The following craft ideas come from Tracy's website at Lil Treasures Child Care
Shamrock Men
Supplies:
Construction Paper
Glue
Markers or Crayons
Let the children draw a face on the shamrock and add accordian fold arms and legs.
Filter Paper Shamrocks
Supplies:
Coffee Filters
Food Coloring
Eye Droppers or Straws
Precut shamrock shape out of coffee filters. Mix water and yellow foodcoloring and place mixture in a baby food jar. Do the same for blue. Letthe children use eyedroppers to drip colors on the filter shape. The colorswill run together and make beautiful shamrocks.
Shamrock Prints
Supplies:
Bell Pepper
Paper
Green Paint
Cut bell pepper in half and clean out the seeds. The children can dip the cross sections of the pepper into some green paint and press the shamrock print onto paper.
The following crafts, songs, and ideas come from Rhonda Yeager at email: ryeager@electrotex.com.:
Shamrock Hats
Make hats from newsprint and have the child decorate with green paint or
shamrock stickers.
Shamrock People
Give the children a piece of white paper, and a green shamrock shape. Have the children glue the shamrock onto the paper, and then draw a body as if the shamrock was a head.
Shamrock People 2
Draw a large shamrock shape from green construction paper. Have the children cut it out with 4 smaller shamrock shapes. Have the children draw a face on the large shamrock shape. Supply the children with 4 strips of paper to fold accordian style for arms and legs. Have the children glue the small shamrocks onto the the strips of paper as hands and feet, then glue the arms and legs onto the body.
Torn Paper Shamrocks
Draw a shamrock shape on a piece of paper. Have the children tear pieces of green construction paper, and glue them inside the lines for the shamrock shape.
Shamrock Necklaces
Supply the children with shamrock shaped stencil. Have the children cut out shamrock shapes from construction paper. Then, have them use a hole punch to make a hole, so they can thread them onto a piece of yarn.
Shamrock Cookie Cutter Art:
Obtain a cookie cutter that is shaped like a shamrock. Have the children dip the cookie cutter in a shallow container of green paint, then press onto a piece of paper to make shamrock prints.
Potatoe Prints
Cut a large potatoe in half. You will need a shamrock cookie cutter that will fit on the potatoe half. Press the cookie cutter into the flat side of the potatoe. Then, using a knife, cut the potatoe around the outside of the cookie cutter, leaving a shaped potatoe stamp. Supply the children with the potatoe stamps, different colored paints, and paper. Have the children dip the potatoes in the paint and press them firmly onto the paper. If the potatoes are not cut evenly the shapes will not appear clearly.
Shamrock Search
Cut out many shamrock shapes and hide them around the room. Have the children search for them like an easter egg hunt.
Shamrock Sequencing
Cut out many different sizes of shamrocks. Four or five will be fine. Have your child arrange the shamrocks in order of size, largest to smallest, or smallest to largest.
Four Leaf Clover
Cut out four, three leafed clovers, and one four leafed clover. Set all five clovers on a table and ask the child to find the four leafed clover.
Four Leaf Clover Sizing Cut out five different sized clovers. Have the child arrange the clovers by size.
Shamrock Fishing Game
Tie 3 feet of string to a wooden spoon. Attach a magnet to the end of the string. Cut and laminate many different colored, and sized shamrocks from construction paper (not too big though). Attach a paper clip to each shamrock. Spread the shamrock shapes on the floor and let your child try to catch the shamrock. Have them try to catch the red shamrock.. or the biggest shamrock. For a twist, label the shamrock with letters or numbers. Ask the children to catch a specific shamrock, or ask them which shamrock they caught.
Shamrock Hop
Place shamrock shapes on the floor. Have the children hop from one shamrock to the next.
Shamrock Match Up Ideas
There are many ways to set this up depending on the skill level or the particular skill you wish to work on. Try these different set ups:
Cut out Shamrock shapes from different colors of paper. Give each child one Shamrock. Ask the children to find one person with the same color Shamrock.
Cut out Shamrock shapes from different colors of paper. Cut the Shamrock in half using a puzzle type cut, like zig zag or interlocking pieces. Give each child one half of a Shamrock, and ask them to find the person with the other half.
