It smells so yummy that I want to eat it all up! | It is like playing with candy! | The whole room smells like pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving! |

Monday 9/16/24 is National PLAY-DOH day! Children love to play with dough. And no wonder! They can squish and pound it and form it into fascinating shapes. Making play-dough with your child teaches measuring skills, math skills, language skills and more. It helps encourage waiting one’s turn, sharing ideas and new language development. Try it out this weekend. It’s a great way to interact and learn with your child. And it’s FUN!

How to make homemade pumpkin pie play-dough

What you need:

• 1 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice mix
• 1 cups water
• 1/2 cup salt
• 2 tablespoons cream of tartar
• 1 tablespoons oil
• Orange food coloring

Mix it all up

• In a large pot add food coloring first then add oil and water stir together
• In a large bowl mix all dry ingredients together. Then add to food coloring, oil and water for cooking.
• Cook over a medium heat until dough starts to form an become dry.
• Does the dough look too sticky?  Just add extra flour. To floury? Add more water or oil or both. It’s that simple. Once you like the consistency, it’s time to cool then knead the dough on a floured surface for about 4 minutes.

Making it is half the fun!  So please be sure to let your child do as much of the measuring, mixing and kneading as possible. They can even try mixing the ingredient with their hands. During the process remember to encourage verbal skills by talking about what your child is doing. Asking open ended questions. And answering your child’s questions. If your child asks, “Can we make it a different color?” Give it a try.

Now it’s time to play with the play-dough

Your child’s imagination and your’s are the only limits here. Cut it. Squeeze it. Put things in it. Make a snake. A rocket. Throw it. Catch it. It’s all up to you. You can even taste it! Yes! It’s edible but not at all sweet.

When finished seal in a zip-lock bag or airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

When you make Pumpkin pie play-dough your child learns:

Math Skills

• Measuring; fractions, cups, tablespoons…
• Comparing & contrasting – bigger, smaller, lighter, darker…

Verbal Skills

• Expanding vocabulary

Motor Skills

• Mixing (with spoon & hands)
• Pouring
• Rolling

Reading Skills

• Following written directions
• Reading fractions & numbers

Sensory Skills

• Feeling different textures
• Different smells
• Colors

And a lot more!

Doing cooking and science projects together with your children at home is a great way to help reinforce what we are learning at school and strengthen family bonds. I hope you have fun creating memories.

The post How To Make Pumpkin Pie Play-dough appeared first on Halsey Schools Preschool & Infant Center.

It’s National S’mores Day – August 10

Who decided it was National S’more day? Who cares! It’s an excuse to have some more! The first official S’more recipe was published by the Girls Scouts in 1927. The basic recipe calls for graham crackers, chocolate bars and toasted marshmallows. Here are some fun ways to learn with S’mores. It’s S’more time!

Field Trip: Grocery Store

Take a field trip to  your local store with this list

• chocolate bars
• marshmallows of various sizes
• graham crackers
• rounded toothpicks
• S’more Cones – peanut butter, chocolate morsels, sugar cones, bananas & aluminum foil

Math Skills & Language Arts: Explore the ingredients

Marshmallows

• What shape are marshmallows?
• Are they all the same shape? The same size? The same color?
• Sort by size and color.
• Count them. Eat some. How many are left?
• How do they feel? How do they taste?

Graham Crackers

• What shape are graham crackers?
• Does the shape change when you break them apart?
• Can you break it half? In quarters? How many quarters in a full cracker?
• Are they all the same shape? The same size? The same color?
• Break some up and sort by size and shape.
• Count them. Eat some. How many are left?

Chocolate Bars

• Smell the chocolate. Do you like the way it smells? Does it remind you of anything?
• What happens if you hold the chocolate in your hand really tight? Does it melt?

Art: Marshmallow Construction – Edible Tinkertoys

You’ll need bags of marshmallows and a box of toothpicks. Let your child build anything by sticking the toothpicks in the marshmallows. Try it with small, large and colored marshmallows. (Too young for toothpicks? Build by stacking the marshmallows. Try ‘gluing’ together with a lick or some water. Buy blunt toothpicks.)

Outdoor/PE/Gross Motor Skills: FOOD FIGHT!!!!!

Sometimes it’s o.k. to break the rules. For this activity just go outside and have a ‘snowball’ fight with marshmallows! Can Mommy catch them in her mouth? Can Daddy throw them the farthest? Toss them in a basket. Make a target…

Cooking Project: S’mores

Traditional S’mores

Do you really need instructions? Break a graham cracker in half. Put a square or two of chocolate on it. Roast a marshmallow over the fire. Place it on top of the chocolate and sandwich it with another graham on top. Eat it. Make S’more!

Try making a microwaved S’more.  Just put a marshmallow on top of a graham cracker and microwave for about 20- 30 seconds until the marshmallow starts growing and melting. Take out and add the chocolate and second graham cracker to make a sandwich.  Try it with all ingredients together for some seriously melted chocolate.

Try it with a different chocolate candy – like a peanut butter cup. YUM!!!!!!!!

S’more Cones

You’ll need: Sugar Cones, peanut butter, mini marshmallows, chocolate morsels, bananas cut into small chunks and aluminum foil. | Spread the peanut butter in the cone then let the children add the ingredients they want in the cone. Wrap individually in aluminum foil and put over BBQ or fire for 5-10 minutes. Make sure you turn the cones at least a couple of times. Let cool for just a minute or so. Unwrap and eat. | Add some of your own ingredients.

Science Project: Microwave Marshmallows

Put a marshmallow or two on a microwave safe dish and heat for 30 seconds. How are they different than the uncooked marshmallows? What happened? How do they compare to each other? What happens if you poke them? Do they deflate? What happens if you just leave them alone? Why do you think these things happen?

Try it for 60 seconds, 90 seconds… and compare and contrast. Write down your findings in a chart. Did the marshmallows get bigger the longer they were in the microwave?

Try it with different size marshmallows and compare and contrast. Did the small marshmallows grow faster? Did they get as big as the big marshmallows did?

Want to make it really sticky and messy? Nuke it for 2 minutes or more.

Be careful handling the marshmallows and dish. They can get really HOT.

Social Studies:

S’mores are often made while camping with friends and family. Everyone gathers around the fire and roasts the marshmallows while singing songs, telling stories and talking. A long time ago families used to gather around the fire every night to learn about their ancestors and entertain each other. They didn’t have any books, computers, movies or TVs.

Spanish:

• S’mores –  S’mores
• Graham Cracker – de galletas graham
• Marshmallow – malvavisco
• Chocolate – Chocolate
• Inflate – inflar
• square – cuadrada
• rectangle – rectángulo

Did you think your child could learn so much making S’mores? There are learning opportunities everywhere. Keep your eyes and ears open and always be learning and always be teaching. You are your child’s life long teacher. Explore and learn together everyday.

The post Learning with S’mores appeared first on Halsey Schools Preschool & Infant Center.

What do children learn when they play with bubbles?

When children blow, pop, and chase bubbles they develop their small and large motors skills, hand-eye coordination and problem solving skills. They learn about cause and effect, shapes and sizes, vocabulary: wet, sticky, cold, pop & popped, chase… They learn about science and explore their imagination and creativity. They learn about cooperation and taking turns. And they have fun!!!

The Best Bubble Solution

You need:

• 1 cup of water
• 1/3 cup Joy or Dawn dish soap
• 1 T corn syrup

Carefully mix but don’t shake.

Bubble Painting

You need:

• Bubbles, wands, straws, blowers…
• Paper
• Food Coloring
• Containers

1. Distribute bubble solution into containers and add different food coloring colors to each. Now blow different colored bubbles on the paper. Pop them with your hand, blow them out or wait for them to pop themselves.
2. Place paper on a table the put containers of colored bubbles on the paper. Blow in the containers with a straw to make the bubbles overflow on the paper. Move the containers around to make beautiful art.

Water Bottle Bubble Makers

You need:

• Bubble Solution
• Empty water bottles – various sizes
• Scissors , knife or razor blade for parents only

1. Cut a small clean hole in the bottom of the bottle. Take remove the bottle lid. Dip the lid portion into the bubble solution and blow bubbles from the bottom hole you created. Try different sized bottles – are the bubbles different?
2. Cleanly cut off the bottom of a bottle. (It must be clean to avoid cuts and bubbles from popping immediately.) Dip one end or the other on the solutions. Blow from the other end. Try it the other way. What happens?

Bubble Relay

Everyone gets a bubble wand and bubbles. Stand in a line. The first person blows a bubble and passes it to the next person. If the bubble pops, the first person must blow another bubble and pass it again. Predict how many people can pass the bubble without breaking it. Try to beat your family record the next time.

Bubble Tag

“It’s” tag with bubbles instead of touching. The bubbles must actually land on the other play for the tag to be successful.

Tiny Bubbles & HUGE Bubbles

Make tiny bubbles with a single straw or tape a bunch together. Make giant bubble with a hula hoop and a kiddie pool! You’ll need a lot of solutions but its fun! Have your child stand inside the hula hoop. It’s a blast!

Why is playing with bubbles better than staring at a screen?

• It’s Interactive – not passive
• It encourages movement – not sitting
• It is Magical  – not boring
• It is scientific
• It is just good old fashioned fun!

The post Playing with bubbles is more fun that staring at a screen! appeared first on Halsey Schools Preschool & Infant Center.

How to Make Apple Pie Play Dough

Children love to play with dough. And no wonder! They can squish and pound it and form it into fascinating shapes. Making play dough with your child teaches measuring skills, math skills, language skills and more. It helps encourage waiting one’s turn, sharing ideas and new language development. Try Ms. Diana’s favorite recipe this weekend. It’s a great way to interact and learn with your child. And it’s FUN!

