Roll-a-Bowl

A great game for those winter months inside!

Supplies: Plastic bowling pins and a large area to play in

Process: Have the child lay on the floor with their hands above their heads. Have them roll down toward the rolling pins. Try and have them knock the pins down only by staying down on the floor and rolling into them.

Teach Well: If the pins will not stay standing on your floor place on a flat surface like a box.

Dancing Leaves

Supplies: three silk leaves, one string tied into a loop, hot glue, and streamers

Process: Have the children hold thier items while you hot glue the pieces together. I have used a stapler for this project, but trust me, you will want hot glue instead. Pieces stay together and everyone is happy. ;) Glue silk flowers layered on top of each other like a fan. Cut red, orange, or yellow streamers at about 12 inches long. (You don't want them too long because then the children start stepping on them as they dance). Glue three pieces on the back of the silk leaves. Then tuck the string in between and glue in place. When everyone is ready sing this song:

Leaves are Falling (sing to the tune of London Bridges)

Leaves are falling all around
All around
All around
Leaves are falling all around
It is autumn! (fall down on the ground as you sing this last line)

Red leaves are falling all around
All around
All around
Red leaves are falling all around
It is autumn!

Continue with the colors that the children call out that might be on the leaves in their hand.

Teach Well: Use classical music to dance with their leaves. Is the music fast? Or slow? Dance to the way the music plays.

Ice Cream Cone Game

October we work on ball skills including kicking and balance. This game is great for both! I learned this game while watching infant soccer practice with a friend one year. I thought it was a great idea!

Supplies: a ball and a cone

Process: Create a starting and finish point. Have the children balance their ball on the bottom of the cone. Walk from the starting line to the finish line. If the drop the ball just have them pick it up and continue. Remind them to keep their hands off the ball!

Teach Well: Keep games for young children without loosers. We are always winners in Miss Jen's class!

Curriculum and State Standard Questions

Whether or not you decide to order a preschool curriculum through companies like Zoo Phonics or Abeka. You first need to know what your preschool state requirements are. Some states, such as Oregon, doesn't have state standards for preschool, although it is possible that might change soon, states like Washington do. To find your state go here.

There is a list for Early Education Foundations, from three to five year olds, for the state of Oregon that can be found here. This is what I go by, which is similar to my report card. When you find your state's benchmarks you can go ahead and order your curriculum. (This is of course if you are teaching your child from home although some Early Educators have to create their own curriculum.)

I wanted to share with you my favorite can not live without teaching matrials. I love our local teaching store to find some of these items.

1. Mailbox Magazine is filled with fun hands-on activities to go with most of my themes. I love their fun ideas. Plus, they never grow old. I have even found some at garage sales that I have picked up and they are just as awesome as the new ones.

2. Zoo Phonics is an amazing product! Even if you can't afford the set (cause I know I can't) ;) look on Ebay or Craigslist for those that are selling theirs. You can also start off with the video and a set of flash cards to begin your collection. Let me just say that I have seen three year olds reading because of this program. It is a guarenteed to work product!

3. Find a book that can help your child with their writing skills, like this one. Try and get one that you can make copies of. This way if you have any other children in the home you can re-use it year after year.

4. If you didn't want to follow my Bible teaching plan but wouldn't mind a great Bible curruiculum, start easy with Mary Rice Hopkins' product. I have used all of her curruiculum to go with her music and it is great!

5. For gross motor development I can't live without my Aerobic CDs. Such as this one, this one, and this one.

I will share more of my favorites as we go along but these are my must-haves before the school year starts.

Teach Well: Be prepared with your teaching supplies and books before school begins. This way you can look it all over before the first day!

Book Review: Together We're Better

I was so glad when I went to Creation Station online and saw that they are selling this book by Bev Bos. This is on my Resources I-Can't-Live-Without List.

This book is filled with Eco-friendly creative ways to bring coactive learning into the classroom. One of my favorite chapter is how to make wall and plexi-glass easels. I love the hands-on activities and easy to read directions that fill this book cover to cover! Although this book was published nineteen years ago, it reminds us that our classrooms and playgrounds are meant to be fun, creative, and active!

