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Volume 4, Issue 12
June 20, 2006
Summer Session #2
More 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.
Tell a friend about us! Invite them to sign up for their own FREE subscription at http://www.educationworld.com/maillist.shtml#childhood
 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 Leaves, Who Hibernates?, and
Staying Warm.
--Susan LaBella
Editor, Early Childhood Newsletter
A LIBERTY PARADE
Children will love making these Statue of Liberty crowns and torches for a special parade.
Crowns
--- Cut strips of white construction about 2-inches wide and give one to each child.
--- Provide children with stars cut from red, white, and blue paper. Invite them to glue stars onto
their paper strips.
--- Children might also add patriotic stickers if available.
--- Fit each child’s strip to his or her head and staple to fit.
Torches
--- Roll old newspapers into cone shapes and tape them. Give each child a cone.
--- Invite children to paint their cones.
--- When the cones are dry, stuff red and yellow tissue paper (flames) into the open top of the
cones.
Encourage children to join the parade as you have them proceed around the room or school grounds
on foot. Or create a mobile parade by decorating tricycles or wagons.
CREATE STARRY ART
Provide materials for children to make starry art, then display the art in and around the classroom.
Play "starry" music as children work.
--- Sponge Stars. Paint with star-shaped sponges.
--- Starry Sky Drawings. Draw stars with crayons, then paint over with thin wash of black or dark
blue. Crayoned areas will "resist" the paint and glow!
--- Put Your Name in the Stars. Connect the dots (tiny gold stars) to make your name. Students,
depending on level, can trace their names with the beginning and ending of each letter marked with
gold stars; write their names and stick stars on the beginning and ending of each letter. Older
students can begin with a blank paper. (Math connection: sort by number of stars, number of letters,
and so on.)
A MYSTERY WALK
Take a Mystery Walk through a garden or schoolyard. For readers, provide clues written on small
cards; for pre-readers, call out what to look (smell, listen) for. Examples:
--- Yellow flowers (What part of your body are you using?)
--- A rustling noise (What is making the sound? What part of your body tells you about sound?)
--- A pleasant odor (What part of your body are you using?)
--- An unpleasant odor
--- Smooth leaves
--- Rough leaves
--- Round flowers (flat flowers, bell-shaped flowers, and so on)
Repeat this activity on another day, but have children make up the clues.
WOW, WATERMELON!
Serve watermelon as a snack to children. Then collect and wash all the seeds. Now give each child
two pre-cut half ovals. The larger oval half is green; a slightly smaller oval half is red. Invite
children to glue the red half onto the green half. Then have them glue seeds to their paper slices.
Finally, ask children what their favorite summer things are and record them along the watermelon
rind. Display the watermelons on an end-of-the-year bulletin board.
 Check
out the following Web sites for additional background and activities.
Happy Fourth
of July
Look for some neat Fourth of July craft ideas, and pick up tips for a bulletin board display that
celebrates the day.
http://www.stormpages.com/cozycottage/4thofjuly.html
Astronomy for Kids
Sky maps, planets, sky wonders, and constellations are sections of this site. Plus it has a special
section just for "beginners."
http://www.dustbunny.com/afk/
 Kids
Gardening.com
This site from the National Gardening Association contains a wealth of information for teachers,
including classroom activities.
http://www.kidsgardening.com/
Season Board
Involve your students in creating a bulletin board that changes with each season.
http://www.kinderart.com/bulletin/season.shtml
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