Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds

Using Pipettes and Turkey Basters in Preschool

2013-06-11T08:29:00.001-07:00

Some of our favorite tools for working on our fine-motor muscles are pipettes, eye droppers, and turkey basters.

The children are shown how to squeeze before dipping it into the paint or water. They can then see the liquid shooting up the tube.

Small amounts are then squeezed onto the surface of whatever they are working on.

Using pipettes and basters helps strengthen those little fingers and hand/eye coordination. They work hand strength and grasp patterns.

When introducing the children to basters and pipettes, we use colored water and transport from one container to another. Small sponges are provided to wipe up spills.

From there, we will use them in a variety of ways, including art projects on the easel...

...and those on flat surfaces.

We like to vary the thickness of the paint and the surfaces that they fall on.

So many different ways to use them!

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More Sensory Bin Ideas - Winter and Spring

2013-06-05T20:37:00.000-07:00

The sensory bin is part of our centers time every day in both our 2s and 3s classes. When putting together these bins, we consider:

-touching

-seeing

-smelling

-hearing

What materials will we add to stimulated these senses?

Sand and Gems

(Note: this bin was for older 3's since it contained smaller pieces.)

Epsom Salt

Shaving Cream

Macaroni

Rice and Wood Shavings

(Note: for those over 3 due to small pieces)

Fine Salt

What features can we add?

Cardboard Cut Outs

Tubes and Cylinders

Pipettes

rain gutters

Tongs and Clear Containers

Funnels

Objects From Around the Classroom

How can we connect it to a particular theme or holiday?

Winter

Valentines

St. Patrick's Day

Easter

Spring

How Can We Foster Independence?

Brooms and Dustpans for Sweeping Around Sensory Table

Step Stools for Constructing Tubes and Ramps

For more sensory bin ideas, visit: "A Collection of Sensory Ideas"

and "Sensory Tub Ideas".

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Flower Prints

2013-05-19T14:03:00.000-07:00

I recently found this idea for using the bottom of a soda bottle to make flower prints. I addition, I cut the bottom of some paper tubes to add a second flower print.

I invited both my twos and my threes to make prints with bright yellows and pinks.

I loved how their hands had to grasp the bottle. Great fine motor work!

This artist explained that the flowers were blowing in the wind. I can see it!

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Lavender Hearts

2013-05-06T07:26:00.002-07:00

Last month we made purple play dough and invited the twos and threes to mix lavender into it.

As you can imagine, the room was quite fragrant. Very relaxing!

When we changed out our play dough, I couldn't bear to toss this. I placed the lavender play dough on the table along with rolling pins and heart cookie cutters.

And they made lavender hearts.

That I poked a hole in.

And we air-dried.

These will be for their mommies for Mother's Day.

Made with love.

My basic play dough recipe:

3 cups water

3 cups flour

1 1/2 cups salt

3 tablespoons cooking oil

2 tablespoons cream of tarter

Place all of the above in a pot on the stove and cook until dough starts to thicken and pull from the sides of the pot. If you want to add color, add it to the water first. At this point you can also add any scents, such as the lavender oil I added for the above activity.

Remove from pot onto a floured surface and knead. If it's too sticky, add more flour.

Store in an airtight container.

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Fairy Mommies for Mother's Day

2013-04-29T07:16:00.000-07:00

We made these little fairy mommies that our threes will add to their table settings at our Mother's Day Tea. (The materials are available at any craft store. You can see what we used at the end of this post.)

We first painted the bean pot candle cups.

I gave them a coating of polyurethane.

I pulled the petals and leaves off some fake plants we had in our collection.

The threes then brushed glue along the top of the cup and stuck 2 leaves on it.

The ball was placed on top of the cup/leaves and a petal was then added on the top of the head.

Once everything was dry, the faces were drawn with a Sharpie.

I think they turned out so cute!

Materials that we used:

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Making Roadways with Wallpaper Samples

2013-04-27T21:44:00.003-07:00

I was cutting out rectangles from a book of textured wallpaper samples to use as play dough mats. (I'll have to post about that later!) As with many of my ideas, suddenly I looked over at the block area and wondered what would happen if I set out some strips of wallpaper. Would they use them as roadways?

I invited the threes over to this area by setting up a few of the roadways, leaving the rest in baskets.

