Educators, need ideas to set up your indoor learning environments for children? Find all the inspiration you need in this blog post!
Set up a fun phonics activity for preschoolers and school aged children with this sorting objects into baskets game! Easy, low-preparation and adaptable
The Preschool Activity Corner is a dynamic learning space designed to host a variety of activities for preschoolers.
This Popsicle Stick Geometry Activity is the perfect STEAM project for a long, rainy afternoon at home or an enrichment activity in the classroom.
Learn about raising tadpoles by creating a tadpole to frog observation tank. This is a fascinating, hands-on way for kids to learn about the frog lifecycle
Looking for free Reception Worksheets? Starting school is a very exciting time for all. We are providing some resources for you which you may find helpful –resources to help children entering Reception.
Here is a simple science center set-up that is inexpensive (or free) and quick. This activity is an exploration of the sense of touch and can be used with
The Setting Life Goals worksheet serves as an effective motivation builder, which can also help to provide direction for therapy. Give your clients an...
Make your own set of touch & Feel Letters for a multi sensory way to learn letter formation and word building!
I decided to take on my own challenge of incorporating a STEM activity every day for a week. It turned out to be a huge success where both my students and I had a blast. Here were the various …
Your smartphone may be the secret to classroom community (selfie stick optional).
Are you looking for (or wondering about) STEM or STEAM activities for kids? If so, you are in the right place, my friends! This is the ULTIMATE resource list for the best of the best Science, Technology, Engineering, (Art), and Math (STE(A)M) activities. My boys have always loved STEM challenges. And I completely understand why!
What's Missing? is a simple listening game that's easy to set up because all you need to play is a selection of contrasting percussion instruments.
Color mixing with light is a fun activity for kids to learn about what happens when you mix different colors. The thing is, light does not always react the same way as mixing colored paints.
We learned that all motion is either caused by two kinds of force. Pushing or pulling. I set out clay and let them explore by using the forces of pushing and pulling using their hands and clay tools. We then used these forces on the clay to create pinch pots! They pushed and pulled with their fingers and then pushed using clay tools to add a personal touch. They wanted to add some color so they painted them with liquid watercolor. We also explored by using force and motion to create a collaborative piece of art. First they pushed and pulled large brushes to mix the colors for the base. Ramps are an amazing way to create motion! This brought up the question of what force pulls things down the ramp when they are not pushing them? We learned about how the force of gravity will pull things down. The kids rolled a truck down a ramp through paint onto our canvas. The tracks showed the motion. I think this was my favorite stage of this painting! We continued exploring the way inclined planes used gravity as a force to create motion. They slashed some paint on the canvas and had to adjust the incline to change the direction of the marble’s motion and get it through the paint! We created a pendulum for the kids to explore motion with. We filled it with watered down paint and the kids pushed or pulled it certain ways to create a circular motion. Instead of running, the paint dripped, so it was a different effect than we expected but everyone loved the result! They sprinkled paint onto the canvas, letting gravity pull it down, then pushed and pulled the paint with a piece of cardboard. We were using pastel colors, but when I wasn’t looking, they added some bright pink and orange. We all loved their choice! Lastly, they flicked paint onto the canvas to give it the finishing touch! This method was introduced by a little friend in our class! I love our finished collaborative force and motion art! It truly is a beautiful art piece! Here is the progression of our canvas! They also created individual art using force and motion also! Here is our documentation of the process and what we learned about physics through art in the hallway. Stay tuned to see how force and motion, especially through inclined planes, sparked an interest in simple machines! Here are a few pics to show some of the literacy and math experiences that thy hav been visiting...
Recycled cardboard is one of my favourite materials for children’s art activities. I like it because it is readily available and free! Read more...
Learn how to set up a calm down corner for kids, with printables and calming tools to help them process big feelings and emotions.
This worksheet is the perfect ice-breaker for EFL-ESL students! This All About Me poster enables you to do a complete lesson on
This Seasons and Weather Sensory Bottle set captures something unique about each season: spring rain, summer sky, autumn leaves, and winter snow.
Create a story basket full of storytelling props to retell favourite fairy tales together in a playful way! So easy to set up with items from around the house and beneficial for so many strands of early literacy development. As part of our on-going Playful Storytelling series, co-hosted with the gorgeous blog, One Perfect Day,...Read More »
Real picture flashcards targeting Yes No Questions (speech therapy, autism, special education, ESL / ELL programs, Early Intervention programs, Head Start, and preschool & elementary classrooms use)! This Yes/No Questions Level 2 Photo Cards set is a little more challenging than my basic Yes/No Questions Level 1 set. Level 2 questions revolve around concepts such as, object functions (e.g., “Is this for writing?”), qualitative concepts (e.g., “Is this cold?”), colors (e.g., “Is this red?”), actions (e.g., “Are they climbing?”), and categories (e.g., “Is this a toy?”). What’s included? • 30 Photo Cards numbered with questions • 30 Photo Cards numbered without questions • Data Sheet This product is also available in the following bundle: Early Language PHOTO CARDS Bundle {Save 20%} Teaching with real photos allows students to make real-life connections which results in easier acquisitions of targeted skills!
