Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) Preschool Activity: Fireworks in a Jar

Another fun firework activity we did were these fireworks in a jar. I saw the basic idea of oil color diffusion at I Can Teach My Child, and added the glitter and sequins for longer lasting fun.

My boys had as much fun with these fireworks in a jar as they did snow globes and played with them for a long time.

This is also another great activity to do around 4th of July.

Chinese New Year or 4th of July Preschool Activity: Fireworks in a Jar

• Watertight jars with lids
• Water
• Bowl or shallow baking dish
• Oil
• Food coloring
• Glitter and/or sequins if desired)

1. Fill a clean jar 3/4 full with water.
2. Add glitter and sequins if desired.
3. Put a few tablespoons of oil in a bowl. Drop several drops of food coloring in and use a fork to break them up into very small specks.
4. Carefully add the oil and color mixture to the jar.
5. Watch as the least dense oil holds the color at the top briefly and then the heavier color droplets begin to fall through the water and diffuse.
6. After all of the color droplets have sunk you can put the lid on tightly and let your child shake the jar filled with colored water, glitter and sequins.

This craft is from the Chinese New Year Activity Book. Enjoy this free downlaodale ebook for more Chinese New Year Activities Crafts, and Recipes.

Groundhog Holiday Preschool Activity: Edible Chocolate Groundhogs

I mentioned in passing last year that I decided at the last minute (actually about 7 pm that evening) to celebrate Groundhog Day with learning activities for my kids. But obviously I didn't get around to posting this activity in time for anyone else to try it last year, so I'll post it now.

This activity is great because it combines a craft like project and a treat.

Basically I mixed up a small batch of edible chocolate play dough and after we had watch a few videos and read some things about groundhogs and Groundhog Day I told them I had something special for them to do. I gave them each some chocolate play dough and told them to make the best groundhog they could and then after I had seen it they could eat it!

They loved this fun activity and it was a great way to complete this very simple holiday for little kids!

Preschool Holiday Activity: Play Dough Christmas

If you need an activity to keep your little ones busy for a while you are preparing for the holidays or while you are in the middle of entertaining and trying to keep a lot of little people happy and out of trouble, grab some play dough and tell them to make anything they can think of related to the holiday.

Last year my boys spent an entire morning building Christmas trees, Nativity scenes, gifts, Christmas food etc. They even made play dough relatives and a bunch of stories in the process.

You can also have them make letters and try to spell out holiday words. But that might require more adult involvement.

Homeschooling for the Holidays

Today I'm delighted to be guest posting over at Free Homeschool Deals.


From the post:

Homeschooling for the Holidays

Homeschoolers have a lot of freedom when it comes to how much school and what subjects they will cover during the busy holiday season. My boys are still young, and their workload light, so we'll be continuing our normal routine and working in fun Christmas projects.

Whether you "officially" take the entire month off, do "Christmas School," or just incorporate a few holiday activities here and there, these 5 ideas can help your family keep learning and have fun during the holidays.


Read the full post here.

DIY Snowman Soup (Marshmallow Snowmen and Hot Chocolate Mix Recipe)

As the weather gets cooler, hot chocolate sounds more and more inviting. Making snowman soup is a great activity to perk up little kids on a dreary day. This would make a great snack for preschoolers (as long as the hot chocolate wasn't too hot of course).

Setting out marshmallow snowmen and hot chocolate at a party is also fun. And packaging up a few snowmen, hot cocoa mix, and a few chocolate spoons would make a great holiday gift.

Marshmallow Snowmen

• Marshmallow in three progressively smaller sizes (I used homemade)
• Orange sprinkles for noses
• Chocolate sprinkles for eyes

1. Push two chocolate sprinkles into the smallest marshmallow for eyes and one orange sprinkle for the nose.
2. Stack up marshmallows like you are building a snowman.
3. Wrap individually in plastic wrap or cellophane bags if giving as a gift or add straight to your hot cocoa to make snowman soup.

 Fresh Hot Chocolate by the Cup

• 1 cup milk
• 1-2 Tbsp cocoa powder
• 1-2 Tbsp sugar
• Dash of vanilla and/or salt if desired

1. Heat milk in microwave or small saucepan, until just bubbling around the edges (not a rolling boil).
2. Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients, adjusting to personal taste.
3. Add a marshmallow snowman to make snowman soup or top with whipped cream if desired.

Basic Hot Cocoa Mix Recipe

• 1 cup dry milk powder
• 1 cup powdered coffee creamer (can used flavored to make flavored hot cocoa or even just another cup of dry milk powder)
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cups sugar

1. Blend powdered milk in the blender to make it dissolve more easily and look less chunky.
2. Either blend all other ingredients as well to mix, or layer in a jay to create a sand art type effect for gift giving.
3. Store in airtight container.
4. To serve boil one cup of water and mix in 2-4 Tbsp hot cocoa mix.
5. Add a marshmallow snowman to make snowman soup or top with whipped cream if desired.

Sweetest Holiday Preschool Activity: Play Dough Love Letters

If you want to do a really simple preschool activity for Sweetest Day, Valentine's Day, or any other lovely holiday, consider making play dough love letters. You only really need play dough (homemade or store bought) for this activity and you can easily customize it to many kids ability levels.

