Taking a break…

Hello to all my wonderful followers…

The time has come where my “free” blog is now requiring a fee to upload more images… so I’ve decided to take a break from Parent are the First Teachers. The past year has ignited my passion for early childhood education – so much so that I have accepted a position at my son’s preschool beginning in the fall. I thank you all so much for following along on our journey of learning at home during these unprecedented times and I hope that this brought you some inspiration to take a moment to enjoy learning with your child.

Although the past year has been one of the hardest, I feel so thankful to have had this time with my children. While teaching in the classroom for over ten years I always said “I could never teach my own children.” However, I’ve learned not only that I can, but I have been since the day they were born. Parents, you really are your child’s first teacher and if you take away one thing from this blog, please know that you are more than capable of teaching your children. Teach them how to play. Teach them how to love. Teach peace and acceptance. And most of all, teach them to be confident and love themselves just the way they are. It may seem like a lot – but you got this… and my guess is you’ve been doing it all along ✨

Feel free to follow me on Instagram @preschoolforyou – I’ll continue to post there! Wishing you all a safe and happy summer!

🐞🐜 Hotel for Bugs 🐛🕷

Welcome to Hotel Bugs – A 5 star home away from home for all the creepy crawlers in your garden – just watch out for the slug in 3C… he’s a little slimy 😉🐌

Our hotel was made with a plastic flower container inside of an old wooden crate, cardboard and straw. We filled the “rooms” with all sorts of items from our yard and past nature walks. The most exciting part was that we really did find a slug crawling around in there the other day – can’t wait to check on it periodically throughout the summer to see what else we can find!

What you need:

1. Plastic flower container (nurseries and hardware store always has extras laying around).
2. Sticks, leaves, pine cones, rocks, etc.
3. Something to make a sign – card board and markers, paint on a rock – use whatever you have!

What to do:

• Fill the nooks and crannies of your flower container with your natural materials.
• Name your hotel and make a sign.
• Place in your yard under a tree, in a corner or shady spot – anywhere bugs might be hiding already – and wait for the them to check in!
• Check your local library for bug identification books and try to identify what you find!

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Chalk Potion Xylophone 🎶

Chalk potions are made daily in our mud kitchen so when my oldest said he wanted to put some in a bottle I knew instantly that we had to turn it into a bottle xylophone! We started by crushing chalk and mixing with water. The bottling process was so much fun – we used our funnels and tubes and had a real assembly line working! It took some pouring out, remixing, and lots of spills but eventually we got it right. I finished it off by hanging the bottles with twine from a branch in our yard. 

What you need:

1. Glass bottles
2. Water
3. Twine
4. Scissors
5. Chalk/food coloring
6. Branch/tree

What to do:

1. Mix your “potion” to create colored water.
2. Fill bottles to different volumes to create different sounds.
3. Tie twine around bottle neck and then hang from branch.
4. Repeat with as many bottle and sounds as you like!

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To hear our beautiful music check out @preschoolforyou for video!

Feel the Clouds

✨☁️“Clouds are the sky’s imagination.” ☁️✨

The puffy cumulus clouds took over the bright blue sky yesterday and we were there to observe, color, and even “feel” them – using our imagination of course!

I placed a large mirror on the ground and offered some blue window markers and shaving cream… the mirror gave us a whole new perspective of the sky and made the experience feel like we really were in the clouds ✨

What you need:

• Large Mirror
• Shaving Cream
• Window Markers

What to do:

1. Wait for a cloudy day – this is the hardest part!
2. Set your mirror on the ground with a clear view of the sky.
3. Using the markers you can trace the clouds, write the letters C-L-O-U-D-S, add pictures in the sky… there’s no wrong way to play!
4. Add some shaving cream for a messy sensory experience like no other!

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Veggie Race 🏁🥬 ☀️🥔 🏁

A little over a month ago we set a sweet potato in water to root and grow in our window sill… it took awhile to get going but once it sprouted we set out some celery and romaine lettuce to root as well. The veggie race was off and and after predicting, measuring and graphing their progress the sweet potato was the clear winner!

