FAMILY BUZZ
Fun & Learning at Home! Science with Ms. Tarah
MUSIC TIME - WITH MS. KERAH
Here's another fun song from Ms. Kerah, Josiah, Stefen, and Sage!
SCIENCE ACTIVITIES - FROM MS. TARAH
Make oobleck and then do the dinosaur activity after you are done playing with it!!
Oobleck recipe
Then use oobleck to make a dino dig or add small plastic animals or evern rocks.
Growing plants (instead of the miracle-gro microgrowables, use simple seeds)
Ramps and Friction - love this one!
Build a Lego Volcano!
Rain Cloud in a Jar
Oil & Water Experiments
Sorting Animals in a Venn Diagram (or sorting any number of things):
Ask questions as you explore science...
Make a hypothesis...
What do you think will happen? Why?
Make observations - What's happening? What do you see? hear? smell? feel? taste (if appropriate)? Use your five senses to observe.
To extend the learning, have your older preschooler "document" what s/he is observing. Draw a picture, write.
Fun & Learning at Home! Art
MUSIC TIME - WITH MS. KERAH
Here's another fun song from Ms. Kerah, Josiah, Stefen, and Sage!
ART ACTIVITIES
Paint with:
This is Ms. Ann's son Fletcher, 20 years ago!
Nature materials - sticks, pine cones, pine needles, rocks, etc.
Potato prints - cut a potato in half, cut out a design
Sponge prints - cut a sponge into shapes
Toys - blocks, roll cars through the paint, toy animal footprints
Your body - fingers, toes, elbow, nose... what else?
On a sunny day, try shadow drawing! Tracing the shadows may be tricky for younger preschoolers, but siblings and adults can join in the creations! Write a story to go along with your drawing!
Make a sculpture with:
Play dough, clay
toothpicks, popsicle/craft sticks, styrofoam, cardboard
rocks, sticks, nature items
found materials /"junk"
HOMEMADE FINGER PAINTS
I haven't tried this recipe, but if you don't have paint on hand, this might be helpful! I'm thinking that the food coloring may dye your hands, but it might be fun to have green hands for awhile. And it probably will need to be stored in the refrigerator to keep fresh longer. If you try it, let me know how it turns out!
Fun & Learning at Home! Sensory Play
STORY TIME WITH MS. BECKY
SENSORY IDEAS
Sensory play is soothing, engaging and helps to strengthen finger muscles. There are many ways to do sensory play at home...
Fill a small plastic bin, dish pan or cake pan with
water (add bubbles for fun), dried rice, beans, sand
Things to add - measuring spoons & cups to scoop & pour, small containers to fill, little toys/animals/cars, use your imagination!
Pull up a chair to the sink and let your child wash unbreakable dishes, plastic toys, baby dolls. Tie on a towel to help from getting too wet, or just take off your shirt.
Make Your Own Play Dough
Recipe
Bring these to a boil
2 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup oil
5-10 drops of food coloring
Add
2 1/4 cups flour
1 cup salt
3 Tablespoons Cream of Tartar
As it starts to cool, mix it with your hands. Be careful - it's hot!
Cream of Tartar can be found in the grocery store spice section or order it on Amazon. You can make it without the cream of tartar, it just isn't quite as good. Store your play dough in a ziploc bag or sealed container. To help slow the spread of germs in your house, you may want to have each child have their own container of play dough.
Fun & Learning at Home! MUSIC
MUSIC TIME - WITH MS. KERAH, JOSIAH, STEFEN & BABY SAGE
One of our volunteer music teachers, Ms. Kerah (Josiah and Stefen's mom) has shared a few sing-a-long videos with us! Enjoy!
MUSIC IDEAS FROM MS. BECKY
Did you know that Ms. Becky is a music therapist and music teacher? She worked for many years with senior citizens before becoming a preschool teacher. Check out her thoughts on experiencing music with children...
Your child can begin to understand rhythm by seeing or feeling you swaying or clapping or patting to the beat. Beats are regular patterns. When the music is done, you may want to repeat a pattern you heard by clapping for example and see if they can repeat it back to you.
You can talk about how music may make us feel different feelings, excited, happy, sad, calm etc.
