Hey everyone -
We continued our exploration into the 5 senses today and focused on the sense of taste and touch. The kids and I had a blast doing lots of fun games and activities. Here's a sampling of what we did today:
*painting with shaving cream (added a little food coloring too)
*made goop - super fun! cornstarch, water and food coloring
*taste tests - the kids were blindfolded and given a starburst and a skittle and had to guess which flavor it was
*sweet, sour or salty? - the kids were each given a potato chip, piece of chocolate and a lemon wedge - they said if each one was sweet, sour or salty - the lemon wedge was my favorite - their faces were priceless!!!
*"Tootsy Touches" - a fun game I found in The Mailbox magazine where the kids feels all kinds of different textures with their feet
*for lunch the kids helped me make spaghetti squash - they scooped out the seeds and helped me get it ready to bake
In all of this we're focusing on the letter "s" and using all kinds of words that start with "s" that are descriptive - like squishy, soft, slippery, smooth, sticky... I've noticed that the kids really love when I use sign language - its amazing how much they respond. They're learning so many words so quickly and they really enjoy it!
Next week we'll focus on the sense of smell and then review all 5 senses. Then we'll take our field trip to Castlewood Canyon State Park for our nature hike. Should be a lot of fun!
Take care -
Kendall Stark
Monarch Kids Preschool Teacher
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
5 Senses - Sight & Hearing
Hey everyone -
This week we've started a 2-week exploration into the 5 senses here at Monarch Kids Preschool. This is one of my favorite topics to use with kids this age - there is SO much you can do!
Yesterday, we started with the sense of sight and hearing. Here are some activities we did:
*Human Sounds - I recorded different sounds on my tape recorder and had the kids guess what the sounds were
*Sound Jars - 8 jars were covered and filled with different objects (rocks, pennies, rice, pasta) and the kids had to guess what was in the jar and then also find the matching jar
*It's a Tie - I put out 5 ties and had the kids make observations about the ties - then when their heads were turned I took a tie away and had the kids guess which one was missing
*Body Parts Collage - the kids glued cut-out pictures of ears, mouths, noses, hands and eyes to make a collage
*Many more activities and crafts...
(Many of these activities/crafts/games are found in The Mailbox or websites I've found on the internet)
Tomorrow we're looking at the sense of taste and touch - should be a lot of fun!
Take care -
Kendall Stark
Monarch Kids Preschool Teacher
This week we've started a 2-week exploration into the 5 senses here at Monarch Kids Preschool. This is one of my favorite topics to use with kids this age - there is SO much you can do!
Yesterday, we started with the sense of sight and hearing. Here are some activities we did:
*Human Sounds - I recorded different sounds on my tape recorder and had the kids guess what the sounds were
*Sound Jars - 8 jars were covered and filled with different objects (rocks, pennies, rice, pasta) and the kids had to guess what was in the jar and then also find the matching jar
*It's a Tie - I put out 5 ties and had the kids make observations about the ties - then when their heads were turned I took a tie away and had the kids guess which one was missing
*Body Parts Collage - the kids glued cut-out pictures of ears, mouths, noses, hands and eyes to make a collage
*Many more activities and crafts...
(Many of these activities/crafts/games are found in The Mailbox or websites I've found on the internet)
Tomorrow we're looking at the sense of taste and touch - should be a lot of fun!
Take care -
Kendall Stark
Monarch Kids Preschool Teacher
Friday, February 18, 2011
More Valentine's Stuff!
We finished up our fun Valentine's week here at Monarch Kids Preschool. Yesterday we made some sugar cookies - the kids helped me roll out the dough, use cookie cutter shapes and frost the cookies. And then of course, the best part was eating the end result :) They really enjoyed the whole process - and we were able to talk about lots of kitchen/cooking ideas like cutting, rolling, dough, bake, flour, recipe...
Yesterday was so nice out - I gave the kids some sidewalk chalk for their outside time. We also had a "heart scavenger hunt" and our letter of the week, "v", scavenger hunt as well. They really got into this part. Our craft yesterday didn't turn out as well as I'd like but its always fun trying new things and experimenting. The craft was painting with jell-o. You take the powder mix, add a little water and the kids finger paint with that. It just didn't show up that great on the paper, but the kids loved the smell and "tasting" the paint! It was a great sensory activity involving all of the senses but hearing.
Speaking of senses...the next 2 weeks we'll be focusing on the 5 senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell. I've got some great things planned for them and am excited to get the week started. Oh, and we're planning our next field trip soon. If the weather stays nice, we'll venture out to Castlewood Canyon State Park - one of my absolute favorite places to hike in Colorado!
Take care and have a great weekend -
Kendall Stark
Monarch Kids Preschool Teacher
Yesterday was so nice out - I gave the kids some sidewalk chalk for their outside time. We also had a "heart scavenger hunt" and our letter of the week, "v", scavenger hunt as well. They really got into this part. Our craft yesterday didn't turn out as well as I'd like but its always fun trying new things and experimenting. The craft was painting with jell-o. You take the powder mix, add a little water and the kids finger paint with that. It just didn't show up that great on the paper, but the kids loved the smell and "tasting" the paint! It was a great sensory activity involving all of the senses but hearing.
