Hippity Hop

It is so nice outside! Let your children take some Easter baskets and plastic eggs out and play Easter Bunny! The MCP students have had a lot of fun 'hopping' around the play yard with baskets and hiding eggs. Happy Easter everyone and enjoy your break!

I've Lost My Marbles

A couple years ago on a popular reality show, a mom painted with pudding with her children. I was like whatever-been there/done that at preschool many times. I forget not everyone has files and files of preschool ideas! And so it is the with marble painting we did on the Easter bags! It may have never occurred to you to paint with marbles. It's a fun idea you can do at home and it's super duper easy.

You will need-
a large shoe box
tempera paints (you could use craft acrylic paints, too)
5-8 glass marbles
paper bags (we used gift bags but you could use white or brown lunch bags OR just plain paper)
removable paint tape
one energetic child

Place the bag inside the shoe box. It helps if you put the bag into a corner. This will help prevent the marbles from rolling under the bag. Tape just a couple sides. This also prevents the marbles from rolling under the bag. Have your child pick two or three colors (too many just looks muddy) and drizzle on the bag. Close the lid to the shoe box and have your child shake. Back and forth and up and down and all around!!! Open the box and ooooh and aaaah!

Now we used pastels for Easter but think of the color combinations and fun you could have making family gift bags or party goody bags with your child. Halloween-black and orange*Valentines-pink and red*Fourth of July-red and blue on white bags*Christmas-red and green, white on red bags or red on white bags. Lots and lots of possibilities!

Brown Bag Series

Found out the Brown Bag series downtown is on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays. In May, the performers will be local grade schools and high schools. The rest of the summer will be local groups and musicians. http://www.peoriaevents.com/events/brown-bag-it.html
See you there!

The Drum Line

Okay remember-no musical talent in your child's preschool teacher but we did have fun with our drums today. We decorated our drums and then played on our drums. First, we let the kids just play. Next, I have several large circles with directions-stop, go, fast, slow, loud, soft, girls and boys. We did the stop and go first and than added boys and girls. We also talked about the person who gives the directions to the musicians is the conductor. They were exposed to this concept during Peter and the Wolf. The last thing we did was listen/repeat. I hit a drum once. The children were to hit the drum once. We did this a lot with a different number of beats and different speeds (tempo??? rhythm??? I don't know). It was fun. Both of these activities are easily done at home with your child. They really have to watch, listen and pay attention. Have your child be the conductor, too.

Listen to the Music

I have many strengths but music is definitely not one of them. The objective in our music unit is exposure to instruments and music. I have illustrations of instruments on 3 x 5 cards and by now the children are able to identify most of the instruments, how they are played and use words like bow, strings and keys. Some may even know how many keys are on the piano.

I enjoy most types of music. One day we listened to little bits of classical, country, rock and jazz. We talked about how they were the same and different. Find these types of stations on the radio and listen to them in the car instead of "The Wheels on the Bus" again and again.

We also learned that music can tell a story. Thanks to Jerry Seinfeld and 'The Bee Movie' children are familiar with the classic- Flight of the Bumblebee. Music from Disney movies are great for this lesson. We listened to songs from Tarzan, Bambi and Lion King. We also listened to Peter and the Wolf with a storybook. YouTube has several versions of Peter and the Wolf if you are interested in watching it with your child.

We were also very fortunate to have several guest musicians come and play for the children. A big thank you to all!

Summertime is a great opportunity to continue to give your child the gift of music. The Brown Bag Series should be starting soon down by the Peoria courthouse. Lunch from one of the street vendors and listening to local schools would be such a picnic! Glen Oak Park has free concerts. There are free concerts on the Metamora square plus all the local city and county fairs have live music. A good source of who, what, where and when is probably the Peoria Journal Star at www.pjstar.com and click on entertainment, calendar and then Find Events search music.

Chicka Chicka BOOM BOOM!

Our TTH class has had a lot of fun with the classic children's book, Chicka Chicka BOOM BOOM! When I read this book to the children I tell them whenever I say "Chicka Chicka" they are to respond, "BOOM, BOOM!" Extremely loud and and extremely fun! So we read the book, do our crafts but it's the coconut that was fun and a first for me.

On Tuesday, we had the coconut out for the children to look at and explore. We also put out magnifying glasses for them to use. We did a dictation activity which was sent home. I loved 'the coconut is furry' comment.

So Thursday, we opened the coconut. I have never opened a coconut before so of course I turned to YouTube for instruction. YouTube did not fail me. We first talked about how I should open it and then BAM! I opened the coconut. It was super super easy! At snack time, each student tasted the coconut. Really not too tasty. No one liked the taste and I am not a big fan of coconut anyway. The next time I teach this lesson, we will have bakers coconut to taste and compare.

So get your Chicka Chicka Boom Boom book out or head to the library and check it out. Make some macaroon cookies and look for a fun coconut recipe to make with your child and we will meet you at the top of the coconut tree.

Jelly Beans

Our MWF classes are now using jelly beans to count ten items, sort and make patterns. Buy a bag of jelly beans and have some fun with math at home. Remember there is a big difference in reciting the numbers from one through ten and actually being able to count out ten items. What a sweet way to reinforce math skills!