Welcome Back Preschoolers!!

Today is our first day back and I'm so excited to have you here!

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Curious Gerorge!

I have yet to meet a kid who doesn't like Curious George.

After watching the Curious George movie during quiet time, I decided each kid should make their own George to take home with them!

I started out with a Curious George coloring template and empty t.p. rolls.

Once the pages were colored, the body was attached to the t.p. roll and the children attached the rest of George accordingly.

Once complete, we had George's dancing, talking and getting into mischief.

Knock! Knock!

Knock Knock jokes are a fun way to pass time between

learning time and lunch.

I taught the preschoolers how to tell knock knock jokes by telling them what to say and when. As time has gone on, they're coming up with their own versions.

Some of our favorite knock knock jokes:

Knock Knock Who's there? Lettuce. Lettuce who? Lettuce in, it's cold out here.

Knock Knock! Who's there? Moo. Moo, who? Well, make up your mind, are you a cow or an owl?

Knock Knock! Who's there? Ya. Ya who? What are you getting so excited about?

Knock Knock! Who's there? Boo. Boo who? Don't cry. It's only me.

Knock Knock! Who's there? Banana. Banana who? Knock Knock! Who's there? Banana. Banana who? Knock Knock! Who's there? Orange. Orange who? Orange you glad I didn't say banana?

Ladybug Love

"L" is for Ladybug...

To begin this project I cut black & red circles out of

construction paper.

I cut the red circle in half for the ladybug wings and attached them to the black circle with a small brad (purchased in a lot from Oriental Trading Co.).

Each child was then given a glue stick, black dots and 2 black antennas

to complete their ladybug.

The antennas were curled with a pencil.

Once complete, the children enjoyed flying their ladybugs

throughout the play area!

Miss Melissa, You Deserve This!

Last week one of my preschoolers asked if she could draw me a map.

Of course I said yes and gave her a blank piece of paper.

A few minutes later, she gave me the following:

She said, "Miss Melissa, this map is for you. So you never get lost.

I even wrote an "M" on it for you...so you know it's your map to your house."
I said, "Thank you! I needed a map!"

With the biggest smile on her face she said, "I think you deserve this!"

She then told me "You better keep this on the "fridgerator" so you don't lose it."

LoL...I love my job!

Mother's Day Q & A

The last thing we added to our Mother's Day flower pots were a fun

Mom Q & A.

To complete this, ask your preschooler the following:

Top 10 Reasons I Love My Mom:

10) I love my mom because she reads me:

9) I love my mom because she helps me:

8) I love my mom when she makes me laugh by:

7) I love my mom because she taught me to:

6) I love to hear my mom sing:

5) I love my mom because she finds time to:

4) I know my mom cares because she:

3) I know my mom is smart because she:

2) I love my mom because she works so hard at:

1) My mom is:

Some of the funnier answers I received were:

* I love my mom when she makes me laugh by falling down on her head.

and making me clean my room.

* I love my mom because she finds time to eat.

* I know my mom is smart because she watches TV.

*My mom is the best mom ever!

Planting a flower for Mom!

The project the kids were most excited about this week was the planting a flower for mom project!

I started off by filling buckets with the necessary supplies.

Each bucket contained:

* A set of stickers

* Flower instructions

* A photo of themselves

* A piece of muffin paper

* A flowering seed

* A clothespin

I set up a workstation for the kids to use to create their flowering pot.

Each child decorated the outside of their pot (sand bucket purchased for $1/ea) with the stickers provided.

Once the pots were decorated we headed over to the potting soil where each child filled their pot.

Once the pots were filled, we moved on to adding a flower of our own.

Each child glued their photograph onto a piece of muffin paper and attached it to a clothespin.

I then hot glued each clothespin to the corresponding flower for each child.

Each child was given a teeny tiny seed to put in their pot.

We discussed how this little seed would grow into the beautiful flower I had printed on the "How to grow" information sheet.

Once complete, I added a little water and allowed the flowerpots to sit in the sun.

This is one gift I'm sure all the mother's will love!

Mother's Day Photo Magnet

Here's a super easy Mother's Day Craft anyone can complete!

After printing and having the children color the I love mom template, I cut each one out and glue the "I" to the heart.

Each child glued the "mom" and their photo on the frame.

