Delicious Democracy
How do you communicate the basis of democracy to the under 5 crowd? With ice cream, of course! I checked in with my daughter to see if she knows who is president (she does) and how he got to be president (she did not). I explained that people vote for the president. We skipped over the whole “electoral college” thing but I’ll explain later how you could make that a part of this activity for older kids. Then, … Read entire article »
Filed under: All Ages, Fall, Featured, History and Culture, Interpersonal, Smart Summer Challenge
What Do Mayflowers Bring? Pilgrims!
We’ve been reading a lot of Thanksgiving books about feasts and Turkeys and about that perilous Atlantic journey in the Mayflower. My daughter is fascinated by ships and we looked for a few pictures of what the Mayflower may have looked like online. So, we headed outside to gather materials to make our own Mayflower. I came up with this craft as we went along so hopefully I can be more or less coherent in sharing … Read entire article »
Filed under: 5-6 (Kindergarten), 5-6 (Kindergarten), 5-6 (Kindergartners), 6-8 (Early Elementary), 6-8 (Early Elementary), 6-8 (Early Elementary), 9-11 (Elementary), Fall, Featured, History and Culture
Pine Cone Turkey
It’s turkey time! I’m a vegetarian but most of the family loves their turkey. Thanksgiving is all about counting our blessings and one of those is a full table–with family, friends, and plenty of tasty food. And my son is really into the birds when we visit them at a local farm or at the Audubon center–he loves yelling “gobble, gobble” and hearing them gobble right back at him. Materials: pine cone five (5) or more leaves (pressed will work … 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), Fall, Featured, History and Culture, Home Arts, Science
Cascading Leaf Spiral
For those of you who live further north, your leaves have probably already fallen. On Long Island, ours didn’t really hit their peak until the last week of October and the forests are still a riot of color here. One resourceful friend of mine in Texas has a friend in Vermont ship her a package of leaves so the children may experience the autumn hues. Fall is one of my favorite parts of living in the … 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), Fall, Science, Sight, Visual-Spacial, Weather
Spin a Spider Web
OK, I know that they are generally benign and quite important to our ecosystem but the eight-legged things just freak me out, okay? Still, I got over my fear so that we could study some spiders. I didn’t even flinch earlier in the year when we visited Rosie the tarantula at our local nature center. To her credit, neither did my daughter (who got a heck of a lot closer): Since it is nearing Halloween, we got … 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), 6-8 (Early Elementary), Ecology, Fall, Featured, Science
Gone Batty!
I found these toilet paper roll bats on Filth Wizardry (what a great blog name!), via The Crafty Crow. I recommend clicking over to Filth Wizardry because she has awesome pictures of the step-by-step and also because her husband added LED lights (!) to the bats’ eyes. Materials: Toilet paper tube Black paint Black construction paper Googly eyes Directions: 1. Fold in opposite sides of one end of the toilet paper tube to form the bat ears. 2. Cut a slit up either side … Read entire article »
Filed under: 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), 6-8 (Early Elementary), Ecology, Fall, Featured, Science
Paper Pumpkin Craft
Our home has been completely invaded by pumpkins–real, decorative, and crafted! Here’s my daughter’s latest pumpkin project–a toilet paper roll and construction paper pumpkin that is a great paper-cutting activity. Materials: toilet paper roll orange paint orange construction paper green chenille stem glue scissors pencil ruler Directions: 1. Paint the toilet paper roll orange and let dry. 2. Take a piece of construction paper that is approximately twice as long as the toilet paper roll. Fold the construction paper in half and mark off lines, every 1/3 of … Read entire article »
Filed under: 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), 6-8 (Early Elementary), Fall, Featured
Bats! Songs, Finger Plays, and Jokes
We’ve been reading about and making our own bats. Here are our songs, finger plays, and jokes about bats for preschoolers and kindergartners. As always, I credit and link where I know the author. If you are the author and I haven’t credited you, please let me know! I’m a Bat by Mary Flynn (sung to: You are my Sunshine) I love the nighttime, The dark, black nighttime, And that is when I fly around. I am nocturnal. I … Read entire article »
Filed under: 3-5 (Preschool), 5-6 (Kindergarten), 6-8 (Early Elementary), Fall, Science, Songs
Yarn Pumpkin
We made a yarn pumpkin, similar to this yarn egg we made for Easter. This requires some manual dexterity and patience but it is very simple and relaxing and I think it looks lovely hanging from our chandelier! Supplies: Balloon School Glue Orange Yarn Green Pipe Cleaner Directions: 1. Inflate a balloon of any color until it is round. 2. Tie four strings around the pumpkin, knotting at the top, to create eight “sections”. Paint the yarn with glue. (Note: I did this … Read entire article »
Filed under: 3-5 (Preschool), 5-6 (Kindergarten), 5-6 (Kindergarten), 5-6 (Kindergartners), 6-8 (Early Elementary), 6-8 (Early Elementary), 9-11 (Elementary), Fall, Featured, Mathematics
Leaf Spirits
I saw this lovely autumn-themed craft on Twig and Toadstool, a very inspiring place, indeed, and was motivated to make some “leaf spirits” of my own. We made a few changes so that we could use materials we had available and my four year old could participate more. We also made one of the leaves into a lacing / stitching card, which was a bit of a challenge for me to set-up and you might choose … Read entire article »
Filed under: 5-6 (Kindergarten), 5-6 (Kindergarten), 5-6 (Kindergartners), 6-8 (Early Elementary), 6-8 (Early Elementary), 6-8 (Early Elementary), 9-11 (Elementary), Fall, Science, Weather
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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 or on Google.
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