Jack-o-lantern Jars

There are a few crafts we do every year. One is the jack-o-lanterns jars for Halloween because they are just so stinkin' cute. Not only are they cute but they are super easy. They require just a few materials and are perfect for the little battery operated candles.

You will need-
*small jars=salsa, olives, jams, etc. -anything with a wide opening (baby food jars are too small)

*orange tissue paper cut into about 2 inch squares

*black construction paper cut for eyes, nose and mouth

*white glue

*water

*paint brush (big enough to spread the glue)

Dilute the glue with a little bit of water in a small bowl. Dilute enough so it is easy to brush but not watery. We do not use modge podge for crafts. We just dilute white or school glue. Using the paint brush, have your child spread the diluted glue on a small section of the jar and cover with the tissue paper. Work your way all around the jar until completely covered. Spread a thin coat of the diluted glue over the entire jar. Add the facial features and let dry.

These would be super cute to make for teachers or grandmas and grandpas!

Whatever Floats Your Boat!

If your child's sleeves were wet when they came home from school, it's probably because they were in our science center! This week we worked on Letter F and the science activity was Floating Fun.

Big Green Monsters!

During the month of October, we talk a lot about real and pretend in our TTH class. We talk about the decorations they see in the store, how older kids like to dress up scary but kids are under scary costumes and monsters, witches, ghosts are pretend. It is all an effort to keep Halloween fun for our little ones.

This past week, we read 'Go Away Big Green Monster!' by Ed Emberley. As the children listened to the book they helped me tell the big green monster to go away.

The illustrations are colorful and are very cleverly cut. The monster starts with two eyes and grows into a big green monster and then slowly goes away. Check it out at your library or buy it to add to your home library.

We also read 'Glad Monster, Sad Monster' by Anne Miranda & Ed Emberley. This is a book on monsters and how they feel.

Our craft was a BIG GREEN MONSTER! The children were to snip the purple hair and were given directions to create their monster. Some of our crafts will have cutting or snipping. We want the children to be able to hold the scissors correctly and cut basic shapes.

Want to do more? I love Ed Emberley. If you have a child (or even an adult) that likes to draw, Ed Emberley is the man. He shows you how to take letters, shapes and squiggly lines and draw just about anything. There is also a book on thumbprint drawings. The books are easy enough for preschoolers but challenging enough for grade school children. Go to http://www.edemberley.com/ for many online activities and a complete list of books.

Boo! Bang! Gobble! Melt!

Huh? These are all titles to an alphabet recognition game we play in our room. We do not use worksheets in our room so we are always trying to create fun ways for the children to recognize their letters. We start off the year with a BANG!

The game is a simple idea repeated throughout the year with different seasonal themes. A container is filled with letter cards. A few cards are labeled BANG, BOO, etc. depending on the season. The children take turns picking a card and identifying the letter. If a player picks BANG, s/he returns his/her cards to the container. The child remains in the game and play continues. The children really love this game.

You can see in the photos some of the games we have created. We start off the year with BANG.

Halloween-pumpkin cards-BOO

Thanksgiving-turkey cards-GOBBLE

Christmas-gift cards-NAUGHTY

Winter-snowmen cards-MELT

Valentine's Day-heart cards-BROKEN

Ideas are only limited to your imagination!

What can you do at home? The letter tiles are available in the school/office supply section of most major retailers. You can create your own BANG! game for home. Also, point out letters in your day to day activities. Look at the letters of Menards, Lowes, Target and Walmart as you enter the store. At breakfast, check out the C in Cheerios, the T in Trix or the F in Froot Loops. You get the idea. Each day presents lots and lots of opportunities for letter recognition in your child's everyday world.

Preschool Science 110

I admit that the sciences were not my favorite in high school and college but I love teaching the sciences to our preschoolers! I attended a science workshop many years ago. The presenter was Sue Kerr. She developed a science lesson for each letter of the alphabet for her kindergarten class. The results of her efforts were published in the book "Science through the Alphabet" and it is still in print.

I had to alter all of the lessons for preschoolers but it was well worth it. I now have a file full of science and math activities. Materials are stored in large zip-loc bags in a storage tub. In addition to Sue's lessons, I have developed lots of science and math activities over the years. The time spent means easy access to some fun science and math lessons for our preschoolers.

The science activities are only used for our MWF classes. The science center is about discovery and exploration-not being right or wrong. We introduce lots of vocabulary-experiment, dissolve, chemistry, balance, etc. through our science center. The science activities are usually a one or two person center that the children can choose. Almost all children use the science center but not everyone. They are also allowed to experiment again and again. It is not a one time try for each child but they must take turns.

Two fun lessons were kitchen chemistry experiments. During the letter D, we asked 'Does It Dissolve?' The children were to choose an item (salt, sprinkles, beans, sugar, flour, rice, etc.) and stir it into the water to see if it dissolved.

Magic Potions is finding the right combination to create magic! We put out four magic powders and four magic liquids and only the right combination will create 'magic'. This is always fun around Halloween.

Powders are sugar, salt, cornstarch and of course baking soda. Liquids are soda, water, vegetable oil

and the magic liquid, vinegar. The powders and liquids are color coded. A few children will use logic to try to figure out which creates the magic. Ususally, it's luck. It has never failed. Some time during the week, a child happens to get the right combination. The look on their face is priceless. The next step is to tell all their friend the right combination!

Haunted House

What gorgeous weather we had in central Illinois this week! Hopefully, it will continue so upcoming Halloween activities will be dry and somewhat warm.

On Saturday, October 23rd there will be a haunted house at the firehouse in Metamora. Child friendly hours will be from 4:30-6:30 for your little ones and older children can get spooked from 7-10:00 p.m. Admission for children 10 and under is $2.00 and all other ghouls and boys will pay $5.00. There will be complimentary cider and popcorn. All proceeds will benefit our Emergency 116 Ambulance Service.

It's the Great Pumpkin!

Each fall, we have a lot of fun with our pumpkin unit in our TTH class. Many of the activities we do every year. Check out the October 2009 blog http://metamoracommunityprek.blogspot.com/2009/10/pumpkins.html

Teachers get bored doing the same thing over and over (at least this teacher does) so we always try to do something new and different. This year we made a Mr. Pumpkin Head. The children have been pounding golf tees into the pumpkin at one of the centers.

Today during our group time each child picked a facial feature or arms. You guessed it. They are Mr. Potato Head parts! I pounded them into the pumpkin. We talked a lot about spatial relationships. Eyes are near the top. Nose is below and in between your eyes. Mouth is under the nose. Ears are on the side. Lots and lots of vocabulary-each time we placed a piece we talked about how many and where it belonged on the head.

If you want to do this at home, get your Mr. Potato Head parts, a golf tee and a hammer. I pounded the golf tee in the pumpkin to make an opening and then placed the piece in the hole. I think if you made the hole big enough, a child could push the piece into the pumpkin.

We did three faces and your child will probably be able to tell you which piece s/he picked out. It was super fun.
Later in the day, we worked on a craft. The samples below are student work. When we work on a craft, we show a sample and give very specific directions. They are to watch and follow. So you ask, "Well, Susie Q's doesn't look anything like a jack-o-lantern."
Well, that is okay. We do not move pieces because for us it is a way to continually assess if the children are able to listen and follow directions-in small and large groups. They are young. They will get better at listening and following teacher directions. This is their first school experience so they are learning to listen and follow directions.










Want to have more fun with pumpkins? Morton is holding their annual Punkin' Chuckin' contest on Saturday, October 16th and Sunday, October 17th. It's $5 per vehicle. For additional information- http://www.mortonmagnet.com/chuckin.php