Showing posts with label Preschool. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Preschool. Show all posts
Saturday, February 28, 2026
Tuesday, February 24, 2026
Thursday, February 5, 2026
Preschool Creative Curriculum: Supplemental Resource Ideas
Our preschool classrooms love diving into the Creative Curriculum studies throughout the year. Each study invites children to explore big ideas through play, conversation, and discovery. To make learning even richer, our teachers add special supplemental resources, including dramatic play props, engaging books, and hands-on activities, to help children explore each topic in meaningful and memorable ways.
As we create our teaching totes, we will add resources to this page to highlight some of our favorite materials for enhancing learning and play. To begin this series, we are building our Plant Study tote.
Compostable Potting Containers
Tiny Seed by Eric Carle
Friday, June 1, 2012
Preschool and Kindergarten Graduation
Next Monday we will be celebrating our second little Kindergarten graduate. Aside from the fact I absolutely can't believe my "baby girl" is headed to first grade, I am in charge of the goodies for after the program. Therefore, I was inspired to do a little online searching to see what other clever teachers and mommas are doing to celebrate this early childhood milestone!
Under the Alphabet Tree put together a very special celebration for her class of Kindergarten grads. You will love the many colorful certificates available for download in their post.
Candice and Ezra shared pictures from their preschool graduation ceremony. The children have adorable caps made of paper and curling ribbon. They also enjoyed some yummy looking cupcakes.
{photo credit: CandiceandEzra.blogspot.com}
Little Giraffes Teaching Ideas has a post explaining the agenda for a kindergarten graduation ceremony including songs with motions and chocolate cap snacks for the after party.
Anita Poems shares one special poem for graduations at each stage in education: Preschool, Kindergarten, Middle School, High School, and College.
Teach With Me has a sample 2012 Grad bookmark suggestion you might want to use as a party favor.
{photo credit: TeachWithMe.com}
Hummingbird Educational Resources explain the activities they use for the end of the school year, including several sweet ideas for a graduation program. I especially like the idea of the Dear Parent's letter (found when you scroll down a bit in the post). They also changed the lyrics to some familiar nursery rhymes to make them thematic.
Simple Girl put together an adorable Kindergarten Graduation party for her Kinder daughter with cute decorations and favors.
Download this smartie pants printable to attach to a bag of treats for your Kinder sweetie.
Preschool Professor has put together a list of appropriate songs to play during an early childhood graduation celebration.
The Everyday Teaching Digests have a printable graduation poem you may like to use for your ceremony.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Journal Writing with Preschoolers & Kindergarteners
Let The Children Play uses journaling portfolios to show children's progress and learning.
Preschool Lesson Plans encourages writing with a creatively stocked center.
Inspiration Surrounds, Creativity Abounds uses a matchbox picture activity to stimulate story starting suggestions for storytelling which could be recorded by an adult.
Katie, from A List Maker's Life, uses cut up sentences with early elementary children to encourage journaling.
Waddleeachaa has a great series on teaching writing. Here are the basics about journal writing with preschool age students and another about working on journaling with kindergarteners.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Play To Learn: Alphabet Alley
Hi everyone! Welcome to this month’s Play To Learn post! Today I’m going to tell you about a brand new company I’ve found called Alphabet Alley! They have all kinds of super cute Christian preschool games and activities!
Alphabet Alley is a Christian company that specializes in fun, educational faith-based toys for younger children. Melissa Cameron Flemming, (and her husband Jason), took over Alphabet Alley after Melissa worked for them as National Accounts Manager.
Their products are geared towards encouraging families and introducing God’s Word in to children’s hearts. I absolutely LOVE the quality of these products, they’re all very durable, colorful, and just plain cute!
Here are some of my favorites:
- Two by Two Memory Matching game
- Go Fish Games
- Child is Born Magnetic Play Set
- Jigsaw Puzzles
- Stacking Blocks
Want more information? If you stop by for a visit, make sure that you let Melissa know Erica @ Confessions sent you over!
- Visit the Alphabet Alley Website
- Follow Alphabet Alley on Facebook
- Follow Alphabet Alley on Twitter
I’ll be hosting a giveaway in a few weeks on my blog as well, so make sure to keep an eye out! Melissa is going to giveaway a Bible Train Adventures Set for one awesome reader!
If you have more ideas to share, or would like to be included in future “Play To Learn” posts, please email me at homeschoolerconfessions {at} gmail {dot} com, we’d love to hear from you!
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Moving In the Write Direction
A while back I had written about writing programs in the preschool classroom with the intention of following up and blogging just a bit more on the subject. After my trip to Tampa and presenting at One Goal Summer Conference, I am geared up and ready to write!
As we are quickly approaching the new school year (crazy, I know), as early childhood teachers we want to begin thinking on how we can build on what we have already done, make it better and engage the children with much more anticipation for learning. The key is your passion as a teacher and the difference you make is up to you. You have the power to change what is going on across your state, in your classroom and in the minds of your children and families that you serve.
