Posted by Jenny.
We have spent the past month learning all about snow in our Sprouts, Wiggleworms, and Doodlebugs classes. We learned about where snow comes from, what snowflakes look like, what animals do in the snow, and we talked about all the fun things we can do when it snows outside. But, each week, our students would wonder where all the snow was!
By this time of year, most children dream of spending their days bundled up in snow gear and happily building snowmen, sledding, having snowball fights, and catching snowflakes on their tongues before heading inside to warm up with a nice up of hot chocolate and marshmallows.
Sadly, that may take a bit longer then usual this year! I checked the forecast today, and it doesn't seem like any significant snow is headed our way, at least for the next ten days.
So.......here are a few suggestions of ways you can play with "snow" inside...that is, until we get enough snow outside to bundle up and go play!
These cottonball snowmen are simple and adorable! We made them in our Sprouts class:
http://www.allkidsnetwork.com/crafts/winter/cotton-ball-snowman.asp
Grow your own snowflakes! Kids love this easy science experiment!
http://www.sciencefairadventure.com/ProjectDetail.aspx?ProjectID=152
Make snowflakes out of coffee filters! Each will be unique and beautiful, just like real snowflakes! You can hang them in your windows! The kids in our Doodlebugs class could have made these all day!
http://www.smartcenter.org/ovpm/december-07.htm
Cuddle up with that yummy hot chocolate, and read some great books about snow.
A few of our favorites are:
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
The Mitten by Jan Brett
The Snowman by Raymond Briggs
The Secret Life of a Snowflake by Kenneth Libbrecht
Talkin' Turkey
Posted by Jenny
With the Thanksgiving holiday coming up next week, turkey has been on everyone's mind! Most people are thinking about the turkey they are going to eat for dinner (and all the yummy sides too)! But did you know that there is a group of wild turkeys that make their home here at Cantigny? These interesting birds can be seen all over the park, but do have a preference for the area in the back of the park near our Administrative Building. Sometimes they like to block cars making it a challenge for employees to go home at night!
Wild turkeys live in the woods. They need large trees to provide food and shelter. At night, the turkeys will roost in the lower branches of trees. Yes, wild turkeys can fly! Turkeys will eat whatever they can find, but really enjoy insects, berries, seeds, grains, and nuts. Male wild turkeys are called "toms" or "gobblers" and can weigh up to 21 pounds. Females are called "hens" and weigh about 10 pounds.
Next time you visit Cantigny see if you can find our wild turkey friends and tell them, "Gobble Gobble!"
As you and your family get ready for the holiday, here are a few fun turkey crafts to try at home:
Leaf Turkey
http://www.holiday-kids-crafts.com/thanksgiving-crafts-fall-leaf-turkey.html
This is a fun fall project to work on together. Go outside, collect some leaves, get your glue and paper out, and you are ready to make a cute turkey!
Here's a few more ideas for great Thanksgiving/turkey crafts:
http://www.preschool-learning-and-crafts.com/preschool-thanksgiving-crafts.html
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
With the Thanksgiving holiday coming up next week, turkey has been on everyone's mind! Most people are thinking about the turkey they are going to eat for dinner (and all the yummy sides too)! But did you know that there is a group of wild turkeys that make their home here at Cantigny? These interesting birds can be seen all over the park, but do have a preference for the area in the back of the park near our Administrative Building. Sometimes they like to block cars making it a challenge for employees to go home at night!
Wild turkeys live in the woods. They need large trees to provide food and shelter. At night, the turkeys will roost in the lower branches of trees. Yes, wild turkeys can fly! Turkeys will eat whatever they can find, but really enjoy insects, berries, seeds, grains, and nuts. Male wild turkeys are called "toms" or "gobblers" and can weigh up to 21 pounds. Females are called "hens" and weigh about 10 pounds.
Next time you visit Cantigny see if you can find our wild turkey friends and tell them, "Gobble Gobble!"
As you and your family get ready for the holiday, here are a few fun turkey crafts to try at home:
Leaf Turkey
http://www.holiday-kids-crafts.com/thanksgiving-crafts-fall-leaf-turkey.html
This is a fun fall project to work on together. Go outside, collect some leaves, get your glue and paper out, and you are ready to make a cute turkey!
Here's a few more ideas for great Thanksgiving/turkey crafts:
http://www.preschool-learning-and-crafts.com/preschool-thanksgiving-crafts.html
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Perfect Pumpkins
Posted by Jill
October is a great month to be a teacher! It’s chalk-full of fun topics: spiders, changing leaves, scarecrows, and PUMPKINS! I’ve always been a fan of pumpkins, from searching high and low for the perfect pumpkin in a large patch to sipping a pumpkin spiced latte from Starbucks, they are quite a treat!
