Preschool Powol Packets

Your preschoolers can be little scientists in your own backyard as they study and observe animals that live there...like snails! You can make your own snail habitats in containers as simple as these buckets that are normally used to dig in the dirt.  Encourage your kiddos to add things they think the snails would enjoy. As they build a habitat and watch the snails move inside it, you may want to talk about or point out some of these facts about land snails: Fun Facts About Snails: * Most land snails are herbivores and different types will eat a variety of plants, including leaves, flowers, and rotting material. * Land snails often eat dirt so they have enough calcium to make a strong shell. * Snail shells grow as the snail grows.  The oldest part of the shell is the middle of the spiral. * The biggest snail is the Australian Trumpet Sea Snail.  Its shell can grow over 35 inches from tip to tip! * The biggest land snail is the African Giant Snail.  

Welcome, Poppins Book Nook readers! I have some fabulous car, truck, and airplane ideas to share with you!  Unfortunately, due to some completely unforeseeable circumstances (a jar of bubbles being dumped on my laptop), I will not be able to post the book nook activities I have planned.  I will share them on another day. In the meantime, please visit these other bloggers for some Planes, Trains, and Automobiles themed fun!  And be sure to enter the giveaway at Enchanted Homeschooling Mom ! Enchanted Homeschooling Mom  ~  3 Dinosaurs  ~  To the Moon and Back  ~  Planet Smarty Pants  ~  Farm Fresh Adventures  ~  Growing in God's Grace  ~  Chestnut Grove Academy  ~  Learning and Growing the Piwi Way  ~  The Usual Mayhem ~  Preschool Powol Packets  ~  Monsters Ed Homeschool Academy  ~  Adventures in Mommydom  ~  Teach Beside Me  ~  Life with Moore Babies  ~  Kathy's Cluttered Mind  ~  Are We There Yet?  ~  Our Crafts N Things  ~  Hopkins Homeschool  ~  ABC Creative Lear

I cannot even count the number of times that I have seen a 3-year old with his or her shoes on the wrong feet.  Today I'm sharing a little trick to getting those shoes on the right feet every time ! I came across this little gem after a conversation with my sister, and I wanted to try it.  But, at the time, my 3-year old put his shoes on the right feet every time. Then, he grew!  We bought new shoes.  And the confusion started.  Was it the new shoes or a new phase of life?  I don't know.  But, we did try this little trick. And guess what...it works!  Brilliantly! It is super easy too.  It only takes about 15 seconds to set up and another 30 seconds to explain to your child.   After that, your kiddo can independently place those tricky shoes every time! So, how do you set it up? Just tear a sticker in half and place the pieces, like a puzzle, on the insides of the shoes.  We used a Lightning McQueen sticker: Show your kiddo how th

These Confetti Suncatchers are perfect for a spring craft, a Mother's Day gift, or just a fun project to brighten up a corner!   We needed a craft for the pile of confetti we collected at Easter time, and these little suncatchers were the perfect solution!  They are bright and colorful and the kids love  them!  And bonus:  they are using recycled materials!  Earth Day is tomorrow, after all! Simple Supplies : contact paper confetti** black construction paper tape string Easy How-To: 1.  In advance, cut the contact paper into egg (or flower or bee or any other spring) shapes. 2.  Invite your children to place the confetti** on the sticky part of the contact paper.  When they've arranged it as they'd like, let them stick it to the construction paper.  You may need to tape around the edges, depending on how they've arranged their confetti. 3.  Trim the black paper as desired and punch a hole in it. 4.  Lace a string

Do you love dolphins?  We do!  Today I'm sharing some fun {FREE} Dolphin Dot pages! A few weeks ago, we were lucky enough to go to Sea World in San Antonio, and dolphins have been popular here ever since!  Plus, I keep hearing about homeschoolers talking about Dolphin Week... So, to celebrate how awesome dolphins are (and to practice number recognition and counting with my 3-year old!), I'm sharing this fabulous set of Dolphin Dot Printables {FREE}!!  Your kiddos can fill in the dots with crayons, markers, special dot markers (affiliate link below), pom poms, coins, play dough, or anything else they choose!   You can use it as an activity with your preschooler, put the pieces in a tray, use it as a center, or let your child work on it while you fix dinner.  The possibilities are endless! Placing on object on each dot does more than just reinforce numbers and counting.  It builds a concept of one-to-one correspondence, where your child recognizes

