Just in time for Spring!

Tasty treats perfect for snack day item or healthy birthday treat to share with the class.  That's right, just say no to cupcakes!  Clothespins, chenille stems, paint, and baggies, all found a local Dollar Tree store!

Teacher Appreciation Week is May 5th - 9th!  Teachers love thoughtful tokens of appreciation and these door banners will be sure to greet them with smiles!  I love it when the student have clever things to say about their teachers, "I like her because she is fashionable!"

Summer Preschool Plus+

Fun and enriching ideas for a Preschool Summer Program


PLAY, LEARN, and BE INSPIRED during the fun Summer Months!

Summer provides an opportunity to ease the heavier academics and explore the outdoors.  The key to a successful Summer program is to BUILD EXCITEMENT.  You can BUILD EXCITEMENT many ways by making small changes to the program's layout, schedule, and environment.  Move around furniture, add outdoor toys/activities.

THEMES BASED DAYS or WEEKS:
Cooking Week
Summer Olympics
Art Week
Bring your wheels to school (scooters, trikes, bikes, helmets)
Sports Camp (try out a new sport each day, or bring the sport out of the normal environment, i.e., play soccer in the soccer field, or play baseball at the baseball diamond)
Game Day (bring games from home to share for the day)
Special Visitors (bakers, dentists, family pets)
Dance Week (each day focused on different style:  hip-hop, scarf dancing, ballet)

Spring is here!  A special time to take a break from rigid schedules and get outside to enjoy nature!

SPRING & SUMMER PRESCHOOL GAMES FUN TO PLAY OUTDOORS:
Obstacle course
Trike lanes with chalk, trike races
Mudpies, mud pizzas
Fossil dig, volcanoes, dinosaurs, plaster of paris with dried animals inside, children need to chip away with popsicle sticks
Bike wash - provide soapy buckets and wash all the bikes
Egg spoon races - but use marshmallows for younger kids and for less mess!
Duck, Duck, Goose
Mother May I?
Musical chairs
Hide and Seek
Jump Rope
Parachute Games 
Bubbles
Frisbee
Pillowsack races
Miniature golf
Throw wet sponges through hula hoops held by partner several feet away
Shaving cream on the slide with bathing suits (with caution, and on slides not too big), place tarp at bottom
Shaving cream on tarp for homemade slip and slide (use caution!)
Balloon pop - Set timer for 1 minute, provide bag of inflated balloons, how many can pop in 1 minute and use legs, push against walls, sit on)

Fun and easy idea for the 100th day of school!  The children will love to run under it and will feel so proud to be 100 days smarter!

Dip plastic forks into green paint and onto paper for a great textural effect!  Then allow children to use their fingertips to dip and paint some colorful ornaments onto the tree!  Sensory fun and so great for fine motor skills!

Handmade stamped wrapping paper is inexpensive, easy, creative, and a lot of fun!

A Month of Thanks.

Why celebrate giving thanks on just one day this year, when you can give thanks each day this whole month!  Consider a Month of Thanks theme option to incorporate into your calendar time.  Each morning during circle time, ask a child to say what they are thankful for that day.  Record on circle time calendar or poster to hang in classroom. 

A vegetarian turkey?  That's right!  What a great treat for a Harvest Day or Stone Soup Day celebration with your class.  If you are going to cute some veggies anyways, you can easily arrange them into this clever vegetable platter!