They got right to work, laying out the rest of the strips to lengthen their roads.

And then they ran out. But wanted more.

I decided to bring the book of wallpaper samples to the block corner along with a container of scissors.

And we all started cutting strips of wallpaper for roads!

The teacher in me was delighted to see such fun AND fine motor practice!

The threes were delighted to be contributing. Much more meaningful.

Roads made out of wallpaper. Now tucked in baskets for more use later.

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Big Beautiful Butterflies!

2013-04-21T16:58:00.000-07:00

My co-teacher put together the cutest butterfly activity that also involved working those fine motor muscles.

The threes first painted a dowel.

And then used watercolors on jumbo-sized coffee filters.

When assembling the butterflies, they pushed beads through the chenille stems for antennae.

Big, beautiful butterflies!

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Simple Sun Catchers

2013-04-07T21:13:00.000-07:00

My co-teacher put together this simple sun catcher activity that the threes LOVED.

She displayed tissue paper squares in "rainbow order".

Contact Paper was cut into circles.

The preschoolers were invited to place any colors they wanted on the circle.

And then they folded the contact paper in half to "seal" their rainbow. {Except one little guy who wanted to keep his a circle, so it could look like a face.}

Our sun seems to have disappeared, but these are still so bright and cheerful in our window!

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Collages on Canvas

2013-04-04T19:57:00.000-07:00

Creating a collage on one large piece of canvas is one of my favorites. They make beautiful displays and hang so easily!

This particular activity involved our two year old class.

Our color this month is purple, so we invited the twos to bring in purple items from home, plus we provided additional purple collage materials.

They used brayers to roll a mixture of glue and purple paint on to the collage.

{Some found it was fun to also roll directly on the table, of course.}

The purple items were then placed on top.

They worked until the canvas was covered.

Our purple collage on canvas!

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Mixing Colors at the Easel

2013-04-01T07:46:00.000-07:00

One of our threes favorite activities is to mix their own paint colors.

Last week's invitation: to mix blue and yellow to make green.

I love our restaurant-quality squeeze bottles for activities such as this. If less paint is desired, I use my smaller bottles. It's great exercise for those small hands!

Many shades of green.

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Bringing Nature into the Classroom

2013-03-26T14:39:00.000-07:00

In my last post, I shared my neighboring classroom's transformation by adding more natural materials into her classroom.

My co-teacher and I have been doing the same with our classroom. Little touches, such as new blossoms from outdoors.

Seeds germinating.

Plants and wicker and small lamps instead of harsh overhead lighting.

Textures and natural colors.

Displays of things found outdoors, contributed by the children.

Replacing plastic with wood and toning down the bright primary colors.

Cozy corner displays.

Loose parts to engage the imagination.

To notice the colors, the shapes.

Pillows to soften the area.

Soft. Natural. Warm.

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Adding Natural Materials to the Classroom

2013-03-19T08:36:00.002-07:00

I have loved what the classroom next to mine has done recently: a classroom redo using more natural materials.

Teacher Susan paid close attention to details, creating an environment rich with texture and warmth.

Blocks are displayed in baskets. Neutral colors are draped over shelves.

Tucked in the corner, behind the sheer curtains, is the light table.

I love the sheers in the dramatics area's window. They provide softness, yet allow the light to come through.

The stark blue vinyl couch is now covered in a soft plushy fabric.

A jewelry organizer now displays random small objects.

It's all the little details that make this room feel more like a home rather than a classroom. What a transformation she has made in less than a week, and with a tight budget! Many of these items were found in our storage room and in her own home, as well as Goodwill.

My co-teacher and I have been doing our own classroom transformation, which I will share more later. The above picture shows how our dramatics area is coming along. I'll share more later!

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A Week at the Sensory Table

2013-03-16T15:26:00.000-07:00

I had planned for dried peas and beans in the sensory table last week, along with plastic eggs and an egg carton.

And then, while setting up, I found this wonderful piece of cardboard one of our teachers had rescued from the recycle bin.

I gathered some paper towel tubes....

...and the fun began!

Both the twos and the threes enjoyed playing with this. Scooping, pouring...

It even made its way outside!

Did it get everywhere? Why yes, it did! We had quite a few helpers with brooms.

Yesterday, the threes decided to take it to a new level. Towards the ceiling! They asked for tape so they could connect the paper tubes.

