A to Z Kidz Blog » Preschool Ideas http://atozkidzblog.com Early Childhood Tips and Information Fri, 25 Jun 2010 21:34:01 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 February Preschool Activities http://atozkidzblog.com/february-preschool-activities/ http://atozkidzblog.com/february-preschool-activities/#comments Fri, 13 Feb 2009 16:06:35 +0000 admin http://atozkidzblog.com/?p=143
CbproAds StoreFront

There are so many February Preschool Activities that relate to groundhog day, Valentine’s Day and President’s Day. Here are some of the activites I do with my children in my in-home child care.

Theme: Sweethearts and Friendship
Letters: B, H
Number: 2
Color: Red and Pink
Shape: Heart
Activities:

  • Holidays:
    February 2- National Groundhog Day
    February 5- National Pancake Day (Have pancakes for breakfast or lunch)
    February 14- Valentine’s/Friendship Day
    February 16- President’s Day National Dental Health Month
  • Science:
    Learn about groundhogs. Have the children color a picture of the groundhog. Discuss what happens if the groundhog does or does not see his shadow on groundhog day.

    Cut open red (color of the month) apples to see what is inside. Discuss the different parts of the apple (stem, core, seeds, skin). Then, predict what will happen if the apple is left in the open air for 1 day, 3 days, and 5 days. What happened and why?

  • February Preschool Activities: Social Studies
    Discuss about some of the past Presidents including Lincoln and Washington. Then, talk about our current President. Ask the children to talk about what they would do if they were the President.
  • Imagination:
    Use the mailboxes made in arts and crafts to have the children pretend to be mail carriers delivering Valentine’s/friendship cards to all their friends.
  • February Preschool Activities: Arts and Crafts Have each child bring in an old shoebox to decorate with pink, red, and white paper, stickers, paint, and other items. This shoebox will be used as a mailbox to collect all the Valentine’s/Friendship cards.

    Give each child pre-cut hearts with the letter H on them. Let them glue candy hearts to outline the letter H. Give the children a heart-shaped sugar cookies, frosting, and sprinkles and let them decorate their cookie for an extra special treat.

    Give the children a bowl with white paint. Show them had to add a small amount of red paint, then mix the 2 colors together to make pink. Let them use the pink paint to paint a Valentine’s Day picture.

  • February Preschool Activities: Reading
    Read “Guess How Much I Love You” by Sam McBratney
    Read “The Little Red Hen” by J P Miller
    Read “Little Red Riding Hood” by the brothers Grimm
  • February Preschool Activities: Language
    Introduce the letters and letter sounds for B and H. Have the children make a picture collage of pictures from a magazine that begin with the letters B and H.
  • Math, Thinking Skills:
    Have the children estimate the number of candy hearts or red hots in a jar.
  • Math, Shapes:
    Have the children sort 3 different size hearts into a small pile, medium pile, and large pile. Or, you can have the hearts sorted by color instead of size using red, white, and pink hearts.
  • Math, Counting:
    Introduce the number 2 and show the children how to hold up 2 fingers. Point out all the parts of the body that comes in 2′s such as 2 ears, 2 eyes, 2 feet, 2 legs, 2 arms, and 2 hands.
  • Coordination and Movement:
    Have the children dance to music and stop and freeze when the music stops.
  • February Preschool Activities: Social Skills
    Have the children bring pre-made Valentine/Friendship cards to exchange with each child. Talk to the children about kindness and how important it is to be kind to one another.

    • For other February Preschool Activities and Craft Ideas, visit A to Z Childcare Directory or you can go directly to Valentines craft ideas.

    ]]>     http://atozkidzblog.com/february-preschool-activities/feed/ 0     Preschool Alphabet Printable Worksheets http://atozkidzblog.com/preschool-alphabet-printable-worksheets/ http://atozkidzblog.com/preschool-alphabet-printable-worksheets/#comments Mon, 12 Jan 2009 22:27:35 +0000 admin http://atozkidzblog.com/?p=72


    I have created Preschool AlphabetPrintable Worksheets for toddlers and preschoolers to use to practice learning each letter of the alphabet. There are worksheets for both uppercase and lowercase letters with a picture of the letter that can be colored in as well as a picture of an object or animal that starts with that letter.


    Children are typically visual learners and learn best when visual images are associated with certain concepts. However, when working my own children and the children in my in-home daycare, I like to use a multi-sensory approach when teaching about the letters of the alphabet. A tactile way of teaching the alphabet would be to use play-doh. Let the children or help the children roll the play-dough into the letters of the alphabet. Another tactile approach is to place a layer of salt on a paper plate and let the children practice drawing the letter in the salt. You can also use the preschool alphabet printable worksheets and have the child practice tracing the inside of the letter using his own fingers.

    Music is another great way to teach the letters of the alphabet and appeals to the auditory senses. Try to find a musical instrument that starts with the letter you teaching. For example, piano for p, guitar for g, drums for d, xylophone for x, violin for v, flute for f, and so on. Sing songs about the alphabet, the letter itself, and the sound the letter makes. Use the preschool alphabet printable worksheets to reinforce the letter you are teaching.

    For other preschool activities and ideas or preschool lesson plans outlined by months, please visit my website, A to Z Childcare Directory. Here you will find preschool alphabet printable worksheets, other preschool printable worksheets, information about starting an in-home child care business, and more.

    ]]>     http://atozkidzblog.com/preschool-alphabet-printable-worksheets/feed/ 1