Or Give the children two pieces and have the children make a circle, with one child that has one match on one side and the other match on the other side. You may end up with 2 or more circles depending on how the Shamrock pieces are distributed.
Cut out Shamrock shapes from one color of paper. Cut the Shamrock in half using a puzzle type cut, like zig zag or interlocking pieces. Give each child one half of a Shamrock, and ask them to find the person with the other half.
Or Give the children two pieces and have the children make a circle, with one child that has one match on one side and the other match on the other side. You may end up with 2 or more circles depending on how the Shamrock pieces are distributed.
Cut the Shamrock shapes from one color of paper. Label one set of Shamrocks with numbers, i.e. if you have 20 children, label the Shamrocks with the numbers one to ten. The other half, draw one dot on one, two on another, and so on until ten. Give each child one Shamrock and have them find the child with their match.
Cut the Shamrock shapes from one color of paper. Place matching stickers on two Shamrocks. Give each child one Shamrock and have them find the child with their match.
Cut the Shamrock shapes from one color of paper. Cut the Shamrock in half using a puzzle type cut, like zig zag or interlocking pieces. Place matching stickers on each half of a Shamrock. Give each child one Shamrock half and have them find the child with their match.
Cut the Shamrock shapes from one color of paper. Label one set of the shamrocks with upper case letters and another set with lower case letters. Have the children find their match.
Cut the Shamrock shapes from one color of paper. Label one set of the shamrocks with letters and another set with stickers that show an item that starts with that letter.. i.e. a apple, b ball. Have the children find their match.
Place matching Shamrock stickers on separate index cards. Give each child a card and ask them to find the child with their match.
Try all the above, but in a file folder format. Glue one part of the Shamrock to the file folder and laminate it's match.
Cut the Shamrock shapes from one color of paper. Label nine shamrocks with the numbers 1 through 9. Have the children place the shamrocks in numerical order.
Cut the Shamrock shapes from one color of paper. Label nine shamrocks with the 1 to 9 dots. Have the children place the shamrocks in numerical order.
Shamrock Seat Markers
Cut out and laminate big shamrock shapes to be used as seat markers for the children to sit on during story and circle time.
The Clover Song
Sung to "The More we Get Together"
by chicky
If I could be a clover,
A clover, a clover
If I could be a clover
I would have 4 leaves
One leaf for luck and one leaf for fun
If I could be a clover
I would have 4 leaves
One leaf for wisdom and one leaf for love
If I could be a clover
I would have 4 leaves
The following crafts, songs and ideas come from Rhonda Yeager at email: ryeager@electrotex.com.:
Green and White Art
Let children make pictures using green glitter, Crayons, Pens, Colored Pencils, Markers, Paint, String, Yarn, Ribbon, Tissue Paper, Torn Paper, Holes from a Hole Punch, Shamrock Stickers, Buttons, Colored Glue, Colored Tape, Chalk, Wet Chalk, Wrapping Paper, Shamrock Shaped Sponge Painting, Shamrock or Leprechaun stamps or Pasta or rice colored with green food coloring.
Green Shaving Cream Art
Add a few drops of green paint to shaving cream. Have the children use this to paint with. Not mixing the paint in will give it a special look.
Green Spray Paint Art:
Obtain a clean spray bottle. Add water and a little bit of liquid or powdered tempera. Then, place a large piece of paper on an easel, and have the children spray the colored water onto the paper.
Kool Aid Art:
Sprinkle a little dry greeen kool aid mix onto a piece of paper. Have your child spray water from a spray bottle onto the paper. For added adventure, you may choose to take your children out into the rain with a piece of paper that has kool-aid on it.
Pistachio Pudding Finger Paint
Mix instant pistachio pudding according to the directions and paint on wax paper. Great for children who like to eat their art:)
Green Shaving Cream
Add a few drops of green paint to shaving cream. Be sure that the children's clothes are protected as the paint may stain the clothing.
Green Goop
Mix 2 cups water with a little green food coloring, add 6 cups of cornflour/cornstarch to make goop.
