Spring Sandwiches and Snacks

Spring is here, and we have been enjoying it in many ways...including our food!  It's amazing how rearranging a snack on a plate or cutting a sandwich into a shape makes a preschooler or toddler act as if it's Christmastime!  We recently had Flower Sandwiches (this only takes a few seconds with your favorite cookie cutter!):

 and butterflies with Orange Flowers!  Luckily, the petals were delicious!

 My kids also love using crackers like blocks and telling stories with their creations.  Story-telling enriches children's creativity, thinking and listening skills, language and reading abilities and strengthens their communication, prediction, and linear thinking skills.  Story-telling anywhere is wonderful, and I am perfectly happy to encourage it during lunch and snack time!

Here's a shout-out to Keitha at Keitha's Chaos--her book-based lunches are so inspiring!  She shares them weekly on her blog! 




I may share at any of these parties!

Teach Me Tuesday (3-27-12)

It's time for one of my favorite parts of the week--Teach Me Tuesday!!  I love visiting your blogs and seeing what you're doing!  You are all so inspiring to me!  Here is a great big THANK YOU to everyone who linked up last week--you make this party great!  As usual, we'll start the most clicked on links from last week-- If you're featured, feel free to grab the button from the right sidebar!

<div align="center"><a href="http://PreschoolPowolPackets.blogspot.com" title="Teach Me Tuesday at Preschool Powol Packets" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1082.photobucket.com/albums/j368/cmg38/TeachMeTuesdayButton.jpg" alt="Teach Me Tuesday at Preschool Powol Packets" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Our features this week (the most clicked on links from last week) are:

Homeschool Mo shared this fun and colorful Tissue Paper Painting project!  Check it out here!

The Joys of Home Educating shared several creative and attractive spring and Easter crafts!  Check them out here!

We Can Do All Things shared some colorful DIY Spring-themed learning activities for toddlers and preschoolers!  Check them out here!

Many thanks to these awesome ladies for sharing their great activities with us!  If you missed them last week, but sure to check them out!

Now, onto this week's Teach Me Tuesday linky party!

The guidelines are simple:

1- Link to your post, not your whole blog.  By linking up you are giving me permission to share a picture and link to your post.

2- Your post must be family-friendly.

3- Your post must somehow relate to education (this includes crafts, games, experiments, printables, recipes, essays, and anything else related to education!).

4- After you link up, visit some of the other links and let them know what you think!  Everybody likes to get feedback and know their post is appreciated!

5- This is optional, but I'd sure be grateful if you spread the word by posting the Teach Me Tuesday button (above) on your blog or post!  The party only gets better with more bloggers!

**Please make sure you picked up the button from Preschool Powol Packets, and not my old blog!**

That's it!  I can't wait to get to know you and see what you're up to!  Also, you're always welcome to follow me on GFC, Facebook, Google + or subscribe to my monthly newsletter (links are in the sidebar)!

I may share at any of these parties!

{FREE} Easter Egg Hunt Game

I am so excited for Easter!  It's one of my favorite times of year!  And today, I'm so excited to share this fun game with you!!  It's based on the idea of an Easter Egg Hunt: players travel around the board and collect (or lose!) eggs.  When you fill your basket, you win!  You can, of course, keep playing until everyone wins.  While you play, you practice counting, colors, matching, and other preschool/kindergarten skills.  I'm also playing a variation with my daughter where I write the letters of some of her sight words on the eggs and spell the words on eggs in her basket.  She wins when she makes the words in her basket with the eggs she collects.  There are many ways to vary this to focus on what you are working on...and, of course, it's a fun, free Easter Egg Hunt game!  You can download it free here--detailed instructions are included in the PDF.

I'd love to know how you use it!  Happy Monday!!



I may share at any of these parties!