The key to a successful writing-rich class is inspirational materials! What better way to motivate children to write than to inspire them.
I want you to understand that if you engulf them with print, access to materials and different mediums and the time to initiate, engage and complete, they will be great writers.
Writing is a process and if you want them to be able to write you must start with the scribble! Scribbling is the first attempt of object to symbol relationship. They may see a cat in their little mind and then write the word cat in a scribble. As they are thinking it, they will write it. They may even draw the cat (which you may not be able to see it) and then write it (again, you may not see it).
As they begin to go through the different writing stages, you will begin to see symbols forming into actual letters. You will be able to begin decoding their writing.
Above in the pictures I have taken the blue rice medium, paired it with magnetic alphabet pieces, word family cards that they can use to spell out words and then write them down on their notebook.
Here I have again scaffold the tray for one child: purple sand, red alphabet pasta, a notepad, tongs, tools, and a sifter for easy clean up. Here the children could use the cards to find words or just pick out letters.
I also want to share with you a secret! Anything can become a writing center and it can be anywhere in the room. Other than you standard, stationary writing center have mobile writing centers that can go anywhere in the room and even outside. This encourages more writing and more creativity from the children. Below I have taken a box from a computer keyboard that is very sturdy and made it into a mobile writing center.
I love the magnetic drawing boards. These are so inexpensive and you can get them just about anywhere. I like to pair them with other materials. Below I have paired them with cards and trays. This activity is scaffold for two children with two of each materials.
Another way to encourage children to write is to write letters to each other, family members, etc. We all know they like to write letters! So come up with creative ways to implement letter writing. Here I have used a Purex All In One detergent box stuffed with envelopes and used as a mobile mail box around the room. There are so many things that you could do with this in your classroom. Get really creative with getting the children excited about send some mail!
There so much more to say about writing, so I will leave you with these thoughts. Surround your preschoolers with materials in their classroom that they can't resist. Be creative and have a well-balanced method of open-ended and teacher directed writing. Please don't ever make children sit for long periods of time and be forced to write. You want them to come back day after day with a motivation and persistence to write. Go non-traditional, think outside the box and give them the support that they need to become successful writers.
Until next time, go teach the children.
Priscilla
As we are quickly approaching the new school year (crazy, I know), as early childhood teachers we want to begin thinking on how we can build on what we have already done, make it better and engage the children with much more anticipation for learning. The key is your passion as a teacher and the difference you make is up to you. You have the power to change what is going on across your state, in your classroom and in the minds of your children and families that you serve.
The key to a successful writing-rich class is inspirational materials! What better way to motivate children to write than to inspire them.
I want you to understand that if you engulf them with print, access to materials and different mediums and the time to initiate, engage and complete, they will be great writers.
Writing is a process and if you want them to be able to write you must start with the scribble! Scribbling is the first attempt of object to symbol relationship. They may see a cat in their little mind and then write the word cat in a scribble. As they are thinking it, they will write it. They may even draw the cat (which you may not be able to see it) and then write it (again, you may not see it).
As they begin to go through the different writing stages, you will begin to see symbols forming into actual letters. You will be able to begin decoding their writing.
I lke to st bi alk
(I like to sit by Alec.)
Don't take their scribbles for granted! This is the beginning of a beautiful writing experience.
Below are some pictures of activities that children can experience. Think above and beyond the paper and pencil when it comes to materials and think multiple mediums (rice, flour, beans, sand, etc.) and unexpected tools such as some of the ones you will see below.
 | |||||
| cookie sheet micro scaffold for one child |
Above in the pictures I have taken the blue rice medium, paired it with magnetic alphabet pieces, word family cards that they can use to spell out words and then write them down on their notebook.
I also want to share with you a secret! Anything can become a writing center and it can be anywhere in the room. Other than you standard, stationary writing center have mobile writing centers that can go anywhere in the room and even outside. This encourages more writing and more creativity from the children. Below I have taken a box from a computer keyboard that is very sturdy and made it into a mobile writing center.
I love the magnetic drawing boards. These are so inexpensive and you can get them just about anywhere. I like to pair them with other materials. Below I have paired them with cards and trays. This activity is scaffold for two children with two of each materials.
Another way to encourage children to write is to write letters to each other, family members, etc. We all know they like to write letters! So come up with creative ways to implement letter writing. Here I have used a Purex All In One detergent box stuffed with envelopes and used as a mobile mail box around the room. There are so many things that you could do with this in your classroom. Get really creative with getting the children excited about send some mail!
There so much more to say about writing, so I will leave you with these thoughts. Surround your preschoolers with materials in their classroom that they can't resist. Be creative and have a well-balanced method of open-ended and teacher directed writing. Please don't ever make children sit for long periods of time and be forced to write. You want them to come back day after day with a motivation and persistence to write. Go non-traditional, think outside the box and give them the support that they need to become successful writers.
Until next time, go teach the children.
Priscilla
Monday, June 13, 2011
Play To Learn: Break The Ice!