They got step stools and went as high as they could.

They have great plans for it next week, so I am not changing a thing. I can't wait to see where they take it from here!

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Our Science Shelf

2013-03-11T20:22:00.000-07:00

"Because they are ready to learn about the everyday world, young children are highly engaged when they have the opportunity to explore."

{Young Children, September 2002}

Our classroom is on the smaller side, so we must be creative with our space. Our science shelf is on top of our block unit. Not a lot of space, but it works very well!

I love the natural light from the window. This overlooks our outdoor classroom.

Picture books.

Tools for exploration.

Displays.

A small spot to stop and explore.

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February Activities - Weeks 3 and 4

2013-03-04T19:07:00.002-08:00

We are already at weeks 22 and 23. The year has gone by quickly, as it always seems to! Here are some activities we set up the last 2 weeks in February:

Art:

We introduced watercolors with the twos. I happened to have some doilies so I taped them to a large sheet of paper, along with some other materials.

With the twos, a project often turns into something we had not planned. In this case, some of the twos were more interested in the water containers that were used to dip the paintbrushes into. They enjoyed pouring the water from one container to the other, and then using the paint brush once it got on the paper.

I love to go beyond the paint brush when it comes to painting. With the threes, I clipped sea sponges onto clothespins for a fine motor twist. I loved how the watercolors merged.

Everyone probably remembers the classic foldovers from their childhood. The twos and threes always enjoy this activity. I don't worry about them only painting on one side of the paper. They can paint anywhere and then fold the paper and press it down. It still surprises them how the colors smear and you can see them on either side of the paper.

Another favorite is making prints off the easel. We used our new plexi-glass easel outdoors. We painted directly on the easel and then pressed paper on it to pick up a print.

As the month came to a close, we started introducing Dr. Seuss and St. Patrick's Day. At the easel we made truffula trees using paper plates and construction paper.

We invited the twos to make a collage using green tinted glue, dried macaroni, shredded paper, and pieces of green paper and fabric. We love to add as many textures as possible.

We started making our Cat in the Hat hats and masks in the threes class. The hats were more of a cutting activity - where the stripes were placed on the hat was up to each child. No two looked alike!

Sensory:

I placed white rice in a Zip Lock bag, added some red Wilton's food coloring gel and a little rubbing alcohol. Once the bag is zipped, I shook the rice around. I was happy that the red didn't disperse evenly. I love all the different tones of reds and pinks!

Sensory can happen at the art table, too! This particular two year old spent a great deal of time mixing the macaroni and glue in her hands. She didn't care to keep it on the paper. For her, the pleasure was feeling the macaroni mixture moving in her hands.

Fine Motor:

Fine motor happens all over our classroom. We provide writing tools in many areas and encourage the twos and threes to write whenever they want. The twos are starting to show interest in writing their names with scribbles and symbols. After I write their name (calling out each letter as I do so), I ask them if they'd like to write. Some do, some don't. I never push.

We found some clear sticky book covers in our storage room that I decided to place on the table. It was much more sticky than Contact paper and the twos and threes enjoyed covering them with pieces of tissue paper, crepe paper, and construction paper. I placed another sheet on top of it once they were done, so that the sticky part was no longer exposed, and hung it in our window.

The above collage of pictures shows some of the ways we provided fine motor experiences in one week in the twos class.

My co-teacher placed plexi-glass page holders on our fine motor table (taping the base to the table so it wouldn't fall over) and provided Wikki Stix. The threes enjoyed making designs and even letters!

Science:

It's been awhile since I've used the overhead projector in the classroom. One of our teachers was given this projector last year and both our twos and threes LOVED it. Each day I put something new on the projector for them to explore.

We are special. We are unique. No one has the same fingerprints. We had the threes put their fingerprints on their name cards as we talked about how special we all are. The cards were then placed in a basket next to our table top magnifying glass for the children to view in the science area.

Cognitive:

My co-teacher put together this math game for our threes. We printed off 1 Fish, 2 Fish sheets here. We took turns rolling the die and then finding the number on our sheet of paper. We then counted that many goldfish crackers and put them in the fish tank. Fun math!

Large Motor:

We brought out the parachute for the twos during gym time. We held onto the handles, went under, and then on top. Their favorite was walking around in a circle holding on to the parachute as we sang "The Wheels on the Bus", moving the parachute to the movements.

