Bird Nest

Supplies:

• brown paper lunch sack
• papers and twigs (and more if desired( to go in nest
• glue
• peep or other bird

Activity:

1. Roll the brown paper sack down to form a nest shape
2. Add your papers, twigs, etc. and glue in place in your nest
3. If you want to be able to eat the peep, let glue dry before adding. If not, glue peep in place.

Enriching Activity:

To get more from this activity, talk about why birds build nests, what they use to build nests, and even read a book on birds building nests. 

You can go for a walk and see if you can find some nests in trees in your neighborhood.

Spring Round-Up 2012

Tomorrow is the first day of Spring, so I wanted to do a Spring round-up today. I also want to get you thinking about some events that happen in April (or at least are this year).  Easter and Earth Day are happening in April this year, so be sure to keep those in mind as you plan your April activities.

Paper Plate Rainbow Streamer

This was posted recently. Rainbows are a fun thing to learn about at this time of year because of all of the rain...leading to rainbows.






Spring Chick

Another fun thing that happens this time of year is a high number of baby animals born. This is a fun activity for talking about how baby chicks are "born."






Spring Collections

A fun, simple way to introduce Spring to your child.








U Words

Learning about the letter U.











Pussy Willows

A fun art project to make some pussy willows.












Pom-pom Spring Chick

If you have an animal lover, this will be a big hit. A cute little craft to make a little baby chick.

Pom-Pom Spring Chick

This is a fun little craft Brayden brought home from school at the end of his egg unit. It is simple and something you can use to decorate for spring with!

AGE RANGE

You could adapt this as young as a toddler, but the most rounded learning will come for the preschoolers and up.

SUPPLIES

• Yellow pom-poms--one small and one large
• Styrofoam egg carton
• Orange paper
• Black marker
• Glue

ACTVITY

1. Before you begin, gather supplies. Cut egg carton up so each section is individual.
2. Have your child cut the edges of the egg carton section to look like a cracked egg shell edge.
3. Have your child glue the large pom-pom in the egg.
4. Have your child glue the small pom-pom on top of the large one.
5. Have your child cut out an orange diamond shape for the beak and glue it on.
6. Have your child make two eyes with the black marker.
7. Let glue dry and then display it somewhere!

Pussy Willows

This activity is quite common in preschool and Kindergarten classes. It is simple, but involves paint and children love paint!

SUPPLIES

• White paper
• Brown crayon
• Gray paint
• Optional: Paint shirt and tablecloth. Paper towels also help keep painted fingers off of clothes :)

ACTIVITY

• You might want to start by showing your child either an actual pussy willow if you have them by your or by showing them a picture of a pussy willow so they know what they are making.
• Have your child draw three stems with the brown crayon.
• Have your child dip his finger in the gray paint and dot the stems with it. 
• Let dry!

POEM

You might add this poem to your activity:

Pussy Willow

Close your eyes

And do not peek

And I'll rub Spring

Across your cheek.

Smooth as satin,

Soft and sleek.

Close your eyes

And do not peek.

-Aileen Fisher-

U Words

This is something Brayden made in preschool last year. It is a simple activity to learn about the letter U, talk about rain, and do some fine motor practice while also working on gluing skills.

Age Range

Preschoolers through Kindergarteners. Some older toddlers might be able to do this, too. If you have an older child do this, challenge him by having him cut around the rain drop, not just a rectangle around the raindrop.

Supplies Needed

• Paper with umbrella on it
• Paper with raindrops with pictures of U items--including the letter U
• Scissors
• Glue
• Crayons

Activity

1. Have your child color the pictures. Be sure to talk about the words and the "U" sound they start with.
2. Have your child cut out the rain drops.
3. Have your child glue the raindrops onto the picture.

Spring Round-Up

Yesterday was the first day of Spring, so I wanted to do a Spring round-up today. I also want to get you thinking about some events that happen in April (or at least are this year).  Easter and Earth Day are happening in April this year, so be sure to keep those in mind as you plan your April activities.

Paper Plate Rainbow Streamer

This was posted recently. Rainbows are a fun thing to learn about at this time of year because of all of the rain...leading to rainbows.






Spring Chick

Another fun thing that happens this time of year is a high number of baby animals born. This is a fun activity for talking about how baby chicks are "born."






Spring Collections

A fun, simple way to introduce Spring to your child.

Paper Plate Streamer Rainbow

This is a great time of year to talk about rainbows. The rainy season of spring brings rainbows. And rainbows are something fun to tie into any St. Patrick's Day learning you may be doing.

This is a very simple activity. It is a fun, simple craft that can morph into a fun gross motor activity.

Age Range

Toddler and up.

Preparation

• Gather supplies
• Cut flat circle out of paper plate (as shown above)

Supplies

• Paper plate
• Streamers in red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple (two shades if you can find them)
• Glue

Activity

Talk about colors and rainbows and the order of a rainbow. The picture above is a picture of one Brayden made in preschool last year; obviously he didn't put the colors in order. You can decide if you want to focus on color order or just let the child put them on in any order.

Have your child glue the streamers onto one side of the plate. 

Now you can run around with your rainbow! One side (the empty side) is perfect for holding while your streamers stream behind you!

Spring Chick

This is really a classic activity that my husband even remembers doing in school.

AGE RANGE
The bulk of this activity is cutting, so your child will need to be able to cut well enough to do this. I would guess for most that will be somewhere between 3.5-4.5, with some possibly between 3-3.5.

If your child is unable to cut, you could let your child color the chick and even the egg (make it an Easter egg!) before you cut it out. Young toddlers would have fun playing with this once it was done.

SKILLS TAUGHT
This is a great activity for talking about baby chicks. You can talk about how they grow and how they hatch. It also provides fine motor skill development if your child cuts the chick out. You could also turn this into a shape activity.

MATERIALS

• White paper (cardstock works best)
• Yellow paper
• Orange paper
• Crayons
• Scissors
• Brads (two)
• Glue

PREPARATION

1. Draw the egg shape on the white paper
2. Draw a zigzag for the crack down the center of the egg
3. Draw the chick on the yellow paper
4. Draw a triangle on the orange paper

ACTIVITY

• If your child will be coloring the eggs and/or chick, have him do so
• Have your child cut out the items (or you do it if needed)
• Have your child cut the egg down the zigzag (or you do it if needed)
• Have your child glue the nose in place
• Have your child draw eyes on the chick
• Punch one brad in each half of the egg
• Put the egg together over the chick. Push the brads through the chick. Open out the brads to secure in place
• Talk about chicks, incubation, and hatching

Spring Collections

This weekend marks the first weekend of Spring! With weather this week in the mid-60's and low 70's, I feel like it's quickly making its appearance in our area.


Our introduction to Spring was quick and uncomplicated. I wanted a chance just to talk, look, and discover.


First, we read Mouse's First Spring by Lauren Thompson. It's a cute story about a mouse and his mommy going for a walk and discovering all the new things Spring has delivered.

Then I put up a poster. We then went in the front and back yard to see what Spring items we could collect. Green grass, a new flower, green leaves, and a bud were some of the discoveries. The taped/glued them to our poster to proudly show daddy when he gets home from work. We also talked about the changes...wearing shorts or short sleeves, no winter coats, people out cutting grass and working in their yards, baby birds, a few new insects, and (ugh) some early mosquitoes.
So take a walk...read a good book...enjoy this weather as soon as it graces you...we even pulled out the sprinkler! No, it wasn't really that warm. My daughter was just that excited.