Preschool Powol Packets

What is it about a preschool craft that you can put on your head that makes it so much fun?? I wonder this every year! Whatever the reason, these pumpkin crowns are adorable, and I have both a pre-colored one AND a coloring-book style version that you can use! You can make these little headbands in advance to use with pumpkin activities (how fun would counting "pumpkins" be if the pumpkins were your kids?!) or use the coloring book version so that your kids can color their own pumpkin (ANY color!) and practice cutting. Doing the entire project as a pumpkin craft lets your preschoolers strengthen fine motor skills that they will need for writing too! Or, if your preschoolers really love to design, you can just use the idea -- give them a "blank" pumpkin by cutting a circle out of white construction paper and let them design the entire project! There really are tons of options for this! I also have LOADS of pumpkin themed preschool science, art, literacy, and other pr...

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 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...

October is coming up, and one of our annual October themes is a Spider Unit! I decided to put together all of the spider activities for preschool I've written about in the past in one spot and...you've found it! I love putting these themes together for you because I think that preschoolers learn best when information is grouped together into a cohesive theme. You can read more about how preschooler brains work here !  Anyway, spiders tie into Halloween just enough that we generally spend at least a week every October learning something new about them and doing a few spider activities too. So here's the collection! You'll find that there's a pretty big variety of science activities, written activities, projects for older preschoolers, and activities for toddlers. There are even a few for older kids that I shared before I started Teaching Without Chairs (which focuses on homeschool activities for kids over 6 years old)! I hope you love them! ...

Perfect for an Ocean Theme or summer activity, this seashell sensory bin combines a bit of the ocean, math, and a little exploration! This is even more fun if you collect the seashells with your kids and let them help set up the sand! (Be sure to pop over here for more ocean themed learning activities !) Simple Supplies: * seashells * sharpie marker * sand in a bin Easy How To: SETUP: Write the numbers you're working on on the inside of the shells. Optionally, put corresponding dots on the insides of other shells (so you can match a shell with the number "5" on it with a shell that has 5 dots). Place all the shells in the sand! Let your kiddos play in the sand! You can talk about numbers they find, put them in order, match them to dots, or just play! Do you love the ocean? What's your favorite ocean themed activity? I'd love to hear from you...feel free to send me an email or leave a comment! ...

This week's Virtual Book Club theme is all about Birds, so I am excited to share this {FREE} letter matching bird printable with you! There are loads of ways you can use these little birds and nests: * You can use this as a file folder game--tape the nest pages onto a file folder, cut out the birds, and match them up! * Cut out the individual birds and nests and use the lettered birds to spell your kiddos' names or other words you're working on! * Print the pages, but only use 4-6 birds at a time to review the letters you're working on! * Put the nests in a pocket chart and match the birds to the nests! * Put the nests on the floor and let the kids hop onto them as you call out different letters! I also included 22 "blank" birds that you can use to let your kiddos write their own letters on! Let them build their names or other favorite words! Just CLICK HERE to get your own free set of bird and nest letter matching pages! I made th...

This week we're investigating an egg science experiment with inertia for the Farm Theme with the Weekly Virtual Book Club for Kids! This science project works great as either a demonstration or an experiment! It's stunning enough for a group and addicting enough for kids to want to manipulate the variables and test it over and over and over! Let's start with a video! Watch the carefully balanced RAW egg drop safely into the cup of water: Supplies: * Tall cup, filled with water to about 1-2 inches from the brim * raw egg * egg carton top (I've also seen this done with a lightweight pie tin or lid with a flat bottom and short "lip.") * cardboard tube (We used a toilet paper tube.) So what's going on and how can you do it too? There are a lot of principles behind this little project, but my favorite is inertia because it explains so much of what is happening. Inertia is the tendency of an object at rest to stay at re...