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Reading Aloud To Young Children

6/25/2016

6 Comments

 
the importance of reading aloud for preschool and kindergarten
Reading aloud to young children is extremely beneficial to stimulating language development and cognitive skills.  It also promotes curiosity ... motivation ... and listening skills

When children are read to they develop a positive experience with books and reading that will carry on through their school years and beyond. One-on-one reading time with a parent or care provider also gives young children important bonding and nurturing time with adults.

Even reading aloud to young children for as little as fifteen minutes a day can provide many benefits that can not be gained through normal conversations or screen time.

Here are just a few of my favorite books to read to young children:

The Very Hungry Caterpillar
By Eric Carle

My Very First Mother Goose
Edited by Iona Opie

Is Your Mama a Llama?
By Deborah Guarino

Goodnight Moon
By Margaret Wise Brown

Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed
By Eileen Christelow

Guess How Much I Love You
By Sam McBratney

Dear Zoo
By Rod Campbell

In the Tall, Tall Grass
By Denise Fleming

Good Night, Gorilla
By Peggy Rathmann

Love You Forever
By Robert Munsch

The Snowy Day
By Ezra Jack Keats

Time to Get Dressed!
By Elivia Savadier

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
By Bill Martin, Jr.

For even more book suggestions you can download my book list.

Please leave a comment and let me know what your favorite books are to read to your little ones!!

6 Comments

Strawberry Lacing Card

6/22/2016

6 Comments

 
strawberry lacing card for preschool and kindergarten
I made a strawberry lacing card for the children to work on fine motor development as well as eye-hand coordination. I printed the pattern on cardstock paper and glued it on to another sheet of cardstock paper for extra durability.
strawberry lacing card for preschool and kindergarten
I then cut the strawberry out and laminated it and then cut it out again.  The next step was to punch the holes. I left the strawberry blank so you could decide how far apart you wanted to punch the holes for the children to lace.
strawberry lacing for prescchool and kindergarten
strawberry lacing card for preschool and kindergarten
I tied a lacing cord to the bottom of the strawberry but if you do not have lacing cord you can also use yarn.  You may want to put tape around the lacing end of the yard to make it easier to guide into the punched holes.
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You can download the strawberry lacing card pattern here.

6 Comments

Jumbo Water Beads

6/14/2016

2 Comments

 
jumbo water beads for preschool and kindergarten
We have used water beads for a variety of activities and the children really enjoyed them.  I recently found a source for jumbo water beads and decided to give them a try to see what they were like.
jumbo water beads for preschool and kindergarten
I purchased them from etsy but the same seller also sells on ebay.  The water beads were around 7.00 dollars for a package of 24 but the seller included a few extra in case of damage during shipping.
jumbo water beads for preschool and kindergarten
The jumbo beads start out the same size and the finished size of the original water beads.  Because they are small objects you will want to use very close supervision for children under five.
jumbo water beads for preschool and kindergarten
I put the beads in a bucket of room temperature water and made sure the beads always had enough water to cover them.  The instructions that came with the beads were not the clearest as to the specific time frame it would take for the water beads to reach full size.
jumbo water beads for preschool and kindergarten
beads after one hour of soaking in water
After one hour of soaking the beads in water they developed the look and texture of raspberries.  I was surprised how much they had grown in such a short time period.
jumbo water beads for preschool and kindergarten
beads after four hours of soaking in water
After fours hours in water the beads had grown larger and developed smooth ridges.  The outer area of the beads started to become transparent while the center remained solid.
jumbo water beads for preschool and kindergarten
beads after twenty-four hours in water
After twenty-four hours the beads had grown very large but still had some dimples on them which indicated that there was still room for them to grow.  The instructions stated the water beads could take 2-4 days to reach full size.
jumbo water beads for preschool and kindergarten
beads after forty-eight hours in water
After forty-eight hours the beads had reached their full size and and we did sorting of colors and sizes as well as counting activities.  The children also free
played with them in the water which was for a sensory play activity.

We observed the changes together and the children could pick the beads up while observing but I always made sure that I was there to supervise.  After the beads reached there full-size they are pretty hard to break by just squeezing them.

You can see a video of the jumbo water beads below:

2 Comments

Ladybug Math

6/6/2016

10 Comments

 
ladybug math for preschool and kindergarten
ladybug alphabet and number match also added to the member's section
I made a ladybug math activity that is also great for number recognition as well as fine motor development. I printed the patterns on cardstock paper ... cut them out ... and then laminated them.
ladybug math for preschool and kindergarten
ladybug math for preschool and kindergaren
I set the ladybugs out along with black pony beads for the children to use as counters.  If you do not have pony beads you can also use playdough that has been rolled into small balls.
ladybug math for preschool and kindergarten
In this activity the children count out and put the same number of pony beads on the ladybug that is indicated on the leaf. As of 2022 this activity can be found in the member's section which is also where I have added ladybug alphabet and number matching.
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ladybug alphabet and number match added to the member's section
10 Comments

Ladybug Color Match

6/1/2016

3 Comments

 
Ladybug Color Match For Toddlers and Preschool
We are starting our ladybug theme next week and I made a color match that could be done using a muffin tin in one of our outdoor centers.  
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I made twelve color circles ... each a different color...  and put them in the bottom of a muffin tin tray. I ran the colored circles through my xyron sticker maker so they would stick to the muffin tin.  Double sided tape or tape that has been rolled up also works well.
Ladybug Color Match For Toddlers and Preschool
I will set the muffin tin out with the colored circles in the bottom and put the colored ladybugs next to the muffin tin.  I made two different kinds of ladybugs ... one full color and one with a color circle on a white body.  You can chose what kind you would like to use. I will be using both sets for the children to match.
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The children will put the ladybugs in the muffin tin section with the same color. For younger children you may only want to make one or two sets of the ladybugs as too many can be somewhat overwhelming when there are twelve colors. 

You can download the patterns here and see a video of this activity below:

3 Comments
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fine motor lacing cards download for preschool and kindergarten

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fine motor tracing sheets download for preschool and kindergarten
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