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February Activities - Weeks 1 and 2

2013-02-19T21:06:00.002-08:00

Art:

Both the 2s and 3s loved using salad spinners to create these hearts! They placed a paper heart in the spinner, squeezed their choice of paint colors onto the paper, put on the lid and let it spin. When finished, they removed their painted heart and placed it in a box lid to sprinkle the glitter. Even the 2s got the sequence down and could do these unassisted.

We made our Valentine holders in both classes. Shown above are the 3s holders, which needed to be larger than the 2s (more children). We took a large sheet of construction paper, folded it in half, and stapled the sides. The children then stamped white hearts on the front. I printed a photo of each child for his/her envelope, along with his/her printed name. This made it much easier when passing out the Valentines. The 2s stamped their hearts on red paper bags. In both classes, the parents/caregivers helped their children distribute Valentines before class started.

Each Friday we have a parent volunteer in our 3s class. Last week our parent came up with her own idea. She cut a heart shape in the middle of a margarine lid and the children used that as a stencil. After they traced the heart, they dipped marker caps in glue and stamped them onto the heart. From there, they placed the paper in a box lid and shook glitter over the paper.

Easel:

Because one of our class visitors was a dentist, the 3s painted with toothbrushes at the easel.

The second week the 3s used pipettes to drip thinned tempera paint down paper hearts. The 2s used paint brushes on paper hearts.

We welcomed our new plexi-glass easel that will reside in our outdoor classroom. We have wanted one for years and used fundraising money for this one.

Cooking:

Red sprinkles mixed with a little water and some cinnamon were added to hearts cut out of tortillas. They were baked in a warm oven until slightly crispy.

The church we reside in often gets donations of bread and pizza dough from a local grocery store. We scored 2 bags of organic pizza dough, so we decided to have the 2s make cinnamon rolls with it. They kneaded and patted the dough with flour and then sprinkled cinnamon sugar on top. We brushed a bit of margarine on top (we can't have dairy due to allergies) and baked them at 350 degrees for around 15 minutes.

The 3s made cookie dough for their Valentines cookies, with enough leftover for the 2s to use the following day. After mixing the dough, they patted it flat and pressed a heart cookie cutter into it. Once the heart was revealed, they added sprinkles.

Dramatics:

The first week of February, we continued loving our babies in the dramatics area. This extended after our baby wash in the sensory tub the week prior. We worked hard on dressing the babies and taking good care of them! This was especially meaningful for several of the children who either have younger siblings or are expecting siblings in the near future.

The week of Valentines, our dramatic play area included a post office! We had bins for sorting mail, mail bags, mail hats, a cash register, baskets, and stamps. You can read more about our post office here.

Light Table:

I drew 4 different-colored hearts on white paper and placed over the light table. The children sorted the materials by color and placed in the hearts. (I used larger materials for the 2s.)

Fine Motor:

On our writing table: heart stamps, markers and paper.

Sensory:

The first week of February, we had a winter fine motor sensory bin. The children used tongs and scoops to fill plastic bins.

The second week of February, I dyed tubular pasta red and added chenille stems for them to poke through the pasta. I also added empty dishwashing liquid bottles for them to push the pasta into. It proved to be quite the challenge to get the pasta out of the bottles!

Cognitive:

How many gems go on each tooth?

Color recognition AND fine motor practice!

The 3s matched fabric swatches and glued them into sets on paper.

Play Dough:

We added shape buttons and shape cookie cutters to the play dough table along with our rosemary lavender play dough.

The second week of February we had chocolate play dough at the table. (I used the classic cooked play dough recipe and added some dutch cocoa to the flour. No food coloring needed!) I provided a basket of red items for them to use with the play dough. Later that week we also added some empty candy heart boxes.

Special Visitors:

Each year we are lucky to have the same local fire marshal come visit our preschool. Firefighter Gert showed us everything a firefighter must wear when putting out a fire.

One of our preschool parents is a dentist, so he and his hygienist visited our classrooms and showed us how to take care of our teeth.

Special Events:

Valentines Day

Passing out Valentines with parents/caregivers before class!

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Our Post Office 2013

2013-02-19T08:00:00.002-08:00

We like to connect our post office theme to Valentines Day, preferably afterwards. The preschoolers enjoyed passing out their cards, placing them in their friends' Valentines holders.

