Spider Headband--a Fun Craft Activity for Preschool!

I think kids have been making these spider headbands as a craft/activity since before I was a preschooler...and for great reason! They are fun to make, and even more fun to wear! Plus, they give you a chance to talk about spider anatomy and biology!

I've been putting together a collection of our spider activities and crafts, and I realized that I haven't written about this classic little headband! So today I'm fixing that!

Like most crafts, this project gives your preschoolers a chance to exercise their fine motor skills and still inject their own personal ideas into the project!

One of the reasons this is so popular is that it uses very basic materials: everyone has black construction paper, wiggly eyes, glue, and tape in their craft bin! And if you don't have black construction paper, my kids have actually made these spiders in a variety of colors...most of my girls have gone through a "rainbow" phase where everything they make (including spiders) is rainbow colored!

I especially enjoy making these little spiders during October because we usually do a week-long Spider Theme before Halloween each year. I actually love spiders, and I love encouraging my kids to appreciate them!

Spider Craft: an 8-Legged Headband!

Each spider will require one large piece of construction paper. I either pre-cut it as shown in the picture below or draw lines for the kids to cut on, depending on their scissor skills.

Let your preschoolers fold the "legs" back and forth to create a cool zig-zaggy effect.

Help your preschoolers attach the legs with either glue, tape, or staples. I prefer to use tape because it dries instantly and the kids can do it by themselves, but a lot of the kids are pretty good with staplers too. If you have another spider activity they can do while the headbands dry, glue works great, but most of the time I've noticed my kids want to wear them the instant they finish making them...and glue makes that a little tricky. :)  While we attach the legs we talk about how spiders have 8 legs, and they are all attached to the cephalothorax. (Spiders have two main body parts: the cephalothorax {made of the head and thorax fused together} and the abdomen.)

While you're helping with the legs, other preschoolers can start working on the eyes! Most spiders (like 99%) have 8 eyes, but some have only 6 eyes, and very few have 4, 2, or 0 eyes! Brown recluses might be one of the more famous spiders with only 6 eyes. This was actually once the source of stress for one of my daughters--she went to a summer camp about bugs, and answered a trivia question (How many eyes do spiders have?) with 6. Of course, she was right (because some spiders only have six eyes), but the counselor would only accept "8" as a correct answer. Fortunately, now that quite a few years have gone by, she is no longer stressed out by the situation. :) 

Anyway, I like to provide the wiggly eyes and glue, and let the kids get creative. It turns out that the arrangement of eyes in real life is actually consistent within a species, and you can use the arrangement of those eyes to identify a spider species! For preschoolers, though, I just like to let them put on the number and arrangement of eyes that they want.

Finally, I measure the headbands and tape them together. Most kids need the two lengths to go around their heads, but they usually overlap different amounts. It only takes me a second to measure it and stick a piece of tape on.

Then, ta da! Instant little spiders! I like to put the hats on and sing "Eensy Weensy Spider" with the kids before turning them loose to crawl around the house!

If you're looking for more spider crafts and activities, be sure to check out our collection HERE!  I have more crafts, printable activities, science experiments, and more!   I also have a couple dozen preschool themes HERE!

Happy Educating,

Carla

Have you seen HEEP? It is a preschool homeschool curriculum! Learn more here!

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Staying With Preschoolers at Disney World's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa

One of the biggest questions when you are getting ready to take preschoolers and toddlers to Disney World is where to stay. We spent five nights at the Grand Floridian this fall, so I'm happy to share what we learned!

First of all, you should know that staying at the Grand Floridian feels like staying at a castle! The Victorian-style elegance and ornate decor literally made our little ones stand still to admire (many times), beginning with the chandelier in the lobby as you exit the monorail and extending to tiny details and displays. The rooms and buildings are easy to find and navigate, and their convenience is perfect: our party of seven had two adjoining rooms that were connected by doors from the inside of rooms.

Rooms at the Grand Floridian are large and spacious and there are so many kid-friendly things to do that we actually didn't get around to everything during our stay!

