Putting The Pretty In Preschool

Finding Beauty In Everyday Early Childhood Experiences

Annette Kaminsky

Easter Bunny Light Table Activity

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There are a lot of great educational toys for the light table, and I regularly collect them. Routine shopping trips can lead to beautiful, unexpected finds for the center. This Easter bunny light table activity was assembled after a prize find on one of my run-of-the-mill trips.

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Easter Bunny Light Table Supplies

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The following supplies are in this effortless Easter bunny light table activity:

  • transparent tabletop bunnies
  • bunny candy holders
  • transparent plastic egg garland
  • large clear bowl
  • clear reusable egg tray
  • clear plastic egg carton

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The Easter Bunny Light Table Activity

Transparent acrylic and polyester tabletop bunnies were the unique find and are the inspiration for this Easter light table activity.

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Bunny candy holders, easily picked up at dollar stores, add variety to the bunny collection.

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Plastic eggs in transparent spring colors cut from an Easter garland are set in a clear bowl for sorting.

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A clear reusable egg tray and a clear plastic egg carton are the sorting containers.

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More Easter Light Table Ideas

To keep things simpler, skip the transparent bunnies and go with bunny candy holders, transparent fillable Easter eggs, egg trays, and round acrylic gems.

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For more light play fun, set out Easter bunny, chick, and carrot candy holders along with light-up Easter chicks and acrylic gems for little learners to explore.

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More Light Table Play Ideas

Rainbow Light Table Sensory Tray

Gorgeous Eye Dropper Art

Canada Day Light Table

Transparent Page Divider Activities

Light Table Leaf Exploration

Christmas Light Table Small World

Valentine’s Day Light Table Play

Valentine’s Day Jewelry Light Table

St. Patrick’s Day Light Table Tray

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Squish Painting Shamrock Art

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This March I needed to get new art up quickly, and decided to have my little learners participate in a squish painting shamrock art project. Squish painting is a quick and satisfying art activity that little children love to do. Using folded hearts for the art project, the shamrock art is effortless to create.

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Supplies To Collect

Gather the following supplies for this seasonal squish art activity:

  • magenta, green, and white tempera paint
  • magenta and green cardstock paper
  • manila tag paper
  • ruler, pencil, and scissors
  • paint pots and spoons

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The Squish Painting Art Project

To prepare this activity, start by tracing and cutting out hearts from sturdy paper. Manila tag paper works well for the project. It comes in 9 x 12-inch, 12 x 18-inch, or even 18 x 24-inch paper sizes. The larger-sized paper allows for cutting bigger hearts.

When finished with the cutting part, fold the hearts in half. 

Next, mix a little yellow into the green tempera paint to create a lighter brighter color.

Then set out green and white paint pots, and add a spoon to each one.

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Invite participants to spoon each paint color onto their hearts, then fold one side over the other.

Have children rub their hands over their heart halves to smooth out the paint.

Finally, ask them to open their hearts to see the new design created.

Shamrock Art Display

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To make a shamrock using the squish-painted hearts, group the hearts into three leaflets. Glue them to a large cardstock background or tape them to a wall. Then cut a long, thin petiole from green cardstock paper. Affix the petiole to the shamrock design.

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Variation of the Squish Painting Shamrock Art Project

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Introduce a new tempera paint color for an interesting way to vary this squish painting shamrock art project. Since shamrock plants also come in a purple variety called purple oxalis, using magenta paint instead of green is a natural fit for changing up the activity. 

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Related:

Shamrock Leaf Print Art

St. Patrick’s Day Sheep Craft

Shamrock Paper Plate Lion

Leprechaun Gnome Craft

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Leprechaun Goop Sensory Bin

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Have you ever heard of goop? It is made with cornstarch and water and can act both as a liquid and a solid. It is the perfect sensory base to trap or untrap leprechauns in this leprechaun goop sensory bin.

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Leprechaun Goop Supplies

Gather the following supplies for this super slimy goop-based bin:

  • cornstarch
  • water
  • green food coloring
  • bus tub or saucer sled
  • spoon for stirring
  • leprechaun figurines
  • craft foam shamrocks
  • reusable ice cube shamrocks
  • green ping pong balls
  • green and gold play coins
  • shamrock necklace pieces
  • washable tablecloth

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Making the Leprechaun Goop Sensory Bin

Goop is made from two taste-safe ingredients: water and cornstarch. It can be thicker or thinner, depending on how much water you add.

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To prepare the goop, select a bin for the activity. I feature a round saucer sled, but a regular bus tub would work fine. Set the bin on a table covered with a washable tablecloth.

Next, pour two large containers of cornstarch into the bin.

Then fill one of the containers with water and add green food coloring.

Pour the colored water over the goop and carefully stir the mixture with a spoon. You may wish to add a little more water until you get the consistency of a thick slime.

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When the mixture is stirred, set in leprechaun figurines.

Add foam shamrocks, reusable ice cube shamrocks, green ping pong balls, green and gold play coins, and strings cut from shamrock-themed garland to the bin.

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The Leprechaun Sensory Bin

Children of all ages love exploring a goop sensory bin. The goop is sticky so participants can have fun trapping and untrapping leprechauns in it along with using the other supplies.

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Keep a tub of water and a hand towel close by so it is easy to wash up after participants use the sensory bin.

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For variety, add a gel window cling leprechaun or a leprechaun hat and legs to the bin instead of the figurines.

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This activity looks pretty messy, but splotches of goop on the table and floor are easy to sweep up or wipe away with soapy water and a cloth.