What you need:

• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 cup salt
• 1 teaspoon oil
• 1/3 cup water
• 4-5 drops red food coloring
• 1 tablespoon apple pie spice

Mix it all up

• In a large mix flour and salt together. Add oil to the mixture.
• In a separate bowl, mix together water & food coloring
• Pour the red water into the flour & salt mixture. Stir in the apple pie spice
• Knead with hands into a ball (If it is too sticky, just add a little flour. Too dry? Add a little bit of water.)

Let your child do as much as possible

Making it is half the fun!  So please be sure to let your child do as much of the measuring, mixing and kneading as possible. They can even try mixing the ingredient with their hands. During the process remember to encourage verbal skills by talking about what your child is doing. Asking open ended questions. And answering your child’s questions. If your child asks, “Can we make it a different color?” Give it a try.

Now it’s time to play with the Apple Pie Play Dough

Your child’s imagination and your’s are the only limits here. Cut it. Squeeze it. Put things in it. Make a snake. A rocket. Throw it. Catch it. It’s all up to you. You can even taste it! Yes! It’s edible! When finished seal in a zip-lock bag or airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

When you make Apple Pie Play Dough your child learns:

Math Skills

• Measuring; fractions, cups, tablespoons…
• Comparing & contrasting – bigger, smaller, lighter, darker…

Verbal Skills

• Expanding vocabulary

Motor Skills

• Mixing (with spoon & hands)
• Pouring
• Rolling

Reading Skills

• Following written directions
• Reading fractions & numbers

Sensory Skills

• Feeling different textures
• Different smells
• Colors

And a lot MORE!

Doing cooking and science projects together with your children at home is a great way to help reinforce what we are learning at school and strengthen family bonds. I hope you have fun creating memories.

The post How To Make Ms. Diana’s Favorite Play Dough appeared first on Halsey Schools Preschool & Infant Center.

We’ve been having lots of learning fun with lemons. We tasted them, stamped painted with them and lots more. We even made lemon treats. Here are some fun ideas for you to do at home with lemons!

Social Studies: Where do lemons come from?

Ask your child Where do lemons come from? and discuss. It’s always fun to hear things from their perspective. Here are some interesting lemon facts:

• California and Arizona farms produce 95% of the entire U.S. lemon crop.
• Lemon trees bloom and produce fruit year-round.
• Each tree can produce between 500 and 600 pounds of lemons in a year.

Field Trip:

To get started on these projects you need lemons. Take a field trip to  a grocery store, a farm, farmers market, a lemon tree in a friend’s backyard, your refrigerator or own backyard and get some lemons.

Math Skills & Language Arts: Explore the lemons

What color are lemons? How do they smell?

Ask questions and encourage your child to do the same. Cut a lemon. What shape do you see now? How many sections are there? How many seeds can you find? Count them. Sort them. If you cut another lemon do you think it will have the same number of sections or the seeds? Find out.  How does a lemon taste? Sweet, sour, good, bad, dry, wet, warm, cold…

Grow a Lemon Tree

Plant some of the seeds in a pot or in your yard. Water twice a day and watch them grow. Count how many days it takes for the seed to sprout. Measure it regularly and chart its growth.

Art: Paint An Invisible Picture or Write a Secret Message

You’ll Need:

• Tooth picks, cotton swabs, brushes or something similar
• Lemon juice
• Paper
• Heat source like an iron, a light bulb, a toaster, hair dryer or even just the sun.

Draw your picture or write your secret message:

• Dip your utensil in the lemon juice and draw your picture or message. Be sure to dip the brush often.
• Allow the paper to dry until you can’t see the writing any more.
• Hold the paper over a light bulb or a toaster or dry with a hair drier. Move the paper often to make sure it doesn’t burn.  As the sugar in the lemon juice caramelizes the picture or message will magically appear.

Lemon Stamp Art

Cut a lemon in half. Dip the flat part into paint. Then press onto a piece of paper.

Outdoor/PE/Gross Motor Skills:

Can Mommy or Daddy juggle lemons? Play catch with a lemon. Roll a lemon.

Cooking Project: Home Made Lemon Scented Play-dough

• Ingredients:1 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup salt
  • 1/2 cup water
  • Yellow food coloring
  • Tablespoon of lemon Juice
  • A sprinkling of lemon zest
• Combine flour, salt, water, lemon juice and zest in a bowl and mix with a spoon. Add more water or more flour to get the mix just right – mushy and pliable like dough. Roll into a ball in your hands and test the consistency.
• Put the ball back in the bowl and add the yellow food coloring. Kneed the color into the dough.
• Play with it! Smell it! You can even eat it!

Science Projects:

Do lemons sink or float?

Fill up a bucket, glass or other vessel with water. Discuss and make your predictions. Drop a whole lemon in the water to find out. Will the same thing happen with a bigger lemon? A smaller lemon? When the lemon is sliced? When the lemon is sliced even smaller?

The post Lemon Learning appeared first on Halsey Schools Preschool & Infant Center.

How to Make Homemade Edible Marshmallow Play Dough

Children love to play with dough. And no wonder! They can squish and pound it and form it into fascinating shapes. Making play dough with your child teaches measuring skills, math skills, language skills and more. It helps encourage waiting one’s turn, sharing ideas and new language development. Try Ms. Alyssa’s favorite recipe this weekend. It’s a great way to interact and learn with your child. And it’s FUN!

What you need:

• 1 cup of marshmallows (any size or kind)
• 1 teaspoon of coconut oil
• Optional food coloring
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch

Mix it all up

• In a large microwave-safe bowl combine the marshmallows, oil & optional food coloring. Microwave for 30-90 seconds or until the marshmallows are melted
• Add 3 tablespoons cornstarch & stir with a wooden spoon
• Continue to mix until a ball starts to form
• Let cool for a few minutes and then dump it onto the counter
• Knead with hands into a ball (If it is too sticky, just add a corn starch. Too dry? Add a little bit of water.)

Let your child do as much as possible

Making it is half the fun!  So please be sure to let your child do as much of the measuring, mixing and kneading as possible. They can even try mixing the ingredient with their hands. During the process remember to encourage verbal skills by talking about what your child is doing. Asking open ended questions. And answering your child’s questions. If your child asks, “Can we make it a different color?” Give it a try.

Now it’s time to play with the Edible Marshmallow Play Dough

Your child’s imagination and your’s are the only limits here. Cut it. Squeeze it. Put things in it. Make a snake. A rocket. Throw it. Catch it. It’s all up to you. You can even taste it! Yes! It’s edible! When finished seal in a zip-lock bag or airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

When you make Edible Marshmallow Play Dough

your child learns:

Math Skills

• Measuring; fractions, cups, tablespoons…
• Comparing & contrasting – bigger, smaller, lighter, darker…

Verbal Skills

• Expanding vocabulary

Motor Skills

• Mixing (with spoon & hands)
• Pouring
• Rolling

Reading Skills

• Following written directions
• Reading fractions & numbers

Sensory Skills

• Feeling different textures
• Different smells
• Colors

And a lot MORE!

Doing cooking and science projects together with your children at home is a great way to help reinforce what we are learning at school and strengthen family bonds. I hope you have fun creating memories.

The post How To Make Ms. Alyssa’s Favorite Play dough appeared first on Halsey Schools Preschool & Infant Center.

Infants, toddlers and preschooler LOVE playing with boxes. Sometimes they would rather play with the box a toy came in then the box itself. Playing with boxes encourages imagination, verbal skills, motor skills and more. It’s fun and educational to play with boxes. Here’s how to do it at home!

You’ll need:

You guessed it! Boxes!!!!! Cereal, Costco, Amazon boxes or any boxes will do. Just make sure there are no staples or anything else dangerous in them like plastic bags, etc.

Ideas for playing with boxes

• Create a ball catcher- toss the ball into the box
• Create a box race car
• Create a Mailbox & play post office
• Create a Television & your child is the show
• Leave some cereal in a cereal box and tape it up. Its makes a fun sound! It’s a shaker!
• Just give your child a box or two and see what happens.

We play with boxes at school often!

Our infants love sitting the boxes and going for a carpet ride! Our Toddler love to smash them! Our Preschoolers like to make forts, houses and castles!

Give it a try at home and have some fun!

The post Playing with boxes appeared first on Halsey Schools Preschool & Infant Center.

It’s Freezing Outside!!

There are lots of ways to learn when it’s cold outside. Here’s what you can do at home to have some learning fun this Winter with your preschooler.

Social Studies: How is ice made? Where does it come from?

Ask your child questions like how is ice made? Where does it come from? And discuss. Here are some interesting facts to help your conversation:

• Water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit and 0 degrees Celsius.
• Sometimes ice falls from the sky like rain or snow. We call it hail.
• One of the coldest places on earth is Antarctica. It holds the record for the lowest temperature ever recorded at -128.6^oF
• Snow starts to melt in the spring and flows into our rivers and lakes.

Take a Field Trip to the snow!!!!

• Big Bear
• Arrowhead
• Mount Baldy
• Mammoth

Science Projects:

Color trails in an Ice Block

1. Get a big block of ice (Smart & Final), place it in cake pan
2. Place individual pieces of rock salt on the ice block. Make sure to space them out
3. About 4 to 5 mins later put a few drops of  food coloring on each piece of rock salt. Use a different color on each piece.
4. Watch the rock salt & food coloring make a trail through the block of ice. Discuss what’s happening and why. Explore some of your own ideas.

