These pages are dedicated to all the wonderful childcare providers and teachers that have become my friends and support through my daycare email lists. Most of the activities and ideas on these pages come from them. Please visit there sites or send them a note to let them know what you think of their ideas. Also, feel free to email me with ideas of your own for activities or other themes that you feel would be appropriate for any particular month. I will add your ideas with links to your website and email address. Thank you, and enjoy!
LETTERS: Q & R
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NUMBER: 9
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SHAPE: Diamond
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COLOR: Purple
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ZOO ANIMALS/FROGS
The following ideas come from Tracy's website at Lil Treasures Child Care
Zoo Day at the Daycare (What fun!)
Have the children bring in their favorite stuffed zoo animal and set up a zoo in the classroom. Set up a viewing area; make signs for each of the zoo animals. Have some books on hand to talk about the animal they have brought. Better yet ask them to bring a book from home about their animal if at all possible! Zoos are a wealth of information for the preschool child. Try to schedule a trip to your local Zoo. At well-respected zoos, animals are kept in houses, or fenced areas that are similar as possible to their natural homes. Ask the kids to try and name some of the varieties of Animals usually found in a zoo (elephants, lions, tigers, giraffes, monkeys, zebras, bears, hippopotamus', snakes, and many species of birds & fish.) Some kinds of wild animals are in danger of dying out and becoming endangered. Many animal rights groups are successfully trying to save many of the breeds. A Zoo keeper helps keep the animals healthy and takes care of roads, walks, and flowers, so the visitors have a safe and healthy trip.
Animal Planet ER
Create an ER in one of your rooms. Drape a white sheet over a table; get a bright light for the table. Make masks for the kids to wear or ask your local Doctor if you can buy or have a few. If at all possible let them watch Animal Planet and see how their ER works. Some supplies you may want to provide include:
Cotton swabs, cloth bandages (made from scraps) band aids, rubber gloves, play stethoscope, scale, clipboards, tablet, pencils, something to use for animals who require an over night stay, dog dish, water dish, stuffed animals brought from home who are ill ;-), play telephone, play thermometer.
Zoo Animal sponge painting
Find some animal shaped sponges and create your own zoo using the sponges. After the kids stamp out their picture, get some string and dip the string into the paint and let them drag the strings from top to bottom to look like a cage.
Zoo Animal Matching Game
Cut duplicate sets of pictures of animals out of magazines or coloring books, down load them from the net. Pin one picture on each child's back. All the children should move around the room behaving like the picture of the animal on their back. The object is for the children to locate their matching animal.
Sorting Animal Crackers
Animal crackers can provide excellent sorting and matching experiences for children. Dump out a large pile of the crackers (Sam's club had large bags for a great price) onto the table. Let kids sort them by species, size, where they live etc. When your done get out the milk and enjoy eating your sorted piles! :-)
Monkeys in the tree
Give each child a piece of construction paper with the outline of a tree drawn on it. Set out ink pads and felt tip markers. Let the children make thumbprint monkeys all over their tree pictures. To create each monkey, have him or her press a thumb on an inkpad and make two thumbprints, one above the other, on their papers. Then let them complete their monkeys by adding faces, arms, legs, and tails with the markers or crayons.
Penguin Finger puppets
Use film canisters and cut the lid in half. Hot glue them to the sides for wings. Finish up by adding a white foam belly and an orange beak and two googly eyes (get self stick ones from a craft store or Wal-Mart).
Penguin facts
...do not fly, they hop, walk, or toboggan
...expert divers and swimmers
...thick layer of fat called blubber under skin
...they do not build nests. The female lays egg, males hold egg on the
top of their feet, hunches down so skin covers and warms the egg.
...raise their chicks in colonies called rookeries
...there may be thousands of penguins in one rookery
Penguin cut outs
Cut out penguin shapes from black paper. Paint with Epsom salts deluded in water. Makes the penguin look frosty.
What keeps a Walrus warm? Blubber !
Blubber=The thick layer of fat between the skin and the muscle layers of walrus' and other marine mammals, from which an oil is obtained.
Try this Science experiment:
Take two small plastic bags-turn one of them inside out and place it inside the other bag. Spoon shortening in between the two bags and seal them together. This makes a blubber mitten and the kids can insert their hands into the mitten and put their hand into icy water and see the difference that the blubber makes in keeping warm.
100 Animals
I went to the zoo and what did I see?
100 animals looking at me.
There were,
10 tall giraffes, eating from the trees.
10 silly monkeys, scratching on their knees.
10 sleeping snakes, lying in the sun.
10 munching elephants, eating peanuts one by one.
10 leaping tigers, performing in the shows,
10 pink flamingos, standing on their toes.
10 grouchy bears, trying to get some sleep.
I'm a little Seal
(Tune: I'm a Little Teapot)
I'm a little seal
On the ice.
I think cold is very nice.
I can slide around first once, then twice,
I think ice is very nice.
Seals
Have you ever seen seals in picture books?
I always smile when I see their looks.
They look like mermaids in their fancy suits,
all black and shiny from head to boots.
I often wonder when it snows;
do they freeze their little seal toes?
Do they shiver and shake in their land of ice?
Sitting on icebergs can't be nice!
Monkey's Swing Thing
Have the children stand in a circle and hold hands. Recite the following poem; have them swing their arms up and down.
Little monkeys swinging in the tree,
All hold hands and swing with me.
Swing up high and swing down low,
Swing in the tree, now don't let go!
Swing, swing, like I do.
Swing like monkeys in the zoo.
Dramatic Play: "Zoo Keeper"
Teachers provide the props and youngsters provide the creativity during this preschool activity by Nancy V.
Materials: Nets, boots, gloves, pail, plastic shovel or scoop, hay, pictures of animals and zoo keepers also stuffed animals.
Description: Set out the materials. Children can pretend to be a zoo keepers working at the zoo and feeding the animals.
Game: "Freddie the Frog"
Promote eye hand coordination, motor skills and spatial awareness with this game by Pixie L.
Materials: A bean bag box and bean bag.
Description: This can be done in a small group, sitting or standing. Put a box in the center of a small circle of children. Give one child the bean bag. Everyone chants:
Freddie the Frog went to jump on a log
And, SPLASH, he fell into the pond.
On the word "SPLASH", the child throws the bean bag into the box in the center of the circle. Keep repeating until everyone has a turn with the bean bag.
Comments: This is a fun small group activity!
Science and Art: "Terrible Toads"
To help pre-school and kindergarten children learn the difference between frogs and toads, and to learn about toads in general, Elisa H. shares this early childhood activity.
Materials: Book: Frog and Toad are Friends, brown construction paper with the out line of a toad, bird seed and glue.
Description: Teachers read the book and then provide the toad outlines. Let the kids put big splotches of glue on the paper. For best results use straight glue, not mixed with water. Sprinkle on birdseed. When dry: It's bumpy like a real toad!
Follow up by making "toad houses". Cut an oatmeal container in half, cut out a door, hide outside in summer and wait to see if you get a toad. It really works! Remember to let the toad go after you look at it.
Comments: The toads look really neat!
MOTHERS/MOTHER'S DAY
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KITES
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Olympics/Memorial Day
Coming Soon
BABY ANIMALS/BABIES
Coming Soon