Shades of Green
Supply the children with green and white paint. Allow the children to mix a small amount of the paints together. What happens? For younger children, you child add the paint to a zip lock bag to minimize the mess.
Shades of Green 2
Give the children blue and yellow paint. (A lot more yellow than blue) Let the children mix the paint to see what happens.
Shades of Green 3
Supply the children with three clear cups of water, one with a drop of blue food coloring, one with a drop of yellow food coloring, and one empty cup. Supply the children with plastic eye droppers and let them mix the colors in the empty cup. (Add more coloring as desired)
Green Day
Send a letter home, ask the parents to dress the children in green clothing on a certain day.
Hunt for Green
Ask your child to look for things that are green. Write down what they find.
Sand and Water Table Ideas:
- Add a little green food coloring to water
- Add green food coloring and soap to the water
- Supply the children with green colored pasta noodles
- Hide plastic gold coins in the sand for them to hunt for
Green Song
Sung to "Bingo"
by chicky
There is a color
That I say
Represents St. Patrick's Day
G-R-E-E-N
G-R-E-E-N
G-R-E-E-N
And Green is that color
Who is Wearing Green Today?
sung to "Wheels on the Bus"
Who is Wearing Green Today?
Green Today, Green Today?
Who is Wearing Green Today?
All Day Long
(Child's Name) is Wearing Green Today
Green Today, Green Today?
(Child's Name) is Wearing Green Today?
All Day Long
The following craft idea comes from Tracy's website at Lil Treasures Child Care
Leprechaun Ladders
Supplies:
Green Construction Paper
Straws
Strings
On St. Patrick's day the leprechaun is very mischievious. He upsets chairs while children are outside playing, walks through the jello, and dyes the mashed potatoes light green. To help him keep out of mischief we make leprechaun ladders for him to play on. Stringing shamrocks alternately with snips of straws. Hang from ceiling or windows.
The following crafts, songs, and ideas come from Rhonda Yeager at email: ryeager@electrotex.com.:
Leprechaun Foot Prints
Obtain a very long piece of white paper, about six feet long is nice. Then
have each child walk across the paper after a teacher has painted their
feet green.
Treasure Hunt 1
Draw a simple map of your house. Hide a "treasure" somewhere in your house, something like a snack, or maybe a treasured toy. Explain the map to your child. Tell them where each room is. Next say there is a hidden treasure in the house, and the map is going to help them find it. Draw an X on the map where you have hidden the treasure. Help your child look for the treasure.
Treasure Hunt 2
Make a list of items you would like your child to find on a walk. Like a stick, leaf, fire hydrant, or blue car. Explain to your child that you are going on a treasure hunt and go over the list with your child. At first the items should be very easy to find.. and later can increase in difficulty. Go on the walk with the paper and mark of the items as your child finds them. This is really fun. Some more difficult ideas... Find an item that is: taller than you, can fit in your hand, is too heavy to lift, as long as your arm, is three different colors. Etc.
The Hunt for Gold:
You can buy plastic gold coins or just make some from yellow tagboard. Hide them around the room and have the children hunt around the room for them.
Pot of Gold Toss
Supply the children with yellow bean bags (gold) and a laundry basket, the pot and have them toss the gold into the pot:)
Leprechaun Steps
Cut out footprints from green construction paper and place them on the floor. Have the children follow the footprints around the room.
Where oh Where?
Sung to "Where oh Where has my Little Dog Gone?"
by chicky
Where, oh where has my pot of gold gone?
Oh Where, Oh Where could it be?
It's black and big and full of gold,
Oh Where, Oh where could it be?
My Gold Lies Under a Rainbow
Sung to "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean"
by chicky
My Gold Lies Under a Rainbow
My Gold Lies Under a tree
My Gold is Under a Leprechaun
Bring back my gold to me.
Bring back, bring back
Bring back my gold to me, to me
Bring back, bring back
Bring back my gold to me, to me.
Leprechaun Song
Sung to "I'm a little teapot"
by Chicky
I'm a little Leprechaun
Quick as can be
I hide my gold
Under a tree
If you see a rainbow
You may find
Where I left
My gold behind
Did you ever see a lassie?