This couch is actually a daybed that converts very easily:

I love having sinks separate from the toilet and shower:

The beds are both beautiful and an absolute joy to sleep on!

Our deck overlooked the bay. I was happy that the railings were a child-safe distance apart...and we all loved the view!

Here are a few "Must-Do's" at the Grand Floridian with your young Disney fans:

1- Dinner at 1900 Park Fare. This restaurant is adjoining the lobby, and absolutely delightful! During the buffet-style meal you meat Cinderella, Prince Charming, Lady Tremaine, and Cinderella's two stepsisters (who, Cinderella told my daughter, are trying to be good now)! There was also a professional photographer at the back of the restaurant with a Cinderella-themed photo op (that included a glass slipper too)! You could let them take pictures or use your own camera:

Prince Charming took the time to talk with my girls and give them a little dancing spin...they were absolutely in heaven!

2- Swimming. There are two pools that our preschoolers loved: the "toddler pool" and the Beach Pool. (There is another pool also, but it is deeper and has a hot tub too--we stayed at the two I mentioned first since they are more kid-friendly.)  The toddler pool is actually a giant splashpad with an Alice in Wonderland themed water playground--complete with a toddler/preschooler sized slide!

 Right next door (literally through a gate) is the Beach Pool. This pool goes from a zero-depth entrance to about 5 feet, so it's perfect for wading with preschoolers! They also have life-vests that you can put on your kiddos and let them swim in the deep water! All of my kids (from 3-12 years old) LOVED the 181-foot long water slide and the huge waterfall that pours over a 27-foot tall mountain! 

This was a night-time shot of the pool--it was open until 11:00 pm.

You're not allowed to hold a 3-year old on your lap as you go down the slide, but our preschooler was happy to wear her life-jacket and go down by herself--in fact, she really loved it! We literally went swimming every chance we had! The pool has an on-site bathroom, bar, drink station, lots of seating, and tons of towels. It really is perfection.

3- Outdoor Movie. Every night a Disney movie plays on the lawn--my favorite was Frozen!

4- Fireworks. Just after 9:00 the Magic Kingdom lights up with fireworks around Cinderella's castle...and you can see them perfectly from the lawn at the Grand Floridian! If you watch from the lawn near Gasparilla you can hear music to go with the fireworks too! This was from the grass just outside our room:

5- Live Music. Most evenings around 6:00 or 7:00 there is a live band playing music in the lobby. Even if you only stop by for a few minutes, the music is wonderful and the lobby is-as always-delightful!

Other kid-friendly attractions at the Grand Floridian that we did not have time to check out include basketball courts, an arcade room, fishing, campfires, and the Pirate Adventure!

Here are a few Bits of Helpful Information and Planning Points:

1- The Grand Floridian is only one stop away from the Magic Kingdom on the monorail. You can also take the ferry, and save a little time when monorail lines are long.

2- You can take a bus from the Grand Floridian to The Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. To get to Epcot, you can take the monorail to the transfer station and then to Epcot.

3- Gasparilla Cafe is open 24 hours a day! They have cold sandwiches, snacks (both desserts and healthy snacks), and a hot grill all day and all night.

4- The Guest Services cast members at the desk in the lobby are the absolute most helpful people in all of Disney World! True story! They helped us with logistics on everything from our dining plan to our flight home. If you have any questions or need help, definitely walk over and talk to them!

5- Finally, you can literally check your bags for your flight home in the lobby. TSA has an agent and will take your bags from you there. It is wonderful, and makes traveling with children SO much easier!

Are you taking preschoolers to Disney World? Have you stayed at the Grand Floridian before? I'd love to hear your experiences!

Happy Educating,

Carla

Have you seen HEEP? It is a preschool homeschool curriculum! Learn more here!

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Spider Activities for Preschool - Spider Theme

October is coming up, and one of our annual October themes is a Spider Unit! I decided to put together all of the spider activities for preschool I've written about in the past in one spot and...you've found it!

