Putting the Pretty In Preschool - Finding Beauty In Everyday Early Childhood Experiences

Reptile Egg Science

September 10, 2019 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

Here’s an easy to do Science experiment to transform an unshelled, boiled egg into a rubbery reptile egg! It’s perfect for the classroom or to do with your children at home.

Reptile egg activities. Make a rubbery reptile egg and use turtle and snake figurines with egg theme play mats.

Animal eggs come in different colors, shapes, sizes and shell textures. Bird eggs feel hard. Snakes and many turtles lay soft shelled eggs with a rubbery feel. Snake eggs are usually oval; turtle eggs are round to slightly oblong.

Scroll to the bottom of the page to download free printables to extend this activity.

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Activities With Sunflowers

August 26, 2019 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

Sunflowers are a summer showstopper on a patio or balcony, or in a garden. They make stunning cut flowers. When mature, sunflower parts are ideal for Art, nature, and sensory activities with young children.

Art, nature and sensory activities with a variety of sunflowers and their parts.

Growing Sunflowers

Sunflowers are easy to grow. And there are so many varieties to choose from! Featured below are golden yellow midsized ones (Golden Hedge), rust and yellow sunflowers (Evening Sun) and a fluffy double flower “teddybear” kind.

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Dinosaur And Sweet Potato Vine Activities

July 26, 2019 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

One Spring I was greenhouse shopping, and a ledge of sweet potato vines caught my attention. The sales clerk suggested that the leaves looked like dinosaur footprints.
That thought stuck with me, and soon after I picked two uniquely colored sweet potato vines to add contrast to the flowering plants on my deck. I was also eager to use some leaves in dinosaur themed nature play.
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“Oh, The Places I’ll Go” Dr. Seuss Theme

June 26, 2019 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

Dr. Seuss theme featuring small world, art, language arts, math and self esteem building activities.

The storybook “Oh, The Places I’ll Go! By Me, Myself”, written and illustrated by Dr. Seuss is perfect for the last theme of the year and end of term class party! It’s the companion book to the Dr. Seuss title “Oh, The Places You’ll Go”, a popular book for gifting.

“Oh, The Places I’ll Go!” is an interactive storybook. It offers many opportunities for discussions and creativity. The topics encourage preschoolers to
-illustrate
-contribute thoughts
-make choices
-learn about resiliency

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Best Friends Forever Printables

June 9, 2019 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

There is less than two weeks left of school, and the last day of class is just around the corner. My preschoolers have made such precious friendships, but soon they will be parted for the summer holidays. Come Fall the older children will be heading to different kindergartens, as there are many choices in our city. Most preschoolers will no longer see each other on a regular basis.

Father/Preschooler Superhero Party

May 28, 2019 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

As everyone can attest, Superhero activities are hugely engaging for children. Superheroes is also a topic I was hesitant to plan a full theme around for many years. I was afraid that the children’s excitement level would go up, and never return to a manageable rate.

One year I decided a generic Superhero theme could be feasible as the last one of the school term. I thought the children might get riled up, but I would be sending them home for the summer afterwards!

The Superhero theme was a hit, and turned out to be perfectly manageable. Dress up props were available in the gymnasium, where loud noises and running were the norm. A number of books read in the classroom highlighted good character traits of Superheroes. Puzzles, manipulative toys, and sensory trays rounded out our activities.