Did you ever see a lassie, a lassie, a lassie
Did you ever see a lassie go this way and that?
Go this way and that way and this way and that way
Did you ever see a lassie go this way and that?
Leprechaun, Leprechaun Where's Your Gold?
Chanted and played like "Doggie Doggie Where's your Bone?"
by Chicky
Leprechaun, Leprechaun Where's Your Gold?
Somebody stole it, they are bold,
Under the rainbow, Behind a tree
Find your gold as quick as can be!
What time is it Mr. Leprechaun?
This is a fun game to play outside. You can change the name to suit any theme. The children all line up against a wall or fence. And one child, Mr. Leprechaun or the teacher faces away from the children, a good distance away from the children. The children yell, what time is it "Mr. Leprechaun", Mr. Leprechaun answers 1 o'clock, and the children all take one step toward Mr. Leprechaun. The children yell again, what time is it "Mr. Leprechaun", Mr. Leprechaun answers (fill in the blank) o'clock, and the children all take same number of step toward Mr. Leprechaun. This continues until all the children are very close to Mr. Leprechaun, then Mr. Leprechaun will answer it's midnight, and chases the children back to the fence or wall that they started at. The first person Mr. Leprechaun touches will be the new Mr. Leprechaun.
Leprechaun Song
by chicky-ma-ma
Sung to "Mary had a Little Lamb"
I'm a little Leprechaun
Leprechaun
Leprechaun
I'm a little Leprechaun
Who likes to hide the gold
A St Patrick's Day Meal:
Shamrock Cookies
Use your favorite sugar cookie recipe and a shamrock shaped cookie cutter.
When the cookies are cool, let the children place green icing and green
sugar on top.
Main Meal
Serve an irish stew for lunch.
Kool Aid
Serve green cool aid.
Green Milk
Add a drop of green food coloring to the milk and serve green milk.
The following idea comes from Tracy's website at Lil Treasures Child Care
Wind Socks
Supplies:
Paper Lunch Bag
Construction Paper
Crepe Paper
Scissors
Glue
Misc. Craft Supplies
To make a wind sock, cut off the bottom of a paper lunch bag. Decorate the bag with glitter paint, neon construction paper, stickers, etc. Then attach crepe paper streamers to one end of the bag. Attach a construction paper handle to the opposite end of the bag.
The following suggestion comes from Cheryl. Email her at: c5joy@aol.com:
Barney's Weather Book by Mary Ann Dudko, Margie Larsen
Barney's Weather Book is a unique introduction to the concepts of rainy,
stormy, windy, cold and sunny days, among others. Barney, with the help of
colorful illustrations, encourages young children to have fun in all kinds of
weather!
The following songs, crafts and ideas come from Tracy's website at Lil Treasures Child Care
Daffodils
Supplies:
Roll up a little ball on one end of the pipe cleaner so that when you stick it through the flower it won't just fall out. First cut the shape of the "back" of the daffodil...or approximately anyway. Put a small hole in the center for the pipe cleaner. Cut the cupcake paper in half. Roll it till you can glue the pleated edges together, making the part of the flower that sticks out in front (we called it the "trumpet"). Make a hole (or sort of open the one that's there) and put the pipe cleaner through both parts of the flower; glue the "trumpet" onto the back of the flower. We also added a little edge of orange with markers to make them look like the variations of daffodils.
Yellow Crepe Paper
Yellow Cupcake Paper
Green Pipe Cleaners
Popcorn Flowers
Supplies:
Popped Popcorn
Powder Tempera Paint
Green Construction Paper
Glue
Tagboard or Cardboard
Pop popcorn. Put handfuls of popcorn in plastic baggies and add powdered tempura paint to each one. Shake well to distribute paint all over the popcorn Cut stems and leaves out of green construcion paper and glue them to tagboard. Glue on the colored popcorn to make spring flowers.
Spring Flowers
Supplies:
Construction Paper
Scissors
Glue
Trace around 1 hand on yellow paper, and trace around 1 hand on red paper. Cut them out; these will be the flowers. Cut out a long & short stem out of green paper. Cut out four leaves out of green paper. Glue the cut out hands on the stems on brown paper, add leaves.