Speaking of senses...the next 2 weeks we'll be focusing on the 5 senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell. I've got some great things planned for them and am excited to get the week started. Oh, and we're planning our next field trip soon. If the weather stays nice, we'll venture out to Castlewood Canyon State Park - one of my absolute favorite places to hike in Colorado!
Take care and have a great weekend -
Kendall Stark
Monarch Kids Preschool Teacher
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Valentine's Day Party!
We had a ton of fun today - here's a small sampling of what we did:
*Sweetheart candy guesstimate - the parents had to guess how many candies were in the jar. The winners got to take all the candy home
*Games - "Sneaky Cupid" (hid a picture of cupid around the room and the kids had to find it), "Cupid Tag", "Cupid Says" (like Simon Says, just a different name...)
*Food! - painted with pudding, shepherd's pie that had red-dyed potatoes, strawberries (of course!)
*Crafts - "Sticky Heart" (2 wax paper hearts stuck together by corn syrup dyed red), "Shiny Heart" (heart-shaped cookie cutters dipped in glue, pressed on white paper, then spread glitter on top)
And much more!!
Enjoy the picture!
Kendall Stark
Monarch Kids Preschool Teacher
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Delayed Celebrations!
I don't have to tell you all that the past week or so has brought in some crazy weather! I know people all over the country are experiencing wild snow storms, extremely cold temperatures... So, last week, we had all kinds of fun planned - including celebrating Groundhog Day and one of the kids birthdays. But we had to close last week due to the extreme temperatures and the fact that most school districts were closed. While I know that was the right thing to do, I was kind of bummed to miss all the fun we had planned.
But we made up for it this week! We've jammed packed our time with lots of birthday and groundhog celebrating and much more! Today we did 2 crafts in honor of the groundhog - the kids made a groundhog mask and we also made groundhog pop-ups that go in and out of their "burrow" (paper cup). The kids had fun with this. We also played many games like "Toss the Hog" and "Shh! Silent Groundhog" - mostly involving tossing around a stuffed groundhog puppet or some such thing.
For our birthday celebration, I made a homemade pinata - super easy actually! Just fill a paper bag with candy and then either staple or tape it shut. Then decorate the outside with streamers, tissue paper, glitter, pom-poms, whatever you like. Its way cheaper and actually fun to know that you made it! The kids demolished it and loved seeing all the candy fall out :)
Next week we'll be doing lots of crafts and games centered around Valentine's Day. I'm most excited about a little Valentine's project the kids will be making for their moms and dads. I'm sure it will make their day :)
Take care everyone - thanks for reading!
Kendall Stark
Monarch Kids Preschool Teacher
But we made up for it this week! We've jammed packed our time with lots of birthday and groundhog celebrating and much more! Today we did 2 crafts in honor of the groundhog - the kids made a groundhog mask and we also made groundhog pop-ups that go in and out of their "burrow" (paper cup). The kids had fun with this. We also played many games like "Toss the Hog" and "Shh! Silent Groundhog" - mostly involving tossing around a stuffed groundhog puppet or some such thing.
For our birthday celebration, I made a homemade pinata - super easy actually! Just fill a paper bag with candy and then either staple or tape it shut. Then decorate the outside with streamers, tissue paper, glitter, pom-poms, whatever you like. Its way cheaper and actually fun to know that you made it! The kids demolished it and loved seeing all the candy fall out :)
Next week we'll be doing lots of crafts and games centered around Valentine's Day. I'm most excited about a little Valentine's project the kids will be making for their moms and dads. I'm sure it will make their day :)
Take care everyone - thanks for reading!
Kendall Stark
Monarch Kids Preschool Teacher
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Happy Groundhog Day!
Hey everyone -
Happy Groundhog Day! As a nature lover, this is one of my favorite holidays for sure :) Groundhogs are amazing animals - true hibernators. Their heart rate and breathing slows down dramatically to help them sleep soundly through the winter. I was bummed when our preschool had to close yesterday (due to the crazy cold weather!!!) - we missed our "Groundhog Day" activities. I'm going to try and make them up next week.
Tomorrow is our field trip to the Forney Museum of Transportation. I'm super excited about this! The kids are going to love the train, model T cars, buses, bikes... Plus we'll be having cupcakes in celebration of one of the kid's birthdays!
Stay warm everyone!
Kendall Stark
Monarch Kids Preschool Teacher
Happy Groundhog Day! As a nature lover, this is one of my favorite holidays for sure :) Groundhogs are amazing animals - true hibernators. Their heart rate and breathing slows down dramatically to help them sleep soundly through the winter. I was bummed when our preschool had to close yesterday (due to the crazy cold weather!!!) - we missed our "Groundhog Day" activities. I'm going to try and make them up next week.
Tomorrow is our field trip to the Forney Museum of Transportation. I'm super excited about this! The kids are going to love the train, model T cars, buses, bikes... Plus we'll be having cupcakes in celebration of one of the kid's birthdays!
Stay warm everyone!
Kendall Stark
Monarch Kids Preschool Teacher
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