Putting The Pretty In Preschool

Finding Beauty In Everyday Early Childhood Experiences

construction vehicles

Flower Planting Sensory Play

by Leave a Comment

Bring spring inside by introducing these four flower planting sensory play activities to your little learners.

_______

One of the best things to do in spring is to visit greenhouses, pick flowers, and then plant them in gardens and pots. Little learners can experience this indoors in flower planting sensory play activities.

A few easy-to-gather supplies are all that is needed for children to engage in spring planting sensory activities. Featured are four sensory tray ideas.

_______

Follow me on Pinterest for more ideas.

_______

Seed Tray Flower Planting

Set up this no-fuss flower planting sensory activity today!

_______

Seed trays are the perfect size for planting miniature flower figurines.

Supplies To Collect:

  • small seed starter trays
  • flower figurines
  • dried black beans

Set out the seed starter trays, along with a bowl of black beans and flower figurines. Invite little learners to plant flowers in black bean “dirt.”

_______

Flower Planting Sensory Tray

Miniature flower and butterfly figurines take center stage in this easy-to-set-up flower planting sensory activity.

_______

The low edge in serving trays makes them ideal for little learners to reach in and explore sensory materials.

Supplies To Collect

  • small seed starter trays
  • dessert cups
  • flower and butterfly figurines
  • spoons
  • serving tray

Spread a layer of black beans in an edged serving tray. Set in dessert cups and spoons.

Then place containers with flowers and butterflies next to the tray.

Invite little learners to scoop and pour black beans, plant flowers, and add butterflies to their designs.

_______

Book-Inspired Construction Zone Tray

A bean-based sensory bin inspired by the storybook "The Digger And the Flower" by Joseph Kuefler.

_______

This book-inspired sensory tray features an unlikely pairing: a construction vehicle and flower figurines.

Supplies To Collect

  • picture Book: The Digger And The Flower
  • black beans
  • rocks
  • flower figurines
  • serving tray

Read the endearing picture book called “The Digger And The Flower” by Joseph Kuefler. It’s a keeper!

Then layer a base of black beans in a serving tray.

Next set in a construction vehicle digger, rocks, and a few flowers.

Afterward, invite students to take turns exploring the tray.

_______

Rice Bin Flower Planting

Miniature flower figurines take center stage in this easy-to-set-up flower planting rice bin.

_______

Rice makes an economical sensory base in this bin.

Supplies To Collect:

  • brown rice
  • seed starter trays
  • flower and butterfly figurines
  • wooden scoops
  • plastic bin

Spread brown rice in a bin. I feature a food service bin that accommodates two to three children.  Add in seed starter trays, flower figurines, and wooden scoops for little learners to use in the bin.

_______

Note: Eaten raw, black beans and rice are toxic. Supervision is important when offering these activities. If your little charges are prone to sticking things in their mouths, consider using an edible sensory base.

_______

These four flower planting sensory play invitations take only minutes to set up. With slight variations in supplies, the flower and butterfly figurines can be explored in new ways.

_______

Related: Carrot Paint Prints

_______

[Read more…] about Flower Planting Sensory Play

Painting With Construction Vehicles

by Leave a Comment

Your little learners will love this painting with construction vehicles process art activity. They'll get to make muddy tire tracks on paper.

_______

Painting with construction vehicles has to be one of the most fun process art activities there is to do. It is easy, messy, and involves heavy-duty vehicles, so what child wouldn’t dive right in? And the art invitation can be set up in minutes.

_______

Supplies to Collect

There are just a few supplies to gather for this out of the box art activity:

  • black and brown tempera paint
  • paint pots
  • spoons
  • newspapers or plastic tablecloth
  • 18-inch x 24-inch manila paper
  • toy heavy-duty construction vehicles

_______

Follow me on Pinterest for more early learning ideas.

_______

Your little learners will love this messy painting activity. They'll get to make muddy tracks with a toy construction vehicle.

_______

The Painting With Construction Vehicles Process

First, cover a table with newspaper or a plastic tablecloth.

Then give participants a large sheet of sturdy paper. I usually choose manila because it comes in various sizes, holds tempera paint well, and is inexpensive to buy.

Add black and brown tempera paint to pots and insert a spoon into each one.

Allow everyone to use the spoons to scoop up paint and drip blobs of it on their paper.

Then invite them to choose a construction vehicle to “drive” through the paint, making “muddy tracks” as they go. Take the opportunity to discuss the names of the heavy vehicles, and how they help out at a construction site. A good blog post to use as a reference is 16 Types Of Heavy Duty Equipment Used In Construction.

Your little learners will love this construction vehicle process art activity. They'll get to make lots of muddy tracks on paper.

_______

Tip: Save a set of economical construction vehicles to use for this art project. And repurpose them in other messier activities. For instance, we reuse ours in winter to play in the snow.

Your little learners will love this heavy vehicle process art painting activity. They'll get to make lots of muddy tracks on paper with toy construction vehicles.

_______

Allow time to help the children wash up after the painting activity is over. And make sure to clean the heavy-duty vehicles in soapy water.

Adding a construction vehicle cut from a magazine or catalog to the dried projects would be a nice finishing touch.

_______

Variations Of This Construction Vehicle Painting Activity

Try one of these simple variations of this super fun activity:

  • Offer the art invitation on a paper roll spread over a table. Or use a plastic tablecloth as a canvas for the vehicles to make muddy tracks.
  • Substitute primary paint colors (or another color scheme) for black and brown.
  • Use toy cars or recreational trucks instead of construction vehicles.
  • Do this painting activity in an active world tray, either indoors or outside.

_______

Your little learners will love this messy painting activity. They'll get to make muddy tracks with toy construction vehicles.

_______

This construction vehicle painting activity is one I introduce to my preschoolers every year, as it is important to me to include messy and fun process art painting opportunities. And it is a hit every single time.

_______

Related: Painting With Corn Cobs

_______

[Read more…] about Painting With Construction Vehicles