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Properties of Goop

With a thicker batch of goop, it is fun to explore its ability to turn from a liquid to a solid and vice versa. Left at room temperature the mixture is a liquid. When the goop is squeezed in a hand it becomes a solid. And when fingers are unfurled, the goop becomes a liquid again. How cool!

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More St. Patrick’s Day Sensory Bins

St. Patrick’s Day Woodland Bin

St. Patrick’s Day Sensory Tub

Leprechaun Sensory Play

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St. Patrick’s Day Gnome Craft

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Leprechaun activities are a fun part of St. Patrick’s Day for children, and this St. Patrick’s Day gnome craft is a fun one to include in the Irish-themed celebration. There is a free leprechaun gnome template to download to make the paper craft easy to prepare.

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Check out these two St. Patrick’s Day printable products in my Skills N Smiles Etsy shop:

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St. Patrick’s Day Gnome Craft Supplies

This cheeky craft is made primarily of cardstock paper, with a few additional supplies. Gather the following for the craft:

  • three shades of green cardstock paper
  • tan, orange, black, and white cardstock paper
  • 8 ½ x 11-inch white, yellow, or mint green cardstock
  • green glitter cardstock
  • shamrock confetti
  • tiny gold pom poms or craft buttons
  • glue stick and white glue
  • scissors and pencil

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St. Patrick’s Day Gnome Craft Preparation

To prepare this March craft, cut a leprechaun body and hat from two different shades of green cardstock.

Next cut a round nose, two round hands, and two oval feet from tan cardstock paper. I used paper punches for the shapes but included circles and ovals in the downloadable template in this post.

Afterward, cut a heart-shaped beard from white or orange cardstock, and a money pot from black cardstock.

Cut the rim of the hat from green glitter cardstock.

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Click on this link to download the leprechaun template for this craft.

Leprechaun Gnome PrintableDownload

This printable is for individual or one classroom use only.

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Then select mint green, white, or yellow 8 ½ inch x 11-inch cardstock to glue the leprechaun parts on.

Finally, pick tiny gold pom poms or small buttons to represent gold, and have available shamrock confetti.

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The St. Patrick’s Day Gnome Craft

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To make this leprechaun gnome craft, use a glue stick to affix an oval body onto a piece of 8 ½ x 11-inch cardstock, and add the heart-shaped beard and leprechaun nose.

Next, glue on the hat and add a glitter green rim.

Then add two oval feet, the money pot, and two round hands.

Affix a confetti shamrock to the end of the hat and add one or more to the center of it for decoration.

Finally, glue tiny pom poms or small buttons on and above the money pot to represent gold.

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Instead of using shamrock confetti, pom poms, or buttons as finishing touches, you can cut apart St. Patrick’s Day necklaces to use for your craft. The tiny coins on the necklace can be used as treasure, and the necklace shamrocks can be used instead of confetti ones.

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Wouldn’t a group of paper-crafted gnomes look adorable in a St. Patrick’s Day display?

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Related:

St. Patrick’s Day Sheep Craft

Shamrock Paper Plate Lion Craft

Leprechaun Sensory Jar

Leprechaun Sensory Play

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Barbie Inspired Dramatic Play

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Barbie dolls were a favorite toy to play with in my childhood days, and my daughter loved them equally as much. I especially enjoyed dressing the dolls up in all kinds of gorgeous clothing, and styling their hair different ways. When the recent Barbie: The Movie came out I was into the pink hues just as much as the set designers were. And after stumbling across a beautiful Barbie-themed display room at our local Ikea store, I was totally down for creating a Barbie-inspired dramatic play set up for my little learners. As you might expect, it has lots of pink.

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Supplies In The Dramatic Play Set Up

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The following supplies are in the Barbie-inspired dramatic play set up:

  • pink plates, cups, trays, and dessert bowls
  • pink tea set
  • sliced pink pool noodles
  • painted pink egg flat, egg flat lid, and cup holder
  • pink curlers and heart-shaped cookie cutters
  • pink felt hearts and reusable ice cubes
  • gold tree decorations
  • gold buttons and bead strands
  • black and white box
  • black and white scrabble pieces
  • gold, pink, black, and white pom poms
  • white plush snowballs, play eggs, and cotton balls
  • pink tablecloth
  • vase of flowers

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The Barbie Inspired Dramatic Play Tablescape

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The overall color scheme for this Barbie-inspired dramatic play center is pink, with loose parts in black, white, and gold. The supplies are set up as a play tablescape but could be spread out on shelves and/or play kitchen appliances.

It is easy to find pink-themed tableware suitable for little learners to play with, and there is plenty of it in this center.

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Although I wondered if I needed any more pink hues, I decided to follow up my idea of having a few little learners paint a four-slot disposable cup holder and an egg carton flat and lid in a bright pink hue. I was glad I did because the results were stunning.

Note: White tempera paint mixed with a little red makes a pretty pink color.

The egg flat works for holding large black pom poms and play eggs.

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The egg flat lid makes a perfect tray for loose parts reimagined as play food.

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The four-compartment cup holder contains drink cups or white plush imaginary muffins or snow cones nicely.

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Little learners love using loose parts, and I enjoy seeing their creativity in playing with them. The black, white, pink, and gold loose parts in this table set up help create the unique color scheme.

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Adding Barbie dolls and Barbie-themed décor would be the perfect addition in this pink-infused dramatic play tablescape.

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Related:

Pink Shirt Day Dramatic Play

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