Turkey Handprint.. a classic!

Materials...

Paint

Marker

White construction paper

Directions...

Paint your child's palm and thumb brown. Paint the rest of the 4 fingers in different colors. Have the child open his/her fingers and place the hand on a white construction paper. Next you can have the child draw in the legs, eyes and the beak for the turkey!

If you would like to use other materials.. You can use just brown for the palm and thumb to make the hand print. Then you can use different colored feathers vs. the colored fingers. You can use a googly eye vs. the markers.. Get creative and have fun making the turkey!!

Measurement Hunt!

Materials...

masking tape (blue works best, but any color tape will work)

Ruler

Clipboard

Paper

Pencil

Directions...

Go around the house and put masking tape on 10 different items, using different lengths of tape.

For example, use 10inch masking tape on the door, 5 inch masking tape on the side of the table, 7 inch masking tape on the leg of the chair, etc. Make sure you place the tape straight so it can be easily measured. Number the sheet of paper from 1 to 10 and place it on a clip board. Encourage your child to go around the house and find 10 items labeled with masking tape. Then he or she has to write the name of the item and the length of the masking tape on the item. Give them a 12inch ruler to use.

If this is the first time your child is learning to use a ruler, be sure to demonstrate and help out with the activity so they get a clear understanding of how to line up the bottom of the ruler with the bottom of the tape to get an accurate measurement!

Have fun on your scavenger hunt!

Patterened Holiday Card!

Materials...

Pencil

Scissors

Weaved paper from the previous activity

White construction paper

Stapler

Directions...

Trace a heart shape on your weaved paper from the previous days activity.

Cut out the heart carefully while you staple the edges along the way.

Fold the white construction paper in half and glue your heart on the cover.

Open up your card and encourage your child to write greetings to a loved one.

If your child isn't big enough to write, have them tell you what they would like to write and you can write it down for them!

Have fun!

Christmas colors weaving pattern

Materials...

Construction paper (1 red, 1 green)

Scissors

Card board (cereal box works well)

Stapler

Directions...

Cut the construction paper in about half inch thick strips.

Cut out the card board to match the length of the strips.

Staple a green strip horizontally and then a red strip about half an inch apart.

Next staple green, then red until you run out of space. Staple on top and the bottom of the strips.

Then you can demonstrate how to use the remaining strips to weave going under and over the previously stapled strips of paper to make a pattern.

In the next blog we will turn this activity into a Christmas card! So hang on to your patterned creation!

Make your own ring toss game

Materials...

Heavy duty paper plates (as many as you like, we used 5)

Scissors

A soda bottle filled with water for weight. (we didn't have an empty soda bottle so we used it with soda still in it!)

Directions...

Cut the middle parts of the paper plates. And you are ready to play! Place the soda bottle on the floor and toss the plates trying to go on the soda bottle! Take turns and have fun!

A good way to make the game fair is to place a small tape on the floor to mark where each player needs to stand behind before tossing the rings!

Playdough Fun!

Materials...

2 cup flour

1 cup water

1/4 cup salt

1 tbsp oil

bowl

food coloring (optional)

Directions...

Help your child measure each ingredient and pour into the bowl. Then mix all the ingredients into play dough. If you have food coloring, you can choose to put it in now, or you can separate the dough into smaller pieces so you can add different colors to each piece. Next just have fun with your dough. You can roll it, pound it and make lots of fun shapes!

Enjoy!

Alphabet Train! (Uppercase and lowercase letter matching!)

Materials...

Printer

Scissors

Cardboard

Glue

Laminating paper (optional)

Velcro (optional)

Directions...

Print the images above. Glue them on cardboard to make it durable.

Laminate them if you wish. Cut out the train and glue them together.

Cut out the letters and if you wish to use Velcro you can put that

behind the letters and on the train next to the other letters. When

you are done assembling the train give the cut out letters to your

child and have them find the matching uppercase or lowercase letter

and place it next to its matching letter!

I like to laminate and use the Velcro so I can put up the assembled

train on the wall and the letters stay on it nicely.

Enjoy!

