Ideas from Ms Jessica:

Family togetherness: We LOVE to pretend to go camping. We get a bunch of pillows, blankets and sheets and make a tent or a fort using large furniture to drape sheets over. It’s so much fun to do this in a room you normally don’t sleep in, like the living room/family room or a playroom (it’s also fun to camp in your own backyard, once it’s done raining). We turn the lights down and bring out the flashlights. We tell stories, make s’mores or pop popcorn, and grill hotdogs and burgers outside. You can even go on a “hike” around your neighborhood.

 

Movement: Freeze Dance (or just dancing) is always a hit! Have the kids pick their favorite songs, and mom or dad can be the DJ. Just press play :) Pick a space large enough where everybody has their own space to wiggle and show off their moves. Add a few sheer scarves, and maybe some bubbles, and you’ve got yourself a real party! Kids love to twirl the scarves and dance with them, and it is an excellent sensory experience for them as well.

 

Brain stuff: Alphabet Scavenger Hunt. Look around your house or backyard for objects that start with letters of the alphabet. A for apple, B for bed. Depending on their age, your child may want to write the letters of the alphabet, and the objects they find, themselves. This helps strengthen their writing skills and understanding of letter sounds.

 

Activity: Make a Collage. Grab a few old magazines or calendars, scissors and glue/glue sticks, and something to glue on (recycled cardboard from a box, cardstock, or construction paper). Cut out any pictures you like, and glue them onto the paper/cardboard in whatever arrangement you’d like! A collage is fun for kids, but it also helps them develop several skills along the way: It helps improve their scissor skills, and cutting and glueing are both great for building fine motor skills. Those small muscles in the hands and fingers need to work out, too! This is especially important as they learn to write (strong muscles help fight fatigue, which will make writing more fun! Coloring is excellent for this as well). Placing their pictures helps with hand-eye coordination.

***For an extra-special keepsake collage, you could use photos and snapshots of family and friends in place of magazines***

 

Playdough: SUPER important for building those small muscles in the hands and fingers. All the teachers make our own playdough, and while we make a new batch every month, it will actually stay soft for MONTHS if stored in an air-tight container. Your children can also take part in making the dough, from getting and measuring ingredients, stirring on the stove (with supervision!), and the final kneading of the dough. A few ideas to set out with the playdough as an "invitation to play": cookie cutters/rolling pins/plastic knives. Muffin tins/ buttons/beads. Small plastic animals/Pipe cleaners.

 

Recipe:

2 cups flour

4 tablespoons cream of tartar

1 cup salt

2 tablespoons vegetable oil 

2 cups water

Optional:

Food coloring (add with the rest of the ingredients, prior to cooking)

Extract or essential oil for scent (add after removing from heat, prior to kneading)

Glitter (add prior to kneading)

 

Add all ingredients to a medium-size pot, and stir continuously over medium heat. It might look like it will never turn into playdough, but keep stirring! When a ball forms in the middle of the pot, remove from heat and let dough cool until cool enough to handle (5-10 mins). Knead the dough for about 5-10 minutes, and enjoy! 

 

Ideas from Ms Erin:

 Color Scavenger Hunt Game

-can play both indoors and outdoors

-make a checklist and start finding objects of all the colors

*can also add Find Something with stripes, polka-dots, etc...

 

Recycled Art Sculptures (similar to our leprechaun houses)

-materials: tape, glue, clean recyclables (tp rolls, bottle caps, paper towel rolls, pouch caps, magazines, milk jugs or cartons, etc)

-use your creativity and start building, taping and gluing a structure together (best to use a paper plate or something similar for a base)

-let dry for a few hours or overnight

-after sculpture is dry can decorate with

paint it, color with pastels, crayons or markers, or stick stickers on

***when sculpture is complete, can put miniature toys (animals or LEGO people, etc) with it for imaginary play, or set up on a shelf to admire... here’s a pin for examples:  https://pin.it/603fLOo

 

Ms. Erin’s Book Suggestion: https://youtu.be/p-B8tRepgFo

 

You can also see what Ms. Erin is up to on her instagram site.

ms.erinsandyhill

 

Ideas from Ms Kacy:

R is the letter of the week for my crew but if everyone has already done it, no worries, they would still have fun making a rocket. 

https://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Stomp-Rockets/

We did these at science but it is easy with house hold stuff. 

