Naturally Educational » 1-2 (Toddler)
B is for Beans
After our Bean Plant Life Cycle Experiments, we used beans to make a letter “B” and spell the word “beans”. This is a simple activity that can be modified for almost any letter and small material. It is a fun way to build manual dexterity, practice tracing, and make the connection between the letter, the sound, and the meaning. And it is easy to adapt for more advanced learners by allowing them to spell out the … Read entire article »
Filed under: 1-2 (Toddler), 1-2 (Toddlers), 3-5 (Preschool), 3-5 (Preschool), 5-6 (Kindergarten), 5-6 (Kindergarten), Featured, Literacy, Touch
Celebrate World Turtle Day with this Craft for Preschoolers
Happy World Turtle Day! Every year on May 23, the American Tortoise Rescue sponsors World Turtle Day. Beyond learning about turtles and tortoises, the American Tortoise Rescue wants us to take action to help these reptiles survive and thrive. Why do they need our help? There are a number of human-created risks to turtles. Our cars crush them as they try to cross the road, we have destroyed their habitats and nesting grounds, there is an active … 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), Ecology, Featured, Science
Shaving Cream Art (Tactile Fun!)
Studies have shown that students physically involved with learning score higher on subsequent exams–and we’re not just talking about the toddler, preschooler, kindergartner set. The effects are demonstrable even at the college and graduate level. Research into cognitive development strongly suggests that this sort of physical stimulation during learning builds a deeper understanding of academic skills. Children in need of speech therapy may especially benefit from speech activities using tactile sensations. Plus…it is just plain fun to … Read entire article »
Filed under: 1-2 (Toddler), 1-2 (Toddlers), 3-5 (Preschool), 3-5 (Preschool), 5-6 (Kindergarten), 5-6 (Kindergarten), Art, Bodily-kinesthetic, Featured, Touch
March Lion and Lamb Masks
We’ve been enjoying our March poem and updating our calendar with the lion or lamb to match the weather–and the weather has given us plenty of opportunities to choose both! Last week we had 75 degree weather and then it snowed yesterday! We made lion and lamb masks to help us with our daily weather observations. Lion Masks Materials: paper plate orange and yellow construction paper, cut in 1″ x 4″ strips brown construction paper (for ears) glue (we used Elmer’s disappearing … Read entire article »
Filed under: 1-2 (Toddler), 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), Featured, Spring, Weather
Irish Spring: A Shamrock Sun Catcher Craft for Kids
Hope the green is sprouting up in your neighborhood! Have you found any four-leaf clovers? We are starting to see the signs of spring in our yard and so our crafts are turning green, too! And this craft is green in more ways than one–it re-purposes cardboard tubes from toilet paper or paper towel or gift wrap rolls. Materials: cardboard tube green paint green glitter green tissue paper green chenille stem X-ACTO knife single hole punch Directions: 1. Cut three segments from your cardboard tube. All … 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), 6-8 (Early Elementary), 6-8 (Early Elementary), 9-11 (Elementary), Art, Featured, History and Culture, Spring
The Colors of the Wind (Windsock Craft and Charity Book Drive)
This weekend, we finished up our Book Drive for Reach Out and Read. I’m waiting on the final count but feel confident there were well over 700 books collected, possibly quite a bit more, over triple the number I was able to collect last year. We owe our success to the support of Lovin’ Logistics and Joel DeGregorio, owner of the Mt. Sinai The UPS Store franchise. He provided not only a public drop-off for the … Read entire article »
Filed under: 1-2 (Toddler), 3-5 (Preschool), 5-6 (Kindergarten), Featured, Spring, Weather
On the Wings of a Butterfly
We love making butterflies (usually from coffee filters) and two years ago we heard about The Butterfly Project. Here’s the information from the site. 1,500,000 innocent children perished in the Holocaust. In an effort to remember them, Holocaust Museum Houston is collecting 1.5 million handmade butterflies. The butterflies will eventually comprise a breath-taking exhibition, currently scheduled for Spring 2012, for all to remember. They prefer 2D butterflies and I wanted to help my daughter create something special for The Butterfly … Read entire article »
Filed under: 1-2 (Toddler), 1-2 (Toddlers), 3-5 (Preschool), 3-5 (Preschool), 5-6 (Kindergarten), 5-6 (Kindergarten), 6-8 (Early Elementary), 6-8 (Early Elementary), 9-11 (Elementary), Ecology, Featured, History and Culture, Spring, Volunteering
Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!
Dr. Seuss is a favorite at our house (and probably yours, too) for his fun language play and timeless messages. We put together a quick craft to go with The Cat in the Hat. Materials white posterboard red construction paper glue scissors Directions 1. Cut out a tall hat shape from the posterboard. 1b. Note: If you do not have enough posterboard for an entire hat shape, you can cut a band out separately (like we did). 2. Cut a second band for the hat … 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, Literacy, Visual-Spacial
Hoo Do You Love?
My daughter loves birds, owls especially. And Valentine’s Day is a time for sharing the love so we were very inspired by these Valentine’s Day Owls from Molly at Mommy Coddle. Owls are a perfect animal for Valentine’s Day because while most owls have round facial discs, the barn owls (sometimes called “monkey-faced”) have heart-shaped facial discs. We modified the design two years ago to create this owl, which is mainly my cutting and my then-two-year-old-daughter’s … Read entire article »
Filed under: 1-2 (Toddler), 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), Art, Featured, Mathematics, Winter
Jesse Bear, Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear (And The UPS Store Giveaway)
“Wanna wear shorts! Don’t wanna wear jacket! Nooo hat!” Sounds familiar? Then you probably have a toddler! They’re adorable, funny, and very, very stubborn. We offer only weather and age-appropriate outfits, give them choice within those boundaries, and still, it is ten degrees below zero and your toddler wants to wear sandals! We created a paper doll project that helps young children understand and choose weather-appropriate clothing in every season. Materials templates (you could also use photographs) markers/crayons/pencils and stickers/glitter/etc. scissors laminate … Read entire article »
Filed under: 1-2 (Toddler), 1-2 (Toddlers), 3-5 (Preschool), 3-5 (Preschool), Featured, Giveaways, Weather, Winter
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About the Author
Candace Lindemann is a published children’s writer and educational consultant. She holds a B.A. from Yale University and an M.Ed. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Working with school districts around the country and some of the most well-known companies in the education industry, Candace creates custom strategies, textbooks, and lesson plans. Her articles have appeared in print and online.
While Candace’s degrees prepared her for a career in education, she’s found that the best preparation for parenting is on the job training.
Contact Candace via e-mail, read her full biography, or connect with her using the social media icons below.
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