Preschool Powol Packets

Owls are one of our favorite fall themes! They fit a lot of other themes too, but I was delighted when we found out that this week's theme for the Virtual Book Club was going to be owls! So today I'm sharing our owl counting activity with {FREE} playdough mats! We used these mats to make and count little playdough owls,  work on counting up to 10,  identifying numbers,  and even writing numbers (with playdough)! You can also use them as part of a sensory activity, a fine motor exercise, or as a prop to talk about colors! It was tons of fun to work on with  my kiddos, but could also be used independently or as a center. This one is a "3" with "rainbow owls hiding in the rainbow branches!" Click HERE to download a {FREE} set of owl counting playdough mats ! Also be sure to check out our owl fingerpuppets and rhymes --we use them all the time, and I think you'll love them!! We are sharing t

I am SO excited to share these pumpkin catapults with you!! I was trying to think of a new, hands-on Halloween science project for our Halloween Science in the Park day while I was cleaning when my eyes landed on a Fall display we have with lots of little mini-pumpkins. I stared at them for a few minutes, trying to imagine any kind of STEM activity we could adapt to include pumpkins. And then it hit me: a Pumpkin Catapult science experiment! And not just pumpkins flying in the catapult, but using the actual pumpkin as a base for the catapult! Not only did it tie into the pumpkins, Halloween, Fall, and science themes, the pumpkin created a base for a catapult that was sturdy and simple enough that older preschoolers could build their own catapult!  The grooves on the pumpkins helped stabilize the rubber bands, which in turn made this project perfect for little hands! Halloween Science Pumpkin Catapults: Our pumpkin catapults only needed four items : mini pumpkin

My favorite science experiments are the ones my preschoolers and other kids engineer themselves...like this pumpkin water science project. When they create the experience, it often ends up being a STEM exploration too! In this case, my son carved a pumpkin (with supervision, of course!). The next thing I knew, he was in the sink, filling his pumpkin up with water! This is when I decided we should move outside. As I watched him fill the pumpkin up...over and over and over...I realized he was learning tons of science concepts! First of all, the water always came out the mouth before the eyes. He tried to block it, but it took my adult-sized hand to stop the water from pouring out the mouth. Then it came out the eyes...until I moved my hand. After I moved my hand, water came out the eyes and mouth again, but it came out of the mouth with more force than the eyes. This demonstrates basic principles of pressure, force, and distance, and has loads o

Do you find your kiddos more interested in pumpkins lately than school? We do!! I am trying to harness some of that love-of-pumpkins into pumpkin play and pumpkin learning with fun science projects...plus, I really like pumpkins too! This set of pumpkin math and science experiments is fun and engaging, and it goes great with fall, Halloween, and Thanksgiving themes too! I began this project by asking my preschoolers the question: "Which weighs more?" I started by holding up a small pumpkin and an ear of corn. They made their guesses, we talked about their hypotheses, and then we used this DIY balance scale inspired by this project . Unlike Sarah, we didn't have a set of PVC pipes, but... we did have a hanger. We hung a set of cups from each side of a hanger, and I asked my preschoolers what would happen if we put something heavy in one cup and light in the other cup. Creating the "scale" ourselves let them see how it worked...and invited them to ext