Preschool Powol Packets

We've noticed a lot of birds out during the last few mornings, and decided to make a little bird-feeder from water-bottles for them!  It's a very easy and fun project, though it does require some supervision.  Depending on your children's ages and attention spans, you may even want to pre-cut the bottles for them.  For you visually-oriented people, here's a diagram of the entire process: If you want a step-by-step, here you go: 1.  Prepare the bottles.  Cut the flat bottom off of Bottle 1 and save it for a lid.  Cut the pointed top off of Bottle 2 and recycle it (or throw it away...sigh).  From Bottle 2, cut two holes near the bottom for a stick to go through (see diagram) and two holes to use as doors (about an inch above the stick holes--see diagram). 2.  Thread a long piece of yarn through the doors to use as a hanger.  Make sure it is not in the way of step 3. 3.  Squish and slide Bottle 1 (Tip A first) into Bottle 2 until Tip A is below t

<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> Today is Saturday, and I'm so excited to share a few activities I've come across during the last week for Groundhog Day!  Groundhog Day is February 2nd--tradition says that if the large woodchuck sees his shadow, we still have six more weeks of winter!  For more details check out The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club Groundhog Day website !  Then see what these fun families are trying: *** Jill at Kitchen Fun With My 3 Sons shared the fun dessert idea pictured above--you can just see Phil popping out to check on his shadow!  The details and instructions are at http://kitchenfunwithmy3sons.blogspot.com/2012/01/groundhog-

Play dough your preschooler can make and share with your toddler?  Oh, yes!  This fun recipe can be used as just a recipe for cookies.  Or, you can let your kids play with it--once it is mixed together, it molds wonderfully!  Or, you can divide the dough, make cookies with half, and play with the other half.  It's up to you! The recipe is simple: Yum ** 1 cup creamy peanut butter ** 2 cups powdered sugar ** 6 Tablespoons (1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons) soft butter The steps are fun: 1.  Stir all three ingredients together, then knead them into a ball. 2.  For cookies, pull off a child-sized handful of dough and knead it into a ball.  Let it harden on a sheet of wax paper (a plate or cookie sheet also works fine).  If you like, you can dip the top in dipping chocolate or press a chocolate chip into the cookie! 3.  For play dough, hand it to your child and let her play!  Even better, grab a handful and play with her!  You can

<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> Today's Sharing Saturday is all about China and the Chinese New Year!  The Chinese New Year/Spring Festival usually begins on the second full moon after the winter solstice (January 23rd, this year) and ends 15 days later with the Lantern Festival.  Schools close and work is cancelled for the first week and festive, red decorations celebrate good luck and happiness for the new year!  Wonderful parades, firecrackers, and family parties are everywhere!  How can you celebrate with your family?  Here's a few ideas! Sierra at H is for Homeschooling is sharing an awesome preschool/kindergarten Chinese New Year Printable

It's winter and everybody loves snowmen!  Today, I have a fun pattern-based Snowman File Folder Game with a writing practice page for you...and, it's a free printable!  To make the file folder game, cut out the hats and laminate them.  Cut out the snowmen and tape them to the inside of a file folder.  Let your child match the hats to the scarves with the same pattern!  This can be an individual activity, but we did it as a group--those poor snowmen were so cold without their hats and everybody wanted to help!  Re-create the patterns with colored blocks or crayons!  We also followed up with some other icy activities!  If your child is learning to write, he may enjoy the tracing/writing page that is attached as well. Click here to download  the Snowman File Folder Game and Writing Practice Page!

UPDATE: (2016)  This post is now 4 years old!  There are some brilliant ideas in the linky, so I am keeping the post live, but I also want to share links to some of my favorite posts from the last few years.  Thanks so much for stopping by!!  ~Carla               **** Teach Me Tuesday is here!  This is our first link party hosted exclusively from Preschool Powol Packets for all things related to teaching, homeschool, and education! <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> Before we get started, let's take a look at the link most clicked on from last week's party: Melismama at The Joys

Update: "Elephant toothpaste" is a science experiment that I used to do with my high school students.  It is a strong multi-sensory demonstration that goes great with a lot of chemistry concepts. It is also very popular with preschoolers and homeschoolers!  The internet loves it too! It has now been read by more than 3.9 million people! This was the post that started the trend on science activity sites across the internet and "irl!"  Thank you for being here...I hope you enjoy it as well!  💕  This exciting science experiment works great in a discussion on reactions, as a demonstration, or as an actual experiment. We've also done seasonal twists with "elephant toothpaste" like making it in a pumpkin and using it for " reindeer toothpaste !" To use it as a science project, perform it once with your child, then ask your child what might happen if you changed the amounts or left out an ingredient.  Any time you experiment