Fun Times 10/11/10-10/15/10

The week of 10/11/10 was Letter D week. We did so many fun activities that the kids really enjoyed!

We did letter D collages one day. The kids glued foam diamonds, sticker dots and used dog and dinosaur rubber stamps on their letter D's.

We also had Dinosaur Day, which was a big hit! We went outside and had a dinosaur dig. I had hidden little plastic dinosaurs in the sand and let the kids dig for them. When we came back inside, we made playdough and pressed the dinosaurs into the playdough. Then we cooked the dough for about 30-40 minutes and put a ribbon on it.

Anyway, check out my Smilebox from that week!

This scrapbooking design personalized with Smilebox

Every Monday we read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and hang up the letter of the week on the tree. I will post a pic of my Chicka Chicka Boom Boom tree later.

This was a Chicka Chicka Boom Boom craft that we did in September. It turned out so cute! First you take brown paint and paint the child's forearm. Then press the arm down onto construction paper. This creates the tree trunk. Then paint the child's hands green. Press each hand down side by side. This makes the tree leaves. After the paint dries, I gave the kids a bunch of alphabet foam letters to glue onto the tree (or wherever they wanted). Pretty cute, huh? Do you have any Chicka Chicka Boom Boom crafts to share?

Fire Safety Week

In the beginning of October, it was Fire Safety Week. The kids participated in a number of activities to support this theme. One day we practiced "Stop, Drop & Roll". Another day we talked about smoke alarms and had a practice fire drill. We also talked about how you are supposed to crawl under smoke.

One of the crafts we made was fire fighter paper bags. I cannot remember where I got the pattern from, but I am sure if you google search it, you will find it. The kids really like making paper bag puppets and this was no exception. I did help them glue on the face, coat and boots, but the faces they did all by themselves. I think the firemen turned out cute in a creepy, cute kind of way? Don't you think?

Caterpillar Snack...

The kids really liked this caterpillar snack I made for them. Just use 4 Ritz crackers and spread peanut butter and jelly on them. I would use a peanut butter cracker for the head so the face sticks on easier. I used little strips of strawberries as the antennaes and cupcake sprinkles for the face. Yum!

Caterpillars!

We also learned about caterpillars last week for Letter C. This craft is so cute and the kids really liked the end result. It is really quite simple. Cut an egg carton and paint it green. Wait for the paint to dry and then add googly eyes and pipe cleaners for antennaes. That's it!

Cooking with kids!

Kids LOVE to help in the kitchen! Last week we made pumpking muffins (I ate way too many!) and the kids were so eager to help out. They all fight over who gets to crack the egg, so I think I need to have an egg cracking rotation calendar. Haha. Anyway, they all love to stir the mix once all the ingredients are in. Now that cooler weather is beginning, I see us cooking a lot more in the kitchen :-)

Another great sensory idea...

Last week we were learning about Letter C, so I threw some cotton balls in a small bin and let them go to town. I thought that they would be bored with it, but it turns out this was a hit! Children's imaginations are just amazing! They pretended they were making ice cream and different types of food. I gave them spoons and they practiced taking a cotton ball out with the spoon. They played in this box for a good hour before they got bored. This is a great, easy and cheap idea to keep them entertained!

Shaving Cream Fun!

Playing in shaving cream is a favorite in my daycare! The kids think it is so funny that they can play in shaving cream. It is really a great sensory activity for them to do. They can trace letters in the shaving cream or just rub it all around, which is usually what my kids do. Even one of my older boys likes to play with the shaving cream. It does get messy, but it is such an easy clean up because it rinses right off.