hands on : as we grow

Sand Sensory Art: 100th Day of Preschool

Henry had his first homework assignment for preschool.
To create the number 100 out of something.
[Not 100 of something, but to make the numbers themselves.]

We discussed it together to decide what to make.
[Henry told me his teacher made one out of corn!]

We decided we wanted to make one with dirt.
Well, its February in Iowa and it just snowed about six inches, so dirt wasn't to be found.
We settled on sand. [Thankfully, our sandbox has a lid!]

Henry created the number 100 while playing with sand, inside!
It was fun and George even joined in.

First, I had Henry write the number 100 on a piece of scrapbook paper.
I was amazed at how easy this was for him.
His writing skills have really taken off, even if they aren't correctly done all the time, I'm still impressed. [He often starts at the bottom of letters and numbers, instead of the top.]

I then traced over it to thicken up the lines.

Henry painted the numbers with glue.

And then the real fun began.

The sand came out.

Henry decided to dig in it with his backhoe.

Loading it up and hauling it to his paper.

This literally took him well over an hour to do.

He covered his numbers with sand, as well as pushing the sand around to make piles and spread it out. He was pretty busy.

When all the numbers were completely covered, he picked up the paper and shook it off.

Ta-da!

The number 100 was still there where he painted his glue!

What's your opinion?

Does he get an E for effort?

Like it? Share it!

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Labels: Activities, Activities for Preschoolers, Art, artsed, Educational, Learning Numbers, Play Based Learning, Preschool Activities

Painting, Activities, Experiments & Learning

Some edible yogurt finger paint, let George participate in a painting activity with us!
Another way to get George involved in painting? Put it in a baggy! Add something to roll around and let him have at it.
A super fun, messy [but yet clean] sensory activity for both the boys! Making foam from dish soap!
Some tape as roads and add blocks to build a city! Have fun!
Paint a rainbow with a sponge, all at once!
Tape down a maze, add some numbers and 'connect the dots'. A fun learning activity.
Henry made up his own experiment, with tractors and wagons of course! How much will the wagons hold?
And save your recycling! There's 34 recyclables that you must save to upcycle with the kids!

Sponge Art: Paint a Rainbow

Paint a rainbow with a sponge.

I wish I could claim the idea of rainbow sponge painting, but I saw it last year over at Strong Start.

While this is a kid-friendly idea, a lot of the prep needs to be done by an adult, or older child. And prep needs to be redone during the activity as well.

Labels: Art, artsed, kids, littlekids, teachpreschool

Valentine's Activity for Kids: Hunt for Love

I decided that we needed some kind of Valentine's Day activity to do, instead of just crafty and artsy ideas.

We did a heart hunt last year, with great success.

But this year, I wanted to make Henry think about love a little.

So I came up with a Hunt for Love.

To start, we needed to make plain white paper bags pretty so its ready for some love, right?

George was around and awake, so we wanted to include him and have him decorate a bag too.

I quickly came up with something that's colorful, edible and can be painted with.

Yogurt.

100 Acts of Kindness: Create Something from the Heart

kindness act, collaborative memory piece of art

100 Acts of Kindness.

Toddler Approved has a series on it, with many ideas for kindness and how to instill it in our children.

While we're trying to do our acts of kindness, teaching what kindness is to a three year old seems tough at times. By acting kind to each other, and leading my example, is the only way I can figure out how to teach this concept.

To contribute to Kristina's series, we are sharing a very special gift we made for his Grandpa, in memory of the boys' Grandma.

While this is a more 'elaborate' project than a quick kindness gesture. May I just suggest creating something from the heart for someone you love as an act of kindness.

Fun Kids Art: Melted Crayon Shavings

Henry, Grandma and I made some pretty art with crayon shavings!

And it was fun to do!

The crayon shavings are what makes this art so pretty, but it also gave Henry some time to work on his fine motor skills.

32 Snow, Snowflakes, Snowmen! Its all about the Snow!

Snow!

Its mid-January, and we still have grass in Iowa!
No snow!

However, I'm in the mood for snow.
So we're going to have a little fun with some snow activities!

Get crafty!
Get creative!
Learn a little!
Or just have fun with these 32 snow themed kids activities!

_________________ real snow activities :
	Snow Faces: The Chocolate Muffin Tree Color the Snow: hands on : as we grow
	Melting Snowmen: Toddler Approved Snowflake Shapes: A Placed Called Kindergarten
	Snow Construction Site: NurtureStore Snowflake Movement: PreK and K Sharing
	Life Cycle of a Snowman: The Frugal Teacher Counting Buttons: Kindergarten Hoppenings
	Make Snow: The Chocolate Muffin Tree Snowman Play Dough: NurtureStore
	Sock Snowballs: The Golden Gleam Snowball Throwing: I Can Teach My Child
_________________ creative snow :
	Packing Peanut Snowflakes: Sun Hats & Wellie Boots Crystal Snowflakes: Come Together Kids
	Crayon Resist Snowflake Art: Art Projects for Kids Cut Snowflakes: hands on : as we grow
	Snow Paint Snowflakes: Mom Endeavors Snow Puppets: by My Creative Family on hands on : as we grow
	Tape Resist Snowflake Art: Little Learners Lounge Toilet Tube Snowflake: Tinkerlab
	Snow Bag Snow Globe: De Tout Et De Rien Marshmallow Snowman: hands on : as we grow
	Marshmallow Igloo: The Golden Gleam Marshmallow Prints: What the Teacher Wants
_________________ snow sensory tubs :
	Shaving Cream Snow: Dinosaurs & Octopuses Dish Soap Snow: You Pinspire Me
	Rice as Snow: Pre-school Play Bring Snow Indoors: Mama Smiles
	Build a Snowman Tub: Our Cup of Tea Defrost the Freezer: Make, Do & Friend
	Build a Snowman Tub: Our Cup of Tea InstaSnow Construction Site: {Share & Remember}