Activities

Plan to use music throughout the day. Model dancing and encourage the children to follow your moves. The Learning Station has many songs that teach children how to repeat movements. "Tony Chestnut" is a favorite among children.

During large group, place hoops on the floor. When the music starts, the children march, skip and dance around the hoops. When the music stops, the children all stand inside the hoops. After several times, begin to remove hoops one at a time.

Set up a pretend grocery store and encourage the children to shop and find certain items to put in their bags. Include a cash register, play money and clean, empty food boxes.

Set up a table with a tablecloth in the dramatic play area. Place a set of cups, plates and silverware on the table. Talk with the children about how they use forks and spoons at home. Model how to use them appropriately at the table.

Take a small group of children for a walk around the center or school. As you walk point out simple machines you see. Look for things such as door stops (wedges), wheels on the lunch cart, nuts and bolts on the playground, and door hinges.

Gather soil, grass, water, straw, paper and spoons for children to build a real bird's nest. Read Have You Seen Birds? by Joanne Oppenheim. Talk about the different materials that birds use to make their home.

Read The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza by Philemon Sturges and Amy Walrod. After reading, encourage the children to name the steps used to make a pizza. Provide the ingredients and have them to make their own pizzas.

The children will love to make their own orange juice on a warm day, during outdoor time. Have each child place an orange half in a zip-top bag. Zip the seal closed. Encourage the children to squeeze the orange to produce juice.

Cover a table with butcher paper and provide paints, brushes, rollers and sponges. Encourage the children to work together to paint.

During outdoor time, start an organized game on the playground such as  “Red Rover,” “Mother May I” or “Red Light, Green Light,” then reduce your involvement as the children begin working together.

You will need a die and a set of jacks for each child. Have each child roll the die and select that many jacks to place in a group. Then have the child roll again, select the number of jacks and place in a second group.

Sit on the floor, facing the child. Take one end ofa long scarf and give the other end to the child. Start by pulling gently on the scarf and show the child how to pull back. When he/she begins to pull hard, pretend to fall over.

During outdoor time, have four or five of the children race around a predetermined space. Ask the children to describe the order in which each child finished the race.

Introduce books with interesting, new vocabulary such as Leo Lionni's A Color of His Own. Engage the children in a discussion about new words in the story such as "camouflage" and "chameleon.

Introduce books with interesting, new vocabulary such as Leo Lionni's A Color of His Own. Engage the children in a discussion about new words in the story such as “camouflage” and “chameleon.

Read Recycle! A Handbook for Kids by Gail Gibbons. Create a KWL (Knows/Wants to Know/ Learned) chart about recycling. Ask the children what they know about recycling and what they want to know.

Take the children on a walk and encourage them to point out things that seem unfamiliar during outdoor time. Make sure the children see this as a fun thing to do and ask questions.

During outdoor time, give the children lengths of PVC pipe and a variety of connectors. Show them how you can talk into one end of a pipe and the person at the other end can hear you. Pose a problem.

Read a book about strangers such as The Berenstain Bears Learn About Strangers by Stan and Jan Berenstain. Talk to the children to make sure they feel secure when separated from familiar adults.

Create a “Let's Talk Box” with a variety of scenarios the children can discuss and act out.