Jenny and I both teach a series of nature-based classes at Cantigny Park. Last week, the topic was pumpkins. For our littlest friends, we simply explored the shape, color, and size of pumpkins. For our slightly older friends (3-5 yr. olds), we were able to get a little more in depth. Children not only explored the shape, color, and size of various pumpkins, but also learned how a pumpkin grows.
We gave the children a chance to investigate the inside of a pumpkin. We were both surprised how many children did not want to touch the inside of the pumpkin. I guess the slimy pumpkin guts and slippery seeds didn’t have any appeal. Who knew? The children noticed that the inside of the large orange pumpkin we cut into was also orange. Then the question arose, what color would the inside of a white pumpkin be?
I turned to the web for an explanation and learned that most pumpkins are orange in color due to high amounts of lutein, alpha- and beta- carotene. That said, our white skinned pumpkin must have had lower amounts of these vitamins.
(Source: http://www.sensationalcolor.com/color-for-your-home-garden/outdoor-living/the-many-colors-of-pumpkins.html)
We had fun in our classes investigating pumpkins, but I thought I’d put together a list of some of my favorite pumpkin activities to try at home with your family:
CRAFTS:
Pumpkin Seed Mosaics
ACTIVITIES:
Pumpkin Playdough!
I’ll be honest, I haven’t actually tried this recipe, but it seems like so much fun! The recipe is on the website: http://www.preschooleducation.com/. Let me know how it works!
(NOT FOR EATING)
5 ½ cups flour
2 cups salt
8 teaspoons cream of tartar
¾ cup oil
1.12 ounce container of pumpkin pie spice
Orange food coloring (2 parts yellow, 1 part red)
4 cups water
Mix all of the ingredients together. Cook and stir over medium heat until all the lumps disappear. Knead the dough on a floured surface until it is smooth. Store in an airtight container.
Count and Compare Pumpkin Seeds
Count how many seeds inside a couple different sized pumpkins. Is the size of the pumpkin indicative to how many seeds it will contain?
Order Pumpkins
If you have a collection of various sized pumpkins, have your child put them in order from smallest to largest.
Sink or Float
Perform your own sink or float science experiment. Fill a baby pool, sink, or bath tub with water. Have a few pumpkins of various sizes on hand. You might want to include other fruits such as an apple, orange, or green pepper. Make a prediction on whether each will sink or float, then test them out.
SONGS/BOOKS:
Have You Ever Seen A Pumpkin? (author unknown)
(Tune: “Have you ever seen a lassie?”)
Have you ever seen a pumpkin, a pumpkin, a pumpkin,
Have you ever seen a pumpkin, that grows on a vine?
A round one, a tall one, a bumpy one, a squashed one.
Have you ever seen a pumpkin, that grows on a vine?
(You can add your own adjectives to describe it)
Pumpkin, Pumpkin (author unknown)
(Tune: “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”)
Pumpkin, pumpkin on the ground
How'd you get so big and round?
Planted as a seed so small
Now you’re like a great big ball!
Pumpkin, pumpkin on the ground
How'd you get so big and round?
Pumpkins by Ken Robbins
Pumpkin, Pumpkin by Jeanne Titherington
There are many more wonderful learning opportunities using pumpkins. If you have any favorites to share, please do so!
October is a great month to be a teacher! It’s chalk-full of fun topics: spiders, changing leaves, scarecrows, and PUMPKINS! I’ve always been a fan of pumpkins, from searching high and low for the perfect pumpkin in a large patch to sipping a pumpkin spiced latte from Starbucks, they are quite a treat!
Jenny and I both teach a series of nature-based classes at Cantigny Park. Last week, the topic was pumpkins. For our littlest friends, we simply explored the shape, color, and size of pumpkins. For our slightly older friends (3-5 yr. olds), we were able to get a little more in depth. Children not only explored the shape, color, and size of various pumpkins, but also learned how a pumpkin grows.
We gave the children a chance to investigate the inside of a pumpkin. We were both surprised how many children did not want to touch the inside of the pumpkin. I guess the slimy pumpkin guts and slippery seeds didn’t have any appeal. Who knew? The children noticed that the inside of the large orange pumpkin we cut into was also orange. Then the question arose, what color would the inside of a white pumpkin be?