I love putting these themes together for you because I think that preschoolers learn best when information is grouped together into a cohesive theme. You can read more about how preschooler brains work here! 

Anyway, spiders tie into Halloween just enough that we generally spend at least a week every October learning something new about them and doing a few spider activities too.

So here's the collection! You'll find that there's a pretty big variety of science activities, written activities, projects for older preschoolers, and activities for toddlers. There are even a few for older kids that I shared before I started Teaching Without Chairs (which focuses on homeschool activities for kids over 6 years old)!

I hope you love them!

Spider Activities for Preschool

Scroll down to see activities in the following categories: Crafts, Science, Math, and Printable!

Spider Preschool Crafts:

 

Pipe Cleaner Spiders

Spider Headbands

Science Spider Activities:

  

(Taste-safe) Spider Slime

Catch a Real Spider Web

Bubble Spider Webs

Math Spider Activities:

Feed the Spider Color Game

Printable Spider Activities:

  

Spider Lapbook

S is for Spider

Spider Counting Playdough Mats

And if your October gets too busy to do a spider week, there is no reason why you can't learn about spiders any other time of year!

Also, be sure to check out my other preschool themes HERE !

Happy Educating,

Carla

Have you seen HEEP? It is a preschool homeschool curriculum! Learn more here!

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Preschool Music & Active Movement: Ocean Theme (1)

Today I taught an ocean theme in our preschool music class.  I'm teaching a preschool class this year that combines music and movement to teach basic music concepts like pitch and listening skills while letting our preschoolers sing, run, and play! 

You can also use a lot of these ideas and activities with toddlers or kindergarteners...just adapt them for your kid's abilities!

I'm sharing my lesson plans here in case anyone else wants some ideas for Music Time!

Themes we've already done for our music class are Moon & Space and Dinosaurs!

This lesson is already tested--we had a great time! This is a 40-minute class, and includes transition and movement time. :) 

Theme: Ocean (1)

Gathering Activity: Play with musical instrument toys.

Hello Song: Hello Song:   
Hello *kid's name*
Hello *kid's name* 
Hello *kid's name*
We're glad you're here today!

to the tune of "Goodnight, Ladies."

Warm-up Song: When I Sing La, La, La by Janeen Brady with sock puppets. Check out my Moon & Space Music Time post for more background on this song! Emphasize opening your mouth really big like the puppet when you sing, lift the puppets high for high notes, and lower the puppets low near the floor for low notes.

Action Song: The Goldfish (Let's Go Swimming) by Laurie Berkner. We acted out the action suggestions throughout the song, and "went swimming" all around the room every chorus.

Instrument: Rhythm Sticks. We reviewed sounds the rhythm sticks made, played with them, and then tapped them to the beat of Baby Shark while we listened to Super Simple Song's version of Baby Shark!

Instrument: Shaker Eggs: We talked about how fish and sharks lay eggs that hatch into more fish and sharks and then shook our eggs while marching, sneaking, walking, and running (as suggested) to the song "I Can Shake My Shaker Egg" by Mr. Eric and Mr. Michael, singing "shaker moon" instead of "shaker egg." I actually forgot to discuss how fish and sharks lay eggs until right after the song when one of my girls asked! It worked out great because we also talked about how seahorse males carry the eggs around (as if they were pregnant)! This led right into the next song...

Theme Song: Animals in the Ocean! by Kiboomers. We talked about some of the animals in the ocean, how you could act like those animals, and then we acted like each animal in the song (including crabs, seahorses, clams, and others).

Instrument: Bells: I absolutely love the Preschool Prodigies music curriculum, and pull their bells out whenever I can! Today, I pulled out an E and high C bell, and the kids took turns playing them. When they played the E bell, everyone "swam" around the room like slow fish. When someone played the high C bell, everyone "swam" like fast fish!