If you need any help downloading the images or if you have any questions

please feel free to email me! Thanks!

Feed the fish rhyming words!

Materials...

Printer

Scissors

Card board (cereal boxes work well)

Glue

Laminating paper (optional)

Velcro (optional)

Pair of dice

Directions...

Print the first image 2 times. (For a two player game.)

Next print the other two images. Glue the pages printed on card board

to make it more durable. You can laminate them now if you choose to

do so. Cut out all the rhyming cards. If you would like to use Velcro, place

one on the back of each rhyming card and one inside all the squares on

the game card with the fish picture.

To play the game give each player the fish card. This is the hungry fish!

He will anything as long as they rhyme! Place all the rhyming cards face up

in the middle (mixed up.) Player one rolls the dice and adds their number.

For example if she rolls a 5 and a 3 she has to add the numbers and say 8.

Then the second player rolls the dice and adds their number. The player

with the highest number can take a single rhyming card from the pile and

place it on their fish card. And will have to wait until it's their turn again to

find it's rhyming pair. The player who can finish feeding their fish first wins

the game!

To make this game easier you can play with one dice and pick out rhyming

cards when you roll an even number and loose a turn when you roll an odd

number.

To make the game more challenging you can play with the rhyming cards

faced down (the game will take a lot longer.)

If you don't have dice you can play the game with the rhyming cards faced

down like a memory game.

The possibilities are endless either way the kids are learning rhyming words,

learning to take turns, and adding while they are having fun! Can't beat that!!

Enjoy!

Practice Reading Color Words!

Materials...

Printer

Card board

Laminating paper (optional)

Scissor

Glue

Dice

Directions...

Print out the bottom 3 pages above. Glue them on a cardboard. (I had a cardboard that I recycled from a shoe box so it's long. If your card board is wider you can glue the pages next to each other vs. underneath.) You can laminate them now if you wish. Next cut out all the colored circles.

Pass out 5 colored cards to each player (for 2 players.) To play the game roll the dice. If you roll an odd number 1,3,5 you loose a turn. If you roll an even number you can place one of your colored circles on a circle on the board. The player that gets rid of all of his/her cards first wins the game!

Have fun!

If you have any trouble downloading the images please feel free to contact me. I can always email over the documents! Thanks!

Fall picture ~ puzzle!

Materials...

Printer

Scissors

Card board (cereal box works well)

Glue

Laminating paper (optional)

Directions...

Print the picture above. Glue it on the card board. Laminate if desired and then cut along the red dotted lines. You can print it twice if you wish to have the image of what it's supposed to look like. To make the puzzle challenging you can cut it up into many more smaller pieces.

You can make lot's of fun puzzles with any of your favorite pictures! Just print it out, glue it on and laminate to make it sturdy, and cut up the puzzle pieces!

Enjoy!

5 little pumpkins (putting abc's in order!)

Materials...

Printer

Scissors

Glue

Laminating paper (optional)

Velcro

Card board (optional)

Tape

Directions...

Print out all of the pages above. Glue them on the back of a card board (cereal boxes work well.) Next laminate the pages if you wish. Cut out the letters and place Velcro on the back of each letter and also in the white boxes on the pumpkins. You can tape the 5 little pumpkins display on the wall and place the small letters in a ziplock bag or envelope next to it. Have your child place one letter in each box in abc order. After your child is done, sing the 'abc' song together touching each letter to make sure you got all the letters in the right order!

Have fun!

To download the images right click on the pictures and save. If you have any trouble with the documents please feel free to let me know. I can always email over the files. Thanks!

Leaf Letter Matching - Lower Case Letter (b,f,n,g,n,d,q,t,r,p,h,k)

Materials...

Printer or Construction paper

Marker

Scissors

Laminating paper (optional)

card board (cereal boxes work well)

Directions...

If you have a printer you can save the images above on your computer by right clicking on the images. Then print them out. Next glue the page on the back of a card board (I use the cereal boxes.) If you want to laminate them to make them last longer, this is the best time to do it (before cutting.) Last step is to cut along the black lines.