Fringed Flowers
Supplies:
Construction Paper
Straws
Scissors
Glue
Stapler or Tape
Cut out 3 paper circles (same or different colors). Child cuts a 'fringe' around each circle. Put circles together, largest on bottom, smallest on top. Add a yellow smaller unfringed circle or yellow dot sticker to the middle. Staple all together onto adrinking straw as stem. We used to let the children make as many of these as they wanted over a week. We'd also have them decorate a 'vase' made out of a whole and ahalf paper plate stapled together around the edge. At the end of the week they could put their flowers in the vase (a bit of playdough in the bottom of the vase made them stay there) and take the vase of flowers home to mommy.
Sunflowers
Supplies:
Paper Plates
Construction Paper Paper
Glue
Yellow Paint
Sunflower Seeds
Have children cut out several yellow petals and paste on small paper plate previously painted yellow. Fill center with sunflower seeds.
Cereal Flowers
Supplies:
Paper Plate
Green Construction Paper
Glue
Green Pipe Cleaners
Paste colorful cereals on paper plates in the shape of flowers. Add pipe cleaner stem and leaves cut out of construction paper.
Spring Window Decoration
Supplies:
Potato
Misc. craft Supplies
Potting Soil
Grass Seed
This week we got sick of the gloomy weather and decorated our big picture window. We made a huge umbrella that the kids decorated collage style, then cut out hundreds of raindrops and taped it all to the window. THen in another window, we made flowers (glue a bunch of cut out petals to a circle and throw on a stem) and hung those up too.
Spring Birds
Supplies:
2 Paper Plates
Scissors
Paper
Glue
Markers, Crayons, or Paint
Color paper plates. Fold one paper plate in half. Cut about a 4 inch slit in the center-top of each side to hold wings; cut about a 1 inch slit in the top back to hold tail. Cut second plate in half. Trim one of the halves by 1 inch on the straight edge. Slip into the slit to make the wings. Trim the other half by 1 inch and then cut in half to form a triangle for the tail. Slip it into the tail slot. Cut a small triangle from paper for the beak. Make eyes.
Smelly Flowers
Supplies:
Paper
Cupcake Liners
Glue
Markers, Crayons, or Paint
Perfume
Glue paper cupcake liners on paper. Add stems. Spray some flowery perfume on the flowers. My daycare kids really liked the smelly part of the project.
The following ideas come from Rhonda Dunn at email: rhojomax47@oknet1.net:
Decorate boxes, bottles, flower pots and picture frames with sand and
shells. Simply glue the shells and sand to your object.
Create a spring mosaic using old magazines instead of glass! Simply tear up pieces of colorful magazine pages. Then, draw a simple shape on a piece of paper, and glue the magazine pieces onto the picture.
Make colorful spring bread beads! Cut the crusts off of three slices of white bread. Crumble the bread into a bowl and add three teaspoons of glue and a few drops of dishwashing liquid. Roll the mixture into small balls and push them onto a skewer stick. Let dry and paint them with acrylic paints!
Paint a watercolor picture on a thick piece of paper. Then, on a rainy day, place the painting outside to let mother nature add her own rain signature!
Make a butterfly mobile! Cut out sixteen butterfly shapes from colored and plain paper - two each of various sizes. Glue the butterfly shapes back to back so you have eight two-sided butterflies. Cut sixteen butterfly body shapes (ovals) from a piece of poster paper or cereal box cardboard. Glue these to either side of every butterfly. Cut out small circles, squares and other shapes and glue them to the butterfly wings for decoration. Hang the butterflies from a good sized twig. Hang the creation from the ceiling.
Create butterflies from coffee filters! Color coffee filters with large water-based magic markers. Let dry. Pinch the coffee filter into a butterfly shape by using a clothespin. Decorate the clothespin too!
I apologize that I do not know where these following wonderful ideas came from. Please, if you recognize them as yours, let me know and I will immediately put a link to acknowledge where your ideas came from
Seed packets can easily be turned into a memory game. Collect pairs of
matching seed packets, mount on construction paper and place face down.