Parachute Fun: We absolutely adore parachute games and songs! This week we started by making little waves and big, stormy waves. Then we practiced pulling the parachute down by our ankles, lifting it high above our heads, stepping underneath it, and sitting down on the parachute, creating a mushroom-y "ocean" above us. 

The Shark Game: Start out by choosing one or two "sharks." Everyone else will sit with the parachute on their laps and their feet under the parachute. The sharks will crawl around under the parachute "catching" kids by touching their feet. Once they're "caught" the kids become a shark too! We played this about five times in a row--it works out because each time only takes about 30 seconds!

Walk Around (the Moon) by Music With Nancy: I love ending our parachute time with this! Everyone holds one handle of the parachute and walk in a circle...or jump, or whatever the song suggests. ;)  When it finishes, everyone sat on top of the parachute in the middle, and the adults made a few final waves around all the kids.

Goodbye Song: I'm doing the same tune for this as the Hello Song, just singing "Goodbye *name*."  

I know I've mentioned this before, but it's related so I'll tell you again! If you're looking for a music curriculum that teaches all the music basics like pitch, rhythm, and even reading notes I have a program that I 100% recommend!  Here's my affiliate link: Preschool Prodigies is absolutely "open and go!" AND your kids learn a musical instrument (bells) through the program! We are actually using this as well, and ALL my kids LOVE it (this includes my preschoolers, elementary kiddos, and my middleschooler)!! In addition to the bells curriculum for preschoolers, they have lessons for recorder, ukulele, and more!  I am super excited about this program and am sharing it with everyone I know! I simply have not seen any other system as fun and effective for teaching music. 

I hope all of this is helpful for you! Let me know if you use any of it in your Music Time!!

Happy Educating,

Carla

Have you seen HEEP? It is a preschool homeschool curriculum! Learn more here!

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Why Preschoolers Need Music Classes & 4 Ways to Make it Happen!

I really love music, so it is natural for me to want music in my kid's lives! Amazingly, research tells us that music instruction (even for young children like preschoolers) does incredible things for their mental and emotional development! Today I'm going to share some of the reasons why you want music classes for your kiddos, and some fantastic ways to get that instruction!

This article contains affiliate links.

1- Music helps brains develop! A five-year study from the University of Southern California found that children's brains develop more quickly when they have music instruction, especially if they learn to play an instrument! This is one of the reasons I LOVE Preschool Prodigies--they actually teach preschoolers to play an instrument {bells} through fun pre-recorded lessons that feel more like playtime than lessons! They have lessons for older kids too! Click here to check out their incredible program!

2- Music helps other academic subjects! Statistics show that children who have music instruction score better on math and English tests, have larger vocabularies, can focus better, develop more advanced reading skills, and have better memories than children who do not have music instruction!

3- Music helps reasoning skills! Another study suggests a correlation between music instruction and nonverbal reasoning skills, fine motor skills, and auditory discrimination skills! This study suggests that music training helps children develop skills that will cross over into many subjects and help them succeed in different areas of life.

4- Music improves mood and quality of life! A very fascinating study from Finland acknowledged all the above benefits, and then went on to look at social benefits. The results were reported by students, but they found that children involved in a music program at school enjoyed school more. If there was a simple program you could get your child involved with that would help your child enjoy life more, wouldn't you want to do it?!

5- Music training in childhood strengthens the brain and nervous system into adulthood! This is really incredible and, by itself, reason enough for a music program! This study found that music training programs in childhood actually created changes in the nervous system that lasted years and years after those music lessons!

How to Start Music Lessons With Preschoolers

1- There are SO many ways that you can begin music lessons for young children! My new favorite lessons are from Preschool Prodigies (you can read my complete review about them HERE) because they are super fun and teach SO much. Preschoolers (and children in general) learn best through play, and the Preschool Prodigies lessons feel just like playtime! They have the bells lessons for preschoolers, lessons for older kids, ukulele lessons for older kids, and more (like piano!) planned soon! And they have different payment plans for every budget--you can get a monthly streaming plan, pay for a whole year, or even get a lifetime membership!  HERE is the link to their site to learn more!!