Make Ice in your own backyard

It’s easy. Get a few different pans, cookie sheets or dishes and just cover the bottom of each with a very thin layer of water. Put in a cold place in your yard away from anything warm (like your house) over night. When you wake up in the morning run outside and see if you made ice. Did you? That means it was below freezing? Was ice made in every one of the items used? If not, why not? Was the water too thick? The pan too insulated?

Try placing them in different areas of the yard. Leave one in the house. Did they all freeze? Why or why not?

Make Ice Cubes in the Freezer

Do you really need instructions? 🙂 Put some water in an ice cube tray or any other container and put in freezer overnight. Try it with big and small containers. Do bigger containers take longer? Experiment – predict, ask and answer questions.

Math Skills & Language Arts:

Explore Ice

Take a plastic bowl and fill it full of ice cubes. Get big spoons, spatulas, big bowls, small bowls, water etc and let your child start exploring. Encourage stacking, pouring, stirring, dropping, feeling, tasting, etc. Talk about what your child is doing. Ask questions what are you doing now? How does it feel? What do you think is going to happen if you…? Throw some ice up in the air and predict what will happen when it hits the ground. Predict what will happen if you throw some ice at a hard wall. Now see what happens if you drop it in dirt or grass.

Explore Snow

While having fun playing  in the snow, take some time to really look at and explore it.  Ask your child these questions: What is snow made of? Is it soft or hard? What can we do with snow? Make a snowball, throw it at a tree and see what happens. Take a bowl outside and fill it up with snow. Now bring the bowl inside and just let it sit on the table. Look at it every now and then and see what happens to the snow.

Art: Ice cube painting

1. Put water in ice cube tray
2. Add food coloring and a popsicle stick or Q-tip to each container
3. Freeze
4. Remove when frozen
5. Have the children paint with the different colored ice and talk about how the ice turns from a solid to a liquid. Talk about the primary colors: Red, Yellow and Blue. (It is best to use poster board or water color paper. Cardboard boxes will work too.)

Cooking Project: Popsicles

Combine fruit and juice to make ice pops. Simply blend together 1 cup of 100 percent juice (try mixing varieties, such as pineapple, orange, and cranberry) with 1 cup of fruit chunks (say, peaches, mango, or strawberries). Pour into pop molds and freeze for three hours. ENJOY!

Spanish:

• Hielo – Ice
• Cold -Frio
• Snow – Nieve

The post It’s Freezing!!! appeared first on Halsey Schools Preschool & Infant Center.

Here’s a fun project you can do at home to reinforce and duplicate what we’re learning at school. Remember children learn best by doing. So have them roll up their sleeves and get ready for some hands on fun! Activities should be age appropriately adjusted so that all ages infants to preschoolers can participate.

What you will need:

• Fruits & Veggies
  • 1 Orange, lemon or lime or all three!
  • 1 Apple
  • 1 Onion
  • 1 Pepper
  • Celery stock
  • Any other fruits and veggies you’d like
• Paints
• Plates
• Paper

Start the fun by looking in the refrigerator for fruits & veggies or visiting the grocery store or farmer’s market

Ask your child questions like

• What fruit or veggie do you think will be fun to use?
• What do you think will make an interesting design?
• If I cut the fruit in certain ways will it make different patterns?

How to Stamp Paint with Fruits & Vegetables

• Pour different colored paints on separate plates
• Cut the fruits and veggies in half or try cutting in different ways
• Cut the bottom of the celery bunch to use the the bottom as your stamp
• Take one of your new home made stamps and press it into the paint
• Now stamp the paper to create your own fruit & veggie masterpiece 

Examine the stamps & ask open ended questions

• What do they look like? 
• Do you see something in the middle?
• What do you think you will see when we use the stamp on the paper?

Take a look at your final painting and ask

• What do you see when you use the celery? Apple? Orange?
• Can you see the pattern from the fruit/veggie stamp in your picture?

Stamp art is a great open ended activity & a fun way for your child to be creative! Bonus – You get something to hang on the refrigerator! 🙂

The post Stamp Painting with Fruits & Vegetables appeared first on Halsey Schools Preschool & Infant Center.

Early reading skills; sight words

Sight words are words that can be recognized and “read” when seen. They are not technically read or sounded out. They are memorized. Sight words are one of the building blocks needed to become a successful reader. At Halsey Schools we start introducing sight word early so that all our Busy Bees graduate recognizing as many as they can!

Sight words are learned through repetition

By the time your children are ready for Kindergarten they will have seen and heard these sight words thousands upon thousands of times at Halsey Schools. We teach children to recognize these sight words through reading, listening, flash cards, hands-on games and traditional worksheets. As with anything repetition is key. You can help reinforce the learning at home by pointing out these words during family reading time, by playing some of these games and by practicing with these worksheets and flashcards.

50 Preschool sight words

Months of the year sight words

Days of the week sight words

Sight Word Games and Flashcards

Sight Word Games

• Memory
  Make your own card deck with two of each sight word. Shuffle. Place the cards face down in rows. When it’s your turn, turn over two cards and try to get a matching pair. If you don’t have a match, turn the cards back over. The winner is the player with the most pairs.
• Scavenger Hunt
  Make a list of sight words and a corresponding sticky note for each word on the list. Have your child find the sticky note somewhere in your house and match the word with the corresponding word on the master list.

Make Sight Word Flashcards

• Write the sight words on index cards
• Punch a hole in the top left corner of the index card
• Place the index cards on a ring
• Take it with you everywhere to practice

Create your own Sight Word Song

Sing the sight words to any tune you like, for example:

• Twinkle Twinkle little star
• Row Row Row your Boat

Have FUN!!!!!!!!

The post Sight Words for Preschoolers appeared first on Halsey Schools Preschool & Infant Center.

The Busy Bees made a new friend, Harry Halsey. You can make your own friend at home and name him anything you want. Here’s how to do it.

How to make your potato friend

You will need:

• A potato
• Grass seed
• Cotton balls
• Water
• Markers
• Cup – to stand the potato upright

Make your Potato Head

1. Cut off the top of the potato and hollow out an inch or two
2. Draw your favorite face on the potato
3. Place the potato in a plastic cup to keep it standing upright
4. Stuff the potato with cotton and sprinkle seeds on the cotton
5. Saturate the cotton & seeds with water
6. Set your potato head by a window and keep it wet.

Before you know it your, potato will have hair!

What helps the seed to grow?

• Water
• Sun
• Proper temperature
• Air
• Nutrients

Photosynthesis. What is it?

Photosynthesis is a process the grass and other green plants use to make their own food from carbon dioxide in the air and water. When plants make their own food using photosynthesis they also make oxygen for us to breath! The more plants we have the more oxygen there is!

The post Harry Halsey Potato Pet appeared first on Halsey Schools Preschool & Infant Center.

It smells like a chocolate paradise. Let’s pretend we’re candy makers in a chocolate factory!

Children love to play with dough. And no wonder! They can squish and pound it and form it into fascinating shapes. Making play dough with your child teaches measuring skills, math skills, language skills and more. It helps encourage waiting one’s turn, sharing ideas and new language development. Try my favorite recipe this weekend. It’s a great way to interact and learn with your child. And it’s FUN!

How to Make Homemade No-Cook Chocolate Play Dough

What you need:

• 2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup of table salt
• 1/2 cup of cocoa
• 1 1/2 cups of boiling water
• 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla (optional)

Mix it all up

Put all ingredients into a large bowl.  Mix well until a ball starts to form.  Let cool for a few minutes and then dump it onto the counter and knead. If it is too sticky, just add a little flour.

Making it is half the fun!  So please be sure to let your child do as much of the measuring, mixing and kneading as possible. They can even try mixing the ingredient with their hands. During the process remember to encourage verbal skills by talking about what your child is doing. Asking open ended questions. And answering your child’s questions. If your child asks, “Can we make it a different color?” Give it a try.

Now it’s time to play with the Chocolate play dough

Your child’s imagination and your’s are the only limits here. Cut it. Squeeze it. Put things in it. Make a snake. A rocket. Throw it. Catch it. It’s all up to you. You can even taste it! Yes! It’s edible but not at all sweet.

When finished seal in a zip-lock bag or airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

When you make chocolate play dough your child learns:

Math Skills

• Measuring; fractions, cups, tablespoons…
• Comparing & contrasting – bigger, smaller, lighter, darker…

Verbal Skills

• Expanding vocabulary

Motor Skills

• Mixing (with spoon & hands)
• Pouring
• Rolling

Reading Skills

• Following written directions
• Reading fractions & numbers

Sensory Skills

• Feeling different textures
• Different smells
• Colors

And a lot MORE!

Doing cooking and science projects together with your children at home is a great way to help reinforce what we are learning at school and strengthen family bonds. I hope you have fun creating memories.

The post How To Make Ms. Jenni’s Favorite Play dough appeared first on Halsey Schools Preschool & Infant Center.

Collages are fun and educational! As you work on the project together lots of conversation and learning points will develop as your child visualizes and thinks about their future. Making a Collage encourages creativity, fine motor skill development, speech, language and sensory skills and best of all special time and memories with Mommy & Daddy.

How to make the collage

You need

• Paper, cardboard or cardstock
• magazines, newspapers, stickers, mailers, flyers etc.
• child scissors (or just rip out pictures)
• glue stick

Start making the collage

• On your paper, cardboard or cardstock write When I grow up I want to work as a _______________________.
• Talk about what your child wants to work as when he/she growns up and help write the choice or choices on the line.
• Help your child search through your magazines etc and find pictures that show the future career choice or choices. You can also fine images, clipart etc online to print.
• Paste the pictures on the paper/cardboard and let dry
• Hang it up and admire it. 🙂

As you work on the project remember to introduce new words and ideas. Let your child take the lead and have fun!