Using the iPad as a guide for building with blocks brings technology into a real hands on activity. Photos can be taken of any tower of blocks to rebuild!
If you have learners who struggle to isolate beginning sounds, these free phonemic awareness games are the perfect fit! Use them in preschool or kindergarten. Use them in literacy centers or small groups. #phonemicawareness #preschool #kindergarten
Learn how to make vocabulary folders. With a few simple materials you can quickly set up your own. These are great for ELLs...
Here is a complete set of lessons for… David and Goliath Summary of all workshops in this Rotation: Art : make two stick puppets- one to represent Goliath (a giant in their lives) and the other to represent what our shield is. ( Note: written for 1st - 3rd grades, easily adaptable for older kids. ) Cooking : Make a giant cookie and discuss giants in their lives. Games : Answer game questions to throw a "sock-rocket" at a giant. Focus is on learning story details. Puppets : Use object theater...
Make your own set of touch & Feel Letters for a multi sensory way to learn letter formation and word building!
Resources, tips, and materials to help you, help children with autism
This set of printable geometry cards has both 2 dimensional and 3 dimensional shapes to use for building shapes. They show right on the cards how many toothpicks and marshmallows you will need to build the shape. Then there is a graphic to help you see what it will look like. The printable set comes with 10 2D cards and 12 3D cards.
I am a rather inactive member of many Facebook early childhood educator groups — inactive because I read and look, far more than I participate. Many of these groups focus on Loose Parts and/or Reggio…
The Reggio Emilia classroom is designed to inspire relationships: we imagine children moving across different areas, interacting with each other, experimenting with different textures and tools, moving materials into different settings to explore new properties and characteristics.
Goal setting is an important skill, and if we teach goal setting for kids and make it fun, it can become a good habit for life. Many schools now run through a goal setting exercise at the beginning of every school year and school term, with regular reviews along the way. You can do the same, or of course you can set some goals with the kids yourself at home. Whether you choose to use our Goal Setting resources at New Year, Back to School time or perhaps even the beginning of every month, we hope you will find some fun and inspiring printables below! Why should children set goals? Feeling in control is an important part of feeling happy and confident. Regular and careful goal setting can help children feel that they are taking control of their own behaviour and working towards something; having a positive impact, no matter how small. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Lao-Tzu Be careful to keep the goals realistic and measured. Start small! Some supervision might be necessary here, as the last thing you want is for children to set goals that are just too high and impossible to reach. It doesn't necessarily help a child to boldly declare "I will play football for Chelsea". Instead try "I will work 15 minutes every day to improve my football skills by practising ball control". Think about the time scale for your children's goals. Many people like to set an end-date to make their goals "measurable", and if you are working on goals in a school-setting this may well be appropriate. I have found, however, that a time-scale can put children - especially younger children - off. Young children find it hard to understand the concept of time. It can be more effective to set a simple goal which can be "ticked off" every night before bed, which has the added benefit of teaching children how to instill a good habit. "I made my room tidy before I left for school" or "I got everything ready for tomorrow before bedtime" can be useful skills - and goals, too! It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop. Confucius Think about what might get in the way before you start. If your child has decided that they want to read a book a week, but you know they spend most of their reading time watching television instead, the time to point it out is when the goal is being set. They might even include it in the goal itself. "I will turn off the TV 20 minutes before supper so that I can spend that time reading instead." Show children how to break down their goals into smaller steps. A child that wants to be prime minister one day might start by trying out for class representative, or signing up for public speaking practice after school. Look out for goal-setting opportunities. When a child starts a sentence with "I wish I could..." or "I wish I had..." - there's a possible goal to work towards at the end of it, even it just means some careful saving up of pocket money for the lastest video game! Try to encourage co-operative goals rather than competitive goals. Some children might want to "come first" in all their tests. Perhaps a better goal would be "to score over 80% in all my tests". That way, the outcome is something that they contribute to and, at least to some extent, achieve by their own hard work. Make sure kids choose their own goals - not just try to please others! If you are working with your children to set goals, it can be tempting to "help" with your own ideas - especially if you have a reluctant child! Try hard to elicit a goal from the child rather than impose your own. Remind children that they don't have to achieve all their goals! Goals are something to work towards and aim for. Falling short isn't necessarily a bad thing, if we keep moving in the right direction. Remind kids to learn from their slip-ups and road-blocks. Keeping a record of goals set and tracking how children work towards them can help with this. Aim for the moon. If you miss, you may hit a star. W. Clement Stone Explore Our Goal Setting Printables...
designed by dorte mandrup arkitekter, this timber-clad kindergarten boasts a distinctive typology that references the surrounding coastal landscape.
String painting is a simple, fun, process art activity that both kids and adults will love! And the results are stunning and frame-worthy!
The Secret to Teaching Handwriting - Use this one simple DIY project to help pre-writers to distinguish between straight and curved lines to help build their understanding of shape and help establish correct letter and number formation later | you clever monkey
Color mixing with light is a fun activity for kids to learn about what happens when you mix different colors. The thing is, light does not always react the same way as mixing colored paints.
