Preschool Powol Packets

How to teach reading: Is there a more controversial topic in preschool and kindergarten?! There are a few skills that we get to share with our children that are incredibly life-changing. They open up new possibilities and opportunities for independence and growth in ways that most other lessons can only approach.   Learning to read changes a child's life as much as learning to speak or use the bathroom! It is one of the last major milestones of early childhood, and it propels a child into a new world that they can learn about and decipher, to a large measure, without an adult explaining everything for them. Watching this new skill become part of a child is thrilling! I have, however, seen many people feel more overwhelmed by the responsibility of the idea than excited about the potential. Is this you?  Have you ever wondered,  "How do I teach my child to read?"  "Should my child be reading already?"  "How do we get ready to

Last week our preschool music class theme was Spiders. It's one of my favorite October themes every year!  Our music class combines songs and movement to teach basic music concepts like pitch and listening skills while letting our preschoolers sing, run, and play!  We also have toddlers or older kids join us too...just adapt the activities for your group's abilities! I'm sharing my lesson plans here in case anyone else wants some ideas for Music Time! Themes we've already done for our music class are  Moon & Space , Dinosaurs, Ocean , and Leaves! This lesson is already tested--we had a great time! This is a 40-minute class, and includes transition and movement time. :)  Theme : Spiders Gathering Activity : Play with musical instrument toys. Hello Song : Hello Song:    Hello * kid's name * Hello * kid's name *  Hello * kid's name * We're glad you're here today! to the tune of "Goodnight, Ladies." W

Rhythm sticks are one of of our favorite instruments during our Preschool Music Time class, so I always try to find a way to make one song work with them every week. This week we did a Spider Theme, and I saw a short list of spider songs at The Perpetual Preschool . I changed one of them just a little to use with our rhythm sticks! Here's how we sang: Use the tune of the song "If You're Happy and You Know It," but instead of "clapping your hands" (or stomping your feet or whatever else you like to do,) "clack" your rhythm sticks together twice! Sing: I Wish I Were an Eensy Weensy Spider Oh I wish I were an eensy weensy spider! (clack! clack!) Oh I wish I were an eensy weensy spider! (clack! clack!) I'd wiggle and I'd crawl up the wall and down the hall, Oh I wish I were an eensy weensy spider! (clack! clack!) We sang it twice because the first time through everyone was just figuring out the instructi

I found this original spider song at Growing Book by Book and had so much fun using it during our music time! Jodie at Growing Book by Book has some great suggestions for using it in different learning activities and to help with pre-reading skills! I also LOVE her book lists! I wanted to make a few changes to the song so that it would work better for our purposes--I've already mentioned the Music Time class I'm teaching right now for preschoolers . This week we did a Spider Theme --we always do a spider unit with my kids in October, so it was perfect timing to do one with our preschool friends too! I also wanted to change it a little to use it as an activity with our play parachute . Parachute time is one of our favorite parts of Music Time, and I'm always looking for ways to twist activities into working with our parachute! So, how did this work? First, I scattered the cards in this file around the floor about 10 feet away from the parachute.

I think kids have been making these spider headbands as a craft/activity since before I was a preschooler...and for great reason! They are fun to make, and even more fun to wear! Plus, they give you a chance to talk about spider anatomy and biology! I've been putting together a collection of our spider activities and crafts, and I realized that I haven't written about this classic little headband! So today I'm fixing that! Like most crafts, this project gives your preschoolers a chance to exercise their fine motor skills and still inject their own personal ideas into the project! One of the reasons this is so popular is that it uses very basic materials: everyone has black construction paper, wiggly eyes, glue, and tape in their craft bin! And if you don't have black  construction paper, my kids have actually made these spiders in a variety of colors...most of my girls have gone through a "rainbow" phase where everything they make (including s

One of the biggest questions when you are getting ready to take preschoolers and toddlers to Disney World is where to stay. We spent five nights at the Grand Floridian this fall, so I'm happy to share what we learned! First of all, you should know that staying at the Grand Floridian feels like staying at a castle! The Victorian-style elegance and ornate decor literally made our little ones stand still to admire (many times), beginning with the chandelier in the lobby as you exit the monorail and extending to tiny details and displays. The rooms and buildings are easy to find and navigate, and their convenience is perfect: our party of seven had two adjoining rooms that were connected by doors from the inside of rooms. Rooms at the Grand Floridian are large and spacious and there are so many kid-friendly things to do that we actually didn't get around to everything during our stay! This couch is actually a daybed that converts very easily: I love having s