The post How to make a When I grow up Collage at home appeared first on Halsey Schools Preschool & Infant Center.

Candy!!! It’s yummy! It’s sweet! It’s sooo good to eat!

We all know that candy is a tasty treat! But did you know you can learn with candy too? We get so much candy at Halloween time we couldn’t possibly eat it all. Here are some hands-on ways for preschoolers to learn with candy at home.

Social Studies:

Ask your child questions like: Where does candy come from? What makes it so tasty? What’s your favorite candy? And discuss. Here are some interesting facts to help your conversation:

• The average american eats 24 pounds of candy a year.
• Americans buy about 600 million pounds of candy a year just for Halloween.
• Americans spend $2 billion a year on Halloween candy.
• The top selling Halloween candy? Candy Corn!
• Candy Corn is also the top searched candy item on Google.

Field Trip:

Trick-or-Treating!!!!

Go door to door and gets some treats. It’s a Halloween tradition. Malls and parks often sponsor trick-or-treating activities too. After trick-or-treating:

• Wait until children are home to sort and check treats. Though tampering is rare, a responsible adult should closely examine all treats and throw away any spoiled, unwrapped or suspicious items.
• Try to apportion treats for the days following Halloween.
• Although sharing is encouraged, make sure items that can cause choking (such as hard candies), are given only to those of an appropriate age.

After Halloween Shopping

If you just don’t have enough candy, check out the stores for some sweet after Halloween deals.

Math Skills & Language Arts:

• Dump out your trick or treating haul on the floor, table, or bucket.
  • Sort the candy by kind, color, brand, or type.
  • Count the number in each category. Which category has the most? The least?
  • Which category weighs more? Put them on a food scale to find out.
  • Sort the candy by size.
  • Which one is the biggest? The smallest?
• M&Ms or Skittles.
  • Open up a bag sort and count the colors.
  • How many of each color?
  • How many all together?
  • What happens when you eat 1,2,3,4…?
  • What happens when you eat a handful?
    • How many are in Daddy’s handful? Mommy’s handful? Your handful?
  • How many are left when you eat them all?
  • What color is the tastiest? The worst? The best?
  • Predict how many of each color you’ll find in the next bag. The sort and count to find out. See who guesses correctly the most.
• Vote on:
  • which candy to eat next
  • which candy is the best
  • where to donate all the extra candy

Art:

Pixy Stix Sand Art

Don’t eat all those stix!! You can use them to make beautiful art. You just need the stix and some clean jars; Baby food jars work GREAT! Just tear or cut off the tops of the stix and artfully pour them into the jar.  You can use the sticks to push and manupluate the sand. Or you can try tooth picks, popsicle sticks, spoons…  Then put the lid on nice and tight and marvel at your creation.

Candy Wrapper Collage

After you’ve eaten all that tasty candy and brushed your teeth, make a candy collage with all the wrappers! All you need is a poster board, cardboard or even a piece of paper and glue. Just glue the wrappers to the paper in an artful way.

Cooking Projects:

Left over candy cookie treats

Just take your favorite cookie recipe and make the dough only. (No chocolate chips, etc.) Take your left over treats like Milky Ways, Reese’s, Snickers, Three Musketeers, Hersey’s, Kisses, and wrap them in the dough. (You may want to cut them up a bit first. Then again maybe not!) Cook as usual and let cool. Its anyone’s guess what treat is wrapped up inside. Take a bite to find out!

Here’s a standard chocolate chip dough recipe without the chocolate chips.

• 2 sticks of unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (you may add another 1/4 cup if the mixture is too wet)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Your left over candy treats

Start Cooking!

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. In a medium bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy.
4. Mix in eggs and vanilla.
5. In a large separate bowl, combine flour, salt and baking soda.
6. Gradually add the wet contents of medium bowl into the flour mixture, mixing slowly.
7. Mix until all ingredients are well incorporated.
8. Option 1 – Fold in chopped up candies. Option 2 – Scoop out just enough dough to wrap around the candy bar. Wrap the bar and make sure the bar is sealed in the dough.
9. Place rolled dough onto cookie sheet and bake for 9 to 14 minutes until they are just the way you like them. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack or cool counter top.

Candy Cookie Variations: Be adventurous try some candy you might not have thought of like Sweet Tarts, Skittles, Lemon Heads… (Lemon heads work well with a lemon cookie dough recipe.)

Science Projects:

M&Ms Water Flower

Place different colored M&Ms in a shallow bowl of water. M&Ms should be covered. Within minutes the M&Ms start to dissolve but the colors don’t mix. You’ll have a beautiful M&M flower. But wait there’s more!

Floating Ms & Ss

After making your M&M flower, wait about 5 minutes more. Do not disturb the water. Soon the letter (or parts of it) will rise to the top!! Is it magic? Maybe. Or maybe it’s because the edible letter ink doesn’t dissolve in water. | Want to see an S float? Try it with Skittles.

Sink or float

Fill a glass or bowl with water. Predict which candies will sink and which candies will float. Then start dropping candies in the water. See if there is a difference with the wrapper on or off. Is there a difference between M&M’s and Skittles? Does the color of the candy matter?

Sweet or Sour

Taste various candies and describe the flavor. Is it sweet or is it sour? Hard or soft. Crunchy or chewy.

Outdoor/PE/Gross Motor Skills:

Run, Run, Run, Run, and Run some more!!! You’ll need to burn off a lot of extra candy calories!!

Personal Care & Character Development

• Encourage your children to share their candy, eat it in moderation and always brush their teeth after enjoying it.
• Donate your candy to our deployed soldiers with Operation Gratitude. Just drop off your candy at Halsey Schools and we will do the rest! Learn more here.

Spanish

• Candy – caramelo
• Sweet – dulce
• Sour – agrio
• Wrapper – envoltura
• Sugar – azúcar
• Chocolate – chocolate
• Sink – hundirse
• Float – flotar
• Trick or Treat – engañar o tratar

I hope you enjoy doing these activities at home. These are just starting points. Expand on them and add your own. HAVE FUN!!

The post Learning with Candy appeared first on Halsey Schools Preschool & Infant Center.

Here are some things you can do at home to reinforce and duplicate what we’re learning at school. And remember children learn best by doing. So have them roll up their sleeves and get ready for some hands on fun! Activities should be age appropriately adjusted so that all ages infants to preschoolers can participate.

What you will need: leaves…

• an inquisitive child and various household items
• What you won’t need: Cell phones, TVs, Computers…
• What you’ll do: Explore leaves

Start the fun with a nature walk & hunt for leaves

• Bring a container to collect the leaves.
• Walk at around the block, around a park or take a hike.
• How many different shaped leaves can you find?
• What colors are they?
• What kind of sound do leaves make when you step on them?
• Is it windy? Warm? Cold?
• Sunny? Dark?
• What do you smell?

Explore the Leaves at home

Math Skills: How many leaves long are you?

• Lay down on the ground and place a line of leaves starting from your head to your feet.
• Count how many leaves are in the line. That is how many leaves long you are!
• Do the same with family members and other things around the house!

Science: Leaf Rub

• Take a leaf and place it under a piece of paper. Then with the side of the crayon rub over the leaf.
  • What do you see?
  • Do you see all the neat lines that run through the leaf?
  • Do  the same with different leaves & compare.
    • Is one bigger? Smaller? Flatter? Crunchier? Greener?

Sensory Development:

• Sit in the middle of a pile leaves, throw them up in the air & see how they fall.
• Rub leaves in your hands. Are they hard or soft?
• Crumple them up in your hands. Do they fold up or do they crumble apart?
• What kind of sound do leaves make when you crumple them up?

Language Arts:

• Go through magazines and cut out pictures of things that start with ‘l’ like leaves, licorice, light…
• Now make a collage of all the things you found.

Spanish:

• Fall – caida
• Leaves – hojas
• Brown – marrón
• Crunch – crujido
• Use google’s translator for more here

Story Time:

Read a book about leaves. If you don’t have any at home, you can find some at the library or on Amazon! The children always enjoy We’re Going on a Leaf Hunt by Steve Metzger and Miki Sakamoto.

The post Exploring Leaves appeared first on Halsey Schools Preschool & Infant Center.

Plastic eggs aren’t just for candy and treats. We can teach with them too.

Here are some ideas on how your preschooler can learn at home with Plastic Eggs. I know they work since we do them at school. Give them a try at home and tell us what you think. 

You’ll need

• magic markers
• plastic eggs

Opposites

• Write one opposite on one side of an egg and one on the other. Repeat. Break apart all the eggs then have the children match the opposites.
• Write several opposites on one side of each egg. Then write one correct opposite and a few incorrect opposites on the other side. Children turn the egg to the correct opposite.

beginning/end; strong/weak; up/down; many/few; rainy/sunny; above/below; big/little; smooth/rough; high/low; left/right; front/back; long/short; cold/hot; soft/hard; cool/warm; frozen/melted; over/under; deep/shallow; tall/short; dry/wet; fine/grainy; heavy/light; dirty/clean; inside/outside; in/out; top/bottom; open/closed; awake/asleep; more/less; old/new; rotten/fresh; healthy/sick; sweet/sour; light/dark; night/day; bright/dull; off/on; push/pull; run/walk; full/empty; happy/sad; stand/sit; go/stop; right/wrong…

Math Readiness

• Counting – Draw dots on one half of an egg.  On the other half, write (i.e. Four, 4) the number of dots you just drew on the other half.  Separate the eggs then have the children match the correct number of dots with the correct written number.
• Number Recognition – Write a number on one side with a greater than > or less than < sign by it. Write all correct answers on the other side. Try it with incorrect answers too and find only the right answers. Try it with the equals sign too. i.e. 5=five. Rotate to correct answers.
• Addition & Subtraction – Write simple adding and subtracting problems on one side and answers on the other. i.e. 1+1=_2. Have children rotate eggs to correct answers. Make it harder – 1+2<_4 etc.

