Category: Summer

Ideas for Spring Break

4/6/2023

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Looking for some activities to do together over spring break? Here are a few ideas:

Plant a garden -- either flowers or vegetables
Camp in the backyard for a night
Fly kites
Have a picnic
Decorate the driveway with chalk -- could also practice letters, numbers, name writing, sight words, etc. using chalk outside
Build a fort
Make paper airplanes
Make a collage with nature (twigs, leaves, flowers, etc.)
Make paper bag puppets & then put on a puppet show
Paint rocks -- could also practice painting letters, numbers, shapes, name, etc.
Make a castle, house, boat, car, or rocket ship out of a cardboard box
Set up an obstacle course
Have a family movie night
Put sleeping bags in the living room & have a slumber party with your family
Go on a nature scavenger hunt
Try this flower experiment
Go on a family bike ride
Have a dance party
Have a tea party
Fly somewhere from your living room -- play airplane; pick where you want to go & pretend to fly there
Go on a treasure hunt! (could even make maps for your child to find the treasure)

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Rainbow Scavenger Hunt

4/6/2023

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I came across this fun idea on Facebook and thought I'd share it here in case any families were interested. What a fun way to practice identifying colors/sorting by color!

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Kindergarten Readiness Activities

4/6/2023

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Did you know that the Lane Public Library in Hamilton has some phenomenal kindergarten readiness activities you can use while visiting the library? All activities must stay in the library, but this is a wonderful way to practice various kindergarten skills including rhyming words, number recognition, and letter/sound recognition. They even include ideas for at home activities to try! Ms. Serenity says that her daughter Sienna loves these activities. I am including a few pictures from one of their visits to the library so you can see them for yourself. If you get a chance, check them out! :)

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Ideas for SUmmer

1/25/2022

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Hello Preschool Families!

I sincerely apologize for my delay in this post (and in making videos). I've been busy moving into my new house! My internet will get set up tomorrow morning and hopefully I can start posting videos to YouTube after that! Look for new videos later this week! For now, I just wanted to give you some ideas of things you can work on over the summer and some fun ways to practice these skills together at home!

Skills to Practice:

Letters (identifying by name, matching upper/lower case, producing sounds, etc.)
Numbers (identifying by name, matching to counted objects)
Shapes--2D & 3D (identifying by name, describing)
Writing name
Writing letters
Pencil grip
Fine Motor skills
Vocabulary (incorporating new words into everyday conversations)
CVC words/sight words (for those ready, likely going onto kindergarten)

Ways to Practice:

