Search results matching tags 'science' and 'winter'

Ice art :: winter craft for kids

Anonymous — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 19:23:49 GMT

This ice art idea turned out to be such a great winter craft idea – my girls loved it so much! It combines messy play, creative art and science experiments all in one colourful activity.

Ice art :: winter craft for kids

I’m going to have to resist showing you every picture I took . . . → Read More: Ice art :: winter craft for kids

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It's All About Penguins & a FREEBIE!

Anonymous — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 12:48:00 GMT

Friends~I hate to break the news to you but WINTER BREAK is almost over! My mind is whirling about ideas for Back to School in 2013. My big plan is to wow my kiddos with the exciting world of PENGUINS! I love teaching this nonfiction theme! Penguins are silly birds and my students always get super excited at their funny names and antics.

There are so many things that you can do with Penguins- it is always hard choosing! Here are some of my very favorite activities.

Before we get rolling with any unit I always print out lots of pictures and vocabulary cards.

I place them in centers and in pocket charts for my students to view.

I always start with a KWL and by January I know my kiddos are able to start one of their own. I pass out the sheet below and my students begin working on the W sections on their own. We then meet as a group to share what we know and what we want to know. It is fantastic way to assess prior knowledge.

Then we jump right in with an anticipation guide for the book Penguins by Gail Gibbons!

Then we head back into our KWL to add some information that we learned. We will visit our KWL after every lesson for the rest of the week or so to add learned info and to answer our questions.

I also set my centers up with activities that my students can manage by themselves but also keep them focused on the theme! I love to add short sentences for my students to type on our computers. It is great for keyboarding skills! They also can illustrate the sentences after they print.

We always do some blubber science! We learn all about how penguins stay warm in freezing temperatures. You will never look at blubber the same after THE BLUBBER GLOVE!

Grab a FREE download of my Blubber Glove Directions and ingredient cards to use when you are exploring this activity! Just click the image above!

In Science, we focus on the life cycle of the Emperor Penguin. It is an amazing cycle! Watch the video below with your class and fall in love with the fluffy baby chicks!

Be sure to grab a copy of The Emperor's Egg by Martin Jenkins. It is a fantastic book that will walk your class through the life cycle. Click the book below to purchase!

We of course have to act this process out in class. I start by grabbing my tub of Easter Eggs and filling each one with a picture of baby chick. I then put them in a nest of construction paper and cover my tables with blue bulletin board paper. I bust open a few bags of Goldfish Crackers and I am all set. Insert an excited group of students and we begin. I pass the eggs out to the girls and the boys always groan! I then have the girls find a boy partner and pass the egg to them. The boys smile until I tell the girls to go out to sea (Blue Table TOPS). They are instructed to eat Goldfish Crackers:) The boys are then to take their shoes off and balance the eggs on their feet! It is so darn funny to watch:) After awhile the mothers come back and take their chicks so the fathers can go to sea and eat.

It is such a simple activity but it packs lots of information for students about how life cycles are very different.

Gosh...there is so much more I promise to continue to post all about our Penguin Fun in the month of January!

If you are interested in my All About Penguin unit you can watch a quick video preview below to see what it is all about!

You also can read more about my file by clicking the image below! Happy 2013 FRIENDS!

Bird Feeders Kids Can Make and Suet Recipe

Anonymous — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 10:02:00 GMT

Suet: Fun-to-Make Bird Food for Winter

To me birds symbolize hope, peace, strength, courage, freedom and immortality. But many birds live fragile lives and need our help finding food during the winter months when insects are scarce and snow may cover the ground. Children love making bird feeders and Suet - which is a high protein mixture that is easy to make from household food items and also provides a hands-on sensory experience when children mix it. Here are two upcycled bird feeders and a Suet recipe.

My grandson enjoyed painting a soda liter bottle. I forgot to tell him the bottle would hang upside down. But we decided that was the way the birds would want it. Now they can enjoy Brody's painting while they sit in the tree or fly above it. I used an Exacto knife to cut two small holes opposite each other in the "top" and pushed a wire through for hanging. Then I cut two holes about one-fourth above the bottom of the bottle and Brody poked a stick through. One-half inch above those holes are small holes that a bird can put his beak into to get the birdseed. You could also use an electric drill to cut the holes - but being a former kindergarten teacher, I find Exacto knives have a lot of uses and aren't as dangerous as some of my husbands tools.

Children love smearing peanut butter on a pine cone then rolling it in bird seed. It was a favorite activity for kindergartners probably because they enjoyed the rolling, sensory motion of putting the seeds on. Vegetable shortening could be used instead of peanut products if allergies are an issue. Tie a piece of yarn, string or wire around the tip of the cone and hang it from a tree near a branch. I buy 50 pound bags of chicken scratch at the feed store and the birds, chickens and guineas all enjoy it.

We made a bird Suet mixture. Suet is raw beef or mutton fat. Due to its high energy content, suet is used by cold weather explorers to supplement the high daily energy requirement needed to travel in such climates. For bird food, it is all right to substitute lard or peanut butter. This recipe was found on Fun Food and Facts. I halved the recipe and it made the tray of fat "cookies" above. You can also find a household bird food recipes and a chart of the birds that are attracted to certain foods on Home for Wild Birds as well as how to upcycle a milk jug to make a bird feeder.

BIRD SUET RECIPE
2 lb. of Suet or Lard, vegetable shortening or peanut butter
6 cups Cornmeal
3 cups Wheat flour
4 cups Oatmeal
2 cups Peanut Hearts (I substituted unsalted shelled sunflower seeds)
Optional: raisins or other dried fruit, nuts, peppers

Soften the lard to room temperature. Stir in the other ingredients a couple of cups at a time until the mixture is quite thick. Children will love mixing this with their hands. Roll it out with a rolling pin and let children cut out "cookies." The mixture can also be frozen in tuna cans or plastic tubs about 4 inches by 4 inches which would fit nicely in wire suet cage feeders. Freeze then hang from a tree near branches. You could push thin chicken or fishing wire through the thick cookie before freezing. Children would be proud to give these suet cookies as gifts.