Letter Recognition & Reading Skills

• Write the beginning  letters of simple words on one side of the plastic eggs and the ending part of the word on the other side  (C_ AT) . Add additional correct begging letters and/or ending letters. Have the children rotate the top half of the egg to match the beginning letter with the ending letters and read the word together.
• AT words- cat, mat, sat, fat, rat, hat, bat & pat.
• AN words- man, can, fan, pan, ran, tan & van
• Write an uppercase letter on the top half of an egg and  lower case of that same letter on the bottom half of the egg ( A_a). Separate the eggs and have children match the correct uppercase & lowercase letters.

Shapes

• Write a shape name on one side and draw shapes on the other side. Break up the eggs and have the children match the word to the picture.
• Draw half a shape on one side and half shapes on the other side. Have children rotate the eggs to complete the shape.

Colors

• Write the color name of an egg on one side. Repeat. Separate the eggs. Have children match the correct colors. Throw them a curve-write blue on a pink egg and have the children find the color that matches the word not the egg.

Emotions

• Draw eyes on one half. Mouth on the other.  Have your child mix and match and describe the emotion.  Or ask your child to pick the egg that shows how she is feeling right now.
• Draw several mouths on the bottom half and one set of eyes on the top. Have your child turn the eggs and describe the emotion.
• Make silly faces, sad faces, happy, angry…

These are just some of the ways to learn with eggs.  There are many other variations and ideas. Children can count them, sort them, fill them, empty them, throw them, catch them… If you want more ideas, just ask.

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Painting is fun! And there are lots of ways to do it!

When children paint using different mediums they learn about textures, consistencies, colors, shapes, cause and effect and a lot more. Perhaps most importantly they learn how to express themselves in different ways.  Now it’s your turn to have a blast at home with a few of our favorite painting projects. Roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty!

Sidewalk/Black Top Painting

You need:

• 2T cornstarch
• 4T water
• 6-8 drops food coloring
• Bucket or bowl
• Paint brushes or small brooms & scrub brushes

Mix together in a bowl/bucket & paint something on the ground.

Puff Paint Painting

You need:

• 1 cup shaving cream
• ½ cup white glue
• Bowls
• Food coloring
• Paper to paint

In a bowl mix shaving cream and the glue. Separate mixture into four separate bowls and add a different color of food coloring to each bowl. Mix with your hands! Now paint with your fingers and hands! The more you get on yourself the better!!!!

Kitchen Gadget Panting

You need:

• Any kind/color of washable paint
• paper
• 3 to 5 kitchen gadgets
  • whisk
  • potato masher
  • electric mixer ( Place paper in bottom of box then turn on mixer while holding it in the box)
  • fork…

Dip each gadget into the paint and paint with it. Each gadget works a bit differently making interesting designs.

Ice Cube Painting

You need:

• Water
• Food coloring
• Ice cube tray
• Popsicle sticks

Prepare your “brushes”

1. Fill the ice tray with water
2. Put a drop of food coloring in each cube, vary the colors
3. Place a popsicle stick in each cube
4. Place tray in the freezer & let water freeze overnight
5. When frozen, remove from ice tray & paint away on a piece of paper, the ground or yourself….

Variation – Add some sugar, cool aide, or a couple drops of snow cone syrup to each cube instead of food coloring. The paintings will be a bit sticky but the “brushes” will be so tasty.

Pendulum Painting

You need:

• Wooden poles
• Rubber feet
• Craft knife
• Plastic condiment bottle
• Electrical or duct tape
• Hole punch
• Large paper clip
• Tempera paint
• Water
• Measuring cup
• Large piece of paper
• Tarp or sheet or area that can get paint on it without worry

Put it all together

1. Create a tripod by tying together three wooden poles with twine or zip ties. Attach rubber feet to ends of poles for added traction.
2. Create the pendulum; Use a craft knife to cut off the bottom 1/2 inch of an empty condiment bottle. Punch 3 holes through the plastic bottle with 1/4-inch hole punch. Thread a long piece of twine through each hole, and secure in place. Bring all strings together and tie in a large loop about 1 to 2 feet from the bottle. Thread loop onto a large paper clip.
3. Tie a piece of twine to the top of the tripod so that it hangs down into the center.
4. Tie a loop at the bottom end of the twine and attach pendulum with the paper clip hook. Adjust height; the nozzle should be at least 1 inch away from the paper.
5. Mix one part tempera paint with one part water. Paint should run freely but should not be too watery. Fill up the pendulum.
6. Place paper under tripod. Pull pendulum off to side of paper. With paint flowing, let pendulum swing over paper, changing direction as desired. To stop flow of paint, place finger under paint nozzle or put on a cap or some tape.

The post 5 Painting Projects Your Children Will Love appeared first on Halsey Schools Preschool & Infant Center.

Learning is FUN! Here are some things you can do at home with pine cones to reinforce and duplicate the fun learning we do at school. These are simply starting points for you to expand upon and even create your own. Have fun and remember to let the children guide where this exploration takes you. (Activities should be age appropriately adjusted so that all ages infants to preschoolers can participate)

What you will need: Pine Cones

The post Exploring Pine Cones appeared first on Halsey Schools Preschool & Infant Center.

[quote author_name=”Jenni Rice” author_description=”Director & Owner” author_image=”https://halseyschools.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Jenni-Rice-Owner-Director.jpg” size=”small” style=”solid”]

There are so many learning opportunities at home. All you have to do is look around. Today let’s take a peek in your refrigerator. I bet you have an apple or two. Here’s how to have fun and learn with an apple. [/quote]

Math Skills & Language Arts: Explore the apples

Social Studies: Where do apples come from?

Ask your child questions like Where do apples come from? Are all apples the same? And discuss. It’s always fun to hear things from their perspective. Here are some interesting apple facts to help your conversation:

The post Find the secret surprise inside Apples appeared first on Halsey Schools Preschool & Infant Center.

Virtually all children would prefer playing with their parents

It’s true that most children watch too much TV and other screen media. But did you know, if given a choice between  screen time or playing with Mommy and Daddy virtually all children would prefer playing with their parents? It is up to us to give them what they want and what we know is better for them. So dig down deep inside and let your inner preschooler come out! It’s time for some hands-on fun!

Art:

Screen Collage Vs. Activity Collage

• Gather up some newspapers and magazines (the old fashioned paper kind) and search for pictures of screens, TVs, computers, smartphones etc. Cut or tear the pictures out and artfully paste them to a piece of paper. Hang it up on your wall of pride.
• Now look for pictures of active things to do; people swimming, running, playing, etc. Cut or tear the pictures out and artfully paste them to a piece of paper. Hang it up on your wall of pride.
• Which collage do you like better? Why?
• Now draw (paint, color…) a picture of something you like to do with your family that is more fun than watching TV.

Idea Box

• Get an old shoe size box and let your children decorate it however they like. (Any box will do)
• Then come up with fun things to do instead of watching TV and write them down or draw them on individual pieces of paper.  Come up with ideas that the family can do together and ideas that your child can do alone.
• Put them in the box.
• Now whenever your child is “bored” or looking for something to do reach in and pull out an idea. Add new ideas each day or whenever you or your child think of them.

Math Skills & Language Arts:

• How many screens (TVs, computers, phones…) can you count in your home? Count them on your fingers or on a piece of paper.
  • Describe the shape of each one.
  • Which one is the biggest? The smallest? Order them from smallest to biggest? Which one is medium?
• How much time do you spend watching TV each day?
  • Set a stopwatch when you start watching to find out.
  • Are weekdays different then weekends?
  • What else can you do with your time instead of watching TV?

Outdoor/PE/Gross Motor Skills:

Scavenger Hunt

• Make a list of things people do outside instead of watching TV like walking, running, swimming, jumping…
• Now head outside and start the hunt.
• If you can’t find someone else doing one of the activities, do it yourself and cross it off.

Cooking Project:

Easy Home Made Playdough

• Ingredients:
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup salt
  • 1/2 cup water
  • food coloring
• Combine flour, salt and water in bowl and mix with a spoon. Add more water or more flour to get the mix just right – mushy and pliable like dough. Roll into a ball in your hands and test the consistency.
• Put the ball back in the bowl and add the colors you want. Knead the color into the dough.
• Play with it!

Science Project:

Exercise vs. Sitting; What happens to our heart when we move our body?

• While sitting put your hand on your chest. Can you feel your heart? Is it beating fast or slow?
• Run, jump, do jumping jacks, hula hoop, bike; any exercise will do. Now feel your heartbeat. Is it faster or slower? Why do you think that is?
• After you exercise are you thirsty? Are you hungry? Exercising can make you hungry and/or thirsty because you need energy to move. Eating gives you energy or fuel.
• How do you feel during and after exercise? Do you think people should exercise or sit around?
• When you exercise you use fuel. When you sit in front of a screen and watch TV you don’t.

Social Studies:

A long time ago people didn’t watch TV or use computers or have cell phones. What do you think people must have done back then? Ask your parents, your grandparents, your great grandparents or some older neighbors.

Field Trip: Play at your local park

Instead of watching TV tonight, go to your local park and: swing, slide, play catch, run, jump, sing & dance or do anything active.