Shaving cream (write/draw letters, shapes, numbers, name, CVC words, sight words, etc.)
Sidewalk chalk/chalk paint (write/draw letters, shapes, numbers, name, CVC words, sight words, etc.)
Playdough (make letters, shapes, numbers, name, CVC words, sight words, etc.; also great fine motor practice!)
Dry erase markers & dry erase board or laminated paper (write/draw letters, shapes, numbers, name, CVC words, sight words, etc.; also great to practice pencil grip!)
Rainbow writing--write multiple times using different colors! Start over each time or trace over with a new color each time (write/draw letters, shapes, numbers, name, CVC words, sight words, etc.; also great to practice pencil grip!)
Scavenger hunt--go on a scavenger hunt around your house, yard, neighborhood, grocery store, etc. to find letters, numbers, shapes, etc. For a challenge, you could also instruct your child to find the letter that makes a particular sound
Find & Jump--write letters (or numbers, shapes, sight words, etc.) on pieces of paper or on the pavement with chalk. Call out one for your child to find and jump on! Mix it up by incorporating letter sounds or having your child spell his name or simple words he/she knows.
Run & Find--same concept as find & jump, but this time, your child should run to the letter (or whatever else) you call out!
Squirt guns/bottles--use water guns or squirt bottles outside to spray on top of chalk on the pavement. The chalk should be letters, numbers, shapes, or words that you have written out. Just like previous activities, call out what your child should find and spray. (Hint: this also adds in some fine motor practice and is a good way to cool off this summer!) You could also have your child try to trace the letters/words/etc. with the water gun/squirt bottle.
Memory--make some cards to practice one of the skills above (such as letters, numbers, or shapes). Your child has to match them AND say what it is in order to keep the match! The person with the most matches at the end wins! (This could be a fun one to include siblings in, as long as the siblings can play along and give the younger one a chance to practice/win!) For letters, you can do all the same (uppercase) or have your child match upper and lower case letters together for extra practice!
Writing tray--you can use sand, sugar, salt, or another similar material. Fill a tray and have your child practice writing/drawing in it! If you have a sandbox outside, you could also use this instead! Your child can practice letters, numbers, shapes, name, and words with this! (It is also great fine motor practice!)
Find the missing letters (or numbers, shapes, etc.). Write each one down on a piece of paper and hide it around your house. You can make it as easy or as tricky as you like! Have your child find each one and identify what it is! You can also incorporate positional words with this activity and give your child clues (over, under, next to, behind, etc.). There are so many fun ways you can modify this game! You can even hide them inside something, like Easter eggs!
Letter sound scavenger hunt--find items in your house that start with a particular sound! See how many your child can find! Or, turn it into a competition and let the whole family join in!
Beads--beads are a great way to practice fine motor skills! You can lace them on string, wire, pipe cleaners, etc. You can also try making a pattern with the beads to incorporate some math skills!
Pasta--if you don't have beads, you can also use some types of pasta to thread onto string, wire, etc. instead!
Opposite game--this was an activity from Seesaw! Go back and forth with your child, naming what you see and then have your child respond with an object he/she sees that is the opposite. For instance, you might say "I see a big table" and your child might respond with "I see a small book." Go back and forth as long as your child shows interest. This can be played at home, in the car, at the store, etc. The whole family can join in, too! This is a great way to practice vocabulary and language skills.
Rhyming game--say a word and see if your child can produce a word that rhymes! This is another game the whole family can play! For older children (older siblings), you can also try talking in rhymes. For instance, say a sentence and then the next person responds with a sentence so that the last word of that sentence rhymes with the last word of the first sentence. It can get really silly!
Vocabulary practice--try to learn a new word each week and use it as much as you can! Maybe you can turn it into a contest for your family and come up with a prize for the family member who uses the word correctly the most during the week!
For more fine motor activities, check out my blog post on the topic (from earlier this year)!
There was also a blog post earlier this year with ideas for practicing letters! Check it out for more ideas. Most of these can also be modified to practice other skills such as numbers, shapes, name, words, etc.

I'll certainly be on the lookout for more games/activities I can share with you guys! I hope this is a good start, though. I will get more videos posted ASAP. I appreciate your patience. Enjoy your summer and hopefully I will be able to see you all again soon!

Blessings,
Ms. Barker

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Summer ACTIVITIES

1/25/2022

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Dear Preschool Families,

Thank you for a wonderful school year! It was truly a privilege being your child’s teacher and working with each and every one of you. I look forward to those of you whom I will see in the future, either next school year as your child progresses to another year of preschool or in future years with your child’s sibling(s). I wanted to provide you with some fun activities to try over the summer!

