Volume 4, Issue 11
June 6, 2006
Summer Session #1
Ten Favorite "Anytime" Activities and Resources
WELCOME! to Education World's Early Childhood Newsletter. Every other week, I'll share some
ideas on a familiar teaching theme. Hopefully you will find a new activity idea or two -- or a new
twist on one of your old favorites! Since I know you are very busy, I'll be short and sweet -- like
most of activities I suggest.
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Welcome
to Early Childhood Newsletter's "Summer Session." During June and July, I will share some
of my favorite "anytime activities" from newsletters published in prior years as well
as some of the best online Web resources I've found for early childhood educators. I hope you'll
find here some fun ideas and useful resources for engaging your students.
While this newsletter is in summer session, I am hard at work creating new themed newsletters that
will debut starting in August. Among the themes I'm working on are Insects, Fire Fighters and Other
Community Helpers, and Giving Thanks.
--Susan LaBella
Editor, Early Childhood Newsletter
SANDY CRAFTS FOR YOUR CLASSROOM...
- Sand paintings
Help each child drip or paint glue on paper to make letters, numbers, or a design; sprinkle sand
over paper and shake off the excess sand.
- Sandy Candles
Cover a pillar candle with non-flammable school glue. Roll in colored sand.
- Make a Mini Beach
Materials:
-- baby food jars w/ lids (Other small jars -- such as jelly jars -- can be used. Small, clear-plastic
ones are always preferable to glass. You might be able to locate small, plastic peanut butter
jars.)
-- sand
-- shells (Pasta shells can be used to represent real shells.)
Fill a baby food jar ¼ to 1/3 with sand. Arrange pebbles and shells. If you want to add
"water," place blue plastic wrap inside the jar before the sand and objects.
HAVE
A FRIENDSHIP FAIR
Set aside a day for a Friendship Fair. Have children play partner games, paint cooperative pictures,
or use paper plates and scrap materials to create funny friendship hats for each other to wear.
Encourage children to choose a new friend for each activity of the day; they can do that by picking
a classmate's name out of a bag. At Circle Time, read the book Will I Have a Friend? by Miriam Cohen.
Ask children if any of them ever felt as Jim felt. Continue the discussion by letting children share
their "friend stories."
GO ON A MEASURE HUNT!
Talk about basic units of measure with children. Show children the length of an inch, a foot, and
a yard. Provide small groups of children with pieces of string that represent an inch, a foot, and
a yard. Invite the groups to search the classroom to find items that are best measured in inches,
feet, and yards. (For example, a crayon is best measured in inches, a table in feet or yards, the
classroom in yards or feet.) Create a chart with three columns: Inches, Feet, and Yards. Have children
report their findings as you write the names of measured items in the appropriate column(s) on the
chart. Finish by asking each group to choose an item to "measure' with the appropriate length
of string. Write statements that tell about those measurements. For example, Our table is 2 yards
long.
ONE CLASS, MANY CHILDREN
Pre-cut a very large sheet of paper into puzzle-like pieces. Be sure to have as many pieces as you
have children and give one piece to each child. Encourage children to draw themselves on their pieces
and to decorate the pieces as they wish. Write each child's name on his or her piece. Place the
puzzle pieces together on the bulletin board with the title "We Fit Together."
Check
out the following Web sites for additional background and activities.
Kids' Party Fun
Have an indoor beach party on a rainy day. Skip the sand, but turn up the heat, turn on the bright
lights, play some beach music, and serve summer treats. On this site, you will find some great ideas
for indoor beach days. http://www.kidspartyfun.com/pages/themes/beachparty.html
KinderKonnect Kindergarten Units
Discover a recipe for making Friendship Bread and learn about some other friendship activities.
http://www.kinderkonnect.com/febunits.htm
Ocean
Unit
An entire unit on The Ocean filled with activity suggestions and lots more. http://www.prekinders.com/oceanunit.htm
America Zoo
Warm weather? See some really cooool animals here -- wonderful photos and information too. http://www.americazoo.com/kids/antarctica.htm
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