If you don't have a printer. You can draw 24 squares or any other shape you wish on construction paper and write the lower case letters (b,f,n,g,m,d,q,t,r,p,h,k) inside the shapes you drew. Next glue your construction paper on the card board. Laminate if you wish. Next cut out your shapes!

To play the game you can spread out the leaves facing your child. Have them say the letter and find its match. If this is to easy you can turn the cards face down and play the game as a memory game. You can also make it more challenging by asking the child to say a word that begins with that letter and a word that ends with that letter after they find the match.

If more then one child is playing. The player with the most number of matches wins the game. If you don't like having only one winner. You can put a container in the middle and everyone can put their matches in the container with each turn. Everyone can win through out the game regardless of who had the most matches.

Have fun!

If you have any questions or need help with downloading the image please feel free to contact me. I can also email the files over. Thanks!

Pumpkin Mask!

Materials...

Paper Plate

Scissors

Crayons

Ribbon

Glue

Hole puncher

Directions...

Color the whole paper plate orange (you can also choose to paint it)

Next draw on the eyes and mouth

Cut out the eyes and mouth and punch holes on the sides for the

ribbon. Draw in vertical lines with a black or brown crayon to make

it look more like a pumpkin. On another sheet of paper draw your

leaves and stem. Color those pieces and then glue them on your mask.

Tie in the ribbons on each side and your mask is ready to wear!

Leaf Prints...

Materials...

Real leaves (1 or 2)

White paper

Crayons

Scissors (optional)

Directions..

Place the leaf under the white paper and color over it until you see the leaf

emerge on top of the paper! This is a really neat project and kids love

seeing the leaf come on top!

You can just experiment with this with different leaves and crayons..

or you can choose to cut out your finished product!

Have fun!

Making a Wreath with Paper Leaves!

Materials...

White construction paper or regular white paper

Crayons

Scissors

Glue

Paper Plate

Tape

Directions...

Cut out the middle of the plate leaving just the outer edge.

On a white sheet of paper draw different kinds of leaves then

color and cut them out.

Glue the leaves you made on the paper plate!

Tape your finished product on the door and enjoy!

Making a Wreath with real Leaves!

Materials...

Leaves

Paper plate

Scissors

Glue

Directions...

Collect leaves about 15 is enough but you can fit in more if you want to layer them.

Cut out the middle part of the paper plate leaving just the edge.

Glue the leaves around the edge of the paper plate.

Tape your finished product on the door as a festive decoration!!

Enjoy!

Fall themed Bookmark!

Materials...

Contact Paper

Leaves

Hole puncher

Yarn or ribbon

Directions...

Go on a scavenger hunt! Get a couple of leaves that you like.

Cut the contact paper according to the size of your leaf.

Place your leaves on the contact paper and finish laminating.

Punch a hole at the top and tie a ribbon or yarn through it.

Enjoy your bookmark with a great book!

Graphing Halloween Candy!

Materials...

m&m's candy or skittles work well

Container to put the candy in (I used a paper plate)

Computer and Printer

Microsoft Excel (you can draw the graph free hand if you don't have a access to a computer and printer)

Directions...

On Excel make a graph big enough for the candies to fit in the boxes.

Write the numbers 1 to 14 on the side and the color words on the bottom.

If your child isn't reading yet. You can color in the boxes with the appropriate color and your child can match the colors to the candies.

Ask your child to graph the candies by putting the candies with the same colors in the boxes on top of that specific color word (or the color if you colored it in.)

When your child is finished ask questions to teach him/her how to read the graph. How does this graph help us? (It makes it easier to see which color has the most, how many of each color there are and etc.) Ask your child child which color has the most, the least, and how many of each color there are. Then you can challenge them by asking how many there are all together? (ask them to try to figure it out without counting all the pieces one by one.)

When you are done.. enjoy your treat!

Matching Socks!

Materials...


A pile of socks fresh out of the laundry! Ready to be matched and folded!
Dice


Directions...


Roll the dice. If you roll an even number you can pick a sock from the pile. If you roll an odd number you miss a turn! Try to make as many pairs as you can! The person with the most pairs of matched folded socks is the winner of the game!