Chalk - use chalk outside to practice any of the skills we have learned this year and expand on them! Chalk can be used for many things including letter/number identification/writing, letter sounds, name writing practice, sight words, CVC words, shape identification/drawing, obstacle course (to practice movement skills), hopscotch (to practice balancing skills), etc. You can even add water guns or spray bottles to the mix! Write the letter, number, shape, word, etc. in chalk on the pavement and have your child trace over it with a water gun, spray bottle, or even a paint brush dipped in water! You can also use the water guns/spray bottles to have your child spray the letter/number/etc. when you name it to practice identification!
Run & Find - use chalk on the pavement or pieces of paper around the house. Write down letters, numbers, shapes, or words. Have your child practice finding them as you call them out! Your child should run to the correct one and tap it or jump on it. Mix it up! Instead of calling out the letter, try calling out the sound the letter makes and see if your child can still find it.
Shaving cream - practice writing in shaving cream! This can be a fun way to practice with letters, numbers, and shapes. You can also use it to practice name writing, writing sight words, or writing simple CVC words. If you want to take the activity outside, simply put the shaving cream in a tray!
Pipe cleaners & beads - a simple way to practice many different skills! Stringing beads on a pipe cleaner is awesome fine motor practice! You can also use it to work on copying, extending, and creating simple patterns. You could even have your child count the beads, add/subtract beads, or describe the parts (how many of each color bead there are separately and how many that makes when put together; for instance there might be 3 red beads and 5 blue beads and together there are 8 beads total).
Dandelion fun - practice fine motor skills using dandelions! Here are a few ideas: stick them in an upside down colander, cardboard shape cut-outs, arrange in drawn cardboard vases, or name writing.
Playdough - use playdough to practice letters, numbers, shapes, words, etc. Have your child build each one out of playdough and identify it. Other materials you could use besides playdough: pipe cleaners, tooth picks, craft sticks, pencils/crayons, spaghetti, pretzel sticks, or wikki sticks.
Dried Beans Letter Practice - write upper and lowercase letters and dried beans and have your child match them together.
Sticky Note Letter Sort - write letters on sticky notes and place them around the house. Ask your child to sort the letters by type, such as: uppercase letters, lowercase letters, letters in his name, letters with straight lines, letters with curves, letters with straight lines AND curves, etc. This activity provides practice with letter identification and sorting! You could also challenge your child to place the letters in ABC order at the end.
Letter Sensory Bags - You will need a gallon size Ziploc bag, rice, and letters. For the letters, you can use beads with letters on them, Scrabble tiles, magnetic letters, etc. Provide your child with a paper with the alphabet. Your child should circle, trace, or color each letter as he finds it until he finds all of the letters. Your child should not open the bag to find the letters. This activity could also be modified to spell your child's name, spell sight words, spell CVC words, etc. You could also try it with numbers instead of letters!
Find Invisible Letters/Numbers/etc. - Draw letters/numbers/shapes on a piece of white paper using a white crayon. Have your child paint the paper using water color paint and the letters/numbers/shapes should appear! See if your child can identify them!
Nature Letters - Go outside! Use items that you find outside to create different letters! This is another activity that can be modified to practice numbers, shapes, name writing, or word writing.
Alphabet Scavenger Hunt - Go on a scavenger hunt to find every letter in the alphabet! The scavenger hunt can take place inside your house, in the car while driving, at the store, anywhere! Provide your child with a way to "check off" each letter as it is found. You could write each letter on a piece of paper or print off a paper with each letter. Your child could: circle letters, color letters, or trace letters each time one is found! If you decide to modify the activity to find objects that start with each letter, your child could place the object on top of the letter as it is found or place them on the floor in ABC order. This activity could also be modified to find shapes or numbers!
ABC Book - Make your own ABC book! You will need 26 pieces of paper. This project does not have to be complete in one day. It could be an all summer long activity! Your child should write the upper and lowercase letter on each page (so write "Aa" on the A page and "Bb" on the B page and so on). If your child needs help writing, try writing them in yellow crayon or with a highlighter and have your child trace them. Then, cut out pictures from magazines that start with each letter and glue them on each page.
Stamp letters in playdough - Use letter stamps and stamp playdough! Your child can practice identifying letters, putting them in ABC order, spelling his name, spelling sight words, spelling CVC words, etc. You could also try this with number stamps! It is great fine motor practice, too.
Stamp letters on paper - Use letter stamps to practice identifying letters, placing letters in ABC order, spelling name/words, etc. This is also great fine motor practice.
Salt Writing - Have your child write letters/numbers/words/etc. in salt! Place the salt in a tray or dish and have your child use his finger to write the letter/number/word. You could also use sugar, sand, or spices! An advantage to using spices is that the strong smell of spices can add another sensory element to the experience!
Paint Daubers - Use these to practice many different skills -- letters, numbers, shapes, counting, patterns, adding, subtracting, describing the parts (4 blue dots and 5 yellow dots make 9 dots all together), etc. Paint daubers also provide fine motor practice! You can find various resources online (search Google or Teacherspayteachers) with worksheets you can print for your child to use paint daubers to trace letters, numbers, etc.
Water gun writing - Write letters outside on the pavement or on the fence using water guns or squirt bottles. A fun way to practice letters (or numbers or shapes) and fine motor skills while staying cool this summer!
Obstacle Course - Make an outdoor obstacle course this summer! Try to incorporate as many different types of movement as you can --jumping, balancing, going over/under/around/through/etc. If your child has siblings or friends over, turn it into a race! See who can get through the obstacle course the fastest. This is a fun way to stay active and practice different kinds of movement and following directions.

I hope everyone has a fun-filled summer!!!

Blessings,
Ms. Barker

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Ideas for Spring Break

Rainbow Scavenger Hunt

Kindergarten Readiness Activities

Ideas for SUmmer

Summer ACTIVITIES

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