This is a picture of my 3-year old playing the Preschool Prodigies bells:

2- Another way to teach music classes for your preschoolers is by hosting your own Music Time or Music Class. I am sharing my lessons for an Music & Active Movement class this semester, and I would love to know if you can use them! Here is the first (Space themed) lesson!

3- You can also create your own playlists of fun, educational music and share those with your kiddos too! This isn't quite as structured as the first two options, but it can still be a fun way to introduce a love of music to your preschoolers that can transfer into lessons as they get older.

4- Finally, I always recommend a good old fashioned "dance party" with your preschoolers whenever the mood strikes! It's a great way to expose them to music with a strong beat, and practice moving your body in concert with music. Just turn on a favorite song and start dancing!

What is your favorite way to share music with your preschoolers? I'd LOVE to hear about it!

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Preschool Prodigies. Like always, you get my honest opinions, and I ONLY recommend companies that I 100% love!

Happy Educating,

Carla

Have you seen HEEP? It is a preschool homeschool curriculum! Learn more here!

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Moon / Space Rhythm Sticks Activity

I'm teaching a Music & Movement class for preschoolers this semester, so I'm excited to share some of the activities we'll be doing with you here! This little activity is a moon or space themed activity for rhythm sticks! I included it in our Space Themed Music Class!

Rhythm sticks are TONS of fun to play with, but in addition to being super engaging, they also help your preschoolers develop skills like the following:

* eye-hand coordination

* fine and gross motor development

* a sense of rhythm, beat, and tempo

* directions like up, down, right, and left

* following instructions

* taking turns

* math and music skills

* creative thinking (like in this activity!)

Our first music class's theme will be the moon and space, so I decided to do an astronaut rhythm stick activity. Here it is in lesson-plan format:

1- Show rhythm sticks and discuss safety rules (this is our first class, so we need to establish rhythm-stick-safety!).

2- Pass out the music sticks and let kids experiment with them for a minute.

3- Practice "playing sticks" and "quiet sticks" (quiet in our laps).

4- Explain that when Neil Armstrong went to the moon, he had Mission Control on Earth helping give him instructions and solve problems. When Mission Control sent a message to Neil Armstrong, Neil would say "Roger" to let them know that he received the message. Then when he sent a message to Mission Control, they would say "Roger" to let him know that they received his message. It is almost like a copy game to make sure they heard each other. So today, we're going to play "Mission Control" with our rhythm sticks.

I will be Mission Control first, and you will all be astronauts! So I will do a short pattern with my rhythm sticks, then you will all copy it together!

5- Begin with very short patterns, like one or two clicks, and give them a chance to copy them. If they are ready for longer patterns, give 3-5 click patterns a try. I kept our patterns at 1-3 for this time!

6- Let the kids take turns being Mission Control!

7- Gather all the rhythm sticks back up, and move on to the next part of your class!

I would love to hear if you use our little Moon / Space Mission Control Rhythm Sticks game with your kiddos!

And if you have any other fun rhythm stick activity ideas, let me know! I'd love to add more to our collection!

Happy Educating,

Carla

Have you seen HEEP? It is a preschool homeschool curriculum! Learn more here!

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Preschool Music and Active Movement: Moon & Space Theme

I'm teaching a preschool class this year that combines music and movement to teach basic music concepts like pitch and listening skills while letting our preschoolers sing, run, and play! 

I'm super excited to get started, and decided to share my lesson plans here in case anyone else wants some ideas for Music Time!

Each week I will be following a different theme.  The first theme will be the Moon & Space!

Here is my plan...I'll post a brief update to let you know how it went!

Theme: Moon & Space

Gathering Activity: Play with musical instrument toys

Hello Song: On the first day we'll have name tags, and then we'll sing, "Hello *kid's name*, hello *kid's name* to the tune of "Goodnight, Ladies."