This is a fun way to not only get your socks folded but to learn math! Sorting and matching are math concepts!!!


Matching socks has never been this much fun!!

Number Line...Missing Number

Materials...

Number Line (directions on how to make the number line are written in the previous blog labeled "Number Line.. learn to add and subtract!")

Index Cards

Directions...

Cover a number on the number line with an index card. Ask your child if they can figure out the missing number. The child can lift the index card to see if they are correct. If they have a hard time guessing the missing number count the numbers with them in order touching each number and stay silent and let your child say the missing number when you approach it.

To make it more challenging cover more then one number. You can cover them randomly or with patterns. In the first picture above I covered all the even numbers. After your child guesses the missing numbers you can ask if they can find a pattern with the covered numbers. Where they odd or even, in 2's, 3's etc. Can they count by 2's with the index numbers covering the multiples of 2's? Practice and have fun!!

Number Line.. number recognition!

Materials...

Number Line (directions on how to make the number line are written in the previous blog labeled "Number Line.. learn to add and subtract!")

Small manipulatives: Pennies/buttons/paper clips (what ever you have available at home.)

Directions...

To practice number recognition play a game called 'find the number.'

For example you will say find the number 5. If your child finds the number 5 make a funny noise like "ding ding ding! You got it!" Then let your child take 5 pennies (or 5 of what ever manipulative you are using and put that many next to the number 5.) If your child goes on a wrong number make a different sound (like a buzzer that goes off or something) and let your child try again until they hear (ding ding ding!!) Repeat until all the numbers have been recognized and matched with that amount of manipulatives!

Enjoy!

Number Line.. learn to add and subtract!

Materials...

Construction Paper

Ruler

Marker

Tape

Laminating Paper (optional)

Directions...

Measure and mark 3 inches from the top of the paper (holding it landscape style) and draw a horizontal line with your ruler. Repeat this process on all your construction paper (the number of construction paper used will vary depending on what number you want to go up to.)

Next measure 5inches starting from the edge of the paper. Put a dot on the 5 inch, 10 inch, 15 inch mark and so on. On each marked dot, write your number underneath. I used 5 inch increments because of the amount of space I have. If you have a big space it would be a lot more fun to make it bigger and put one number per page. So your child can actually jump from number to number. Vs. using one of their feet one-by-one (which is what my daughter is doing in the video because of the lack of space.)

Once you are done constructing your number line, if you have laminating paper you should laminate it for durability and making it last. I didn't have any but it's still in pretty good condition. Next tape your number line on the floor.

To begin the game, explain to your child that if you say plus they have to go towards the right because you are adding (like getting more of something which means what? that the numbers get bigger.) And to move to the left when you say minus because you are having less and so the numbers are getting smaller. If your child doesn't understand this concept yet you can practice adding and subtracting more with small manipulative's and let them experience what happens when you add and subtract.

Let your child pick a number to stand on. Then say plus 2 , minus 3, plus 5, plus 1, etc. And let your child tell you the answer after he/she jumps forward and backwards that many times!

Take turns and demonstrate, you stand on the number line and let your child give you the directions! Have fun!!

Numbers Book!

Materials...

If you have access to a computer:

Computer, printer, Microsoft Power Point

If you don't have access to a computer:

Construction paper, scissors, crayons, markers, glue, a variety of art materials.

Directions...

If you have access to a computer, open up Microsoft Power Point and make a book and a slide show at the same time! Tell your child that you will make a book of numbers together! You can decide on the title. We wrote 'numbers, numbers, numbers!'

On each page write the numbers in order 1 to 10. Then ask your child "what should we put on page 1. We need one thing." We used a happy face for the number 1. Try to get your child to use an adjective (words that describe the picture, for example: happy, colorful, big, round, etc.) for each picture. You can use shapes or clip art for each page. Let the child direct you and choose what they want in their book.