Break Open Real Geodes Kit Giveaway Winner

This is a huge "Thank you!!" to everyone who entered the Break Open Real Geodes Kit Giveaway!  I wish I could send each of you a Geode Kit, but Rafflecopter has chosen!  Congratulations to Amy Q. (Entry #82)!!  She has confirmed her win and will be receiving her kit very soon.

A big thank you to Discover With Dr. Cool for providing the Geode Kits for the review and giveaway.  Dr. Cool's kits are amazing, and I highly recommend them!  You can learn more about them and even order at Discover With Dr. Cool's Website or on Amazon.   

10 Little Eggs (Easter/Spring Preschool Song)

Well, friends, I have another preschool song for you!  This one ties in numbers, counting, and colors with a springy, Easter-y theme!  I'll admit that posting songs (not just lyrics) is a little out of my comfort zone, but my kids have enjoyed this one so much that I decided to just get over it!

This is particularly fun if you make 10 egg puppets for your child--one for each finger--and let them act out the song while you sing it.  You can use cloth or paper to make egg-shaped finger puppets.

The lyrics are below the video.  If it won't go full screen for you, click here to watch it on YouTube.

10 Little Eggs (to the tune of 10 Little Indians)

1 little, 2 little, 3 little eggs,
4 little, 5 little, 6 little eggs,
7 little, 8 little, 9 little eggs,
10 little eggs are hiding!

10 little, 9 little, 8 little eggs,
7 little, 6 little, 5 little eggs,
4 little, 3 little, 2 little eggs,
1 little egg is hiding!

Find them all, find them all, find all the eggs!

Find them all, find them all, find all the eggs!

Find them all, find them all, find all the eggs!
Find every little egg!

Hide them all, hide them all, hide all the eggs!
Hide them all, hide them all, hide all the eggs!
Hide them all, hide them all, hide all the eggs!
Hide them all again!

1 little, 2 little, 3 little eggs,
4 little, 5 little, 6 little eggs,
7 little, 8 little, 9 little eggs,
10 little eggs are hiding!

10 little, 9 little, 8 little eggs,
7 little, 6 little, 5 little eggs,
4 little, 3 little, 2 little eggs,
1 little egg is hiding!




I may share at any of these parties!

Teach Me Tuesday (3-20-12)

Teach Me Tuesday is here!  Yay!!  I love visiting your blogs and seeing what you're doing!  Here is a great big THANK YOU to everyone who linked up last week--you make this party great!  As usual, we'll start the most clicked on links from last week-- If you're featured, feel free to grab the button from the right sidebar!

<div align="center"><a href="http://PreschoolPowolPackets.blogspot.com" title="Teach Me Tuesday at Preschool Powol Packets" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1082.photobucket.com/albums/j368/cmg38/TeachMeTuesdayButton.jpg" alt="Teach Me Tuesday at Preschool Powol Packets" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Our features this week (the most clicked on links from last week) are:

Criss-Cross Applesauce shared this free Roll and Color a Rainbow game!  It may not be St. Patrick's Day for another year, but rainbows are always popular!  Check it out here!

Fit Kids Clubhouse shared this fun Creation Station idea!  You don't have to buy anything new, and the experimental opportunities are endless!  Check it out here!

Our Feminist Playschool shared 10 Uses For Plastic Eggs!  With Easter and other holidays around the corner, you're sure to have lots of plastic eggs at home!  Check out her ideas here!

Many thanks to these awesome ladies for sharing their great activities with us!  If you missed them last week, but sure to check them out!

Now, onto this week's Teach Me Tuesday linky party!

The guidelines are simple:

1- Link to your post, not your whole blog.  By linking up you are giving me permission to share a picture and link to your post.

2- Your post must be family-friendly.

3- Your post must somehow relate to education (this includes crafts, games, experiments, printables, recipes, essays, and anything else related to education!).

4- After you link up, visit some of the other links and let them know what you think!  Everybody likes to get feedback and know their post is appreciated!