Challenge children to turn packets over two at a time in an attempt to make a
match.
No-Fail Grass Garden
If you're really nervous about gardening with kids and want a no-fail activity to begin with, try growing grass seed in little pots or on wet sponges. Grass seed sprouts almost instantly and kids will be thrilled with the results.
Show the children the spattered looking pages in The Tiny Seed. Invite the children to paint or color a picture and then using toothbrushes, spatter the pictures with paint.
Decorate a Styrofoam cup to look like a face. Fill it with potting soil and plant bird seed or grass seed just under the surface. Water carefully. In just 2-3 days you should have sprouts for hair.
Let the children look through seed catalogs and select a page they like. Glue it onto construction paper and then laminate or onto tagboard. Cut the picture into puzzle shape pieces and give to child to put together.
Make a list of seeds we can eat. Make a chart supplying samples of each.
Display a variety of sizes of seeds from tiny tomato seed to large avocado seeds. Have children compare and classify the seeds according to size.
Plant a variety of seeds and keep track of their daily growth. Plant them in clear plastic glasses so the root system can be observed. Chart how many days it took each type of seed to sprout.
Using a magnifying glass, observe a variety of sizes of seeds.
Plant three styrofoam cups with potting soil. Plant bird seed just below the surface of each. Mark on cup “No Water”, mark another “No Sunlight”, and the third on blank. Compare the growth of the three plantings during the course of the week.
Open a pumpkin, rinse, and roast the seeds.
Make crunchy seed candy: 1 cup each of sunflowers seeds, honey, peanut butter, and cocoa powder. Shape into 1” balls and roll in sesame seeds to coat. Eat!
Fingerplay:
Plant a seed in the ground,
Water and sunshine all around.
Little seed, in the ground so still,
Will you grow up? Yes you will!
Old McDonald Had A Garden
Old McDonald had a garden, Ee-igh, Ee-igh, oh.
In his garden he had to plant, Ee-igh, Ee-igh, oh.
With a plant-a-seed here and a plant-a-seed there
Here a seed, there a seed, everywhere a garden seed.
Old McDonald had a garden, Ee-igh, Ee-igh, oh.
In his garden he had to water, Ee-igh, Ee-igh, oh.
Sprinkle, sprinkle here....
In his garden he had to hoe, Ee-igh, Ee-igh, oh.
Chop, chop here....
In his garden he had to pick, Ee-igh, Ee-igh, oh.
Pick-a-carrot here, pick-a-lettuce there,
Here a bean, there a corn, everywhere a garden plant.
Old McDonald had a garden, Ee-igh, Ee-igh, oh.
Fingerplay-My Garden
This is my garden, I'll rake it with care
And then some flower seeds I'll plant there
The sun will shine
And the rain will fall
And my garden will blossom and grow straight and tall
Poem-Dig A Little Hole
Dig a little hole
Plant a little seed
Pour a little water
And pull a little weed
Seed Collage
Collect all types of seeds. Have children glue them onto construction paper to create a collage.
"A Little Seed"
(sing to the tune "I'm a Little Teapot")
Here's a little seed in the dark, dark ground.
Out comes the warm sun, yellow and round.
Down comes the rain, wet and slow.
Up comes the little seed, grow, grow, grow!
Fingerplay
Little seed in the ground below (form your bodies into balls)
Felt the heat of the warm sun's glow (rub hands over arms)
Heard the raindrops pitter patter (place hand behind ear)
Wondered why the birds did chatter (place hand on head as if pondering)
So the seed began to grow (begin to rise)
And poked it's head up very slow (lift head)
What it saw was such a sight (rub eyes)
The plant was in a garden bright! (throw arms apart)
Window Gardens
Fold paper towel so it fits inside a resealable plastic bag. Staple all the layers together 2 inches below the top of the bag. Have child place 6 lima beans along the staples. Pour 1/4 cup water into bag (water level should be below the staples so they will not rot.) Partially seal bag & tape to window. When sprouts are several inches tall send them home.
Spring Sprouts
Fill clean eggshell halves 2/3s full with soil & plant a seeds in each. Set the shells in an egg carton & moisten soil. Cover carton with plastic wrap & set in dark place. When sprouts appear, remove wrap & place in sunny window. Plant eggshell & all in ground outside.