Warm-up Song: When I Sing La, La, La by Janeen Brady with sock puppets. When we lived in Houston, my friend Ellie introduced this song and the idea of using puppets with it to me, and I love it so much! It teaches pitch, associating your mouth opening with singing nice full notes, fine motor exercise, and so much more! (Sidenote: Ellie used to teach elementary school, and I learned SO many things from her!) Emphasize opening your mouth really big like the puppet when you sing, lift the puppets high for high notes, and lower the puppets low near the floor for low notes.

Action Song: Rocketship Run by Laurie Berkner. Our preschoolers will fly around during the verses, then countdown, and "blast off" every time the countdown gets to "1!" Ellie introduced us to this one too, and it became a family favorite several years ago!

Instrument: Rhythm Sticks. We'll be doing this Mission Control copy game with rhythm sticks!

Coordination Song: Rockets on My Lap: Chant "Rockets on my lap, clap, clap; rockets on my lap, clap, clap; shake it to the left; shake it to the right; rockets back on my lap, clap, clap!"  We learned this sing-song chant with Ellie, but we sang it with scarves. We'll still be using scarves as props on our Moon Day, but we'll call them rockets. 😉

Instrument: Shaker Eggs: We're going to call the shaker eggs "moons" and talk briefly about the difference in a full moon and partial moons. Then we'll play "I Can Shake My Shaker Egg" by Mr. Eric and Mr. Michael, singing "shaker moon" instead of "shaker egg." We'll also walk in a circle while we sing this song and use actions suggested by the song (sneaking, walking, running, etc.).  

Theme Song: Planets! Planets! by Music With Nancy. I'm going to print these pictures of planets, pass them out to the kids, and let them show everyone their picture when it sings it. I might have to print two sets of the planets. 😉

Parachute Fun: We absolutely adore parachute games and songs, so I am going to have at 1-3 parachute songs and games every week. This week we will start with Zoom Zoom Zoom by Kiboomers. We'll open up the parachute and wave it during the verse, then during the chorus ("If you want to take a trip, climb aboard my rocket ship") the kids can climb into the middle of the parachute and the adults will wave it. Then they'll jump out for the next verse.

Moon Sharks: We used to play Sharks with Ellie by choosing one or two "sharks." Everyone else will sit with the parachute on their laps and their feet under the parachute. The sharks will crawl around under the parachute "catching" kids by touching their feet. Once they're "caught" the kids become a shark too! I know sharks don't actually live on the moon, but since this is a favorite game, we're going to play it with "moon sharks" anyway!

Walk Around (the Moon) by Music With Nancy: Everyone will hold one handle of the parachute and walk in a circle...or jump, or whatever the song suggests. ;)  We might not have time for this (since our Music Time will be 40 minutes), but if we do, I think it will be great!

Goodbye Song: I'm doing the same tune for this as the Hello Song, just singing "Goodbye *name*."  

On another note, (haha...did you see what I did there, lol!) if you're looking for a music curriculum that teaches all the music basics like pitch, rhythm, and even reading notes I have a program that I 100% recommend!  It is called Preschool Prodigies, and it is absolutely "open and go!" AND your kids learn a musical instrument (bells) through the program! We are actually using this as well, and ALL my kids LOVE it (this includes my preschoolers, elementary kiddos, and my middleschooler)!! They have the following curricula available on their streaming videos preschool (learning bells), recorder, ukulele, performance, and more!! I am super excited about this program and am sharing it with everyone I know! I simply have not seen any other system as fun and effective for teaching music. But you can decide for yourself...here's my affiliate link to learn more! They even have a sale going right now that you will want to check out asap!

I hope all of this is helpful for you! Let me know if you use any of it in your Music Time!!


UPDATE: I taught this class last week, and we had a great time! I didn't have time to pull out the scarves, but we did everything else and ended right on schedule! They worked great!

Happy Educating,

Carla

Have you seen HEEP? It is a preschool homeschool curriculum! Learn more here!

Never miss another post again!  Sign up for our weekly updates newsletter and get links to all our posts once a week in your inbox!  Sign up here!!

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