Egg Soccer

Supplies: plastic egg and four cones

Process: Set up your field in a gym, large room, or hallway. Use the cones to create goals on either side of your field. Make sure there is enough room to run around. Have the children stand on one end of the field. Give each child a plastic egg and have them kick it to the goal. When they reach the other side, have them stop until everyone has kicked their egg to the goal. Remind them that they must use their feet only and have them kick their egg again to the other side of the field.

Teach Well: I love to use the plastic eggs that come in play food sets for this game. You can use plastic Easter eggs if you use clear packing tape to seal them closed. This game can easily be adjusted for older children by having multiple smaller fields and sharing eggs like a real soccer game. If you are playing this game with preschoolers, do develop their gross motor, social, and emotional skills leave it uncompetitive.

April Inspiration

Well, April is here and finally signs of spring are everywhere! In April, my theme is He's Alive! Here is my list of things I can't live without this month!

1. I couldn't help myself and had to include a rubber chicken in this month's lesson plans.



2. Plastic eggs



3. Cleaning sponges for creating handmade stamps



4. The Story of the Resurrection Eggs in Rhyme & Song



5. Resurrection Eggs



6. Jelly Beans



7. Jelly Bean Prayer



8. The Miracle Maker
   
9. 
   
   

9. The Bunny Hop

10. Everyone loves The Chicken Dance!

Where or Where Has My Little Sheep Gone?

Supplies: yarn, stuffed sheep or clip art, prize

Process: Before the lesson make a trail-like obstacle course with yarn or string. At the end of the trail have your stuffed sheep with a prize for the class sitting with it. Have it winding around the room in and around items. Read a book about sheep, or read about The Lost Sheep in the Bible. Afterwards, sing Where or Where Has My Little Sheep Gone. Then follow the trail to find the sheep.

Where or Where Has My Little Sheep Gone

Where oh where has my little sheep gone?

Oh where oh where can he be?

With his wool so soft,

And his tail so small.

Where oh where can he be?

(sung to Where Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone)

Teach Well: Play this game to reward a class for good behavior. Prizes don't have to be sweet; you can use farm stickers or tattoos instead. To make this game even more fun have a child be the leader with a shepherd's staff. If you are playing this game at home try to set it up during your child's nap time, then have snack at the end of the trail for fun!

Old MacDonald Had A Farm

Supplies: stuffed farm animals and jump rope

Process: Make a circle with the jump rope and call it your barn or fence. Give each child a stuffed animal. Begin singing Old MacDonald Had a Farm. When the child hears his animal in the song, have them place it in the barn. Play again when all the animals are in the barn.


Teach Well: Use music if you have this song on CD. Place animals onto a parachute and when all the animals are on the parachute move it up and down to the music. No stuffed animals? Use clip art from your computer instead!

Fruit Hockey

I love games out of the ordinary! Hockey sticks are a great way to work on gross motor skills while still having a blast! Plastic hockey sticks are one of my favorite items. Although they are expensive you may find items at your local dollar store that you can use instead. I have a dollar store set of golf clubs that work the same. Just be ready with the duct tape in case any handles fall off! Cones are useful to create start and finish lines. You can also find a set of three at your local dollar store.

Supplies: plastic fruit, plastic hockey sticks, four cones

Process: Create your field with two cones on each side. Try to keep the field small and if the children are doing well at using the hockey sticks then make your field larger. Give each child a plastic piece of fruit. Have them only use their hockey stick to guide the fruit to the other side of the field.

Teach Well: This is a non-competitive game. Safety first! Remind them to always keep their hockey stick on the floor. If their stick is always touching the floor, no one will get hurt and there will be no fruit flying across the room. If you are at home a great place to play this is in a hallway.

Jumping Over the Bubbling Brook

Supplies: jump rope, music

Process: Have someone (preferably an adult) hold each end of the jump rope to the floor moving it back and forth like a snake. With music playing in the background, have the children jump over the bubbling brook one at a time with feet together. When they are done jumping over once, have them return to the end of the line to go again.

Teach Well: If a child is having a hard time jumping over the rope while it is moving keep the rope still. Jumping is a gross motor skill that needs to be developed. After the children have mastered jumping over the bubbling brook have them begin jumping over the quiet stream on one foot.