Archive for the ‘Teaching Ideas ’ Category
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Filed under: Arts and Crafts, Colors and Shapes, Featured, Holiday crafts, Seasons, Senses and Body Parts, Spring, St. Patrick's Day, Teaching Ideas
Recycled Rainbow Art
by Cheryl Villareal on Sep 10th, 2010
I'm pretty sure any child who went through preschool has tried making a rainbow in one way or another. And I'm pretty sure every preschool teacher has also tried making a rainbow in one way or another! So this time, to try something new, we decided to make a rainbow as a group instead of individually! . We assigned each child to bring a specific color to make the rainbow whole. Since we were on the topic of squares, we also asked them to bring ...Read More » Tags Share Comments (1 )
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Filed under: Arts and Crafts, Featured, Random thoughts, Teaching Ideas, Teaching Tales, Tips for Parents
Getting a C in Art is unacceptable!
by Cheryl Villareal on Sep 6th, 2010
Now I'm not sure how others would define art, or what other people think art is really all about. But to me, art is all about freedom of expression. What one person describes as a masterpiece may be considered horrible by others... but it's still a work of art. Coloring, drawing, painting, dancing, singing... all different kinds of art... all beautiful in its own way, regardless of style or genre. . So what does all this have to do with tea...Read More » Tags Share Comments (3 )
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Filed under: Arts and Crafts, Colors and Shapes, Featured, Teaching Ideas
Square Collage
by Cheryl Villareal on Sep 5th, 2010
While my co-teachers and I were discussing this activity, I thought to myself... "I wonder how a collage filled with just one shape turn out?" At first, I was even imagining a really boring art work filled with simple squares. But then, as we continued to brainstorm, we decided to use a variety of colors, patterns, sizes and textures. Slowly but surely, the simple square collage became a very lively and creative sensory art! . . What you...Read More » Tags Share Comments (1 )
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Filed under: Arts and Crafts, Colors and Shapes, Messy art, Senses and Body Parts, Skill development, Teaching Ideas
Sponge Painting
by Cheryl Villareal on Sep 3rd, 2010
Still on the topic of squares, we decided to let the children try some sponge painting! The kids especially enjoyed this activity because of the unique process. Squeezing the sponge hard enough allowed paint to gush out! It became a bit messy for some, but still a lot of fun! Though we didn't really teach it, the children were able to discover how sponges can absorb liquids, and that the liquids can be squeezed out! Accidental learning takes plac...Read More » Tags Share Comments (1 )
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Filed under: Arts and Crafts, Colors and Shapes, Featured, Flowers and Plants, Holiday crafts, Mothers' Day, Seasons, Spring, Teaching Ideas, Valentines Day
Flower crafts!
by Cheryl Villareal on Aug 30th, 2010
I've seen several different ways to make flowers... but we wanted to make something 3D! So after several experiments trying to come up with something easy for little hands to make... we came up with this! Not only do the kids get to make flowers... but they get to review shapes while doing it! We're actually on the topic of squares this week, and had just finished our discussion on circles. Hence, we used the square and circle shape. Of course...Read More » Tags Share Comments (3 )
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Filed under: Arts and Crafts, Christmas, Holiday crafts, Mothers' Day, Patterns, Skill development, Teaching Ideas
Necklace Making
by Cheryl Villareal on Aug 26th, 2010
Here's another fun activity to help develop children's fine motor skills! In this activity, they will have to carefully hold the string and insert the beads. You may be surprised to learn what a tedious job this actually is! A lot of children still have difficulty holding the string properly, others cannot figure out how to pull out the string from the other end of the bead, and still others, cannot figure out how to insert the string. Hence, the...Read More » Tags Share Comments (0 )
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Filed under: Arts and Crafts, Edible crafts, Featured, Messy art, Teaching Ideas
Pasta Painting
by Cheryl Villareal on Aug 19th, 2010
I'm the type of teacher who really likes those messy art activities! I feel that children are able to express themselves better this way! I like that they are free to be as messy as they want to be for a while. That being said, this activity I'm about to share is one of my favorites! It wasn't as messy as I imagined it to be since the kids were in their school uniforms, but it was still a lot of fun! We were on the topic of long and short but ...Read More » Tags Share Comments (2 )
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Filed under: Animals and Insects, Colors and Shapes, Featured, Teaching Ideas
Elephant CDs
by Cheryl Villareal on Aug 12th, 2010
Do you still have your old CDs from way back and have no idea what to do with them? Well why not turn them into animals? This week, our class studied the concepts of long and short! So to further strengthen the discussion, we had them make elephant CDs and play with its long nose! As I showed them a sample, I also showed them how the nose started short and grew longer and longer! It's really easy to do and the kids had a lot of fun stretching ...Read More » Tags Share Comments (1 )
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Filed under: Arts and Crafts, Colors and Shapes, Shared Blogs, Teaching Ideas
A Response to Circle Stamping
by Cheryl Villareal on Aug 11th, 2010
Teacher Regine Aniban from Little Presidents' Learning Palace used the circle stamping activity for her pre-toddler class! According to her, the kids really had so much fun stamping the circle! It was a very simple yet also creative and enjoyable activity. She shared some photos with me through facebook and allowed me to share it with you, my dear readers. Enjoy! Thank you Teacher Regine! :) . Materials used.... . Kids at work...Read More » Tags Share Comments (0 )
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Filed under: Reading and Language, Stories, Teaching Ideas
Hug by Jez Alborough
by Cheryl Villareal on Aug 10th, 2010
Just seeing the front cover already caught my attention! It's a really cute story about a baby monkey who just really wants a hug! Who would've thought that a book containing only ONE word would be so much fun? Children of all ages can relate to it... from the tiny toddlers to the grown up kindergartners.The book is simply about a little monkey taking a walk around the jungle. He sees different animal cubs and their mommies all hugging. The ...Read More » Tags Share Comments (0 )