Preschool Powol Packets

We combined one of my favorite Christmas picture books with a Silver Bell Ornament craft that was simple enough for my youngest preschoolers to make completely on their own, but intricate enough that my older kids wanted to join in too! The Polar Express is a Christmas picture book that I still find magical -- every time I read it I feel like I'm inviting a little bit of Christmas sparkle into our storytime. This time, when I read it, I pulled out the "silver bell" ornament (that I made in advance) when we reached the part of the story where the main character sees the bells on the reindeer for the first time. When Santa gave the child a bell, we each took a turn ringing my bell ornament. Amazon Affiliate Link: When the story was over, we talked about why the bell was magical. I invited the kids to make their own "silver bell ornaments," and they all jumped at the chance! I simply put out pipecleaners, beads, and a silver bell

Have you ever invited your kids to solve a creative problem, and watched them enjoy the process (and product) so much that they decided to do it again the next day? Making ribbon and bell chimes was just that kind of STEM challenge...and it was a delightful STEM activity to be part of! A couple weeks ago we walked past a chimes display at a hardware store. My kids were captivated. It was such a multi-sensory experience! They loved touching the chimes, listening to them make different sounds, and looking at the creative designs they came in. Fast forward to a few days ago when we were Christmas shopping. Ribbon and bells are everywhere!!  And they're a wonderful price too! I grabbed some extra and presented this challenge to my little scientists: STEM Challenge: Design and create your own chimes (that can ring when the wind blows on them) with the supplies provided. Supplies: jingle bells, ribbon, craft sticks Tools: cool-temp hot glue gun, scissors

What starts with construction trucks, ties in a construction picture book, and ends with a building project? This Construction Truck STEM Challenge! We started our construction theme just before Thanksgiving this year, and are loving it! Some of our past construction activities included a construction sensory activity , a construction themed letter and number game , and this construction truck names lesson and mini-poster ! We've been using Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site as an anchor for our construction activities since it is the Virtual Book Club book for the week! The picture below is an Amazon affiliate link: We looked through the book and found all the pictures of tall buildings and bridges that were partially built. We focused on how the tall beams were supported in cement. We also looked at some of the designs and patterns in the beams of bridges and buildings. Next we talked about some of the bridges the kids knew about. We looked at pictu