I used a craft glue and heavy magnet on the back of the heart frame.

When I worked outside the home, I always enjoyed decorating my desk and filing cabinets with crafts my kids made. I felt a magnet frame would be the perfect office accessory for our moms.

When complete each mom had a photo of their child working on this project in the perfect handcrafted frame.

Mother's Day: Flowering Photo

The perfect Mother's Day craft for any age.

After printing a simple flower template and having the children color it, the older children were given a pair of scissors to cut their frame out.

A photo of themselves was placed in the middle of the flower.

Each child was then given a green pipe cleaner to use for the stem of the flower.

We glue a single petal around the stem of the flower before allowing them dry.

Once finished, I had the most beautiful boquet of flowers!

It's time to play ball!!

I love teaching through play. I believe it's the most effective way to teach toddlers and preschoolers!

For today's game, I grabbed my bag of 100 colored balls, emptied 6 containers in different sizes and taped a piece of colored construction paper on the front of each one.

To begin, I called out the name of one child and instructed him/her as to how many balls and in what color I wanted him/her to collect.

"Max, please collect 5 orange balls."

Next, the children were told to drop the balls in the correct bucket.

As they dropped their balls they were asked,

"How many balls are you putting into the bucket?"

"What color are they?"

After children had the hang of that part of the game, I started asking them to collect different balls in different numbers.

For instance, "Max, please collect 3 orange balls along with 2 pink balls."

Once he collected the appropriate balls, I asked him,

"How many balls do you have all together?"

The children would then have to divide their colored balls and place them in the appropriate spot.

When the games were over, each child was given a bucket to collect and was responsible for putting them away.

It's a fun way to teach colors, addition and sorting skills!

Do you love me????

Lunch time will always bring out the best conversation between preschoolers.

Typically it's the "My mom said this..." or "My dad did that..." kids comparing stories and bringing plenty of imagination into the details.

Today one of my preschool girls decided it would be fun to follow one of the boys around the dining room before lunch. Every place he moved, she moved next to him.

Just when he had had enough he said, "Melissa...XXX won't stop following me!"

I said, "That's because she likes you!"

He sat down at what we call the little table, she sat across from him and he stated in a firm voice, "DO YOU LOVE ME???"

The little girl nodded her head yes.

The more than frustrated boy shook his hands out in front of him and stated, "Then STOP following me!!!"

Number book!

A spin off from the book of colors is our book of numbers!

I was given this idea from a friend of mine who got it from her daughter's preschool teacher.

It's an incredibly easy way to help children learn how to recognize and write their numbers.

Each page has a new number (1-10) along with an easy to remember poem about how to write the number.

For example the number 2 poem is,

"Around and back on the railroad track! Two! Two! Two! Two!"

Each child is given a number worksheet to work on while we learn how to write each number.

To continue this game into free play, I asked the children to bring me 4 of any particular toy.

Book of Colors!

I'm always looking for inventive ways to teach, so today I decided to make color books for the kids!

The kids love books so I knew this would be a hit!

Today's color was red.

To begin I pulled out an old Valentine's Day catalog with plenty of red items and cut a piece of red contruction paper in half.

I gave each child a pair of scissors and asked them to cut out all the red items.

Note: Before giving the children scissors, I restated the rules that goes along with being "big" enough to use them.

The kids loved being able to cut out the pictures they were going to use in their very own book!

Once the kids cut out all the images they could fit on a sheet, we began to glue.

Once we were finished, I bound their book.

Once the books were complete, we continued our red "game" during clean up time. I asked the kids to find all the red toys and assigned a special spot for them. Not only did the play area get cleaned up in record time, the kids loved finding and showing me all the red toys they had found!

Each of them were eager to get started on tomorrow's color!

"B" is for Bee

The letter of the day is "B".

I chose this project because we've noticed more bees buzzing around during our outdoor time.

We began with a bee and sunflower coloring page.

While coloring I asked questions such as,

"Bubble bee starts with?"

"B sounds like?"

"Where do bees get their food?"

"What color is your bee?"

"What do we do when we see a bee?"

"What does a bee sound like?"

Once colored we added the bees to the environment that was made earlier in the day.
We add the wings, nose and a flower.

Once complete, the kids took their bees out for a buzz around the room.