What you need:

• Sweet Potato
• Bottom of celery stalk
• Romaine lettuce center
• 3 containers
• Water
• Maker
• Paper
• Ruler

What to do:

1. Draw a face on the potato and set in water to root. It took about a month to begin showing growth – be patient!
2. Once the potato starts to grow, set out the celery and lettuce next to it in a well lit area.
3. Wait, watch, and record the changes!

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Rose Petal Confetti and Potions

Don’t throw away those flowers just yet! Grab a hole punch and strengthen those little fine motor skills while making confetti – what you do with it is up to you! We took ours out to the mud kitchen and made potions that not only looked beautiful but smelled good too! 

What you need:

• Flowers
• Hole Punch

What to do:

1. Gently remove petals from stem.
2. Use hole puncher to create confetti.
3. Save in a jar, use for an art project, or take outside to play with!

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More Self Portraits!

I have posted on the benefits of self portraits in the past (check it out here if you missed it!), but I thought I’d re-visit with a fresh take! Self portraits don’t always have to be a simple drawing of yourself – why not change it up? For this portrait we discussed symmetry as we looked in the mirror. I then printed pictures of half of their faces and had the boys complete the other side. Some other mediums to use when exploring self portraits are: clay, wire, chalk, and paint… get creative!

What you need:

• Printed photo of half a face
• Marker

What to do:

• Look in a mirror – discuss what you see!
• Introduce the word “symmetry” and explain what it means. Revisit the mirror and see how symmetrical your faces are!
• Offer the half picture of your child and have them complete the other side.
• If you have done self portraits in the past, take them out and compare the progress – the proof is in the details 😉

Measure, Scoop, and Pour

This invitation to play is the perfect activity for a sunny day in the yard! Search the pantry or clean out the sensory materials and add some funnels, scoops, jars, and measuring spoons. Counting, measuring, fine motor skills, sensory play, spatial awareness… just a reminder of why learning through play is the best!

What you need:

• Anything you can pour and scoop: beans, rice, noodles, cereal, etc.
• Measuring spoons
• Funnel
• Scoop and spoons
• Empty containers

What to do:

• Set out materials and invite child to play!

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*Side note… I had a parent recently asked how I taught letters if I don’t use worksheets so I thought I’d give an example… During this play we used a lot of beans so as I my 3 yo poured and mixed I made a letter “B” out of some beans while making the “B sound” with each movement. He soon was curious to what I was doing and began to mimic my sounds. Eventually he noticed the B and asked…

Noah: “What’s that? The letter B?” 
Me: “Yes, and guess what sound it makes?”
Noah: “I don’t know.”
Me; “what sound were we just making?”
Noah: “BBBBBBBBBBB!”

He then continued to make the “B sound” as he went about his work. It’s that simple… no worksheet, no flash card, and 100x more effective! 

Pine Cone Parachute 🪂

I received a beautiful birthday gift over the weekend and the packaging was some tissue paper with birds all over it. Before I even opened the gift I joked that I couldn’t wait to find a way to repurpose the tissue paper. Didn’t take long before I caught some windy inspiration and we created this parachute!

What you need:

• Tissue paper
• Hole Punch
• Strings
• Pine cone

What to do:

1. Cut 4 equal lengths of string.
2. Using a hole punch, make a hole in each corner of the tissue paper. 
3. Thread a string through each hole and tie a knot. 
4. Tie the other ends of all 4 strings towards the top of pine cone. 
5. Find a good drop zone, find some wind, and have fun!

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To see our parachute in action check out my Instagram @preschoolforyou

For those of you who follow our journey you’ll know that I love a good book pairing. For this activity we read “Parachute” by Danny Parker. Another wonderful book about finding courage within yourself ✨

Mother’s Day Crafty Card

For this simple Mother’s Day card we upcycled part of an egg carton to become the perfect mini vase for flowers… and of course any hand written message makes it that much more special!

What you need:

• Egg Carton
• Scissors
• Markers
• Glue
• Paper
• Flowers

What to do:

1. Have your child write a special message at the top of the card. We chose to say “Thanks for helping us grow.”
2. Cut one of the middle dividers from the egg carton.
3. Flatten it with your hand and the glue it onto the card.
4. Add some small flowers and give to your favorite mom ❤

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