Free Preschool Activities

Easter is such an exciting time if you have small children. They eagerly anticipate the Easter Bunny’s visit and all the treats he will bring them.

I also like to make my own special treats for my family. Here are three of my favorite Easter treats to make for kids… no matter how old they are. These treats all have two things in common: they’re easy to make and they’re all made with jello.

Enjoy!

Easter Flowers

2 pkgs of jello in your kids’ favorite flavor
1 1/4 cups boiling water
4 small paper cups
4 large marshmallows

To create the flower pots, make the jello by dissolving the powder into the bowling water. When it’s completely dissolved, pour it into the paper cups. Refrigerate the cuts until the jello is firm, probably about 3 hours.

To make the flowers, cut each marshmallow into five pieces to make flower petals. Put the petals together in a flower shape. You will have to squeeze them together tightly so they stay. For decoration, you can press sprinkles onto the petals and put a candy in the center of the flower.

To assemble your flower, put a toothpick into the center of the marshmallow flower. Then place the toothpick into a straw. Now you have a pretty Easter flower on a stem.

Peel away the paper cups from the jello pots. Place the pot on a serving plate and plant your flower in the center of your pot.

Jiggly Easter Eggs

2 large packages of jello, or 4 small packages
2 1/2 cups boiling water or juice

Mix the jello powder with the boiling water or juice. Pour the mixture into a 13×9 inch pan. Chill until firm, usually around 3 hours.

When the jello is set, dip the pan in warm warm for about 15 seconds. Then use your favorite Easter cookie cutters to cut into shapes. Lift them out of the pan. Make sure you keep your jiggly Easter eggs in the fridge until you’re ready to serve them.

Popcorn Bunnies

1/4 cup butter
6 cups miniature marshmallows
1 pkg (85 g) jello powder
12 cups popped popcorn

Microwave the butter and marshmallows until marshmallows are puffy. Then add the jelly powder and mix well. The marshmallows will melt while you stire.

Pour the marshmallow mixture over your popcorn. Stir quickly and coat all the popcorn.

To shape your popcorn into bunny shapes, make one popcorn ball for the bunny’s body. Then make a smaller one for the head. Finally, finish off the bunny by adding two ears. You can add candy or raisins to make a bunny face.

I remember helping our preschoolers get ready for the evening of Santa’s visit. There was a carrot for a hungry reindeer. A glass of milk for Santa’s thirst. And of course, cookies! Here is an easy recipe you can use with your preschooler to make no-bake oatmeal cookies for Santa. They do require the use of a microwave and parental supervision.

I enjoy baking with preschoolers because it helps teach them measuring skills, pouring skills, hand-eye co-ordination, the importance of following instructions, plus the result are always delicious!

What you need:

2 c. white sugar

3/4 c. butter

1/2 (12 oz) can evaporated milk

1 pkg. instant butterscotch pudding mix

3 1/2 c. quick cooking oats

What you do:

Combine the sugar, butter and milk in a microwave safe bowl. Cook on high for 2-5 minutes, until the mixture comes to a boil. Let the mixture sit for 30 seconds. Then stir in the pudding and the oatmeal. Drop by teaspoon onto wax paper lined cookie sheets. Let sit until firm, around 15 minutes.

Remember to save some for Santa!

It’s so much fun playing Santa for young preschoolers! I just found a really cool website that can add to the magic of the season for you and your family. You can get a photo of Santa in your house! It isn’t free, but it is very affordable, and the memories your child will have of the Christmas  you caught Santa in the act will be priceless! Here’s the link to get a photo of Santa in your house this Christmas.

Beading is a fun way for preschoolers to develop their hand-eye coordination, and also to have fun creating something. Below, writer Rachel Paxton shares an easy preschool beading activity with you. Depending on your child’s age, you can use brightly colored beads that are just right for smaller hands or smaller decorative beads that look like tiny jewels.

Preschool Beading Activity by Rachel Paxton

Young children love beads of all shapes and sizes.  This beading activity is great for older toddlers and preschool aged children.

All you need is a shoelace or string like from the hood of a sweat shirt, some large wooden beads, and a small pouch to keep everything in.  You can purchase the beads at most any craft store. My mom made my boys cute little drawstring pouches out of scrap fabric.

The object of the activity is to have your child string the beads onto the string.  Tie a large knot at the end of the string so the beads will not slip off.  You might need to wrap a small piece of scotch tape around the other end of the string to help guide the string through the bead.

Sounds too easy doesn’t it?  You’ll be surprised at how long this will keep your child entertained.  They love stringing beads! This is a great activity to take on the road (e.g., in the car, at a restaurant, etc.), and it also improves their hand and eye coordination.

Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom of four. For resources for the Christian family, including parenting, toddler and preschool activities, homeschooling, family traditions, and more, visit http://www.Christian-Parent.com

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

Are you still wondering what to do with last year’s Christmas cards? Sometimes they’re too pretty to recycle. And preschoolers are often attracted to the colorful and creative pictures. Here are some things your preschoolers can do with your used Christmas cards  - besides recycling.

Make a Christmas card wreath. Give your preschooler a wreath shaped piece of cardboard or construction paper. Then let them glue their favorite Christmas card pictures around the wreath. Decorate with a bow and hang up for a pretty wreath.

Make Christmas ornaments. Punch a hole on the top of your preschooler’s favorites. Help them to pull a piece of colorful string through the hole and tie it. Voila! You have new ornaments for your Christmas tree!

Christmas lacing cards. Punch holes on a pretty card and turn it into a lacing card for your preschooler.

Give them to friends and family members. If there’s no writing behind the picture, this can be your preschooler’s chance to send out his or her very own Christmas cards. Help them practice their printing by writing a short Christmas message and their name.

