11. October 2010 by admin.

In the block center, set up two ’separated’ areas (use a curtain or cardboard - not absolutely necessary if you have the time to work with the students individually in a private setting so the students do not ‘copy’ each other) with the exact same blocks. Have students take turns building a structure with the blocks. When they have finished creating take a snap shot of the creation. When everybody has had a chance to complete the project – do a comparison of what each student did.  Ask questions - example:  What did you build?  Why did you put the purple block on top?  Did you want to make it larger? - Simple questions that get the student thinking.

This is a great opportunity to praise each student on their creativeness and to create a unique bulletin board for the next week. This activity has a lot of possible variations – but the most important thing is that the students have fun with it.

Posted in fine motor | Print | No Comments »

11. October 2010 by admin.

 Do you sit and read the newspaper … you’re not alone … get your students involved too!

Provide your students with newspaper sections and send them on a letter hunt. Specify if you want a certain letter, upper case or lower case ….. whatever you are working on at the time. Have the student circle the letter or mark it with a highlighter.

A variation of this activity is to use a magazine and have the students cut out or tear out the letters.

This is a fun sit at the table or desk activity and can inspire future reading too.

Posted in Reading / Phonetics | Print | No Comments »

10. October 2010 by admin.

Simple Balancing is an excellent and fun science project.

You will need:

2 light weight containers that are identical (butter tubs work well)

a hole punch or something that can poke holes in the containers

6 pieces of yarn or string – cut the same length

and a hanger

Carefully punch 3 holes equal distance around the rim of each container. Thread the yarn thru each hole and tie in a knot – leaving equal amounts of yarn on each container. Tie and knot the three pieces onto the hanger – do this with both containers – one on each side of the hanger.
This will create a simple balancing scale. Hang the scale from a hook or door knob ( the scale cannot be leaning against anything for more accurate results).

Once the scale has been completed – have the students compare objects weight. Which item is heaviest? Lighter? Weighs the same? Also use ‘prediction’ as well. Graphing the results adds another dimension to this fun activity.

Posted in science | Print | No Comments »

10. October 2010 by admin.

Have fun mixing colors with your students (even the older students enjoy this activity).

You will need:

½ cup of water

½ cup salt

1 tsp. Oil

food coloring ( red, blue & yellow)

Choose 1 color and mix the above ingredients ( you will need to make this recipe 3 times – one for each primary color)

Add - gradually (approximately) 1 ½ cups of flour

and 1 tsp. Cornstarch

Knead until the mix forms a ball that is malleable.

Once the 3 colors of salt dough have been made – give the student the dough and encourage them to break off pieces of the ‘colors’ and blend to create new colors. Challenge them to see how many colors they can come up with – if you would like to add some additional color options – make a 4^th mix with no additional color – to create variations like pink, lt. Blue, peach, etc……

This is an excellent science project for your early learners as well as incorporating some great fine motor work into the classroom.

Posted in Day Care / Home School, arts & crafts | Print | No Comments »