Here is what we used:

1 Happy Face

2 Blue Moons

3 Colorful Squares

4 Pink Balloons

5 Leprechaun hats

6 Rainy Day Umbrellas

7 Crunchy Apples

8 Jumping Frogs

9 Sharp Scissors

10 Dancing Hippos!

If you don't have access to a computer you can make your book by hand. If you want to save on paper you can cut each construction paper in half and number then from 1 to 10. If not you can use the whole sheet. Next to each number your child can choose to draw, color, or cut and glue items. For example she can draw 1 happy face, cut out 2 moons, glue on 3 stickers, cut and glue 4 triangles.. and don't forget to have them describe what they choose. For example, 3 colorful stickers, 4 purple triangles, 5 swimming fish.

When you are done you can staple the pages together and read your book!! When reading your book encourage your child to touch each item on the picture as they count the objects.

Making Patterns with forks n spoons!

Materials...

Forks and spoons of different sizes

Directions...

Tell your child that together you will make patterns using forks and spoons! Ask them if they can think of a pattern they can make. You can model it if they don't know how to do this yet. You can say "I'm going to make a pattern with the spoons and forks. Here's a spoon and then a fork, another spoon and another fork." Once you made your pattern together say it out loud. "Spoon, fork, spoon, fork, spoon, fork, what do you think comes next?"

If you want to expand on this pattern that you just made, on a sheet of paper label the spoons A and the forks B. Tell your child that we are giving the spoon the name of the letter A and the fork the name of the letter B. How can we read this pattern now. "AB, AB, AB, AB, what letter do you think comes next?"

"Can we make other combinations of patterns using the forks and spoons?" Above you can see pictures of some of the patterns we made. We used the ABB, ABB pattern and ABCC, ABCC pattern!

Have fun making patterns!

Making a Dollar with Quarters!

Materials...

4 Quarters

1 dollar bill

paper and pen

Directions...

Show your child the dollar bill and ask him/her how much it is? If they don't know you can show the number 1 and tell them that it's a one dollar bill.

Next show the quarters. Ask them if they remember what the name of this coin is? And how much it's worth.

On a sheet of paper write down that quarters are 25 cents and that a 100 cents are equal to 1 dollar. Then tell your child 'we are going to make a dollar with quarters! Can you guess how many quarters we need to make a dollar? I don't know.. let's find out together!'

We get to count by 25's because a quarter is 25 cents! (Counting by 25's can be difficult for younger children. I will explain how we did this in the following paragraph.) Place a quarter on the paper and put the number 25 on top of it. Next place the second quarter and put the number 25 on top of that one. Draw the plus sign in between and ask your child what's 25 cents+ 25 cents. It's 50 cents, is that a dollar? why or why not? We need a 100 cents to make a dollar and we only have 50. What do we need to do? add another quarter. Now let's count 25, 50, 75 do we have enough? Keep going until you reach a 100.

To add 25+25 ask your child what can we find in the number 25 (breaking the number down.)

If your child doesn't know how to break down the number yet, you can use a counting manipulative for example cheerios, buttons, crayons, etc. Count 25 cheerios and put them on the table. After you counted 1by1 ask how many cheerios do we have? That's right 25. Can you give me 10? Count together and take 10 out. Then you can ask "so in this number 25, is there a 10?Yes! Do you think there's another 10? Let's count and see." Count and take out another ten. "Do you think there's another ten? Let's count and see.. Oh we have a 5! So the number 25 has a 10+another 10 + a 5!"

Under the addition problem 25 + 25 write in paraphrases (10+10+5) + (10+10+5) now you can add by tens and 5's and write your answer =50. Repeat this procedure each time you need to add another quarter. Break down the number, write it down underneath in parentheses and count by 10's and 5's until you reach 100 cents!

When you reach a 100 cents go back and count by 25's one more time together to check your work. Then you can ask how many quarters did we use to make one dollar? Let's count and see. 4 quarters make one dollar! If you still have the sheet with the pennies, nickels and dimes from the other day's exercise you can compare 5 different ways to make a dollar. (the dollar bill, 100 pennies, 20 nickels, 10 dimes and the 4 quarters!) Emphasize that all 5 ways are equal. You can use our earlier example and say something like, "If you went to the store and wanted to buy a candy bar for 1 dollar, which one can you give the 100 pennies, 20 nickels, 10 dimes, 4 quarters or the 1 dollar bill? You can give any one of the choices because they are all equal! Which one do you think would be their 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th choice and why? First choice would be the dollar bill, then the quarters, then the times, then the nickels and last the pennies!"