Here’s an easy to follow recipe you can use to make Christmas ornaments with your preschoolers! The article talks about making letters with the dough, but this is a great opportunity to get out those Christmas cookie cutters and make fun shapes for your Christmas tree!

Ornament Dough Recipe by Nancy Murphy

Are you looking for a new way to help your children learn “hands-on” the letters of the alphabet?  Would your child like to make a gift for a relative?  Are you looking for a project for a rainy day? Creating play dough letters and ornaments is a fun way for your child to do all these things.

Ingredients for the Ornament Dough Recipe:
4 Cups of Flour
1 ½ Cups of Water
1 Cup Salt

Here are the steps to follow to make the dough:
1.    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2.    Put all the ingredients in a bowl.
3.    Mix them together.
4.    If the dough is too stiff add more water to get a workable consistency.  The dough should be easy to handle.
5.    After you are done mixing, knead the dough for five minutes.
6.    Next shape the dough into fun shapes and letters.  Try writing your name on some of them.
7.    Place your creations on a greased cookie sheet.
8.    Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
9.    After baking, you can paint the dough with markers or paint.

This ornament dough makes great gifts for friends and family.  Just make them an ornament with their name on it, or create a fun shape.  Try using cookie cutters to make your shapes.

This brings back wonderful childhood memories.  I had so much fun making the ornamental dough when I was a child.  My sisters and I used the dough to make ornaments with each of our names on them.  Everyone had their name on the Christmas tree when we were kids.

You can find more helpful parenting articles like this at www.Blooming-Babies.com.  Nancy Murphy is the owner of http://www.Blooming-Babies.com an online baby and children store.  She is the proud mother of two little girls.

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

I love making this Advent calendar with the kids! It’s just so simple, and is a good way to keep track of how many days until Christmas.

What you need:

• Christmas picture to color. You can find several coloring pages here
• construction paper in Christmas colors or your child’s favorite
• child-sized scissors (You and your preschooler will LOVE the ones that come with the Super Scissors Book.
• Glue or tape

What you do:

Have your child color and cut out the Christmas picture you chose.

Count how many days there are left until Christmas morning. Cut a strip of construction paper for each day.

Tape or glue each strip into a ring. Make them into a chain and attach to your picture.

For some extra fun, see if your child can create a pattern with the colors.

Hang the chain up where your child will see it everyday. Before he or she goes to bed each night, have them cut one ring off the chain.

When you cut off the last ring, the next morning is Christmas!

What you need:

- construction paper in colors you want to teach. If you’ll be teaching the basic shapes instead,  cut them into circles, squares and triangles.

- a preschool music CD such as 30 Preschool Songs

What you do:

Tape the construction paper to the floor, close enough that preschoolers can jump from piece to piece.

Start the music and have the preschoolers jump from paper to paper. Stop the music and have everyone tell you what color/shape they’re standing on.

Alternatives:

Try hopping or jumping backwards instead of jumping.

When the music stops, call out a particular color or shape for then to run to, like “Red!” or “Triangle!”

For older preschoolers, try a variation of musical chairs. Have one less paper than you have children. The one not standing on a color/shape when the music stops can sit down, or become a helper.

by Rachel Paxton

Kids are never too young to write thank you notes.  If they are old enough to hold a pencil or crayon, they can help create a thoughtful thank you note to send to friends or relatives for a birthday gift they have received.

People won’t expect a perfect thank you note from a young child, so let your preschooler have fun with this project.  The point isn’t how good the finished product looks, but how much effort and thoughtfulness the child put into it.

Supplies needed:

Blank greeting cards and envelopes
White card stock
Crayons/colored pencils/paints
Paper cutter
Glue stick
“Thank you” rubber stamp
Ink for rubber stamp
Birthday photos of child

Your child’s artwork will decorate the front of the greeting card.  Give your preschooler a blank piece of white card stock and let him draw on the paper.  He can use crayons, colored pencils, or my boys’ favorite, paints.  Paints can be applied with a paint brush or with sponges.

If your child has chosen to use paint, you will have to wait until the paper is completely dry to start the next step.

Using the paper cutter, cut the artwork to fit the front of the greeting card.  Let your child use the glue stick to apply glue to the back of the artwork and glue it to the card.

Next let your child glue a birthday photo of himself in the center of the front of the card.

Open the card and have your child use the rubber stamp to stamp “thank you” in the center of the card.

Have your child sign his name in the card.  If your child is not old enough to write, just have him scribble in the card.  Older children can write their name with your help.  You can write a note in the card thanking the person for the specific gift the child received.

Encourage your children from a young age to be thankful for gifts they have received.  Make it a fun activity, and they will enjoy writing thank you cards.

Photos of thank you card:
http://www.christian-parent.com/preschool/thank-you-cards.shtml

Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom of four. For resources for the Christian family, including parenting, toddler and preschool activities, homeschooling, family traditions, and more, visit http://www.Christian-Parent.com

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

This is an activity I tried with some preschoolers over the weekend, and it went over really well. We had a story about a boat in a storm. Then to bring the story to life, we made our own foil boats and turned our water table into a roaring ocean. I’ve also added some extensions to the end of this activity that you could try with your preschoolers.

What you need:

Basin of water
Foil
Objects/plastic people to put in boats
Towels!

What you do:

Give each preschooler a piece of foil. Show them how they can turn it into a boat. There’s no right or wrong way to do this, so let them be creative! We folded our foil in half then turned the edges up for sides.

Put the boats in the water and watch how they float. Invite your preschoolers to make a windy day by blowing on the water and making waves.

Extension activities:

Turn this into a counting activity! How many objects can you put into a boat before it sinks?

Put an island (a small saucer or other object) in your water table and read The Little Island to your preschoolers. Have them recreate the storm and other events of the story.