Tuesday, April 30, 2013

By the Pond for Preschoolers - Part 2

Do you spend time by the pond? I feel like "by the pond" is such a classic theme. Something I find in a lot of curriculum books and would find in lots of schools if I went on a tour. Of course, if there are no ponds around your area, this thematic is highly adaptable to a river as well. So go ahead and check out what we did last week with our pond mini-unit/river! :)

Play Dough Pond
Art & Fine Motor : The Play Dough Pond

At first sight, this mere pond looks like a simple play dough activity but there is a lot more to it than meets the eye. Of course, the pond itself was rather easy for Adrian to make as he simply had to "smash" blue play dough on the table, somewhat shape it like a circle and all but then, he had to get to work on the lilypads which were a bit more difficult to shape as they were to be smaller. To give them their distinctive shape, Adrian used our playdough scissors. On top of the lilypad, he made water lillies for which he rolled small pink play dough balls. That was difficult for him. The cattails were something he quite enjoyed making though. We used toothpicks and I showed him how to make the first one and then he was off to do the rest, simply rolling brown play dough on the tip of the toothpicks (at first, he had simply stuck them in the pond so I had him think of how to make them fluffier on the ends). Adrian also added some river rocks and pond animals from our Safari Pets Toob to decorate the pond he created and finally, he "chopped" some "wood logs" using brown play dough and play dough scissors. He loved that part. Overall, making this pond was one of his favorite activities this week. I think it's partly because Adrian loves play dough but usually doesn't quite know what to do with the dough. When given a project and ideas, then, he's off to work on it and is so proud of the results.

Fish Suction Marbles
Fine Motor/Practical Life: Fish carrying Fish Eggs

Another nice fine motor activity we enjoyed this week was this bath suction pad and marble "kit". Adrian simply had to balance a marble on top of each suction cup using his fingers and that was it. It was extremely easy for him so next time I pull one of these mats out, we'll be using tongs with the marbles or something otherwise, this suction mat activity will have to be only for fun. Not one bit challenging.

Turtle Egg Cartons Craft
Art: Turtle Craft - made with an egg carton

As a pre-planned craft this week, we enjoyed this egg carton turtle. I pre-cut an egg carton piece for Adrian and I and we painted the "shell" one day and let it dry overnight. We also glued the eyes with washable glue that day on the pompom. The next day, we finished our turtles. I poked holes in the egg cartons and we inserted green pipe cleaners from side to side. We then folded them onto themselves. Finally, the head was glued on. Adrian liked making this turtle. He didn't really like getting his fingers green with paint and had a bit of trouble inserting the fuzzy sticks into the small holes but loved the finished turtle. He was very proud of his work. This delightful little reptile was first "made" by Allison's children at Train up a Child, who did theirs with a brown shell. Loved it in brown but we had no brown paint so I figured we'd try making an all green turtle instead of mixing colors again.

Frog Nomenclature Booklet
Language - Frog booklet and Frog 3-part cards

We hadn't studied the frog that much yet. The life cycle yes, but not the parts of the frog so this was our occasion. I printed a booklet and 3-part cards and we proceeded. I got all this material for free from Montessori Print Shop (told you I was addicted lately!). They also have a free frog matching game if you are interested! :)


Turtle Pattern BlocksDuck Pattern Blocks
Butterfly Pattern Blocks

Math - Pond Pattern Blocks

Following last week's huge success with the foam patterning blocks, I went ahead and presented Adrian with "pond themed" patterns this week. He was super excited and couldn't wait to try them out. Just like last week, he picked a sheet on which a pattern was printed (got mine for free from Prekinders) and he would then pick the foam blocks (I pre-cut those from foam sheets) needed and built the pattern by looking at the sheet; not on the sheet. I am showcasing three pictures but he also did a fish and insisted on getting last week's patterns out as well... :)


* * *

Your comments make my day ! 

* * *

Today, I'm happily linking up to


If you would like me to link up with you, please don't hesitate to ask, it might take me a week or two, but I generally do!

22 comments:

  1. Hi Valerie! Thanks for dropping by my site :) Love all your Spring themes! I just have to borrow some of your ideas. By the way, I already added "Follow by Email" gadget on my site, hope it works... please let me know if you encountered an error. Thank you so much for this input!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for the kind words! I'm glad you found some ideas to borrow for your Spring mini-unit! That's what sharing is all about! I'll head back to "your place" and subscribe now! :)

      Delete
  2. Hi,
    I found you at Money SAving Monday. I love the use of the tangrams. I too have made crafts about turtle since I wrote a children's book called Tadeo Turtle.
    I would be pleased if you visited www.janiscox.com
    blessings,
    Janis

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Janis! Thank you so much for browsing through my post. How very neat! A children's book author! I will definitely check out that book and your website! Thank you for the invitation.

      Delete
  3. what awesome activities - I love the pond. I'm pinning this so I won't forget it

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for pinning! I really ought to start doing that too! I'm getting old and forgetting what I see all the time! LOL Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  4. I love your pattern block pond critters. I think my kindergarten kids will enjoy them this week.

    Sandi

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm most certain they will. We have a bunch of them made of plastic and wood (Melissa & Doug) and my son plays with them during our free play but introducing new ones is always fun. I've been bringing thematic ones in for two weeks in a row now and they are off the shelves first thing! :)

      Delete
  5. I've gotta say, I'm really impressed and excited about your activities. I hope you don't mind if I follow your blog. I feel like we're working with the same age group etc., using the same model. Thanks so much for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'd be more than happy to have you follow along, pin ideas and comment. Sharing is enriching. I do borrow ideas and people are welcome to borrow mine as well! :)

      Delete
  6. Replies
    1. Glad you like it. I never thought a single unit would bring this much fun but now I see why "the pond" is a classic theme! :)

      Delete
  7. Love your egg carton turtles! And what a fun pond unit!

    I featured this at TGIF today - http://www.123homeschool4me.com/2013/05/tgif-linky-party-76.html! Thanks for linking up and sharing your creativity with all of us!

    Feel free to grab an I was featured button if you like and I hope to see you linked up again today!

    Have a great weekend,
    Beth =)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is so sweet of you Beth! I am really feeling the love from 123 Homeschool 4 Me. So many features lately. Thank you so much! I feel humbled and honored. Have a great week-end too! :)

      Delete
  8. perfect timing for me to see this, we are just getting ready to learn about turtles. visiting from 123 homeschool 4 me linky.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Great. Happy you found some inspiration here. Come back anytime! :)

      Delete
  9. I just created my own pond in Day care, I love your and will be very happy to invite you to my Pond!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'd love to see it. Please send me the link and I'll definitely check it out. Ponds are such classic themes that I have a feeling it will be revisited next year! :)

      Delete
  10. This looks such fun! Thanks for sharing, have pinned & will try it :) #EmptyYourArchives

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you found some inspiration here! It's always nice to hear. Thanks for stopping by! :)

      Delete
  11. Hello. Your activity was featured on Artsy Play Wednesday kids' craft linky. http://www.countryfitfamily.com/2014/07/fish-crafts.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How very nice of you! Thank you for the honor! I'll be sure to check it out along with the other features!

      Delete