Lawn Limerick
If you want to grow grass on the ground, (point to the ground)
Start by spreading some seeds all around. (pretend to sprinkle seeds)
Add a little light, (form sun with arms in circle overhead)
And water just right, (wiggle fingers to show rain)
And before your eyes, grass will abound! (point to eyes; then spread arms wide)
The following songs, crafts and ideas come from Tracy's website at Lil Treasures Child Care
Bagel Bird Feeder
Supplies:
Bagel
Peanut Butter
Bird Seed
Yarn or String
Have children spread peanut butter on a bagel. When done, dip bagel in bird seed. Attach a piece of yarn and hang outside on tree branches or on fence.
Bird's Nest
Supplies:
Construction Paper
Glue
Cardboard
Yarn
Markers
Use scissors to cut the shapes of birds eggs from construction paper. Glue the eggs onto cardboard. Glue short strands of yarn under the eggs for a nest allow them to dry completely. Use markers to draw tree branches around the nest and speckles on the eggs. Draw leaves or use real ones, or felt (whatever) to make leaves on the branches. Variations: Wash and dry pieces or real eggshells. Glue them on top of the yard nests.Talk about the kinds of birds that live in your area. Compare their sizes, shapes, and colors. Take a walk and look for nests in trees. Talk about the materials that birds use to build nests and how high or low the nests are in the trees.
Feathered Friends
While studying farm animals Shauna R. helps preschool children make a feathered animal that you see on a farm.
Materials:
Gold and orange yarn, and brown rice.
Description:
Teachers pre cut a duck for all of your children. Then give each child a handful of gold and orange yarn cut into small pieces. The gold yarn is used for the beak of the duck. Then you use the orange yarn for the feet. The children then spread glue over the rest of the ducks body, pouring rice over the glue. Pour enough to make a thick coat. Dump the excess rice and BAM you have a feathered friend.
The following ideas come from Cheryl at email: c5joy@aol.com:
Six Little Ducks
Six little ducks that I once knew
Fat ones, skinny ones, fair ones, too
But the one little duck with the feather on his back
He led the others with a quack, quack, quack
Quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack
He led the others with a quack, quack, quack
Down to the river they would go
Wibble, wobble, wibble, wobble, to and fro
But the one little duck with the feather on his back
He led the others with a quack, quack, quack
Quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack
He led the others with a quack, quack, quack
Back from the river they would come
Wibble, wobble, wibble, wobble, ho, hum, hum
But the one little duck with the feather on his back
He led the others with a quack, quack, quack
Quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack
He led the others with a quack, quack, quack.
Five little ducks (Finger Puppet Glove)
Five little ducks went out to play
over the hills and far away
When mother duck said
Quack, quack, quack!
Only four little ducks came back.
reduce by one until you are down to one left and the last line is:
One little duck went out to play
over the hills and far away
When mother duck said
Quack, quack, quack!
five little ducks came running back...
The Duck
Behold the duck.
It does not cluck.
A cluck it lacks.
It quacks.
It is especially fond.
Of a puddle or pond
When it dines or sups,
It bottoms up.
Five little ducks paddling to shore,
One paddled away, then there were four;
Four little ducks paddling towards me,
One padled away, then there were three:
Three little ducks paddling towards you,
One paddled away, then there were two:
Two little ducks paddling in the sun,
One paddled away, then there was one:
It paddled away then there was none.
THE LITTLE DUCKLINGS
Have the children act out the movements described as you recite the following
poem.
All the little ducklings
Line up in a row.
Quack, quack, quack.
And away they go.
They follow their mother
Waddling to and fro.
Quack, quack, quack,
And away they go.
Down to the big pond
Happy as can be.
Quack, quack, quack,
They are full of glee.
They jump in the water
And bob up and down.
Quack, quack, quack,
They swim all around.
All the little ducklings
Swimming far away.
Quack, quack, quack.
They'll play another day.
THREE LITTLE DUCKS THAT I ONCE KNEW
Three little ducks that I once knew.