Welcome to our post office! We used our puppet theater as our counter.

We had bins for sorting post cards, magazines and envelopes.

Of course, we needed pouches and baskets to store our mail!

These mail bags were made by gluing ribbon on canvas bags (purchased at a craft store).

We needed our mail carrier hats!

Our post office selling counter.

Have a seat! How can we help you?

We extended this at our writing table, where we could make cards for family and friends.

Stuffing the envelopes was much fun. We had to decide which envelope size worked best.

Thanks for stopping by. We've got more deliveries to make!

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A Week in January - Week Four

2013-02-11T19:25:00.003-08:00

color: white

shape: rectangle

interests: families; night and day; community helpers

Art:

The 3 year olds painted with marbles. We use box lids and place a tray of marbles in paint next to it. The children spoon the marbles into the box lid (lined with paper) and tip the lid back and forth so that the marbles move around, leaving paint tracks.

The 2's class did the same, except they used large textured balls instead.

Our new outdoor plexi-glass easel arrived! We have the option of painting right on the plexi glass, or clipping paper to the easel.

Sensory:

We washed babies in the sensory tub with warm sudsy water. We had a table of towels beside the tub to dry and dress the babies.

Play Dough:

I added lavender oil and rosemary to our play dough.

House Corner:

We moved our couch from the book corner to the house corner to create a homey environment for our babies. We had baskets of pajamas for the babies to wear, robes and gowns for us to wear. We had plastic breakfast food in bins, along with plastic milk jugs and orange juice cups.

Special Events:

We celebrated Pajama Day in the middle of the week! We arrived in our pajamas and made Mickey Mouse waffles.

Light Table:

We placed our light table in the writing/reading corner this week. Stencils, paper and markers were provided.

Block Corner:

It was all about trains this week in the block area. It takes great cooperation between friends to use one track, especially when there are several trains moving at once.

Outdoors:

We love to stomp in puddles when it's raining!

Books:

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Bear Day!

2013-01-30T18:55:00.000-08:00

Last week the 3s class brought their stuffed teddy bears (or other favorite stuffed animals) to preschool for Bear Day.

Our bears got to watch us work and play.

They were with us while we made hot cocoa.

They watched as we counted out 5 marshmallows to put into our hot cocoa.

They took naps in the bear den while we ate our snack and went to recess. And then they went home.

Happy Bear Day!

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January Activities - Week 3

2013-01-28T19:27:00.003-08:00

Color: white

Shape: rectangle

Interests: bears, snow

Art:

Both classes had the choice of painting on a rectangle piece of paper or a mitten. I chose smaller brushes with our multiple-color paint set. I like to vary the size brushes I offer, as I find them using them differently. When using our smaller brushes, I notice them spending more time thinking about the stroke - straight, curved, etc. They have to pay a bit more attention to the grasp when using the smaller brushes as well.

It's the process, not the product. That was very true with one of our art table choices this week. Again, I offered a variety of brushes for different experiences. On this table were egg carton lids and some decorative wood pieces that landed in our recycle stash.

Not only do I like to offer different-sized brushes, but I also plan activities that use other objects with paint. In this case, I put out paper tube rolls. This is a great activity for those who don't like to touch paint, or who might not yet feel comfortable holding a brush. The little boy in this picture does not like to get paint on his hands, but enjoyed the ability to grasp the tubes without getting close to the paint. {On Facebook, someone asked what the black containers are that are used for the paint. Those are from frozen meals that someone donated to us many years ago. They are virtually indestructible!}

Since we had salt in our sensory bin, I decided to add it to our watercolors. I love the sheen it gives when dry! A Facebook reader suggested having them shake the salt on after the paint is applied. I think I'll give that a try next time. The 2s and 3s love to shake small bottles of anything!

Displaying Our Work:

I hung the mittens we painted last week to resemble a clothesline.

Sensory Tub:

I combined rice and epsom salt to resemble snow and added pom poms, foam winter pieces, and paper cones.

Fine Motor:

We covered our writing table and used white crayons, pencils and chalk.

It took great concentration to remove the clothespins that held the paper to the mini plexi-glass easels!

2s and 3s love to pour, so I try to offer activities that encourage this skill. Clear containers work best so they can see the materials through all sides.