Spanish:

• Television – televisión
• Screen – pantalla
• Computer – ordenador
• Exercise – ejercer
• Active – activo

[quote author_name=”Jenni Rice” author_description=”Director & Owner” author_image=”https://halseyschools.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Jenni-Rice-Owner-Director.jpg” size=”small” style=”solid”]

Too often screen time takes away from important family time. Make a difference in your family by making choices that are active and engaging. The reality is, just about anything is more fun to children than watching a screen.

[/quote]

The post Playing with Mommy is more fun than an iPad appeared first on Halsey Schools Preschool & Infant Center.

Homemade Playdough

How to make homemade playdough

What You Need:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup salt
• 4 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• Food coloring
• Food extracts, such as almond, vanilla, lemon or peppermint
• Saucepan
• Objects to stick in the dough, such as Popsicle sticks and straws
• Objects to pound with, such as a toy mallet
• Objects to make impressions with, such as jar lids, cookie cutters and bottle caps

Make the Playdough:

• • Add the food coloring to the water. Then mix all of the ingredients together in a pan.
  • Cook over medium heat, stirring until it forms a soft ball.
  • Let the mixture cool. Knead slightly. Add food extracts to different chunks of the dough to make different smells.

Talk with your child about what you are doing as you make the dough. Let your toddler or preschooler help you with measuring and adding ingredients.  Let your child handle some dough while it is still slightly warm and some when it has cooled off to teach him about temperatures. Give some of the dough to your toddler or preschooler so she can pound it, stick things in it, make impressions in it and make her own animals, houses and people from it.

The post How to make Playdough appeared first on Halsey Schools Preschool & Infant Center.

[quote author_name=”Jenni Rice” author_description=”Director & Owner” author_image=”https://halseyschools.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Jenni-Rice-Owner-Director.jpg” size=”small” style=”solid”]

Insects, reptiles, and birds all start out as eggs. Watching them transform is fun and educational for children and adults. You can catch glimpses of mother nature in action in your own backyard, on hikes and walks or you can watch the process up front and personal right in your home with these kits. We’ve used them in our classrooms and I’ve used them at home with my boys too. They are lots of fun! [/quote]

If you can’t see any links above, turn off your ad blocker. 🙂

The post Watch Eggs Hatch at Home appeared first on Halsey Schools Preschool & Infant Center.

Mommy can I play in the mud? ABSOLUTELY!!

[quote author_name=”Jenni Rice” author_description=”Director & Owner” author_image=”https://halseyschools.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Jenni-Rice-Owner-Director.jpg” size=”small” style=”solid”]

Preschoolers love to play in the mud. For that matter so do adults; biking, hiking, gardening, mud runs… Have some family fun in the mud with these ideas from our happy teachers. You’ll help reinforce the learning fun we are having at school and make some memories.

[/quote]

Here’s how you can have fun in the mud

All you need is… mud

You remember how to make it don’t you?

• If it has recently rained you’ll find it right outside.
• If it is going to rain you can:
  • Expose a section of dirt in your yard.
  • Put some dirt in a container (turkey pan, sand table, cookie sheet…) and watch the rain turn it into mud.
• No rain? You can make your own with your garden hose and dirt.
• Too cold outside? You can have fun with mud inside too – all you need is a container, some dirt and some water. Make sure you put out plenty of old sheets & towels for easy clean up.

Remember that these are just starting points. Let your child lead where this takes you. Some of the best learning opportunities can be found by following your child’s naturally inquisitive lead. Have fun!

Explore the mud

• Collect anything you have that you can use in the mud: buckets, shovels, old pots, pans, spoons, colanders, strainers etc. Children will love selecting and collecting these items. Then get your hands dirty and explore!

Math Skills & Language Arts:

• What color is dirt?
• How does dirt become mud?
• What color is mud?
• Does dirt change color when it turns to mud?
• What can mud be used for?
• How do animals use mud? (i.e. Swallows use mud to build their nests.)
• What shapes can you make out of mud?
• What happens if you add more water? Is the mud thicker? Thinner? Lighter?
• Let the mud dry for a few days and check it out later.
  • Predict what you think will happen. Write it down.
  • Stick a stick in the mud while it’s wet. When its dry can you pull it out?
  • Draw something in the mud. Is it still there after it dries? Did it shrink? Why? Why not?
  • Is it hard or soft after it dries?

Art: Mud Finger Painting & Hand & Foot Prints

• Make some mud with the consistency of finger paint.
• Get a thick piece of paper – finger paint paper will work but a cut out from a paper grocery bag or a piece of cardboard works best. You can even use the sidewalk or driveway as the canvas.
• Dip fingers in the mud and paint away. (If you don’t want to get your fingers dirty, what fun is that, you can try a paintbrush, and old sock on the hand, a cotton ball…)
• Add varying amounts of white glue to the mud paint – it will make it feel and act differently when painting.
• Dip your entire hand or foot and make a print on paper or the patio or a piece of wood.

Cooking Project:  Mud Dough

Outdoor/PE/Gross Motor:

Have your own mud run: Walk, run stomp, jump, in the mud. Put on some rain boots and have a blast! This is awesome when its raining. When you’re all done come back home for a change of cloths and some warm cookies & milk or hot chocolate. YUM!

Mud balls: Make some mud balls with your hands. Setup a target and throw the mud at it. See who can hit the target the most times in row! Try different kinds of targets and see how they react when hit with the mud ball.

Science Project:

Make your own compost heap or bin

• Bin – Take a covered trash can and start adding grass clippings, leaves, etc.
• Heap – If you don’t have a trash can or other container, you can do the same thing by just starting a pile somewhere in your yard. Cover it with newspaper or something else.

Add some water. Add more clippings, leaves, etc weekly and mix. Soon you’ll find worms and other bugs eating everything and turning it into rich soil. It is amazing!

All mud is not the same

• Make mud with clay soil and compare.
• Make mud with top soil and compare.
• Can you make mud with sand?

Social Studies

Field Trip – Visit Leonis Adobe

• 23537 Calabasas Road  Calabasas, CA 91302 | (818) 222-6511
• LeonisAdobeMuseum.org

A house made out of mud in 1844!

Spanish:

• Mud – barro
• Dirt – suciedad
• Water – agua
• Wet – húmedo
• Dry – secar
• Brown – marrón
• Rain – lluvia
• Adobe – adobe (Yep. Same word.)

[quote author_name=”Jenni Rice” author_description=”Director & Owner” author_image=”https://halseyschools.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Jenni-Rice-Owner-Director.jpg” size=”small” style=”solid”]

Did you ever think so much could be learned with mud? Try it with something else. Learning never stops. Everywhere you look and everywhere you go there are always learning opportunities for children and adults. Keep your eyes and ears open and always be willing to stop and explore.

[/quote]

The post Mud is fun! appeared first on Halsey Schools Preschool & Infant Center.

It smells so yummy that I want to eat it all up! | It is like playing with candy! | The whole room smells like chocolate! | It smells like a chocolate factory!

Children love to play with dough. And no wonder! They can squish and pound it and form it into fascinating shapes. Making play dough with your child teaches measuring skills, math skills, language skills and more. It helps encourage waiting one’s turn, sharing ideas and new language development. Try it out this weekend. It’s a great way to interact and learn with your child. And it’s FUN!

How to make homemade cocoa playdough

What you need:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 2 cups warm water
• 1 cup salt
• 2 tablespoons cream of tartar
• 2 tablespoons oil

Mix it all up

Just mix all of  the ingredients together in a bowl. If it seems too liquidy just add extra flour. To flourey? Add more water or oil or both. It’s that simple. Once you like the consistency, it’s time to knead the dough on a floured surface for about 4 minutes.

Making it is half the fun!  So please be sure to let your child do as much of the measuring, mixing and kneading as possible. They can even try mixing the ingredient with their hands. During the process remember to encourage verbal skills by talking about what your child is doing. Asking open ended questions. And answering your child’s questions. If your child asks, “Can we make it red?” Give it a try.

Now it’s time to play with the playdough

Your child’s imagination and your’s are the only limits here. Cut it. Squeeze it. Put things in it. Make a snake. A rockit. Throw it. Catch it. It’s all up to you. You can even taste it! Yes! It’s edible but not at all sweet.

When finished seal in a zip-lock bag or airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

When you make cocoa playdough your child learns:

Math Skills

• Measuring; fractions, cups, tablespoons…
• Comparing & contrasting – bigger, smaller, lighter, darker…

Verbal Skills

• Expanding vocabulary

Motor Skills

• Mixing (with spoon & hands)
• Pouring
• Rolling

Reading Skills

• Following written directions
• Reading fractions & numbers

Sensory Skills

• Feeling different textures
• Different smells
• Colors

And a lot more!

Doing cooking and science projects together with your children at home is a great way to help reinforce what we are learning at school and strengthen family bonds. I hope you have fun creating memories.

The post How To Make Hot Chocolate/Cocoa Playdough appeared first on Halsey Schools Preschool & Infant Center.

Here are some things you can do at home to reinforce and duplicate what we’re learning at school. And remember children learn best by doing. So have them roll up their sleeves and get ready for some hands on fun! Activities should be age appropriately adjusted so that all ages infants to preschoolers can have some hands on fun.

Let’s get started

• What you will need: pumpkins, an inquisitive child and various household items
• What you won’t need: Cell phones, TVs, Computers…
• What you’ll do: Explore pumpkins

1. Start the fun with a family field trip to the pumpkin patch or store

• How many pumpkins do you see?
• How many should we get?
• What size should we get?
• Do you see any unusual pumpkins?