A fat one, a skinny one, a yellow one too.
But the one little duck with a feather on his back
He ruled the others with his quack, quack, quack!
Quack, quack, quack.
He ruled the other with his quack, quack, quack.
Down to the meadow they would go.
Wibble, wobble, wibble, wobble to and fro.
But the one little duck with the feathers on his back.
He led the others with his quack, quack.
Quack, quack, quack.
He led the others with his quack, quack, quack.
Home from the river they would come.
Wibble, wobble, wibble wobble, ho, hum.
But the one little duck with the feather on his back.
He led the others with his quack, quack, quack.
Quack, quack, quack.
He led the others with his quack, quack, quack.
Sung to : "Frere Jacques"
I'm a duck, I'm a duck,
Watch me waddle, watch me waddle.
Hear me when I talk,
Hear me when I talk.
Quack, quack, quack; quack, quack, quack.
QUACK QUACK poem by Dr. Seuss
We have two ducks. One blue. One black.
And when our blue duck goesQUACK , "quack, quack,"
Our black duck quickly quack quacks back.
The quacks Blue quacks, makes her quite a quacker;
But Black is a quicker quacker backer.
Ducky Dawdle
Little ducky dawdle
Was swimming in a puddle, quite small!
Said it didn't matter,
If he splashed or splattered.
I'm only a ducky afterall, quack, quack!
Ducks
Look, look, look!
Three ducks in a brook!
One is white and one is brown,
And one is swimming upside down.
Ducky Treats
Need:
yellow cake mix
yellow food coloring
yellow frosting
coconut
few chocolate chips
few candy corns
Adult should prepare cupcakes for the duck's head using a yellow cake mix. For the duck's face, the children can hlp to add a few drops of yellow food coloring to coconut and set aside. Spread each cupcake with yellow frosting. Sprinkle with yellow coconut. Add two chocolate chips for eyes and a candy corn for the beak. Watch everyone go QUACKERS for their treat.
DUNK THE DUCKS
Fill a soft-sided inflatable wading pool or use a water table with about 3 inches of water and put three or four plastic floating ducks in it. Then fill several squirt bottles with water. Invite the children to use the square bottles to "dunk the ducks."
Fingerpaint A Blue Duckpond
Fingerpainted with blue paint. Then cut ducks out and fold the bottom of the paper and stick the ducks in the blue paint. Yellow Ducks - Blue Pond!!
Have the children paint a large blue pond to hang on the wall. Make ducks. Paint half a paper plate yellow and add one yellow circle attached to one end of the 1/2 plate. Add beaks and feathers, and hang them on the pond.
Ducks
Materials:
Construction Paper
Glue
Cornmeal
What to Do:
Draw a Duck on Construction paper and cut out. Apply glue to
the inside of the duck shape, and then sprinkle on cornmeal.
Let dry and remove the excess meal.
Book:
Have You Seen My Duckling? by Nancy Tafuri
Children will love spotting the missing duckling who is never far away.
SUMMER DAYS
It ws a hot, sunny day in the summer. Mother Duck and her fluffy little ducklings were taking a walk. Mother quacked, "Today the pond is warm and you will have your first swimming lesson. All little ducks must learn to swim."
All the ducklings waddled into the water, except for David Duck. He said, "I don't want a swimming lesson. I want to watch today."
All the ducklings waddled into the water, except for David Duck. He said, "I don't want a swimming lesson. I want to watch today."
The other ducks splashed and popped under the water to look for bugs. They paddled their feet and played tag. What fun!
Cathy Caterpillar crawled by and asked David why he wasn't swimming. "I don't like to get water in my eyes," said the little duck.
Francis Frog hopped over and said, "Jump in the water!" David Duck said, "It's too deep for me."
Terry Turtle crawled along and said, "I'll show you how to swim." "No, thank you, I just want to watch," said David.
Bobby Blackbird flew by and laughed. "I bet you're afraid to get in the water!" he cawed. "Can you imagaine, a duck afraid of water?"
Just then, Mother Duck swam over to David and said that it was okay to watch sometimes. Maybe tomorrow he might want to try swimming.
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