Using stuffed animals and building blocks build a zoo. Then give zoo tours. One child can be the zoo director/docent and another child or parent can be the zoo guest. The zoo director/docent gives the tour of the zoo and explains the animals’ age, behavior, and other characteristics. Don’t know a lot about the animals? Make it up or look it up online. Either way have fun with your new zoo!
Go online and visit the webcams at the Montery Bay Aquarium.
http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/efc/cam_menu.aspx
Then paint with water colors. You can draw with crayons on your paper first. Then paint with water colors over the crayon. The crayon will resist the water paint and the entire page will look like an under water scene.
This is another great one for hand eye coordination and small muscle development. (This is pre-writing!) Teach your child how to roll logs with the playdough then use a children’s safety scissors and cut the logs in to pieces. The texture of the playdough adds some resistance to strengthen hand muscles. However, the playdough also adds to the feeling of success because it cuts every time…even if your hand isn’t tilted perfectly. Picture to come!
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: February 9, 2010
The Target Corporation is pulling its two Valentine’s Day “Message Bears” from store shelves, the company said on Tuesday, a day after the California attorney general said testing of the toys revealed lead levels that violated federal law for products for children under age 12. One stuffed bear is pink with ”XOXO” across the chest; the other is brown with ”I Love U” across the chest, with “love” represented by a heart. Both were made in China only for Target. Lead exposure can damage the nervous system and other organs, and can be especially harmful to children. A Target spokeswoman said the company’s initial investigation found that the product’s lead testing results were within federal limits when it was shipped. Link to Article:Full article in NY Times
Another great game for developing hand eye coordination and fine motor muscles of the hands and fingers. Using any stiff string (yarn with tape on the end, thin shoe lace, plastic bead thread) have your child thread big noodles like penne pasta or rigatoni noodles onto the string. (Make sure you tie a noodle to the end so that their work doesn’t fall off the string. Enjoy your many pieces of noodle jewelry!
This is a fun activity that helps develop the fine motor muscles of the hand and fingers, which will later be used for writing. Put two bowls on a tray. Fill one bowl with colored puff balls or cotton balls—what ever you have on hand. Using a kitchen tongs that opens with spring action transfer the puff balls from one bowl to another. (Pretend you are making a cake or doing a science experiment.) Have fun!
Using a spoon and two dishes of dry beans, quinoa, barley, rice, noodles or whatever you have on hand, scoop from one bowl to another. Or you can add a third empty bowl for mixing the two ‘ingredients’. This is great to develop hand/eye coordination AND it’s fun.
When you think of popsicle stick art you usually think of white glue and waiting for the project to dry. That can be very frustrating for toddlers and preschoolers, as well as older kids. We cut the wait time right out of our sculptures by taping together the sticks AND we made some cool stuff like the pteranodon in the image below. Have a GREAT time creating with popsicle sticks today!
Coda (4) and Braelie (3): Pteranodon sculpture w/ popsicle sticks and tape
At a time when most of the country is wet, cold, and dreary not many children are getting outside to play and build in the sandbox, mud and dirt. Pouring and measuring is an important part of development for children. So with that being said here is our Activity of the Day: BEAN BOX!
Fill a long plastic (or rigid) container (low sides) with beans, rice, oatmeal, or noodles. Then put in measuring cups, spoons, and bowls. Put a sheet on the floor and then put the bean box on top and allow your children to pour, scoop, stir and measure with the beans. One rule has always been a staple at our house: Keep the beans in the box. (Naturally some beans will come out through the processing, but as long as you keep the rule the beans won’t get thrown around too far.)
My son LOVES to take out is dump truck and backhoe to clean up the beans that fell on the floor at clean up time.
This is an activity that has bought me time on the phone. Believe me they will LOVE this one! Enjoy!
Squirt some white fluffy shaving cream (the traditional style not gel) on a tray or on a smooth washable surface. Put an old t-shirt or a smock on your little one(s) and allow them to smoosh the shaving cream around with their fingers. Encourage them to draw shapes or letters in the cream. Discuss words like ‘smooth’, ‘soft’, ‘squishy’, ‘slippery’, etc.
For smaller children who still put things in their mouths, use the extra creamy style whipped cream instead of shaving cream.
Don’t like the mess? Try putting some shaving cream into a gallon sized ziplock bag. (Squeeze out the extra air) Your child can draw on and smoosh the bag….mess free!
Have FUN!
