Day Care Confessions

Color Sorting with Pom Poms 

Sorting with Apples


Storytime. (Worksheet Activity On LlamaLlamaBook.com)


Felt and Apple Seed Counting. (By Oopsy Daisy Blog)


Ladybug Activity (By Making Learning Fun)


Did they survive? As you can tell my midnight projects are in need of some TLC. I used Self-Adhesive Paper to "laminate" them. They lasted through the tugging and pulling of the children fighting over them and crumbling them. But, right now they are bent up and look worn out only after two days.
Help I am running out of ideas for this RED/Letter A week!  (I haven't done any ONLY RED activities - besides an apple coloring.)
Most of the children are under 5 and need loads of attention. (A classroom of high energy students - imagine.) For a lot of them this is their first time around other children, and in a classroom setting. We can't passed the not sharing and tattletales to have a smooth activity.
I need to think of some team building activities for toddlers.
What are some good attention grabbers for toddlers?
Can you tell I'm new to this?

Beat The Heat!

It's pretty HOT in New York! (Hot might be an understatement.)  So I've been looking around on Pinterest and other blogs and found some summer activities to stay cool! 

 Indoor Bubble Blowing!

Play Create Explore's site has a bunch of fun ideas! One being indoor bubble blowing. All you have to do is get a bowl add some washable paint and dish detergent to warm water. Oh, and don't forget the straws.

But Fun Baths has to be my favorite idea. Giving your child a new fun themed bath every once in awhile is a good way to extend knowledge through exploration!

Build a Sand Castle!

Make "Moon Sand" using the recipe provided by Sherry and Donna for days you can't make it to the beach. Cover it and save it for another day!

Put on Your Bathing Suits!

Hit the park and run through the sprinklers, fill up some water balloons or check out Clumst Crafter's Water Blob Tutorial. She also posted a simple D.I.Y. for staying cool and having lots of fun - Water Bombs. It is so much easier than refilling water balloons!

Sidewalk Creativity!

Growing a Jeweled Rose posted the ingredients for Chalk Splat! Watch what happens when you spray some vinegar on your artwork. There are also a bunch of other sidewalk art ideas featured on the post. 

Through Pinterest I found another summer activity  - Ice Chalk. And there are a bunch of ways you can have fun with it. Like color mixing...

Playing With Food!

Get your pasta and create Octo-Ice! Great for sensory play and it's something different! 

Crystal provided other sensory play ideas and I am loving the Freezy Dough! It's great because you can extend learning through pretend play! 

Shells and Play Dough

Make your own play dough using some flour, salt and water for practicing motor skills. Add some food coloring or kool-aid for colored play dough. Add some summer themed toys like shells and dolphins! 

Or create Beach Dough Creatures! It's really cute!

If you bake the dough you can make Shell Imprint Fossils.

Build a Tent and Camp!

Check out some Camping Themed Activities.

Simple Little Home went all out on an indoor camping experience! I love that some learning activities are included in all the fun. 

Too busy gazing at the stars? How about learning about constellations and creating Marshmallow Constellations!

Or HAVE AN INDOOR CAMPING PARTY! I love this! 

Ice Cream!!

What better way to stay cool in the summer than ICE CREAM! Make Ice Cream in a bag! This looks like a fun and easy experiment.

I made an Ice Cream color activity for secondary colors. Make red, blue and yellow ice cream scoops and brown, orange, purple, and green cones. (I'd highly suggest laminating them, so they are durable.)

Ice Cream Dough! Great for pretend play! And it looks so real! 

 

More pretend play by using this tutorial to make an Ice Cream Play Set! And a color matching game!

I am fully aware of the overuse of exclamation points! I couldn't help myself. Happy Summer! 

** I used Dreamlike Magic and Ashley Hughes clipart. 

Where The Wild Things Are - Reading Comprehension

Hi! Happy Thursday! I am starting my literacy unit with Where the Wild Things Are!! I am sharing reading comprehension ideas to provide an enriching story time. Hope you find this helpful and can have fun with this book. 

Vocabulary

• mischief - cause trouble
• vines - climbing plants, grapes grow from vines
• private - personal, only belonging to one person; secret
• gnashed - grind their teeth together
• tames - gentle; trained; calmed
• frightened - scared; intimidated; terrified
• rumpus - making a lot of noise; causing disturbance
• lonely - feeling sad from being alone; feeling alone and wanting company
• terrible - awful, horrible 
• feelings - an emotion like happy or sad

When saying the definition of vocabulary words try to add it in naturally. "Max was causing mischief; he was causing a lot of trouble around the house. He is... (provide examples supported by pictures of mischief)" 

Try using the words consistently in conversations outside of story time to enhance vocabulary and expose the words more than once. 

Understanding Sequence

  Use "Max Head" -with feelings written on one side and a facial expressions on the other- to discuss his feelings throughout the story and how they change from beginning-middle-end. Place a "Max Head" where he was feeling mischievous, mad, happy, lonely, etc in the story. Incorporate other characters' feelings like Max's mom and the monsters.

You can expand literacy skills further by introducing cause and effect. Max was causing mischief so his mother got mad and told him to go to his room.

Questions to Ask Before/During/After Reading

What are feelings? Explain some feelings and when/why you may be feeling a certain way.
What are monsters?  How do they look like? How might they act? What kind of noise do monsters make?
Brainstorm - What is a wild thing? What are their features? Where do they live? How do the wild things get around? Some can have wings.

Why did Max's mother send him to his room?
Have you ever got sent to your room? How did it feel?
Why do you think a forest grew in his room? (Introduce real v. pretend.)
Why did they name Max king of all wild things?
What is a "wild rumpus"? What are they doing?
How do you think Max or monsters are feeling?
Why did he wants to go home?
Why do you think his food was still warm?

What would you name the forest where the wild things live?
What would your name be if you were a wild thing?
Have you ever pretended that you were an animal?
How do you think the wild things sound when they talk to each other?

Ask about meaning of certain words and see if the child/children can repeat back the definition. 

Take a picture walk and have the child/children retell the story. 

Along with asking questions, provide comments about ideas like emotions, pretend, setting, wild things and summarize text/pictures. 

*I found the Max template about a year ago. I am not sure where but I will link it when I find it. 

I have a few lesson plans to share, activities including other subjects and arts and crafts ideas.