Activities

Read Jump, Frog, Jump! by Robert Kalan. Encourage the children to repeat, "Jump, frog, jump!" Be sure to provide enough space for children who would like to jump.

Teach the children this fun game to practice rhyming as well as large motor skills. Face a child and hold hands. Sing the song together, matching your motions to the words of the song:
Jump, jump, jump, Jim Joe.

During outdoor time, invite the children to wave their hands for 10 seconds so they will get a sense of how long 10 seconds is. Next, provide an opportunity for the children to predict how many jumping jacks they can do in 10 seconds.

Provide a box of “junk,” including bottle caps, cardboard tubes, buttons, paper clips, clothespins and cotton balls, to glue to cardboard or paper in the art center. Talk about what the children have created using descriptive words and stories.

Read The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Junk Food by Stan Berenstain and Jan Berenstain. Talk about the difference between healthy foods and junk foods. Sort dramatic play foods into food groups.This can be done in small group.

Ask if certain traits are alike or not such as the same hair color, same shoes, same color shirt, or having a big brother. Pick a child to stand up and then say, “Kimmie has brown hair.

At the beginning of a theme of study, such as transportation, create a three-column chart and label the columns K (what we know), W (what we want to know) and L (what we learned).

The children should first be introduced to the animal: kangaroo. Explore unique things about the animal, especially its ability to jump a great distance.

Have the children make kazoos.

Play with the children using baby dolls. Show the children ways to keep their babies safe from harm, such as buckling them in the highchair or stroller, carrying the baby properly and not letting the baby choke.

Tune: “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush” This is the way we wash our hands
Wash our hands
Wash our hands
This is the way we wash our hands
To keep our bodies healthy This is the way we eat good food

Sing this song with the children to the tune of “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush”: This is the way we eat good food Eat good food Eat good food. This is the way we eat good food To keep our bodies healthy.

Model how to calm down, verbalize the issue and how to think of possible solutions. Discuss the use of calming techniques and use of the protected space. This can be done in small group.

Infants love keys! Hold real or plastic keys in your hand and say, "One-two-three. Let's drop the keys!" Drop the keys on the floor and make sure the infant is watching you.

During outdoor time, provide different sizes, shapes and types of balls. Ask what happens when you kick a tennis ball, a beach ball, a playground ball and a ping-pong ball.

Place infant on the floor or mat. Place bells near the infant's feet and encourage him/her to kick the bells. Say, “You're kicking your feet. Hear the bells jingle.

Give each child a can or other container that will roll. Have him/her place it a one end of the rug. Before starting, have him/her predict how many times he/she will have to kick the can or container to get it to the other end of the rug.

Fill a shallow container with a small layer of sand. Hold the infant over the container, and let his/her feet touch the sand. As the infant kicks his/her feet, describe what he/she is doing.

Before reading King Bidgood's in the Bathtub and He Won't Get Out by Audrey Wood, read the title to the children and show them the cover. Encourage them to predict what the book will be about.

Place butcher paper on a table and provide the children with a variety of kitchen tools such as forks, spatulas and potato mashers.  Show them how to dip the tools in shallow pans of paint and press them on paper.