Welcome to this week’s Play To Learn series! Today we’re having fun with Don’t Break the Ice! This game is super fun and a great logical thinking game for little guys.
The object is fairly simple, each player takes turns hammering out one little chunk of ice. The goal is to get your chunk out without dropping the bear through the ice.
They learn to systematically try the ice cubes to see which ones are lose, much like in Jenga. The player to send the bear through the ice loses, but that doesn’t seem to mind any of my kids. They just re-build and start over!
It’s a great way to teach game playing skills, taking turns, patience, and logical thinking. Plus, its just plain fun to hammer out those little chunks of ice!
If you have more ideas to share, or would like to be included in future “Play To Learn” posts, please email me at homeschoolerconfessions {at} gmail {dot} com, we’d love to hear from you!
Monday, April 11, 2011
Play To Learn: Imaginets
Welcome to this week’s Play To Learn series! Today we’re going to talk about this fun little product I picked up at our local homeschool fair called Imaginets.
As most of you know, I’m a total sucker for fun colorful stuff, and these were so cute I couldn’t resist! They come with a set of idea cards which are great for preschoolers!
Your kids use the card then re-create the image using the magnetic wooden shape blocks, or they can also create their own original designs as well.
The blocks are great for boosting fine motor, and visual thinking skills. And though the product is rated for ages 3 and up, it’s been a favorite for my 2 year old all the way to my 8 year old!
As an added bonus each side of the carrying case is magnetic, so they can build on both sides or just one. Blocks and cards easily store inside for easy storage as well! So we’ll definitely be adding Imaginets to my list of “Favorite Preschool Things!”
If you have more ideas to share, or would like to be included in future “Play To Learn” posts, please email me at homeschoolerconfessions {at} gmail {dot} com, we’d love to hear from you!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Play To Learn: Education Cubes
Hi and welcome to Play To Learn!
I’m so excited to share a new game that’s all about learning with you today! My good friend Mama Jenn just launched her new Education Cubes website where you can download TONS of different printables for learning with her education cubes and it’s perfect for my Play To Learn posts!
Education Cubes are fun educational printable cards that are to be used with Stack-N-Smile Photo blocks. Mama Jenn has created cards for just about any subject you can ask for! What I love most about the Education Cubes is that they’re fun! All my kiddos loved these and seriously, if learning can be this much fun count me in!
So far she has the following available:
- Early Learning: Alphabet, Calendar, Colors, (Numbers & Shapes coming soon)
- Language Arts: Alphabet, Dolch Site Words, Word Families (SWR Spelling coming soon)
- Math: Addition, Subtraction, Measurement, Numbers, Ordinal & Roman Numerals, (Multiplication, Division and Shapes are coming soon)
- Science: Earth Science (Biology & Chemistry coming soon)
- Geography: US Geography, US History (World Geography & World History coming soon)
- Electives: Bible & Spanish
- Misc: Christmas
She was even nice enough to create a set of them for my Letter of the Week curriculum!
![COAH Letter of the Week Capital Letters[7]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNlLrFdVbQxj8EAN5Hpj0fzGndO_hN1TlhFrUAKDrCgQlvHD5QcmYdIKfJZmBRPPUAVNGavet7kBQw1Y5Mo481IiYMzGJzv44hJDaYzI1UBcPezAIzqs-nbPN0GRo7fudHIHyXE0YGzPs/s1600-h/COAH%20Letter%20of%20the%20Week%20Capital%20Letters%5B7%5D%5B8%5D.gif "COAH Letter of the Week Capital Letters[7]")
My daughter had so much fun rolling the cubes then saying the letter that each picture started out with, it was a great way to review letter sounds.
I have to say that Mama Jenn definitely found a great way to make math fun! My kids loved rolling their dice! She currently has addition, subtraction, measurement, Numbers, Ordinal & Roman Numerals and is working on multiplication, division and shapes.
I’m doing a giveaway for Education Cubes this week too and wanted to share it with you all too!
If you have more ideas to share, or would like to be included in future “Play To Learn” posts, please email me at homeschoolerconfessions {at} gmail {dot} com, we’d love to hear from you!
Monday, October 25, 2010
Play to Learn ~ ABC Crafts
Welcome to this week’s Play To Learn where I’m sharing some of our fun letter crafts that we make each week. As we go through the alphabet we are creating these cute little foam crafts to put in an Alphabet Binder. Later we can flip through the binder and review our sounds and letters.
This year as you can see we are doing lowercase letters, last year we did uppercase letters. I get most of my ideas from the wonderful ladies at Totally Tots, but I am trying to change them to match our curriculum theme as well. Here are some of our samples thus far…
These alphabet crafts are super easy to pull together! All you need is a pack of colored foam sheets, a bag of googly eyes, a little creativity and you’re all set! To see more alphabet foam crafts visit Totally Tots!
Those are just some ideas to make the alphabet fun! If you have more ideas to share, or would like to be included in future “Play To Learn” posts, please email me at homeschoolerconfessions {at} gmail {dot} com, we’d love to hear from you!
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