Try painting or coloring to music. Maybe you get a pictures in your head of a story that you think the music is telling you. There are no right or wrong answers as these stories are different for every person.
How does the music make your body want to move? Having a box of dress up clothes and props such as scarves or instruments nearby can inspire your child to be imaginative.
In the videos of dances from around the world, notice what people are wearing. What things are they using to make the sounds besides their voices i.e. instruments made out of things they have such as sticks and gourds, or jingles on their dresses. What are the different ways singing voices can sound? How do they use their bodies to make rhythm such as stomping, clapping, and jumping? Notice that around the world, people of all ages dance and the amazing number of different ways that we can move our bodies!
Rousing Music
Stars and Stripes Forever by John Philips Sousa
In The Hall Of The Mountain King by Grieg
76 Trombones from The Music Man
Dances from around the world
Dance of the Little Swans from Swan Lake by Tchaikovsky
Suite Greek Danceby Moiseyev Ballet
Relaxing, calming Classical music
Relaxing Classical MusicMoonlight Sonota by Beethoven
Ideas of things to do while listening to music with children: When watching an orchestra or band, point out the different instruments. What are they called? How do they make sounds i.e. by blowing into them or rubbing a bow across strings. Pretend that you are playing those instruments. Audio recordings can be found on Spotify for playing the music while the children are playing. Classical music is complex with many different sounds, melodies, and rhythms going on at once. We live in such a visual world now so just listening to music is a great way to strengthen our auditory skills. Often small children may stop moving and stare intently as they are processing what they are hearing. Hearing the same piece of music multiple times helps develop familiarity. There is usually something you notice that you didn't in a previous time of listening. Music without words (instrumental music) allows children to focus on the music itself, rather than trying to understand the words. Classical music also helps children to experience emotional regulation. The music has highs and lows, soft and loud parts, starts and stops, fast and slow. It may rouse us to want to move very fast but then helps us to slow down when the music changes. When the music is done, you may observe your child humming to themselves as they are processing what they just heard. Usually, there is a main melody or theme which is repeated throughout and that is the part that "sticks" with you. Enjoy!
Make Your Own Instruments!
Fun & Learning at Home! Nature Activities from Ms. Alicia
STORY TIME - "CATERINA AND THE BEST BEACH DAY" BY ERIN EITTER KONO
Read by Ms. Alicia
NATURE ACTIVITY IDEAS FROM MS. ALICIA
Nature Scavenger Hunt
Work with your child to create a list of natural objects you can find outside during the springtime (such as a pine cones, grass, bird feather, sticks, rock, leaf.) After you make your list, grab a paper bag and set out to find each item. Check off each item on your list as you find them. You can even turn it into a game for multiple children - the first one to find every item wins!Also you can make a collage with the objects you collected. Sounds fun!
Nature Colors
Take a walk with your child and gather a variety of colorful items that can be found in nature (such as flowers, plants, leaves, weeds, etc.) The more colors you can find, the better!When you return home, spread out your findings and have your child draw a picture of each item on a piece of paper using crayons that match the color of each. This simple activity is a great way for your child to learn his colors, and to see how colorful nature can be!
Magnetic Seashells
Since we were talking about ocean and sea life at school for the month of March, I found this neat idea!
Turn your seashells into magnets to hang on your fridge! Have your child decorate her seashell however she wants - she can paint it, adorn it with silk or dried flowers, or even roll it in glitter! Afterwards, attach a magnetic strip to the back with a glue gun, and use your new magnets to display your favorite family pictures from the summer.
Make a Bird Feeder
If you want to get a close look at the birds in your yard, a DIY tree feeder will help attract them. Simply string popcorn, berries, raisins, fruit, and anything else you think birds might like to eat on a sturdy piece of string. Loop your string around a tree in your yard (evergreens work well, since the needles will easily hold the string in place), and watch as birds flock to your homemade feeding station!
Create Rock Art
Take your kids for on a rock-hunting adventure and gather rocks of all different shapes, sizes, and colors. When you get home, pull out the paints and let your kids go to town decorating them. Encourage them to be creative by painting funny faces or animals on them. When they are dry, store them in a box for safe keeping.
If you are looking for more rock art activities, try creating your own rock people using dried pasta and other craft supplies!
