Autumn Wreaths

Here's an easy way to make autumn wreaths...

Mix up some tempera paint and some glue...

Cut the centers out of paper plates and brush the colored glue all over them.

Get a pile of fake or real leaves...

And stick them on top of the glue.

We love this activity and do it each year! You can adorn it many different materials or keep it plain. Looks pretty on the wall or the door for Thanksgiving!

Some fun leaf books:

Finger Painting Without Touching Paint

I was inspired by Deborah's Simple Fall Leaf Finger Painting post at Teach Preschool.

Aren't these pretty?

And so, I tried it last week! The preschoolers loved it SO much that I could not get the wax paper on the trays fast enough. I think I broke out in a sweat trying to keep up!

I cut wax paper into squares and gave each preschooler one with a bottle of paint to squeeze. Next time I think I'll be the one to squeeze the paint on it, though! That, or I need to find bottles that are slow to release paint! After putting a few different colors on the paper, I put another sheet of wax paper on top. The preschoolers smoothed the paint with their hands. Some were reluctant until they realized they wouldn't be getting their hands in paint. (Some still managed because theirs oozed out the sides.)  I will definitely do this again. I can't wait to cut them and hang in the window. Thanks, Deborah!

Fine Motor Pumpkin

Last week I had the 3 Year Olds work on their cutting/tearing skills with orange paper. At this age some can handle the scissors with ease while others are still learning.

The next class day, we glued these pieces onto a large sheet of paper cut into an almost circle.

And we added the eyes, nose, mouth and stem.

Happy Pumpkin Day!

Dad's Night

Tonight we had our annual Dad's Night, an event I adore! The preschoolers arrive with their dads, grandpas, or another special person with a pumpkin and carving tools. In less than an hour, they have created wonderful jack-o-lanterns and special bonding time at preschool!

Pumpkins, Pumpkins!

Today I put a few pumpkins on the art table for the 2's class.

I had a tray nearby with some paper in it. We dropped the smaller painted pumpkins into the tray and rolled them around.

One preschooler decided he didn't want to get his hands "painty" so he used a utensil to scoot the pumpkins around.

He then realized how much fun it was to lift the pumpkins in and out of the tray using the utensil. 

We had warm water in the outside water table, so we decided to clean the pumpkins, just like we did the tractors last week.

All clean and ready for our 3's class tomorrow!

:

Apple and Pumpkin Bakery

Today's inspiration came from Kristin over at preschool daze with her playdough cookies!


********************************


Today we read Apple Farmer Annie and made pies and muffins at our playdough table. I made one batch of orange playdough and one batch of white playdough scented with vanilla and cinnamon. The preschoolers loved mixing the 2 together, making all sorts of baked goods. I provided various kitchen gadgets, pans and tins, and our small play oven. I only wish the room could've smelled as good as my kitchen did the evening I made that cinnamon playdough! (For recipe, see my recipe page.)

Muffins and bread, anyone?

Letters at the Playdough Table

You know those foam letter puzzle pieces? I've mentioned them before, I'm sure. We use them for many other things besides just being a puzzle. This is one of those times.  We placed them at the playdough table.

What I loved was watching as they looked for the letters they recognized from their names. Three year olds' names are very special to them, so those tend to be the first letters they know. We even started sounding out the letters!

A fun way to promote literacy at the playdough table!

A Rain Gutter in the Sandbox?

We have used our rain gutters for so many different activities! This week I set it across the sand box to see what they would do with it. In addition to pouring sand in it, they lined all the farm animals on it and said it was a bridge to the farm. More precisely, the sand was "snow" and the animals had to get across.

I happened to have warm water in the water table nearby. One of these boys decided some of the animals needed a hot bath after being in the "snow".

They also needed towels and snuggles.

I will never tire of watching where my preschoolers take something as simple as a rain gutter and farm animals and turn it into something so precious!

Here are some of our favorite farm books:

 

Happy reading!

Working our Fine Motor Skills at the Easel

I love using the easel to promote fine motor skills. We start with the muscles in the trunk, then the shoulder, then the elbow, then the wrist,and finally the hand. Today we provided chunky hand-sized square sponges for the children to stamp paint on paper. The entire arm was used as they moved the sponge across the board. The size of the sponge worked the muscles in the hand.

Of course, the hand itself got involved as the sponge was dropped and the hand got to feel the texture of the wet paint. Always a fun sensory experience!


We like to use different tools at the easel, not just paintbrushes. Here are some past posts that show some more ideas:

Using Utensils


Using Utensils - Another Post


Sticks (This is not at the easel, but on our cement wall, another vertical space)


Paint Rollers


Sea Sponges


I'm always searching to see what others use at their easel!

A Bucket of Water and Some Rocks

It really can be the simplest activities that provide so much fun (and learning!). It was a beautiful morning and we enjoyed playing with water outside with our 2's class. 

The children started scooping and pouring water from the water table to a red bucket on the ground. 

Then, some rocks were added. That's when the fun really begun. The joy of scooping the rocks out of the water. We'd count them each time. One, two, three, four, five.

Yep, they're all in there!

Sometimes simple is best.