I made a shamrock number match which is great for number recognition and fine motor skills. I printed the patterns on cardstock paper ... cut them out and laminated.

I separated the shamrocks and pot-o-gold into two separate piles and mixed up the numbers.  I set ours out on a table but you can also put them in a basket.

In this activity the children find the shamrock and the pot-o-gold with the same numbers and clip them together with a plastic coated paper clip or clothes pin Play continues until all number have been matched.

As of 2022 this activity can be found in the member's section which is also where I have added a shamrock letter match.  

We still have a little over a month before spring officially arrives but we have had warmer than normal temps this week so I made a pattern match in anticipation of spring coming.

I printed two copies of each page of patterns on cardstock paper ... cut them out and laminated them.  There are a total of eighteen patterns in this set but you can make less if you want to.

In this activity children find the circles with the same patterns and clip them together with a clothespin or paper clip. You do not have to clip the matches but I like to incorporate fine motor into my activities as much as I can.  You can download the patterns by clicking the link below:

spring pattern match

** If you have difficulty opening the file in the default web browser pdf reader please right click on the link and download it to your computer and then open it up in adobe reader.
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We made jello paint and the children really loved it.  It was super easy to do and it smelled so good!! 

You will need:

jello (any brand)
warm water
containers or muffin tin
something to stir with (we used craft sticks)

I started by putting about a third of the package of jello into small container.  I then put in enough warm water just to cover the top of the jello. Next I stirred the water and jello together and repeated with the other colors.

The paint mixture will be granular which will add a nice texture to the painting. It will take a few hours to dry but when it does it has a really nice shine to it. I used regular jello and not the sugar-free kind.

The mixture does thicken over time (hours) but you can always add more warm water or even make a new batch. You can see a video of how I made my jello paint by clicking below:

One of the books we are reading this week is the "The Rainbow Fish" and to go along with that theme I made some puzzles which are great for number recognition and review. I printed the patters on cardstock paper and cut the fish out. I then laminated them and cut along the line on each fish to make two halves.

I mixed up the numbers and made two piles ... one for the fish heads and one for the fix tails.  I made the puzzles with numbers 0-30 so you can choose which numbers and how many you want to put out for your early learners.

In this activity the children find the fish halves with the same number and put them together.  Play continues until all number have been matched.

As of 2022 this activity can be found in the member's section which is also where I have added the fish alphabet puzzles. 

I designed a super cute set of alphabet puzzles as a thank you for my newsletter subscribers. If you haven't already signed up you can do so here so you can get them too!! When you sign up you will receive a welcome email that contains the download link for the alpha puzzles.

I know many of you use yahoo or gmail for your email so be sure to check your spam or junk folder for the welcome email if you do not see it in your regular inbox.

sign up for my newsletter
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It's dental health month and to go along with that theme I made a sequence activity which is great for letter recognition and review.  I printed everything on cardstock paper.  I then cut out and laminated the letter squares and glued the tooth fairy mat to the back of the letter mat.

​I made a blank mat ... an uppercase mat ... and a lowercase mat.  I also made upper case and lowercase letters.

In this activity the children put the letter squares in alphabetical order. With younger children I start with the guided letter mats and then move on to the blank mat. 

As of 2022 this activity can be found in the member's section which is also where I have added the tooth fairy number sequence mats.