5- This is optional, but I'd sure be grateful if you spread the word by posting the Teach Me Tuesday button (above) on your blog or post!  The party only gets better with more bloggers!

**Please make sure you picked up the button from Preschool Powol Packets, and not my old blog!**

That's it!  I can't wait to get to know you and see what you're up to!  Also, you're always welcome to follow me on GFC, Facebook, Google + or subscribe to my monthly newsletter (links are in the sidebar)!

I may share at any of these parties!

Rockets for Preschoolers!

Okay, I'll confess:  it isn't just for preschoolers...I've made these rockets with kids from 1-17 years old, and they all love them!  You learn about different things with each age group, but every child I've known loves to shoot them into "space!"  Preschoolers especially love watching their little stomp send their rocket flying higher than a 2-story home!  The set-up takes a little time, but the excitement is so worth it!  When you're done, you can store the launcher in your garage and pull it out any time!

First, let's make the launcher.  

Supplies:

• 1/2-inch PVC Pipe.  You need six pieces.  The measurements aren't critical, but I had 5 pieces about 2 feet long and 1 piece about 5 feet long.  My hardware store cut them for me when I bought them.
• 1/2-inch PVC Pipe Joiners.  You need the following 4 pieces:  
•     * 4-way joiner
•     * (2) 45 degree elbows
•     * 90 degree elbow
• duct tape
• 2-liter bottle (empty)

Assembly:

This is simple...I promise!

Here's the completed launcher with parts labeled, for any of you visual people.  After the picture are instructions.

The launcher is made in two parts:  1-the actual launcher and 2-the supports.

1-To first make the launcher, twist the 2-liter bottle onto the 5-foot long PVC pipe.  Duct tape it on to make sure no air can escape this joint.
2- Twist the 90 degree elbow onto the other end of the 5-foot long PVC pipe.
3- Twist one of the 2-foot long pieces into the 90 degree elbow.  Duct tape this joint to make sure no air can escape.  Your launcher is done!  Yay!  But it tips over.  So, let's make the supports:

 

 4- To make the supports, drop the 4-way joiner onto the launcher.  You now have 2 openings on the 4-way joiner exposed.  Twist 2-foot long PVC pieces into those openings.  Duct tape them on so they don't fall off, but do not duct tape the 4-way joiner onto the actual launcher.  You want this removable so it stores easily.
5- Twist a 45 degree elbow onto the ends of the 2-foot long pieces.
6- Twist the last 2-foot long pieces into the 45 degree elbow.

Ta da!!  All done!

Now you can invite the kids to join you in making rockets!

Supplies for rockets:

• computer paper
• masking tape
• crayons or other decorative supplies

To Make a Rocket:

1. Decorate a paper!
2. Wrap the paper around the PVC pipe and tape it closed.  Be careful to make it tight enough that it will catch the air, but loose enough that it will move on and off the pipe.
3. Tape the rocket closed.  Tape over one end of the rocket several times so no air escapes the top.

To Launch a Rocket:

1. Place the rocket on the top of the launcher.
2. Stomp down on the 2-liter bottle, right on top of the duct tape!
3. Watch your rocket soar!!
4. You can blow up the bottle again by blowing through the top of the launcher.  You can clean this off easily with baby wipes. 

Note:  If you want a launcher that doesn't need blowing up, you can attach a bicycle pump, air storage tube, and a valve instead of the 2-liter bottle.  But I think that's unnecessary. 

I may share at any of these parties!

Sharing Saturday: Rainbows

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I know I've mentioned how popular rainbows are for my preschooler, so I thought I'd gather up a few more rainbow activities, crafts, and experiments and share them today!  I've seen these around your blogs during the last week and just loved them--I can't wait to try them all!  St. Patrick's Day may be over, but rainbows are exciting year round!  If you were featured, feel free to grab a button from the right sidebar!

