Preschool Powol Packets

I really love music, so it is natural for me to want music in my kid's lives! Amazingly, research tells us that music instruction (even for young children like preschoolers) does incredible things for their mental and emotional development! Today I'm going to share some of the reasons why you want music classes for your kiddos, and some fantastic ways to get that instruction! This article contains affiliate links. 1- Music helps brains develop ! A five-year study from the University of Southern California found that children's brains develop more quickly when they have music instruction, especially if they learn to play an instrument! This is one of the reasons I LOVE Preschool Prodigies --they actually teach preschoolers to play an instrument {bells} through fun pre-recorded lessons that feel more like playtime than lessons! They have lessons for older kids too! Click here to check out their incredible program! 2- Music helps other academic subjects ! St

I'm teaching a Music & Movement class for preschoolers this semester, so I'm excited to share some of the activities we'll be doing with you here! This little activity is a moon or space themed activity for rhythm sticks! I included it in our Space Themed Music Class ! Rhythm sticks are TONS of fun to play with, but in addition to being super engaging, they also help your preschoolers develop skills like the following: * eye-hand coordination * fine and gross motor development * a sense of rhythm, beat, and tempo * directions like up, down, right, and left * following instructions * taking turns * math and music skills * creative thinking (like in this activity!) Our first music class's theme will be the moon and space, so I decided to do an astronaut rhythm stick activity. Here it is in lesson-plan format: 1- Show rhythm sticks and discuss safety rules (this is our first class, so we need to establish rhythm-stick-safety!).

I'm teaching a preschool class this year that combines music and movement to teach basic music concepts like pitch and listening skills while letting our preschoolers sing, run, and play!  I'm super excited to get started, and decided to share my lesson plans here in case anyone else wants some ideas for Music Time! Each week I will be following a different theme.  The first theme will be the Moon & Space! You can see more music lessons  here ! Here is my plan...I'll post a brief update to let you know how it went! Theme : Moon & Space Gathering Activity : Play with musical instrument toys Hello Song : On the first day we'll have name tags, and then we'll sing, " Hello *kid's name*, hello *kid's name*, hello *kid's name*, we're glad you're here today!" and then repeating that triplet enough times to welcome everyone to the tune of "Goodnight, Ladies." Warm-up Song : When I Sing La, La

What would you do with pictures of  the planets in our solar system? Use them for a fun space theme? A solar system game? Decorations for your wall during a space unit? Well, this is your chance to decide! I needed pictures of the planets, the sun, and stars for our Space themed Music Class, so I put together this free collection of fantastic photographs from NASA! Aren't they gorgeous?! Inside the packet you will find pictures of the following: Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter  Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto Sun Stars (Stephan’s Quintet from Hubble) the planets all together This free packet is perfect for preschoolers, but you can also use it with older kids! The pictures are perfect for learning activities, bulletin boards, games and more! You can click HERE to see how I used them in our preschool music class! You can get the packet by clicking on the link below! There are no strings attached, no emails required, and no hidden c

In 1999, Nokia sold the first mobile phone with a WAP browser. Ten years ago smartphones were just becoming commonplace; today they come with cameras that take better pictures than many point-and-shoots! If you had told me 10 years ago that I could carry a phone in my pocket that is as powerful as a computer and has a camera on it, I would not have believed you! Yet, here we are!! You can see just as dramatic changes in topics that early childhood educators are studying now compared with what was important 10 years ago! If you're a parent or in an ECE classroom, some of these will probably resonate with you, and if you're just getting started in the field they are critical topics to be informed about and have opinions on! Here are 10 trending topics that ECE teachers are studying today that they wouldn’t have 10 years ago, according to ChildCare Education Institute , and ways that you can use CCEI to learn more about those topics:  1- Children on Devices:

It's fall! It's fall! It's fall!!! I absolutely adore fall and am super excited to share this Pumpkin Life Cycle Packet with you this year!! My preschoolers have already asked if we're going to go to a farm this year and pick pumpkins, and I was like, "OF COURSE!!"   Then yesterday we passed the candle isle at the grocery store and bought a Pumpkin scented candle. It is wonderful, and we enjoyed it the very same night we bought it! So, back to the topic at hand: I have been working on a series of life cycle printables to use to teach different life cycles.  This pumpkin packet is the next life cycle in that series. If you want to grab the other ones, here are the links: Pumpkin Life Cycle (with spinner) -- YOU ARE HERE--the sign-up is below! Shark Life Cycle (with spinner) Fern Life Cycle (with spinner) Butterfly Life Cycle BOOK (coloring book style) Ladybug Life Cycle CARDS Honeybee Life Cycle CARDS Let me know if