actions and say the words as they are doing them.

Have the children create a collage of things that are found at home. Provide magazines, scissors and glue for creating the collage.

Have the children create a collage of things that are found at home. Provide magazines, scissors and glue for creating the collage. This can be done in small group.

Revisit some of the books you read earlier in the year about starting school. For example, Mouse's First Day of School by Lauren Thompson or Franklin Goes to School by Paulette Bourgeois.

Have pictures of each child's face copied and glued to a tag board with a magnet on the back. Have one pie tin labeled “I'm here” and one pie tin labeled “I'm at home.” Attach both pie tins to the bulletin board.

Share books by Eric Carle and discuss the types of art work used to create the illustrations.

Include wordless picture books in the reading center, such as The Grey Lady and the Strawberry Snatcher by Molly Bang and The Snowman by Raymond Briggs in the reading center.

Play or sing “BINGO” and encourage the children to clap along to the song.

Sing “Baa Baa Black Sheep” to the infants. Use a photo or puppet as a visual to sing the song.

Repeat child-initiated babbles back to the child and have a babble conversation. Or start a conversation using simple sounds with the child.

Encourage the children to take baby dolls and accessories outside to role play and act out being Mommy or Daddy, during outdoor time.