Drama for Preschoolers: Why You Want Some!

 
Preschoolers love drama!  When you look at all the positive benefits it has for them, you will love it too!  Here are five reasons to use dramatic play with your preschoolers and two ways to get started:

Five Ways Your Preschooler Benefits from Dramatic Play:

1.  Dramatic Play improves your child's memory!  Drama activates (or pretends to activate) all five senses in activities that mimic real life.  Each sense that is associated with an experience reinforces the memories tied to that sense.

2.  Dramatic Play teaches communication skills!  Speaking clearly and listening are skills that will be important throughout your child's life.  Drama is a great way to practice both of them.

3.  Dramatic Play engages creativity and imagination!  Activities that allow your child to express and grow their creativity and imagination will improve their problem-solving skills for years.


4.  Dramatic Play is an outlet for children to fix reality!  Life isn't always fair for children, but dramatic play lets them create their own universe where everything follows their rules.  It also give them a chance to analyze life from a different perspective and make sense of events that can be confusing.

5.  Dramatic Play helps children learn non-verbal cues!  Important expressions that take children time to pick up on (like "pursed lips" or "knit eyebrows") can be discussed and mimicked in drama so that children recognize them in "real life."  This strengthens children's ability to "read" and interact with others. 

Two Ways to Start Using Drama With Your Preschooler:

1.  Re-enact a Thanksgiving Dinner using toys as props!  Your preschooler knows all about Thanksgiving, so let her lead the game.  Set up a "table" in the playroom and find all the props your child suggests.  Let her choose the dishes and serve the meal! 


2.  Play Charades!  Take turns acting out an animal and guessing what the other person's animal is.  Vary the rules to introduce variety--play a few rounds where no sounds are allowed and a few rounds where you can make noises.  Be flexible when you begin--if your child can't figure out what you are, try giving her a hint or making a sound.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Turkey Craft for Preschoolers

Shapes!  Colors!  Leaves!  Turkeys!  Oh my!

You can cut out the pieces for this Thanksgiving Turkey Craft for your preschooler or you can trace them and let your child cut them out herself!  Either way, the assembly allows for lots of personal creative expression. You can let your child glue the pieces together with craft glue or glue dots.  If you want to speed the drying process you can slip a little hot glue on for your child too!

Supplies:  

pre-cut felt leaves
felt circles for the body and head
felt triangle for the beak
felt snood
wiggly eyes

Assembly:

Let your child arrange the eyes, beak, and snood on the head.  Let your child arrange the head and feathers however she chooses.  Glue the pieces together.

Note:  A snood is the red dangly thing that attaches just above the turkey's beak.  The wattle is the red patch of skin on the turkey's neck.  Both can become bigger and brighter during different activities.

A Science Game for Preschoolers: The Turkey Bowl!

Thanksgiving is in less than a week...it is time for the Turkey Bowl!  Preschoolers experiment with inertia, momentum, and direction without even knowing about it!  While you can always "debrief" afterwards, it is important to let young children discover their world naturally...through play!  Remember that babies discover gravity by throwing things down over This game (with a Thanksgiving twist!) exposes children to concepts in physics while strengthening their gross motor skills and giving them a chance to take turns.  Even better, it appeals to a range of ages, so you can play it in a family setting too!

First, make your "turkey pins" by taping pictures of turkeys to toilet paper tubes.  You can print a set of turkeys here for free!

Second, line up your pins and let your children take turns "bowling" them down!  Offer them a variety of balls with different sizes and weights.

Third, stack the pins and let your children take turns "bowling" them down!  Offer the same variety of balls.

You can take turns bowling, too!  Older children can set up a bracket and chart wins and losses.  Enjoy the games!

Owl Finger Puppets and Rhyme

Rhymes help children learn to speak and read, so I was very excited when I saw Katie's post about owl finger puppets at Playing With Words 365!  She inspired me to make several sets of owls and start singing some rhymes!

You can make owl finger puppets a million different ways.  I used Katie's basic tutorial design and sewed most of the pieces together.  I love how each owl seems so full of personality!

Here are two of the owl rhymes I made up for us:

Five Little Owls  (to the tune of Five Little Ducks)

Five little owls went out to fly
Over the trees, up very high!
When the mother owl sang, "To-whit-to-hoo!"
One little owl went down and flew!

(Repeat for four, three, and two little owls.)

One little owl went out to fly
Over the trees, up very high!
When the mother owl sang, "To-whit-to-hoo!"
Down she went and home she flew!

(Have all the owls happy to be home together!)

Time to Eat (to the tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb)

Owl said, "It's time to eat, time to eat, time to eat!"
Owl said, "It's time to eat!
What do I eat tonight?"

Owl ate a mouse that night, mouse that night, mouse that night!
Owl ate a mouse that night
And said, "It tastes just right!"

Cover Ball: A Game for Preschoolers and Toddlers

Here's an easy-to-prepare game that toddlers and preschoolers alike love!  It reinforces colors, matching, counting, and taking turns!

How does it work?  Use a bucket filled with colored balls (or plastic easter eggs or other colorful toys).  Drape a blanket over the bucket.  Take turns with the kids reaching your arms in, grabbing two balls, and pulling them out.  Don't peek while your hands are in the bucket!  If the balls match, you get another turn!  If they don't match, put them back and wait for another turn!  Older preschoolers can save their match and work toward a goal...say, six balls or three matches.  Younger children can just play for an allotted time.

Thanksgiving Preschool Packet--Free Download!

The Thanksgiving Preschool Packet is a free download from me to you!!  I hope you love it and have loads of fun with it!

Included are nine preschool worksheets with activities like "Which one is different?" "What comes next?" and more!


