Make & Take Mnday

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I made this playdough and shared it with Jack's classroom. They LOVED it!

Homemade Pumpkin Spice Playdough
Ingredients:
2 cup Flour
1 cup Salt
2 tablespoon Cream of Tartar
2 tablespoon Cooking Oil
2 cup Water
Nutmeg, cinnamon, or pumpkin spice
Orange food coloring (add to water)

Directions:
1. In a medium sized bowl, combine all dry ingredients and mix well. Add wet ingredients to bowl and, again, mix well.

2. Add contents to a large pan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until it forms a ball.

3. The dough is ready when the mixture pulls away from the pan and when the wet parts begin to look dry.

4. Turn the dough onto your counter-top and knead it until smooth. It will be quite warm to the touch, so be careful!

5. Add the spices AFTER the dough has cooled. The scents won't "take" as well when the dough is hot/very warm. The spices will turn the orange dough a nice pumpkin color.

6. Place playdough balls in an airtight container.

Thoughtful Thursday

WOW! I am so behind in my posts. Sorry about that. Hopefully I can get back on schedule. Today's thought comes from Eileen Kennedy-Moore. She talks about Why Friendships Matter in the October issue of Work and Family Life.  According to Kennedy-Moore, "Friendships are not only a source of fun, they help kids grow in meaningful ways.  They create a sense of belonging through shared interests: 'my friends and I like this kind of music…' or 'we play soccer.'  Friendships can provide acceptance and help children feel good about themselves:  'Michelle is my friend and she wants to play with me.'  Having friends also makes it easier for kids to tolerate stress, rebuffs, or aggravation.  And friendship encourages children to go beyond their own self-interest.  Caring about a friend, or just wanting to play with that friend, can temper selfish urges and open the way for negotiation, compromise, and even generosity." How are you encouraging friendships in your classroom?

Workshop Wednesday

Leaf Hunt

Want to get the kids outside for a little fun! Take them on a leaf hunt. Give each child a Ziploc bag or paper bag to hold their leaves. Go outside and see how many leaves they can find. You can provide a checklist to help narrow their search. Of course you will want to extend this activity by having them sort their found leaves. You could do this in small groups to make it more manageable. There are so many skills to be taught, i.e. colors, counting, vocabulary, etc. and it is FUN. Plus it gets them outside as an extra bonus!
 

Sorting Activity



Checklist

Transition Tuesday

Clapping FUN

One classroom management tool effective for gaining attention used for many years in school settings is to clap a short rhythm sequence and have the children clap the pattern back to you. The children have to be listening and paying attention in order to succeed in clapping back the same sequence. To make it easier for young children, try accompanying the clapping sequence with a few words or simple sentence, like clapping and saying the syllables in the child’s name. It really is a good way to switch on listening ears!

Another fun clapping (and listening) game for preschoolers is Hot/Cold. To play, hide an object in the room and as the chosen child tries to find it, you (and any other children playing) clap faster as they get closer to the hiding spot (hotter) and slower as they move away from it (colder), until the treasure is uncovered.

Make & Take Monday

Halloween Sensory Tub

Black beans or black pom poms
Plastic skeletons (3) (dollar store)
Foam shapes (dollar store)
Plastic pumpkin (dollar store)
Wood scoop
Plastic suction cup spiders or spider rings (dollar store)
Plastic mini light covers
Plastic candy corn
Trick or Treat Bags (can add numbers to extend the activity)