Go over this concept a couple of times on different days until your child completely understands that quarters are 25 cents and that 4 quarters are equal to a one dollar bill.

Have fun!

Making a Dollar with Dimes!

Materials...

10 Dimes

1 dollar bill

paper and pen

Directions...

Show your child the dollar bill and ask him/her how much it is? If they don't know you can show the number 1 and tell them that it's a one dollar bill.

Next show the dimes. Ask them if they remember what the name of this coin is? And how much it's worth.

On a sheet of paper write down that dimes are 10 cents and that a 100 cents are equal to 1 dollar. Then tell your child 'we are going to make a dollar with dimes! Can you guess how many dimes we need to make a dollar? I don't know.. let's find out together!'

We get to count by 10's because a dime is 10 cents! Place a dime on the paper and put the number 10 on top of it. Next place the second dime and put the number 10 on top of that one. Draw the plus sign in between and ask your child what's 10 cents+10 cents. It's 20 cents, is that a dollar? why or why not? We need a 100 cents to make a dollar and we only have 20. What do we need to do? add another dime. Now let's count 10, 20, 30 do we have enough? Keep going until you reach a 100.

When you reach a 100 cents go back and count by 10's one more time together to check your work. Then you can ask how many dimes did we use to make one dollar? Let's count and see. 10 dimes make one dollar! If you still have the sheet with the pennies and nickels from the other day's exercise you can compare the 4 different ways to make a dollar. (the dollar bill, 100 pennies, the 20 nickels, and the 10 dimes!) Emphasize that all four ways are equal. You can use our earlier example and say something like, "If you went to the store and wanted to buy a candy bar for 1 dollar, which one can you give the 100 pennies, 20 nickels, 10 dimes or the 1 dollar bill? You can give any one of the choices because they are all equal! Which one do you think would be their 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th choice. and why? First choice would be the dollar bill, then the dimes, then the nickels and last the pennies!"

Go over this concept a couple of times on different days until your child completely understands that dimes are 10 cents and that 10 dimes are equal to a one dollar bill.

Have fun!

Making a Dollar with Nickels!

Materials...

20 Nickels

1 dollar bill

paper and pen

Directions...

Show your child the dollar bill and ask him/her how much it is? If they don't know you can show the number 1 and tell them that it's a one dollar bill.

Next show the nickels. Ask them if they remember what the name of this coin is? And how much it's worth.

On a sheet of paper write down that nickels are 5 cents and that a 100 cents are equal to 1 dollar. Then tell your child 'we are going to make a dollar with nickels! Can you guess how many nickels we need to make a dollar? I don't know.. let's find out together!'

We get to count by 5's because a nickel is 5 cents! Place a nickel on the paper and put the number 5 on top of it. Next place the second nickel and put the number 5 on top of that one. Draw the plus sign in between and ask your child what's 5+5. It's 10 is that a dollar? why or why not? We need a 100 cents to make a dollar and we only have 10. What do we need to do? add another nickel. Now let's count 5, 10, 15 do we have enough? Keep going until you reach a 100.

When you reach a 100 cents go back and count by 5's one more time together to check your work. Then you can ask how many nickels did we use to make one dollar? Let's count and see. 20 nickels make one dollar! If you still have the sheet with the pennies from the other day's exercise you can compare the 3 different ways to make a dollar. (the dollar bill, 100 pennies, and the 20 nickels.) Emphasize that all three ways are equal. You can use our earlier example and say something like, "If you went to the store and wanted to buy a candy bar for 1 dollar, which one can you give the 100 pennies, 20 nickels or the 1 dollar bill? You can give any one of the choices because they are all equal! Which one do you think would be their 1st, 2nd and 3rd choice. and why? First choice would be the dollar bill, then the nickels and last the pennies!"

Go over this concept a couple of times on different days until your child completely understands that 20 nickels is equal to a one dollar bill.

Have fun!