Check it out here!

I'd love to hear how you use it...Google tells me many, many of you visit these free downloads, and I'd love to hear from you personally!  You can email me at PreschoolPackets AT gmail.com or leave a comment!

Cooking With Preschoolers: Swirly Lemon Cupcakes

Today I'm over at Have Sippy Will Travel sharing a great way to spend some cooking time with your preschooler!  Cooking strengthens preschoolers' math, science, language, and motor skills.  It also builds confidence and relationships!  Here's a peek at the post:

For the rest, head on over to Have Sippy Will Travel!

Thanksgiving Craft Kit For Preschoolers Now Available!!

Talk about gratitude, make a magnet, bead a bracelet, play with stickers, and more!  Our Thanksgiving Craft Kit for Preschoolers contains seven pre-made craft kits produced by various companies.  These have been chosen for their appeal to preschoolers, application to the Thanksgiving season, and the broad range of lessons and skills that can be related to each activity!

Inside the Thanksgiving Craft Kit for Preschoolers, you will find:

1.  3-Dimensional Thanksgiving Tree with Sticker Leaves--perfect for discussing gratitude!

2.  Create Your Own Johnny Appleseed Scene With Stickers--let your preschooler put together her version of Johnny's wilderness!

3.  Create Your Own Scarecrow Scene With Stickers--clouds, pumpkins, apple trees...what more could scarecrows want?

4.  Create Your Own Sparkling Leaf Ornament Kit--hang it up for the entire Fall season!

5.  Create Your Own Turkey Kit--a paper turkey just in time for Thanksgiving!

6.  Create Your Own Thankful Heart Magnet Kit--this thankful reminder can stick to your fridge or any other metal surface!

7.  Create Your Own Beaded Leaves Bracelet Kit--more appropriate for older preschoolers!

8.  A Suggested Enrichments Page with ideas to extend each craft into a learning experience!

All supplies (except glue!) for all the crafts above are included in the kit!  These are fabulous activities you can do with your preschooler!  Even older children will enjoy many of them!

Please supervise your children closely--there are many small pieces in this Thanksgiving Craft Kit!

The entire Thanksgiving Craft Kit (including all seven craft kits and the Suggested Enrichment page) is now on sale for only $5.99 + $2.50 S&H!!

Only a limited number of these kits are available.  You can order using the button below or the button on the sidebar!

See Jupiter in November (and Mars, Saturn, Mercury, and Venus)!

November is a fabulous month for viewing the planets in our solar system!

From the northern hemisphere, Jupiter is the easiest to see.  Without a telescope, Jupiter "rises" in the East at about sunset, stays up all night, and then "sets" in the west about sunrise.  At the end of the month it will set an hour or two before dawn.  Jupiter is the brightest "star" in the November night sky.  If you have a telescope or strong binoculars, you can easily see Jupiter's biggest moons too!

Mars rises in the East at about midnight and shines in front of the constellation Leo until dawn.

Saturn rises in the East shortly before dawn.

Mercury and Venus can be seen in early evening, if you can get a clear view of the Western horizon.  By the end of November, Mercury will set shortly before dusk (making it impossible to see).  Venus, however, will set later and later, making it easier to see immediately after sundown.  If you have binoculars or a telescope, and can see Venus in early November, aim your binoculars at Venus.  You should be able to see the fainter Mercury close to Venus.

Check them out!  Which planets did you find?

How To Make A Piñata

Countries as diverse as China and ancient Aztec cultures developed traditions similar to our modern piñatas.  This fun party game is popular with all ages, and making your own only adds to the fun!  Preschoolers especially enjoy building piñatas.  They like to see their creation take form, but they do need a lot of supervision!

Remember to start about three days early, and follow these easy instructions!

1.  Gather Paper-Mâché Supplies: a large balloon (or more than one, depending on the shape you're making--this tutorial will show you how to make a spider-shaped piñata!), newspaper strips about 1" wide and 4-8 inches long (younger children work better with shorter strips), water, and flour. 

2.  Mix Paper-Mâché Goop:  Use equal parts water and flour.  Start with about 1 1/2 cups of each and stir them together in a bowl with a fork or your fingers.  (Alternatively, if you want the piñata to last a particularly long time, you can use a water/glue mixture--again, use about equal parts water and glue.) 

3.  Blow up your balloon and prop it up in a large bowl.

4.  Dip a strip of newspaper into the paper-mâché goop.  Wipe as much goop as possible off between two fingers.  Pat the strip onto the balloon.  Continue until the balloon is completely covered, except for a small circle at the top.  The open circle will become the opening for you to pop the balloon and stuff the piñata with goodies!

5.  Let the paper-mâché goop dry completely.  This usually takes at least 12 hours, and can take much longer, depending on your humidity. 

6.  Repeat steps 4 and 5 for another layer of strength.  Two layers is usually more than enough for a medium sized group of preschoolers. After it is completely dry, pop the balloon!

7.  Paint the piñata or cover it with a layer of small pieces of construction paper or crepe paper.  We used purple tempera paints and sponges--paintbrushes simply take too long for most preschoolers!

8.  Poke a tiny hole in the piñata opposite the opening at the top.  Thread a piece of yarn through the body of the piñata and out both the tiny hole and the opening at the top.  This will let you hang the piñata easily. 

9.  Fill the piñata with your favorite treats and prizes. 

10.  Attach any additional decorations!  For a spider's face, use a black piece of cardstock with wiggly eyes.  For spider legs, cut 11 inch long strips of black cardstock.  Use hot-glue to attach the face over the opening and legs on the side.  

11.  Hang it up and party!!