Magnetic to Sensory

We are moving from Magnetic March into Sensory Spring!

So we did these creatives to overlap the two:

We used a steel ball to drag around on an egg shaped piece

of cardstock, with a magnet wand underneath.

It was taped onto a tin cookie sheet

I had to hold up the tins for stability.

 

We added another colour and another ball.

The result was successful!

Then we glued alphabet letters, which we dyed previously,

onto and egg shaped piece of cardstock.

The texture was effective.

It looked very pretty!

Nice eh!

Only one garage sale today!

I am a bit sad - only one garage sale today - but a good find!

Melissa & Doug - Brand new - all pieces - $3

They retail for $19 - $24

Shakers

My tots LOVE shakers - musical shakers.

When the tunes go on, they love to shake it to the beat. The problem is the shakers belong to our music teacher, who only comes once a week for 1/2 hour, and they don't always get to use the shakers. So I decided to make some of my own, for use any time we feel the urge! The shakers I am talking about are egg shaped and small enough for the tots to hold comfortably in their hand.

When I saw these eggs in the dollar store for Easter time - I knew they had to be our new shakers. They don't look like the typical Easter eggs that are sweet and flowery. I thought they would make music time more fun!

I simply filled them with a bit of rice and glued them shut

with a thick tacky glue! Ready for shaking!



Summer Bulletin Board!

Yup - here I go again pushing the seasons!

Well the real reason I do this is to open discussion about the seasons - which comes next - the differences in the seasons. Toddlers are visual and when I provide bright and fun bulletin boards the tots pay attention. They ask questions and they make suggestions of what they want to see.

Easter in our classroom!

Every season and occasion brings little extras into the classroom,

which makes things fun and interesting!

Here are a few things we added:

An I Spy - made from a plastic Easter egg and all the goodies that fit the occasion.

Like Barrel of Monkeys - but it Bunnies!

For fine motor and hand eye coordination skills.

Tic Tac Toe - we are using it for sorting, patterns / sequencing and counting

Transferring and sorting with tongs.

Open and closing activity - each egg has a small eraser in it.

Pouring small erasers from one flower pot to another.

Patterns - counting - sorting.

Our little bunnies!

There are probably Kmart coupons available for holiday supplies, to save some money, so check online for next time.

Our new couch!

Last night I went to pick up a couch, 'hand made' by the aunt of a friend. I had seen her work on my friends Facebook page and on a FB garage sale page, which my friend had set up! After a discussion with 'Patsy' - the creator of the couch - she made one to match our classroom decor for us to enjoy!

WE LOVE IT!

It matches our decor perfectly!

I could tell the tots felt very special sitting on their very own couch!

The name of Patsy's company is 'Dawns Designs'

DAWNS DESIGNS

telephone: 647-889-4244

email: slawter1959@msn.com

11880 Derry Rd.

Milton, Ontario

Canada

Here are some of her other designs

 

I love them all!

Each is so unique!

Cultural Exchange gift!

We received a cultural exchange gift from - Virginia - USA

There are colouring sheets & souvenirs.

Peanuts in the shell - "A significant agricultural crop in the Piedmont region of Virginia"

Grits - "A southern favourite." I can't wait to get the tots to try this!

A CD with a Blue Ridge Mountains regional mix of music. Cool!

I cant's wait to share this tomorrow!

Thanks J Coartney!

Update:

Here are my tots trying the grits!

 

 
  Some loved it!  Some didn't!

Can you tell which ones! LOL

Todays Garage sale finds!

In case you didn't know - I LOVE GARAGE SALES! :)

I needed this badly - now my cricut (scrap booking stuff) is organised! $2

$1 - we may need this for seal study - besides he's cute!

50 cents - great for summer fun outside!

I like to have resources to share with parents! 50 cents each.

$1 and it had Easter grass in it which I can use for sensory or creative aactivities!

$1 - I can put it on my desk with jelly beans for reward treats for the tots!

Now I can't wait until next week!

Hey what's in there?

This week we made a mystery box.

We sealed a box (taped it up) &  painted it with acrylic paint.

Then cut a hole in one side - large enough to put our hand in.

Then covered the hole with a felt 'drape' , to deter peeking.

Objects were selected to 'hide' inside.

As we created the box I described to the children how it would be used.

The object of this activity is to put your hand in and select an item,

then describe the item without looking and before taking it from the box.

It's very hard not to peek when you are 2 or 3 years old, but over all the tots did well.

Next week when we use it I will toss in a chocolate Easter egg for them to find - without looking! :)

It rained on our classroom!

Yes it rained in our classroom!

Demonstrating how rain falls from a cloud!

Shaving cream - food colouring and a clear jar of water is all you need for this demonstration.

Spray some shaving cream on top of the water and then drop on a few drops of food colouring.

Voila - it's raining! It takes a few seconds for the food colouring to makes its way through - be patient.

I saw this HERE and quite a few other places - I knew we had to try it!

Your son plays with dolls!

Boys play with dolls - some prefer to play with the dolls over trucks and dinosaurs – and that’s OK! In my opinion it makes boys more nurturing – gentler and compassionate towards others. They seem to have a better empathy for others, and they tend to be less aggressive during play. This does NOT mean they will be more feminine, nor have a different sexual preference when they reach maturity.

I understand that some may have a strong opinion against boys playing with dolls, however I see the developmental aspects of doll play, that transfer into everyday skill building. It’s not just the social / emotional facet of doll play that is a positive influence; it’s the practical life skills that are attained. Think about dressing skills. There is a lot of fine motor development in dressing and undressing dolls. There is a lot of role playing and dramatic play that goes with doll play. This takes a lot of cognitive ability to set the stage for pretending to be a Daddy. Speech and language skills are acquired and honed in. Dolls can be used to assist in expressing feelings. A sense of responsibility can also be reinforced through doll play.  This is just a sampling of the positive facet doll play offers.

Doll play is a realistic way to introduce the world in an empirical manner, to any child who is at a perceptive developmental stage. Young children – especially toddlers are like sponges and want to acquire knowledge of all things – dolls are a part of that. So whether the child playing with the doll is male or female should not be significant.

Leeanne A

Kreative Resources posts are seen here on the 21st of each month!

I am turning April into - Sensory Month!

I have started by putting out a few sensory bottles!

This is a good way to entice the children into a new theme!

 I made a couple of sink and float bottles - 2 magnetic bottles

and 1 with gross lizards and bugs!

These provide loads of exploration in such a small bottle!

Sensory bottles seem more fun on a light table!

Note: Always hot glue your bottles shut for safety and making them mess free!

Wooden Mallets

DIY - Wooden Mallets

I don't know if you have ever priced wooden mallets for your musical instrument collection - but they can run anywhere from $20 to $30 for a small set - which can be used on things like xylophones - cymbals or small drums.
Well I am a very frugal teacher and most of my instruments have come from garage sales and thrift stores - the mallets usually missing. So on my time off this week I have been getting caught up on making and preparing resources for my classroom. Mallets have been on my to do list for a very long time. They got made today!

Dollar store dowels and garage sale find beads - $1.25

Beads hot glued onto the dowels.

Stop the dowel just before they come out the other side of the bead.

I varnished the dowels after - just because I was painting another DIY project.

A pringles tin = new mallet holder - covered in scrap booking paper.

When I find some ribbon it will go around the top. :)

Ready to use!