2. Explore the pumpkins at home

• Carve the pumpkins
• Cook the seeds
• Plant the seeds
• Explore all kids of other pumpkin activities

Focus on:

Language Arts

• What color are pumpkins? Do pumpkins come in other colors?
• What’s it feel like inside & outside? Is it cold? Hot? Wet or dry? Mushy? Does the outside feel different than the inside?
• What does it smell like? Does it make you think of or remember something?
• Do you want to make a happy pumpkin? A mean pumpkin? A scary Pumpkin? A grinning Pumpkin…?

Math Skills

• Count & sort the pumpkins; Big, Medium, Small.
• Guess their weight. Which one weighs more? Weigh the pumpkins.
• Count & sort the seeds. How many do you think can fit in this container? How about this one?
• What shape are the seeds? What shape are the pumpkins?
• What shape should we make the eyes, the mouth, the teeth…?

Science

• What is a pumpkin? Fruit? Vegetable?
• Can we eat pumpkins? What can we make and eat with pumpkins?
• Plant the Seeds.  What do you think will happen? What do seeds need to grow?
• What happens when we smash a seed?
• Let’s smash a pumpkin! (My children love this one! We drop them off our balcony after Halloween!)

Erupting Pumpkin

• You need: Jack-o-lantern, vinegar, baking soda, & food coloring.
  1. Mix some food coloring with some vinegar.
  2. Put some baking soda in the bottom of pumpkin.
  3. Pour the vinegar in the pumpkin and watch it erupt!
  4. Try it again with different quantities and colors!

Cooking

• Toast and eat the seeds. What do they taste like? Are they hard or soft? Crunchy? Salty?
• Make pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin cupcakes…

Dance/Movement

• Listen to the Monster Mash or any other Halloween song.
• Recite a Poem or Sing a song
  • Five Little pumpkins sitting on a gate
  • The first one said “Oh my it’s getting late!”
  • The second one said “There are witches in the air!”
  • The third one said “But we don’t care!”
  • The fourth one said “let’s run & run & run!”
  • The fifth one said “I’m ready for some fun!”
  • WOO went the wind & out went the lights
  • A the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight

Spanish

• Pumpkin –  calabaza
• Orange – naranja
• Seed – semilla
• Round – ronda
• Use google’s translator for more here

Story Time

Find some GREAT stories to read at home on Amazon or where ever books are sold! 🙂

The post Exploring Pumpkins appeared first on Halsey Schools Preschool & Infant Center.

[quote author_name=”Jenni Rice” author_description=”Director & Owner” author_image=”https://halseyschools.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Jenni-Rice-Owner-Director.jpg” size=”small” style=”solid”]

Here are some things you can do at home to reinforce and duplicate what we’re learning at school. And remember children learn best by doing. So have them roll up their sleeves and get ready for some hands on fun! Activities should be age appropriately adjusted so that all ages infants to preschoolers can participate.

[/quote]

Our Hearts:

• Is the heart shape we see at valentine’s day what our heart really looks like? Search for heart images on the internet.
• Our heart is a large muscle. What does it do for us?
• What happens to our heart when we run around?
• Our heart is filled with love for our family and friends. Call up your grandma or other loved one just to say “I love you.”

Outdoor/PE/Gross Motor:

Measure how fast your heart beats after each activity.

1. Go for a walk down the block- is your heart beating fast or slow?
2. Do 10 jumping jacks – is it beating faster?
3. Run as fast as you can down the block – is it beating really fast?  Why is your heart beating faster?
4. Add your own exercises.

Cooking Project: Heart Kabobs

Ingredients

• 1 cantaloupe
• 1 honeydew melon
• 1/2 watermelon
• 1 6 ounce container plain low-fat yogurt
• 1 tablespoon frozen orange-juice concentrate, thawed
• 1 tablespoon honey

Make It

1. Cut fruit into 1-inch-thick slices. Using a small heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut hearts from melon slices. Poke a hole in each heart with a toothpick, going from top to bottom. Then thread fruit on ice-pop sticks.
2. Make dip: Stir together yogurt, orange juice concentrate, and honey until well combined. Serve with hearts.

Math Skills & Language Arts:  Candy Hearts Sorting, Counting…

You’ll need a bag of colorful candy hearts and a cupcake pan

1. First put about a handful of the hearts on the table and have your child sort the hearts by colors until  the whole pile is gone.  Then have them count how many there are of each color. Which color has the most? Which color has the least? What other shapes can you think of besides the heart shape?
2. Have your child give you 3 hearts, then have he/she give you 1 or 2 more.  Next ask them to now count how many hearts you ended up with.
3. Now starting with 5 hearts, have your child take 1 or 2 away.  Next ask them how many hearts are left.
4. Finally when you’re all done subtract hearts by eating them! How many did you eat? How many are left?

Art:

• Draw Hearts: We always see a heart colored red. Draw as many hearts as you can and color them any color you want.
• Heart cut outs: Fold a paper in half, draw half the shape of a heart on it then cut it out. If you did it right you should end up with a full heart.
• Sponge Painting: Take a regular kitchen sponge & cut it into a heart shape.  Next put some paint on a paper plate, then dip the sponge in the paint.  Take the sponge with paint on it & press it all over a piece of paper.

Spanish:

• Heart-corazón
• Heart beat-  latido del corazón
• Love- amor

Read about hearts

There are learning opportunities around every corner. Keep your eyes and ears open and you can help your child learn and explore every day.  Have Fun!

The post Learning with hearts appeared first on Halsey Schools Preschool & Infant Center.

Since preschoolers develop language skills naturally, it is a great time to expose them to multiple languages.  In-fact, it is actually easier for children under the age of six to understand and even master multiple languages than it is for older children and adults. Incorporating these basic Spanish words into your daily routine with your children will help foster their innate multilingual abilities and supplement our learning at school.

Basic Spanish Language Words

Spanish Colors

Spanish Numbers

Spanish Family Members

Spanish Body Words

Animals in Spanish

At Halsey Schools we incorporate Spanish everyday from Spanish books, flash cards and games to everyday use with everyday words and daily circle time.

The post Basic Spanish Words for Preschoolers appeared first on Halsey Schools Preschool & Infant Center.

Directions for making GOOP & Oobleck

You Will Need:

• 1 Bowl
• 1 Spoon
• Food coloring of any color
• 1 cup of Cornstarch
• 1/3 cup of Water
• 1 cup measuring cup
• 1/3 cup measuring cup
• 1 zip lock bag

Directions:

1. Measure 1 cup of Corn Starch loosely (don’t pack down) and pour it into your bowl
2. Measure 1/3 cup of water, add the food coloring to the water
3. Pour colored water  into the same bowl as the Corn Starch
4. Now take your spoon and start to mix the corn starch, water and food coloring
   • The corn starch will make the consistency of your creation hard to mix but if you keep scraping the bottom of the bowl and stirring, until you can no longer see the color white of the starch then you are making progress.
5. Play with it!
6. Store it. To keep your goop in perfect condition store it in a zip lock bag or airtight container in the refrigerator.

When your done with it, pour it in the trash (never down a drain). It will dry and solidify back into cornstarch powder.

Why make Goop? What do children learn when making and playing with Goop?

Reading Skills

• following directions
• reading fractions

Verbal Skills / Vocabulary

• Creative expression

Math & Science Skills

• measuring
• comparing
• mixing – chemical reactions
• state of matter
  • Dry to a liquid
  • Liquid to dry

Sensory Skills

• Different  Textures
• Colors

Hands-on activities like science & cooking projects are a fun way for children to learn many different concepts. Doing them at home is a great way for families to bond. Have fun!

The post How to make Goop with your child appeared first on Halsey Schools Preschool & Infant Center.

Make Kool-Aid Play dough

You need these ingredients:

• 1 cup salt
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 Tablespoons oil
• A Packet of Kool-aid

Do this:

1. Empty the packet of Kool-aid into the water & mix well.  Set aside for later.
2. Place all the remaining dry ingredients and the oil into a large bowl.
3. Add the water mixture.  Stir until all liquid & flour mixture is mixed well.
4. If  play dough is too sticky, add little amounts of  flour till it is no longer sticky
5. Play with it!
6. Store it in an airtight container or plastic bag for two weeks or so.

It’s safe to eat but I think cardboard is more tasty.

When you make Kool-aid play dough your child will learn:

Math Skills

• Measuring; fractions, cups, tablespoons…
• Comparing & contrasting – bigger, smaller, lighter, darker…

Verbal Skills

• Expanding vocabulary

Motor Skills

• Mixing (with spoon & hands)
• Pouring
• Rolling

Reading Skills

• Following written directions
• Reading fractions & numbers

Sensory Skills

• Feeling different textures
• Different smells
• Colors

And a lot more!

Doing cooking and science projects together with you children at home is a great way to help reinforce what we are learning at school and strengthen family bonds. I hope you have fun creating memories.

The post How to make Kool-Aid Play Dough with preschoolers appeared first on Halsey Schools Preschool & Infant Center.

What the heck is Gak?

It’s kind of like play-dough, but not really. Kind of like slime, but not really. Kind of like… It’s Gak!  Made popular by Nikelodeon. You can shape it. Cut it. Stick it. Throw it. Stretch it. Bounce it!  Pop it. Snap it! Make noises with it… Here’s how to make Gak at home with your preschooler.

How to make Gak

Ingredients

• 1 tsp [amazon_link id=”B000R4LONQ” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Borax Powder[/amazon_link] (You’ll find it at any grocery store with other cleaners.)
• 3 cups of warm water
• 2 cups (16oz) of [amazon_link id=”B0038DUT34″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]glue[/amazon_link] (clear or white)
• 2 cups of cool water
• 1,2,3,4+ drops of food coloring – you decide

Procedure

• Dissolve Borax with warm water in large bowl and set aside.
• In separate bowl mix cool water and glue and add some food coloring.
• Combine both mixes together and smoosh with your hands.
• Keep kneading until as much water as possible is absorbed and a nice blob is formed.
• Dump excess water
• Play with it!!!!!!!

