Naturally Educational » 5-6 (Kindergarten)
Zoom, Zoom, Zoom, We Are Going to the Moon!
For our summer crafts and story and circle time, we started learning about our families and then explored the natural world around us. Then we set our sites on the stars! We climbed aboard our rocket ships and zoomed up to the moon, visited a few planets, and then swung by the stars. Here’s how we made our rocket ships: Materials: Cardboard Tube Tinfoil Poster Board (we used red and blue) Stickers (for decorating your rocket) Scissors Glue Jar Top or Glass (for tracing a … Read entire article »
Filed under: 0-3 (Babies and Toddlers), 1-2 (Toddlers), 3-5 (Preschool), 3-5 (Preschool), 3-5 (Preschool), 5-6 (Kindergarten), 5-6 (Kindergarten), 5-6 (Kindergartners), 6-8 (Early Elementary), 6-8 (Early Elementary), Science
Pancakes from Scratch
At another Mommy & Me at Garden of Eve, Eve led us in picking wheat, threshing the wheat to separate the grain from the chaff, grinding the wheat (in a blender..though my kids have stone-ground grains at some local colonial-themed events), stirring in the eggs, sugar, baking powder, and milk, and frying up the pancakes. Unless you have a field of wheat growing in your backyard, you may need to take a few shortcuts–but making a … Read entire article »
Filed under: 0-3 (Babies and Toddlers), 3-5 (Preschool), 3-5 (Preschool), 5-6 (Kindergarten), All Ages, Bodily-kinesthetic, Featured, Home Arts, Taste
Slithering Songs
Usually I do not post the theme songs I use with my kids because I did not write them! Most of the time they are anonymous pieces I find on the Internet. Maybe I should, though. Here’s a song about snakes that I wrote, based heavily on typical preschool counting songs: Five Little Snakes by Candace Lindemann (start with five fingers up) Five snakes molt their skin to grow some more, (children can reach for the sky) One slides away … Read entire article »
Filed under: 1-2 (Toddlers), 3-5 (Preschool), 5-6 (Kindergarten), Ecology, Science, Songs
Tickly Octopus Craft
Octopuses have so many fascinating adaptations and we found a storybook that captures this information with humor and charm: Tickly Octopus. Tickly Octopus is the story of a fun-loving octopus who enjoys tickling his friends–but only the wiggly, giggly fish appreciate his tentacled-tickles. When our octopus protagonist goes on an adventure to recover his friend oyster’s pearl, he discovers he has so many other talents, including zooming through the water, squeezing through holes, and squirting ink … Read entire article »
Filed under: 0-3 (Babies and Toddlers), 1-2 (Toddler), 1-2 (Toddlers), 3-5 (Preschool), 3-5 (Preschool), 3-5 (Preschool), 5-6 (Kindergarten), 5-6 (Kindergarten), 5-6 (Kindergartners), Featured, Science
Make a Note of It!
My daughter has been taking piano lessons for almost a year and she loves to play. I am impressed with the progress she is making with her teacher. She can play pieces with chords, using both hands. However, I can tell that help with sight reading notes would improve the fluency of her play–and probably her enjoyment. We bought flashcards but they did not hold her interest and I do not like to push. Instead, inspired by … Read entire article »
Filed under: 5-6 (Kindergarten), Featured, Music, Musical
An American Mosaic: Paper Flag Collage
Inspired by this craft on the Elmer’s Glue site, we made our own flag today. The site says appropriate for kids 5-11 but I think it is doable for three and up–especially if you either complete it as a class or over several days. Our main modification was that the white stripes are the white paper underneath showing through, instead of their own line of paper. We did this primarily based on the attention span of … Read entire article »
Filed under: 5-6 (Kindergarten), 5-6 (Kindergarten), 6-8 (Early Elementary), Summer
Patriotic Play!
We had a “patriotic play date” today in anticipation of America’s Birthday. We began by talking a little bit about the Fourth of July and Independence Day. Most of the (verbal) kids associated the day with fireworks, parades, and summer foods like watermelon, corn on the cob, and ice cream. Our six year old friend knew that it had something to do with the Revolutionary War. For the younger kids I explained that we were once … Read entire article »
Filed under: 0-3 (Babies and Toddlers), 3-5 (Preschool), 3-5 (Preschool), 3-5 (Preschool), 5-6 (Kindergarten), 5-6 (Kindergarten), 5-6 (Kindergartners), Summer
Yarn Easter Egg Ornament
We’ve been trying some gorgeous Easter Crafts for kids this week, starting with this Yarn Easter Egg Ornament from No Time for Flashcards. I love “busy hands, calm spirit” crafts like these. This is so simple and yet it requires a lot of focus, patience and dexterity. You can also use this as an opportunity to practice measuring (the yarn) and cutting with scissors. Applying the yarn. Popping the balloon. Finished ornament hanging up. Head over to No Time for … Read entire article »
Filed under: 3-5 (Preschool), 3-5 (Preschool), 5-6 (Kindergarten), 5-6 (Kindergarten), 6-8 (Early Elementary), Home Arts, Mathematics, Spring
She’s Like a Rainbow
March is a great time for learning about the weather, including rainbows! Kids love rainbows with their bright colors and mystery–and there is plenty of opportunity for scientific exploration! With our preschoolers, we made dyed pasta rainbows. We also gave the toddlers in our group the option of making the craft with fruity cereal o’s on paper–but this generally resulted in them just eating the cereal! Materials: Rotelle (Wagon Wheel) Pasta Food Dye Wax Paper Cotton Balls Glue Thread (for hanging) Dye the … Read entire article »
Filed under: 3-5 (Preschool), 3-5 (Preschool), 5-6 (Kindergarten), 5-6 (Kindergartners), Art, Science, Sight, Spring, Weather
In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb
As we enter the end of winter and the beginning of spring, it is a great time to talk with young children about the weather. Last year, we used a calendar “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb” project to explore the concept of the changing weather. March Lion and Lamb Calendar Directions Print a blank March calendar. Print/photocopy Lion and Lamb clip art and cut so each animal is on its own square. … Read entire article »
Filed under: 3-5 (Preschool), 3-5 (Preschool), 5-6 (Kindergarten), 5-6 (Kindergarten), Mathematics, Science, Spring, Weather, Winter
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