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!
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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!
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Have a dying bouquet of flowers? Don’t throw it away just yet! Have your kids cut, dissect, and identify the different parts! In this activity you will be counting, sorting, fine motor strengthening, sharing ideas, and working together… learning through play is the best!
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This was a two part activity- both were so much fun! First we made our own dinosaur bones and fossils out of homemade clay, then I buried them in our garden for the boys to dig up. They used shovels and sifters to find the bones and then cleaned them with paintbrushes. I honestly have no idea if they found them all… I’m hoping we discover a few more that were left behind when we plant our vegetables in a few weeks!
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We have seen and felt the wind this week so now it was time to take a moment to stop and listen. Its funny how long it took to capture only the sounds of our chimes… we kept getting interrupted by cars, dogs, neighbors and airplanes. It can be so noisy in the bustle of the day but when you do find that moment of peace and can hear only nature – it’s music to your ears.
Unfortunately this platform does not support video but if you would like to see our wind chimes in action check out my Instagram @preschoolforyou 🙂
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This simple boat was so much fun and a great lesson in the power of wind. I grew up sailing with my dad on our own tiny sailboat and I’ve always loved it – there’s just something about the moment when the wind hits the sail and you zoom across the water – it really shows the beauty of Mother Nature ✨
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It was a rainy day and we decided to use it to our advantage… I found a stack of old watercolor paints so we crushed up what remained with a hammer, sprinkled it on watercolor paper, and set it outside in the rain.
After the paper dried we made three unique art pieces… first we traced and cut umbrellas, next we drew a city underneath fireworks, and finally created a large tree. It was amazing how we each saw something different while looking at the watercolor paintings… I guess it’s all about perspective ✨
This was the perfect STEAM spring activity and once again a lesson in sustainable play – remember to try and think about other ways to use things before you throw them out ♻️😊
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After exploring the moon we broadened our horizons to the rest of the sky. We learned about stars, constellations, the Northern Lights, and of course, the planets! Rather than put them in separate posts, I thought it’d be helpful to have them all together – so here are the rest of our space projects….
Sun Catcher Planet Mobile
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2. Place the crayon wax on a small square of wax paper. Place another piece of wax paper on top. (I placed them on a hot pad from the kitchen!)
3. Use a hot iron (on its lowest setting) to melt the wax. IMPORTANT: Do not press down firmly or it will melt everything and ruin your iron! Just tap lightly until melted.
4. Cut into a planet shape and attach string.
5. When all of your planets are made, tie them onto a long stick and hang in the sunlight!
Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me
This one of my favorite booktivities! “Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me” by Eric Carle was one of our favorite moon themed books during our study. After reading it (several times) we built our own ladder out of sticks to climb to our painted moon ✨
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2. Paint a moon towards the top of the construction paper. I used a stencil that I cut out of another piece of paper to make sure the moon stayed round and in place 😉
3. Use the sticks to create a ladder and glue into place.
4. Cut out the photo of your child so that it is just him/her. Glue onto the ladder to make it look like they are climbing!
5. Lastly, we added a few paint splatters to look like the stars.
Northern Light Chalk Drawing
While discussing constellations with the boys I was reminded of a photo that my dad took a few summers ago… One night we were fortunate enough to see the Northern Lights outside our family’s cottage in Northern Michigan. In one of the pictures my dad took the Big Dipper is as clear as day. We found the picture and I was instantly inspired to try and re-create the magic.
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2. Color heavily with the chalk along the bottom of the paper. *Optional: To recreate the lake and tree I covered the bottom and side with another piece of paper so that it remained black.
3. Using the paper towel smear the colors together.
4. Add the stars with the silver sharpie.
5. Remove overlay paper (if used) and you’re done!
Happy space learning! I’d love to see any of your work if you try these projects – feel free to email them to me!
I discovered after a closet clean out that I’ve been hoarding recyclables – so we used them to build a rocket ship and blasted off to space!
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Build, stack, glue, draw, play and use your imagination – there is no right or wrong way to do it! We left our rocket ship in the living room for almost an entire week and every day the boys would rebuild and rearrange – it was never ending fun!
Bring a little color into your home with this fun painting project! Explore light and shadows, color mixing, and let your creative energy flow!
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1. Mix your paints: In small containers put a few tablespoons of paint, a drop of dish soap, and a splash of water. Sorry I don’t have an exact recipe – consistency can differ depending on types of paint etc. TIP: Don’t add too much water! Start with a little bit and then add more as needed.
2. Use the painters tape to create a design on your window. For ours we chose a rainbow!
3. Paint! Cover your design in different colors of paint and don’t worry if it drips, that’s what the dish soap is for – easy clean up!
4. Let paint dry completely.
5. Remove tape. You may need to do some touch ups with a paper towel and windex if your paint bled through the tape.
6. Enjoy the colors and shadows!
And here are some pics from last time we did this project 😉
Parents are the First Teachers 