Preschool Powol Packets

STEM Preschool Activities are some of our favorites, so I was really excited when we had some friends request a Structural Engineering class for our last session of co-op. The co-op we are doing this year is running in 5-week terms, so the lesson that I am sharing today is the first day (for the first week) of our class. You can use these lessons once a week like we did, or once a day for a STEM Preschool Camp! Our classes are 45-minutes long, so all of these lessons are for 45-minute classes. :)   Today's theme was all about introducing force and giving the kids a chance to engineer something fun! We called this project Musical Marble Runs. Week 1: Musical Marble Runs Projects : Musical Marble Runs Science Concepts :  sound, gravity, force (a push or pull) Lesson Overview: 1- Circle Sharing  2- Picture Book: Iggy Peck Architect 3- Lesson: Force & Gravity 4- Project: Musical Marble Runs Lesson Details: 1- Circle Sharing: I

For our Preschool Music & Active Movement class this week, we focused on Firefighter songs! Here is the outline I used to teach our 45-minute class for 3-4 year olds. In addition to our preschoolers, we usually have a couple younger and older brothers and sisters join in too.  ;)  1- Gathering time:  play with musical instruments bin. This week I also brought out a set of boomwhackers for the kids to play with. 2- Welcome Song. 3- When I Sing LaLaLa by Janeen Brady.  We do this and the welcome song with puppets: 4-  I introduced the theme  and we talked about firetrucks we've seen.   I like to start with a song that gets the kids moving a lot because it helps everyone relax and focus at the same time.  I don't have any favorite firetruck action songs (feel free to recommend some!), and some fire stations have cars, so we used Drive My car from Laurie Bergner: 5- We talked about how firefighters  are people just like them, and sometimes

Heart health is a subject that I am passionate about because it has affected my family closely for many years.   ChildCare Education Institute  offers many health, safety, and nutrition courses for you to become well-informed.  I am excited to share some of these heart-themed activities and resources with you! (Of course, you can do these any time of the month or year, but they are especially perfect for American Heart Month in February!) Heart health is a huge issue in our country--heart disease is actually the leading cause of death for both men and women (1) , and more than half of all Americans have at least one of the 3 highest risk factors (high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and smoking) for developing heart disease (2) . I think it's hugely important to teach our children (including preschoolers!) how their hearts work, why they're important, and how to take care of them.  I'm going to share 3 activities you can do with kids of any age (or adults!)

The 2020 STEM Homeschool Conference is in just under two weeks! I am SO excited about it!! I've had some sneak previews of the sessions as I've been organizing them, and they are AMAZING!! If you haven't had a chance to "meet" the speakers, hop over HERE and get to know them. They are incredible people with inspiring stories and motivational backgrounds! Among them you will find master teachers, experienced homeschoolers, museum educators, and more! I am truly honored to work with them all this year! Today, I'm going to share the presentation schedule! Attending a conference can sometimes feel like drinking from a firehose--you want to learn and do everything! Fortunately, we've designed this one so that you can listen to everyone you want to, and there is no pressure to rush through them all!  Once you register you get lifetime access to these sessions! We will be releasing the sessions one day at a time to encourage attendees to vi

I am pleased to introduce you to the speakers at the 2nd annual STEM Homeschool Conference ! They are experienced homeschoolers, expert teachers, and subject-matter specialists! REGISTER FOR THE CONFERENCE HERE ! 2020 STEM Homeschool Conference Speakers: Carolyn Balch Carolyn Balch started her career as a high school physics teacher in northern New Jersey and then in  Kenya. From there she moved into museum education, first at a children’s museum and then at the  Smithsonian. At each, she developed materials for families and students to help bring the engagement of  hands-on exhibits into their studies. She left the workforce when her children were born but soon became  involved in a school startup.  She joined the middle school faculty, developing an exploration-based curriculum. This approach delivers  content through experiments and activities. Doing labs every day can get crazy, but switching to a self- directed classroom where students worked at th