<div align="center"><a href="http://PreschoolPowolPackets.blogspot.com" title="Preschool Powol Packets" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1082.photobucket.com/albums/j368/cmg38/SharingSaturdaybutton.jpg" alt="Preschool Powol Packets" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Meaningful Mama has this fun Rainbow Shaving Cream Bath Fun post--I seriously think my kids will feel like their bath just turned into a bit of heaven when I try this!  Check it out here!

 

Train up a Child Learn as we Go has this fun rainbow craft that lets your child practice painting, sizing, ordering, and gluing while creating a work of art!  Check it out here!

Kitchen Fun With My 3 Sons has this fabulous way to make veggies look more appealing!  How can you not eat a rainbow?!!  Check it out here!

Sonshine Tot School has this idea for a rainbow file folder game that reinforces size and ordering concepts!  Check it out here!

And, of course, I still have this Rainbow Breakfast printable available for free here!

Have fun...and congratulations to these very talented ladies and their kiddos!

I may share at any of these parties!

Teddy Tunnel: Strengthening Coordination with Paper Towel Tubes

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I'd love to write a book with a million different ways to use paper towel tubes--these things are wonderful! 

The Teddy Tunnel takes absolutely no preparation (because you never throw your paper towel tubes away, right!) and is a huge hit with preschoolers and toddlers.  It is an activity your child can do completely independently while you finish getting lunch ready or put away a few dishes.

To play, hand your child a paper towel tube and a pile of Teddy Grahams.  If you don't eat the little bear-shaped crackers, this activity works with almost any small food you have around!  Don't worry--she'll know what to do!  My kids sometimes have so much fun sliding the bears down the tunnel that they need reminding to eat them!

Even my youngest toddlers love this game, though I usually cut the tube in thirds for them.

While your kiddos are playing with their teddy tunnel, they're strengthening their eye-hand coordination, improving balance skills, and exercising those fine hand and finger muscles.  They're also learning about cause and effect, and predicting and seeing results!  Whew!  All from just a little Teddy Tunnel! 




I may share at any of these parties!

5 Fabulous, Free Websites for Preschoolers

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These websites have it all: computer games, phonics, shapes, sorting, colors, problem-solving, math, science, and much, much more!  They are fun, educational tools for your preschooler.  While there are many, many other preschool websites out there, your child can learn to navigate these five pretty easily.  At the same time, he is learning basic computer skills too!  But does he think he's learning shapes and colors?  No!  He thinks he's helping Curious George or repairing trains!  Wonderful!


I am not getting paid or compensated in any way to recommend them to you.  They are simply websites my daughter enjoys and learns from.

5 Fabulous, Free Websites for Preschoolers:

* Starfall

* Math Playground's Virtual Geoboard

* Chuggington Games

* PBS Kids Games

* Seussville Games

You don't need to log on, sign up, or spend any money.  Just enjoy them!

Remember that computer time is just a small part of your child's day, and you should always supervise and limit the time your child spends in front of any screen--computer, TV, etc.

Do you have any websites your preschooler likes to use?  I'd love to know what they are! 




I may share at any of these parties!

{FREE} Rainbow Breakfast Printable

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I know you probably have your St. Patrick's Day activities all planned, but this fun rainbow game can be used any time of the year.  In fact, rainbows are very popular here year-round!  So, whether you want something to keep those little fingers busy while you fix dinner, or another St. Patrick's Day activity, I thought you'd enjoy this {FREE} printable!

You can give it to your child with a bowl of colored cereal and she will know just what to do with it!  Or, you could turn it into a game by drawing colored cards (like Uno cards) and "playing" a piece of cereal that matches the card.  You can count the pieces.  You can tie it into a rainbow unit and use it as a follow-up activity after you make your own rainbows and learn about colors.  My daughter actually chose to put the colors in order because she has a rainbow color song that she loves.  (Did I mention rainbows are popular here?)

You can download it for free here!  Enjoy!!




I may share at any of these parties!