Earth Day is in just under a week, and I have the perfect preschool science experiment for you!   Rain water has been collected for a variety of reasons for thousands of years!  Only in the last few decades in relatively affluent communities have we stopped relying on this free  source of water.  This simple science project will show your preschooler how much water is available every day...or at least every rain storm.  Even I was amazed by the sheer amount of water I saw gushing out our rain gutter! To set up the experiment, use a permanent marker to maker 1-inch and 1/2 inch increments on two clear cups, like in the picture above.  Place one cup in the dirt in your yard (like the picture) and one cup under your rain gutter.  Leave them in place for a day and then come back and record how much rain fell.  For best results, do this experiment on a day when it is likely to rain!  Our regular spot (in the picture) only caught about 1-1/2 inches of water.  But, th

Today I have 2-1/2 hours worth of Letter "X" activities for your preschool day!!  We participate in a weekly letter-themed preschool co-op for my 3-year old son and just taught the "Letter X" Day.  Of course, I thought I'd share my brilliant lesson plan with you! 1.  Sensory Bin! I use a giant sensory bin as a gathering activity.  With rice as a filler, I like to include construction trucks and little "x" cubes from my alphabet cubes. 2.  Circle Time The kids are all looking forward to birthdays in the next two months, so we talked about turning four and birthdays.  Then we talked about the letter "X," practiced drawing it on a chalk board, used our arms and legs to make "x" shapes, and went on a "Letter X Hunt" with the alphabet cubes.  Can you see an "x?"  :) 3.  Real x-rays We talked about bones, looked at a skeleton, and studied real x-rays !  Click here for more detai

When my daughter found out I was teaching the Letter "X" for a preschool co-op, she thought for a moment and asked, "Can we play 'Pin the Tail on the Fox?'" Of course I said, "Yes!" It was one of the many highlights of our Letter "X" Day! To make a group game, I drew a freehand fox inspired by  CollectiveCreation  on a posterboard.  I wrote the word "FOX" by its back to encourage letter and sound recognition, and then cut the fox out.  I used the scrap poster paper to draw a tail.  I traced over the outline with a black marker and colored the fox in with crayons.  Ta da!  Awesome game! To play with preschoolers, I placed an adult-sized fisherman's hat on each child, gave them a few spins (count out loud as you spin them...this is great number & motion integration!), and pointed them towards the door.  Some of them carefully kept their eyes closed, but many peeked through the bottom of the ha

Play dough print painting is the perfect way to mix up your painting experience...and reinforce the letter "x!"   It is hands-on, sensory, tactile, and manipulative!   It squishes. folds, bends, and makes fascinating prints! We first used it to make "x" prints on our Letter X day.  You could do this with any letter!  Simply form the letter with play dough, dip it in paint, then print it on your paper.   TIP:   Squeeze only two primary colors into your children's paint trays.  We used yellow and blue.  The kids had yellow prints, blue prints, and green prints!  This is great for reinforcing colors and color mixing! I have one little guy that likes to feel the prints with both his hands and feet! After we made letter "x" prints, the kids used the play dough to make prints of anything they wanted.  We had all sorts of shapes and designs! I am sharing Letter X activities all week!  Be

This week I am sharing Letter "X" activities!  Today, I have a fun and child-friendly way to make an x-ray craft! Before you get started, take a few minutes and look at some real x-rays or pictures of the bones in a human foot.  Point out how there is a set of bones for each of the five toes. Then pull out black paper, white crayons, white q-tips, and glue.  Trace your children's feet with the white crayon and let them glue the q-tips in as their bones! Some children (especially older ones) will be meticulous about getting the right number of toes represented.  Many younger ones will not.  This kiddo wanted as many bones as she could fit so her foot would be extra strong: The gluing and pasting is excellent fine motor exercise and the x-rays and bones are a great introduction to a life-long study of their own bodies and how they work.  This is also a great time to mention that exercise and active play (like running and climbing)