The Education Benefits of Teaching Children to Appreciate Birds include:

Reading: Buy or borrow bird books or field guilds from the library so children can search and identify the various species they observe and learn their names, habitats, diets, flying feats and interesting facts.
Writing: Encourage children to keep a Bird Watching Journal. Perhaps they will be inspired to write a story about a bird.
Math: Teach them to record and count how many times they see a particular species of bird during a specified time, perhaps making a calendar chart.
Science: Buy a pair of binoculars to make it more fun for spotting and observing birds. Recording and learning facts about critters are important steps in science exploration.
Health: Being outdoors in nature will help children relax and appreciate our fascinating world.
Patience: I have been trying to attract cardinals into our yard since we moved here. After 4 years, I have finally seen some cardinals!

You will have better luck with birds visiting if you have water available. Shallow birdbaths work best because they are easier to keep clean and put fresh water in daily. They are also are more likely to attract butterflies.

I love to sit on my back porch in the country and listen to the symphony of bird songs. It takes me back to when I was a child and would hear them in my Kansas neighborhood where we had many trees. I close my eyes, take deep breaths and focus on the amazing array of bird songs. It brings me a feeling of home, hope, comfort and gratefulness for God's critters.

"...the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings..." Malachi 4:2

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For a glimpse into Kindergarten see my book. Would you like inexpensive ideas, activities, and games to teach your child through play? Mommy with Selective Memory and I can help save your sanity, one project at a time, with The Happy Mommy Handbook: The Ultimate How-to Guide on Keeping Your Toddlers and Preschoolers Busy, Out of Trouble and Motivated to Learn. Both have been number 1 bestsellers on Amazon and make helpful gifts for parents and teachers.

What other ways can we teach children to appreciate birds or nature?

Snow scientists at play

Anonymous — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 10:00:38 GMT

We decided we were snow scientist in preschool today!

It’s Raining Color

Anonymous — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 17:15:00 GMT

Here is a fun way for the children to learn about color mixing and buoyancy. Have the children fill their clear plastic cups half way full with water. Next have them squirt shaving cream on top of the water.

Once the children have their cups ready let them drip water colors on top of the shaving cream with eye droppers. Encourage them to use two colors at a time so that as the color goes through the shaving cream and into the water they will be able to see the colors mix.

As the children drip the color on top of the shaving cream they will be able to observe the color coming through the shaving cream and dispensing into the water.

Use the picture above as a direction card for the children. This will allow them to do the experiment independently.

Self- direction is the best direction.

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 22:30:00 GMT

I love it when children create their own programming. It's one of my favorite parts of my job- when they come up with a topic that I can help them explore. Just the other day I had brought in a tub of snow for them to play in and had objects for them to use for the snow (like an empty ice tray, a "sifter," shovels, buckets, etc). One child, while filling up the ice tray, said "we should ask Miss D. to put this in the oven so we can have ice cubes." I asked them a silly question: "wait, how do we make ice cubes from the snow?" "You cook it in the oven," he answered, unwavering. "Is that so?" By now the rest of the children were listening and had decided that he was probably right- if you "cooked" snow in the oven you would have ice cubes.
So we tried it. I had them fill a baking pan with snow, and we asked Miss D. to put it in the oven while we ate our lunch. Minutes later we took it our of the oven- water (as you probably knew). "Why isn't it ice?" I asked.
One little girl piped up- "because it is hot in the oven, so the snow melted." "
Oh," I answered, "so we can't make ice?"
"Put it in the freezer!" Nearly all of them yelled at once.
So we did, and then they played with the ice it made.
Now, this is not rocket science, but discoveries like this are so important for this age group. Not to mention, they were so proud of this discovery that they told nearly anyone who would listen that they knew how to make snow into ice. explaining they had to melt the snow first and then put it in the freezer.
Nothing like a little science on the fly.

Ice play in preschool

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 04:00:20 GMT

Today, we enjoyed a little ice play. Sometimes the simplest of ideas can be the most enjoyable for young children. The teacher in this class set out a bowl of ice with some cups, smaller bowls, and spoons… The children scooped the ice from one container to the other… And some children used their hands [...]

Science Discoveries with Rain Meter

Anonymous — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 16:25:00 GMT

Over the few weeks it has been rain a lot around here, so we are going to be placing a rain meter outside this week so that the children can record the rain fall.

Here is what they will learn:

Children will gain knowledge about the changes of weather. Children will develop measuring and time skills by recording rainfall over a period of time.

Children will learn about what it would be like to be a meteorologist. They will discover and learn about weather words and the works of meteorologists as they begin to observe, describe and record the weather.

Children will be able to create a Weather chart. How many days are sunny, cloudy, rainy or windy.

Each day have the children find the weather of the day on the weather wheel. Chart it on the chart and keep a running record.

Here is how to make a rain catcher.

• Take a 2 liter bottle and cut the top off about 4” from the top.
• Place the screwed top end inside the new opening of the bottle. Tape
around the edge.
• With permanent marker, mark the inches on the outside of the bottle.
• Place outside so it can collect rain.

Planning marvelous mitten activities for preschool

Anonymous — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 05:14:40 GMT

I am in the middle of preparing lesson plans for our winter session at school and one thing that I would love to include is an entire unit on nothing but mittens. I am not the only one who enjoys mittens. The mitten matching photo below was from a teacher on my Teach Preschool Facebook [...]