Here is a fun Art activity 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmzjCPQv3y8

Lunch doodles with Mo Willems

He has one for each day last week.

 

Lego challenge! 

Build a rocket and send us a photo.

 

Photographer

Take your imaginary camera on a walk around the block

Take a "Photo" of signs of Spring

Come home and "develop" your photos by drawing each thing you photographed in a notebook. 

 

Toilet paper nunchucks (had to put it out there because my friend filmed it)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1xYc2eR37Y

This activity is awesome for building gross motor skills and working those large muscles, is great for both hand-eye coordination and helping your child with proprioception (which is a fancy word for learning and knowing where our body is, in relation other people and objects.)

 

Science Activity:

I'm trying to think of experiments that do not involve wasting resources.

Magic milk

Milk (whole milk, cream, the more fat the better)

Soap (just a drop)

Food coloring or water color

Make your hypothesis. What do you think is going to happen with these ingredients?

Pour Milk in small plate, just enough to cover the bottom

Add colors, 5-6 drops

Dip Q-tip in soap and just touch it to the milk 

Observe colors moving, bubbling...

Dip Q-tip in milk again. Do not stir

They can add a couple more color drops

Continue to Observe how the soap reacts to the fat in the milk. The soap follows the fat around and breaks it down so the colors move with it. 

https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/milk-color-explosion/

 

 

Scholastic has  pre-K Stories songs, and lessons

https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome/grades-prek-k.html/

 

Steve Spangler is releasing, on Instagram and facebook, 50 experiments for 50 days

Facebook Page @SpanglerScience and Instagram Page @SteveSpanglerScience 

https://stevespangler.com/science-at-home/

 

Ideas from Ms Susi:

Please see attached photos for fun ideas from Ms Susi: Nature Walk, and Binoculars you can make and take alongside your walk!

For an interesting and fun art project, check out the Popcorn Tree! 

 

YouTube read-aloud story

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NRAE_lx5GAo

 

 

Ideas from Ms Shani:

Teddy Bear Hide and Seek

Parents - Hide 10 Teddy Bears (stuffed animals, dolls, lego figures, etc ...)

Children - Go find them, put them all on the couch.  Sit in the middle of them and take a picture.

Then switch and have your child do the hiding.

This can be done inside or outside.

 

Rock Painting

My family and I have been painting rocks to spread around our community.  We first went outside and collected the rocks.  Then we painted them with hearts and flowers.  Today we will be dropping them off around Cardiff.  

 

Back Painting - Set out a sheet that you don't care about on your couch.  Lay on it,  relax and let your child paint your back.  My daughter loved painting when she was little and she thought this activity was so much fun. For the recipient,  it feels great and is very relaxing.  You can always play the guessing game as well.  Have them paint a picture and you have to guess what it is.  Or a letter or a word.  Be prepared to take a shower afterward.

 

Table Painting - We did this activity because we have a glass dining room table.  But, if you do not have a glass table find a piece of plexiglass, glass from a picture frame, window, mirror, sliding glass door, etc...  Let the kids paint with paints or old nail polish.  Have them cover the entire surface.  Let it dry and then peel it off.  We did this long ago with my children and their friends and they still remember it.  I told their friends about it last night and they are excited to do it as well.  They are 18, so this activity is good for all ages. 

 

ABC Scavenger hunt

Make a list of items for your child to find with each of the letters of the alphabet.  Below is a list, but it can be altered to what you have around the house.

Apple

Book

Camera

Dollar Bill

Envelope

Fork

Game

Hand sanitizer

Instrument

Jewelry

Key

Lego

Memory

Notepad

Puzzle

Quarter

Rock

Sponge

Train

Umbrella

Vegetable

Wood item

X Marks the Spot.  You will need to set this up first by taking putting a large X on a piece of paper and placing it somewhere.

Yellow Item

Zipper