This was a great idea discovered by my co-teacher. She used the insert of a salad spinner for the children to practice pushing and pulling pipe cleaners.

Dramatic Play:

Babies, babies, everywhere!

I love this picture. One of our boys crawled into the baby bed and pretended to take a nap. A few of the girls gathered around him, covered him up, and read bedtime stories to him. They truly mimic what they experience in real life!

We kept our hot cocoa shoppe in our dramatics area for a second week. Cake anyone?

A little learning in all areas of the classroom! At our play dough table, we displayed various sorting bowls and counting bears. We noticed the bears were sorted by color in the bowls, and then the preschoolers would make separate mounds of play dough and place each color on a separate mound. Some also realized that there were 3 sizes of bears, so instead of grouping by color, they grouped by size.

This is one of my favorites with the 3s! Take a suctioned soap holder and turn it upside down. The preschoolers use their fingers or strawberry hullers to transfer the beads to the suction cups, one by one.

Added later: I've had several readers ask where I found the suction cup soap savers. It took me awhile to find them! I've included links to two that should work for this type of activity at the bottom of this post.

Cooking:

The 3s made these thumbprint cookies to celebrate a birthday. You can read about it here.

Special Days:

The 3s brought their favorite teddy bears to school on Bear Day! We put up a tent that was the bear's den, and we made hot cocoa.

We celebrated another birthday in the 3s class! They love sitting in the birthday chair!

Books We Read and Products Similar to What We Used:

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Thumbprint Cookies (Egg, Dairy and Nut Free)

2013-01-26T17:23:00.000-08:00

We made these thumbprint cookies to celebrate a birthday in the 3s class. Because I am sensitive to the food allergies in our classroom, I've been collecting recipes on my Pinterest cooking board. This particular recipe I found from one of my favorite cooking websites, Food Allergy Mama. You can view the recipe here.

Combine 1/2 cup confectioners sugar and 2 sticks dairy-free margarine using an electric mixer. Add 2 1/4 teaspoons of vanilla and continue mixing. Add 2 cups flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt and mix until dough comes into a ball. Scrape edges of bowl.

Have the children form a small ball of dough in their clean hands and place on a cookie sheet. We line ours with parchment paper with the children's names so we know who made what cookie.

Press the thumb in the dough.

Fill the indentation with fruit preserves.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 - 18 minutes.

Let cool and enjoy!

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January Activities - Week Two

2013-01-20T17:40:00.002-08:00

color: white

shape: rectangle

interests: snow and ice, snowmen, bears, hibernation

Art:

The 3's decorated hats to put on the snow people they made last week. They are now displayed on our hall bulletin board.

The 3's made winter collages using a variety of white and blue objects.

We displayed the snowflakes that both the 2's and 3's made by dropping watercolors with pipettes.

The 3s made individual paintings using cotton swabs.

The 2s also used cotton swabs, but on one long piece of paper rather than individually.

Sensory:

I put cups of frozen water, some with penguins inside, in the sensory tub for the 3s. They asked if they could wear goggles, so I found our stash of safety glasses. (Notice the rubber bands across the back. This keeps the glasses from sliding down noses.)

In the 2s class, we explored shaving cream in the sensory bin.

Light Table:

Tree blocks, fiberfill, and bears. The 3s enjoyed making bear dens, inspired from the book "Bear Snores On". I removed the small gems for the 2s class.

Play Dough:

White play dough and counting bears! The preschoolers loved pretending the bears were in snow.

Fine Motor:

My co-teacher decided to put plexi-glass page holders at the writing table to be used as miniature easels. Writing and drawing on a vertical surface helps strengthen the muscles in the wrist.

The 3s had the opportunity to string wooden beads on chenille stems.

Dramatics:

Both the 2s and 3s enjoyed pretending to make hot cocoa in our dramatics area!

Our dress-up cart had lots of winter clothing and accessories.

Tray Activities:

One of our tray activities last week in the 3s class was spooning marbles into a recycled tray. (We used number stickers on the tray.)

Bonus:

Real snow!!!!

We don't get snow often in Portland, Oregon. How exciting that it started snowing during the 3s class! I quickly opened the door so we could run out and taste the snowflakes.