I had never carved a white pumpkin, so this called for an experiment. I happened to have a small white pumpkin in the Education Center, so after cutting a lid, I carefully lifted it, and low and behold, the white skinned pumpkin still was orange inside, just a bit lighter than the inside of our orange-skinned pumpkin.
I turned to the web for an explanation and learned that most pumpkins are orange in color due to high amounts of lutein, alpha- and beta- carotene. That said, our white skinned pumpkin must have had lower amounts of these vitamins.
(Source: http://www.sensationalcolor.com/color-for-your-home-garden/outdoor-living/the-many-colors-of-pumpkins.html)
We had fun in our classes investigating pumpkins, but I thought I’d put together a list of some of my favorite pumpkin activities to try at home with your family:
CRAFTS:
Pumpkin Seed Mosaics
I found this craft on the All Kids Network website. We didn’t do this mosaic with our classes due to the large number of seeds we’d need, but it seems like the perfect project to do at home. If you don’t want to paint the pumpkin seeds, I imagine you could put them in a plastic baggie with some food coloring and a small amount of rubbing alcohol. (This is how we dye our rice and noodles for other craft projects, and it works great.) After the seeds have their desired color, lay them out on newspaper or a paper towel to dry.
ACTIVITIES:
Pumpkin Playdough!
I’ll be honest, I haven’t actually tried this recipe, but it seems like so much fun! The recipe is on the website: http://www.preschooleducation.com/. Let me know how it works!
(NOT FOR EATING)
5 ½ cups flour
2 cups salt
8 teaspoons cream of tartar
¾ cup oil
1.12 ounce container of pumpkin pie spice
Orange food coloring (2 parts yellow, 1 part red)
4 cups water
Mix all of the ingredients together. Cook and stir over medium heat until all the lumps disappear. Knead the dough on a floured surface until it is smooth. Store in an airtight container.
Count and Compare Pumpkin Seeds
Count how many seeds inside a couple different sized pumpkins. Is the size of the pumpkin indicative to how many seeds it will contain?
Order Pumpkins
If you have a collection of various sized pumpkins, have your child put them in order from smallest to largest.
Sink or Float
Perform your own sink or float science experiment. Fill a baby pool, sink, or bath tub with water. Have a few pumpkins of various sizes on hand. You might want to include other fruits such as an apple, orange, or green pepper. Make a prediction on whether each will sink or float, then test them out.
SONGS/BOOKS:
Have You Ever Seen A Pumpkin? (author unknown)
(Tune: “Have you ever seen a lassie?”)
Have you ever seen a pumpkin, a pumpkin, a pumpkin,
Have you ever seen a pumpkin, that grows on a vine?
A round one, a tall one, a bumpy one, a squashed one.
Have you ever seen a pumpkin, that grows on a vine?
(You can add your own adjectives to describe it)
Pumpkin, Pumpkin (author unknown)
(Tune: “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”)
Pumpkin, pumpkin on the ground
How'd you get so big and round?
Planted as a seed so small
Now you’re like a great big ball!
Pumpkin, pumpkin on the ground
How'd you get so big and round?
Pumpkins by Ken Robbins
Pumpkin, Pumpkin by Jeanne Titherington
There are many more wonderful learning opportunities using pumpkins. If you have any favorites to share, please do so!
Spider Craft
Posted by Jenny
I can't believe it's already October! The leaves are changing, scarecrows are up all over Cantigny, Halloween is coming soon, and there is a chill in the air! We are busy creating lessons and finding crafts for our fall classes. I came across this awesome spider craft that is simple to make with many items that you probably already have at home! We will be making this craft in our Sprouts class later this month and I wanted to share it with you! Happy crafting!
What you will need:
one paper lunch bag
markers
glueglitter
newspaper or scrap paper
small amount of yarn
8 small twigs
hot glue gun
tape
Next stuff a small amount of newspaper into the bag for the head. Gather the bag around the head shape and tie yarn around to hold in place. Continue stuffing bag to desired size and tape bottom of bag closed when finished. You spider now has two body parts, just like a real spider! The head and the abdomen.
Now it's time to decorate! Add some designs with glue on one side of the spider. The shake some glitter on to cover the glue.
The next thing to do is to hot glue the twigs on for legs. You will want to glue four twigs on each side of the body. Just use a large blob of hot glue and the twigs should stick well.
Yeah!!! Your spider is complete! There are a few optional things you can do to make your spider even more fun! I used a hole punch to make a small hole in the bottom of mine and added a piece of yarn so my spider can hang off things. You can also make an extra large spider web out of yarn on your wall for your spider to climb on!
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