The post HomeFun! How to Make Gak appeared first on Halsey Schools Preschool & Infant Center.

Play & Learn in the rain!

Rain is a novelty in Woodland Hills. Don’t hide inside and wait for it to go away, make the most of it; head outside for some learning fun!

[divider icon=”umbrella” style=”simple”]

Just go outside already!

You really don’t have to do anything special. Just go outside and play. Yes you too. Don’t just watch your children do it, you do it too. It’s a lot of fun! Trust me. The more you interact the more fun it is for everyone.

• Feel the rain drop on your face and hands
• Look for puddles and splash away
  • Count the puddles
  • See who can make the biggest splash
  • Splash each other
• Catch the rain on your tongue, in a bucket, a cup
  • Measure it
  • Weigh it
  • Taste it
  • Freeze it
• Hunt for Worms, Frogs, Tadpoles, Birds…
  • Hold the worms and watch them wiggle. Can you wiggle like the worm?
  • Can you hop like a frog?
• Listen to the rain
  • Does it make different sounds depending on where it lands?
• Look for the sun to come out
  • Hunt for a rainbow – what colors do you see?
  • Is there really a pot of gold at the end?

What to wear

• Your regular cloths & shoes. No umbrella or no jacket,  just get soaked!
• Rain boots, hooded jacket, umbrella.
• Put on a fancy dress or outfit and try it!
• Wear your bathing suit!
• Go for a swim in a pool or spa.

Time To Dry off & Warm up

• Change out of your wet cloths, dry off and warm up with some hot chocolate or warm milk and cookies.
• Read some fun books together about rain.

The post HomeFun! It’s raining! Time to puddle jump! appeared first on Halsey Schools Preschool & Infant Center.

Happy Birthday Doctor Seuss!

It’s Read Across America Day

March 1, 2013 is National Read Across America Day. Join us as we celebrate the power of reading in honor of Doctor Seuss’s Birthday. Reading with your children every day is one of the most important things you can do to help your preschooler learn. Here are some ways to make reading educational, bonding and fun.

Read with your child daily

• Make it a ritual. Set up a time that works for you family and stick to it. You might read every night together curled up in bed after a bath. Or maybe start every morning cuddled up reading a good book. Or maybe both. What’s important is to make it a habit, a routine. Even 5-10 minutes is enough. Just do it.
• Read the same books over and over and over and over and over and over. Children love the repetition and the familiarity of the same books. It’s comforting and educational. With repetition they will learn basic grammar and story structure, vocabulary words and to associate words with illustrations. Soon they will be able to tell the story themselves and pretend they are reading. As the repetition continues they will begin to associate the words with what they are saying.
• Introduce new books too. New books help children learn new words, new stories, new ideas, morals, etc. When its time to potty train, read some potty books. When its time to start elementary school, read some books about it.

Be silly, fun & enthusiastic when you read with preschoolers

• Show enthusiasm as you read with your child. Read the story with expression. Make it more interesting by talking as the characters would talk, making sound effects, and making expressions with your face and hands. You can even get up and act it out alone or together. Stomp around like the giant. Sing like the princess. Leap like the frog. The more fun the better.

Read these or any great Doctor Seuss books:

The post HomeFun! Read Doctor Seuss Books appeared first on Halsey Schools Preschool & Infant Center.

Make gifts with your preschooler

Preschoolers love to get their hands dirty. They love to touch, feel and explore. They also love to make things for the people they love. Gifts made by hand have a lot more meaning then something bought from the store. Here are some ideas we make with the children at school. Try making them at home with your child for the ones you love. Happy Holidays!

Gift for Grandma – Fingerprint Animal Flower Pot

Items You Need

• Flower pot
• Different colors of paints
• Black paint pen
• Spray satin shellac
• A child’s fingers for fingerprints
• Soil & flower or plant

Start Painting

• With the paint, have your child make fingerprints on the flower pot.
  • Just dip fingers and the paint and press on the pot.
• When fingerprints are dry, take the black paint pen & create your animal or flower.
• Write: I Love You Grandma! Or something else along the top or anywhere.
• Add the your child’s name & date to the bottom of the pot.
• When all the paint is dry, spray with shellac.
• Now plant a seasonal plant or Grandma’s favorite flower in the pot
• You’re ready to wrap and give the gift.

Gift for Grandpa – Grandpa’s favorite cookies

If you don’t know his favorite, just ask. Or you can try My Grandpa’s favorite. He loved these Ginger Snap Cookies.

Ginger Snap Cookies

Items You Need:

• 3/4 cup margarine
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup white sugar for decoration

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the margarine and 1 cup white sugar until smooth.
3. Beat in the egg and molasses until well blended.
4. Combine the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda and salt; stir into the molasses mixture to form a dough.
5. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and roll the balls in the remaining sugar.
6. Place cookies 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.
7. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven.
8. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
9. Eat them with Grandpa! (Recipe makes 3 dozen.)

Gift for Daddy – Hand Print Pajama Pants

Items You Need:

• A pair of dad’s favorite colored cotton lounging pants
• fabric paint & pens

Directions

• Put the paint on your child’s hand with a brush or roller. Or put the paint on a plate and have your child dip just the palm side of his/her hand in the paint.
• Now place his/her hand on different areas on the pants. Refresh paint as necessary.
• Add a note with the fabric pens. You can write, the year, Happy Holidays, what ever you want. 
• You’re ready to wrap and give the gift.

Gift for Mommy – Homemade Body Scrub

Gift for anyone

Glowing Picture Candle

You need:

• Battery operated tea light
• Cylindrical glass vase
• Vellum paper
• Vellum glue, dots or double sided tape
• Digital picture (horizontal)

Make it:

The post HomeFun! Making gifts for the ones we love appeared first on Halsey Schools Preschool & Infant Center.

One of the best ways to be a great parent is to let yourself be a kid again. Here are some simple fun things you can do with your children this Father’s Day. They are all designed to be open ended. Let your children be your guide as you explore and learn together.

Math Skills & Language Arts:

Sort Nuts & Bolts & Screws – Just about everyone has a drawer full of extra nuts and bolts. Put them to good use with this simple project.  Just dump them out on a table or tray and start exploring. What nuts fit on which bolts? Use plastic cups or a cupcake tin to sort by length, by color by metal… The options and ideas are endless.

Art:

Rock Paperweight – Go for a walk or hike and hunt for the perfect rocks. Then bring them home and decorate them with paint, glitter, markers etc. You can write sayings, draw pictures, paint a solid color or stripes… After the rocks have dried glue cork or felt to the bottoms. Then put them on top of some paper!

Science Project:

PVC Pipes Exploration –  You just need some PVC pipes and connections. Take a field trip to Home Depot, Lowes, Franklin’s… and pick out the pipes and connections. Then bring them home and snap them together in different ways. You can make all kinds of shapes and configurations. Find a small ball and see if it will go through your home made roller coaster! Pour water through them. Blow water out the other end.

Take Something Apart – That old VCR or DVR sitting in your garage can be a lot of fun to explore. Make sure it is unplugged. Then spend some time taking it apart and putting it back together. Just unscrewing a couple of screws together can be a blast for your preschooler.

We hope you have a wonderful Father’s Day with your family.

The post Fun with Daddy appeared first on Halsey Schools Preschool & Infant Center.

HomeFun!It’s like homework only better!

We’ve been learning a lot about taking care of our teeth this week and we had a blast when the Dentist came to visit! Here are some things you can do at home to reinforce and duplicate what we’re learning at school. These are simply starting points for you to expand upon and even create your own. Have fun and remember to let the children guide where this exploration takes you. Activities should be age appropriately adjusted so that all ages infants to preschoolers can participate.

Math Skills & Language Arts:

• How many teeth are in your mouth?
• How many in your Mommy’s mouth? Your Daddy’s?…
• Can you see your pets teeth? How do they look different than yours? Bigger? Smaller? Sharper? Flatter?
• What shape are teeth?
• Do you know what a cavity is? What causes cavities? How can you prevent cavities?

Art:

Toothbrush Painting
All you need is an old toothbrush or two, some paint and some paper. Now paint with your toothbrush!

Paper Plate Mouth
All you need is a paper plate and tiny marshmallows. Have the children glue the teeth/marshmallows around the edge. When the glue is dry, fold the plate in half. You have a paper plate mouth! Now try it with big marshmallows!

Teeth Collage
Collect some magazines and newspapers and cut out peoples mouths. Paste them on a piece of paper for a teeth collage. Or cut out some faces and mouths and mix and match! It’s fun to see how different people can look!

Cooking Project:

Apple Smiles! Cut an apple into long thin slices for the lips. Spread peanut butter on one side of two apple slices for the gums. Place minimarshmallows onto the peanut butter of one slice for the teeth. Place the other apple slice, peanut butter side down onto the mini marshmallows. Your snack is smiling back at you!

Outdoor/PE/Gross Motor:

Play Red light green light but instead of saying red light or green light your smile means green and your frown means red!

Watch this video of Dr. Bjornbak visiting our preschool:

Spanish:

• Teeth – dientes
• Tooth – diente
• Toothbrush – cepillo de dientes
• Dental Floss – hilo dental
• Dentist – dentista
• Gums – las encías

 Read Some Great Books:

Learning never stops. Everywhere you look and everywhere you go there are always learning opportunities for children and adults. Keep your eyes and ears open and always be willing to stop and explore.

The post HomeFun! – Your Teeth appeared first on Halsey Schools Preschool & Infant Center.