Books we read:

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January Activities - Week One

2013-01-14T16:34:00.001-08:00

Interests: snow, snowmen, ice, cold

Color: white

Shape: rectangle

Here are some of the activities we did during our first week in January, after having a two week break. The children tend to be very energetic and social after being away for so long, so we kept that in mind while planning.

Play dough table (2's and 3's):

Glittery Vanilla Play Dough

I used a basic play dough recipe and added vanilla and just a very small amount of glitter. It smelled like sugar cookies!

We had the flicker candles in the dramatics corner, but they somehow made their way to the play dough table. What a fun idea that was!

Sensory Table (2's and 3's):

We froze cups of water and added them to the sensory table with cups of salt, pipettes and water. When we poured the salt on the ice, we noticed it melting. We used the pipettes to pour water over the ice, too. (You can read about it here.)

Art:

We provided coffee filters cut into snowflakes, pipettes and liquid watercolors (2's). This was their introduction to using pipettes. It can take awhile to get the squeezing and releasing movement down, but with practice most were able to get the hang of it.

At the easel we had black construction paper and white paint. Both the 2's and 3's enjoyed using sponges to apply the paint to the paper.

Another activity the 2's enjoyed was driving cars through a mixture of paint and shaving cream, to resemble snow. The 2's always love driving cars through paint!

The 3s spent the week making snow people out of paper plates. They used a variety of recycled objects to create the face and body. Googly eyes are always fun to add as well! (This week they are making the hats for these snow people.)

The 3s also participated in dropping liquid watercolors onto recycled cellular shades. I love how the paint pools in the crevices!

Block Area:

We placed a ramp (rain gutter) in the block area with a basket of assorted materials to see what would roll and what would not.

Dramatics:

We set up the dramatics area for both the 2's and 3's as a winter kitchen. We used cotton balls as marshmallows for our hot cocoa.

Light Table:

Tree Blocks

Counting Activity:

One of our table activities in the 3's class was adding the correct number of "buttons" to each snowman, according to its number.

Birthdays:

The 2s class was thrilled because they celebrated a birthday each day! We made cinnamon tortillas to eat during snack.

Finger plays:

Hot Cocoa

Dance Like Snowflakes

I'm a Little Snowman

Music and Movement:

Snowey Pokey

Books we read:

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Ice and Salt in the Sensory Table

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Every January we love to put chunks of ice in the sensory table along with salt and water.

When the 3's arrived in the morning, this is what they found in the sensory table.

We filled the containers with blue-tinted water.

Hands touched ice. Cold!

Transferring the water with pipettes adding some fine motor work as well.

It's melting! There's water! It's like a waterfall!

Hands-on exploration.

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Art With 2 Year Olds

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I get many questions about how we introduce art to our 2 year olds, and what activities they enjoy.

We invite the 2's to the art table by removing all the chairs. This way they can just walk up and start working. We don't require they wear smocks, as often this will stop them from wanting to paint or glue. (Unless it's a special project that does not include washable materials.) We discuss this with the parents at the start of the year and encourage them to send their children in washable play clothes.

Once they feel comfortable, they will walk right up and explore!

Here are some art activities we do with the 2's:

Painting in, on, and around boxes.

Stamping paint on large pieces of paper.

(These are home-made stamps we made by screwing blocks on top of various lids.)

Group painting. This is especially nice at the beginning of the year!

Painting with utensils. This is helpful for those who are still timid to get their hands in paint, due to the long handles.

One of our very favorites: rolling paint with brayers! We do this on a flat surface as well as at the easel.

You can use many different objects to dip into paint.

We experiment with various sized brushes and various thicknesses of paint.

Some love to get their hands in it!

While others prefer to keep their hands clean. Putting objects and paint in a Zip Lock bag is still a sensory experience, but the paint doesn't touch the hands.

Or squirting paint on wax paper and then placing another piece of wax paper on top. Again, no touching the paint!

I enjoy varying what we paint on. In this case, it was tin foil.

Eventually we add some glue to our projects.

And add some objects to our glue!

And driving cars and trucks through paint - one of our VERY favorites!

Eventually most of the 2's feel comfortable to get their hands in there and have fun! And for those that still are sensitive to the feeling of paint, they know they can wash their hands ... often!

Let them have fun with whatever you choose. Give them time to explore. Sometimes they want to leave and do something else and then return for some more. A true learning experience!

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