All the kids will get some exposure to written letters and words and have some fun in the process. this is a great multisensory activity for reading and writing. A visual, kinesthetic, and tactile experience that also helps build hand muscle strength through working with the play dough.

If you really want to thrill the kids and turn this activity into snack time as well, you could use edible chocolate play dough!

Sweetest Day or Valentine's Day Preschool Activity: Play Dough Love Letters

• Play dough (homemade or store bought)
• Rolling pins, cookie cutters, plastic knifes or scissors, chopsticks, etc. (totally optional)

Give each child a lump of play dough and whatever instructions you want them to follow.

The youngest children who can't really follow instructions yet can play with play dough in festive holiday colors.

Young children can try to make hearts or single letters. My second born age three at the time could do this quite well.

Older children can spell out entire words or phrases. You can write them on a blackboard or magnetic writer for them to copy if they are still learning how to spell. My firstborn son who was four at the time really got into this activity and kept wanting to spell longer and longer words!

President's Day Preschool Activity: Pretend You're a President Mask

Happy President's Day! We had quite a bit of fun celebrating President's Day this year and I hope that you will too. One of the highlights were these easy pretend you are a president peek-hole masks. They are a fast and easy presidential craft perfect for preschoolers. We made Lincoln and Washington masks, but of course you could choose any other president(s) you wanted After they are done making their masks they can pretend to be presidents as long as they like.

Pretend You're a President Mask Preschool Craft

• Cardboard or poster board
• Scissors
• Crayons, markers, or something else to decorate with

I simply drew the outlines I wanted for Lincoln and Washington on cardboard as well as the peek hole for the child's face and cut them out. Then I showed my kids pictures of these presidents again and let them color the masks. Then they had fun pretending to be the presidents.

At first Lincoln was the coolest, because he has a top hat (like Sir Topham Hatt from Thomas the Tank Engine). But then we told them about how Washington was a soldier and how he had a sword, and then Washington was the coolest and both boys wanted to be Washington with a sword.

Eventually, everyone ending up sharing nicely even with the baby. :)

DIY Edible Chocolate Play Dough Gift (Special Preschool Age Activity and Treat in One!)

This year I decided at the last minute on February 2 that we would actually celebrate Groundhog's Day with some activities this year. Yeah, I'm kind of random like that. So (among other things that maybe I'll talk about another time) I mixed up some chocolate edible play dough on a whim, and we made chocolate groundhogs. They were tasty.

The boys loved the play dough so much and they have been asking for it ever since. So I decided one of their Valentine's presents would be edible chocolate play dough and M&M's to decorate their creations with. This activity is great because it is so easily customizable for any holiday. You could also challenge a young child to make certain shapes or an older child to make letters and spell words out of the play dough to make it more educational.

Whether you need a last minute Valentine for your kids, an activity and treat in one for any other holiday, or just something to do on a rainy day, I think this will be a hit.

Homemade Edible Chocolate Play Dough Recipe

• 1 cup peanut butter (you could probably substitute sun butter for those with allergies, but I haven't tried)
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup powdered milk or oat flour (I used homemade oat flour and it worked great)
• 2 Tbsp cocoa powder (of course you can just leave it out for a non-chocolate version)

In a mixing bowl stir and knead all ingredients until well combined to form a soft dough. If it turns out too dry, you can add more peanut butter or milk (if you are going to use it very soon) one tablespoon at a time.

Store in an airtight container. And since I made it ahead of time,  just to be safe I am keeping it in the refrigerator until I give it to them in two days.

I am packaging it up with some M&M's which are a huge treat at our house. I think any colored candy or even dried fruits and nuts could work well though.

DIY Paper Heart Wreath (Valentine's Decoration and Preschool Craft in One!)

Much like our paper heart garland, this is another pretty Valentine's decoration that I adapted from a picture perfect version to make it into a preschool activity for my two boys (4 1/2 and 3 years old).

We also don't have any scrapbook paper and I didn't want to waste printer ink on this project, so I came up with a different way to make the decorative paper. This added another element that small kids can do easily as well.

Homemade Paper Heart Wreath

Paper

Markers, crayons, or colored pencils in Valentine's colors of your choice

Stamps and ink pad (you could use stickers or something else to decorate the other side as well)

Hole punch and string (Or some other way to fasten the hearts together like glue, tape, or even staples)

Tape and or a straw to make a needle for the string (optional)

1. First we decorated our paper. We stamped Valentine related stamps on one side and scribbled a lot of reds and pinks on the other.














2. Then I cut the strips, about 2 inches by about 14 inches, and folded the strips in half. I folded half of the strips with the stamp side out and the other half with the scribble side out.



3. I punched two sets of holes at the top and middle. Later I discovered I needed another set of holes at the bottom to stabilize the wreath.
4. Then we strung them together. First we curled the top ends around so the outsides went in and touched each other forming a heart.
5. Then starting at one side sew through the heart, looping it through both the middle holes to secure the top of the heart together, and then out the other side. Sew through all of the holes on one side of the heart this way and then go back through the other side. Then sew through the holes at the bottom of the heart.
























6. Tie ends of string together and make a loop to hang.