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Finding Beauty In Everyday Early Childhood Experiences

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Chinese Money Tree Activities

February 2, 2021 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

Easy to do, creative Chinese money tree activities that give early learners a chance to use shiny gold coins and loose parts in art and sensory play while learning about a world-renowned celebration.
Easy to do, creative Chinese money tree activities that give early learners a chance to use shiny gold coins and loose parts in art and sensory play while learning about a world-renowned celebration.

Chinese money trees have been part of Chinese New Year celebrations since the 1980s and are a symbol of luck and wealth. People buy money trees for their homes and place them in strategic places. They also purchase and display shiny, metallic tree ornaments laden with gold coins. Here are art and sensory Chinese money tree activities your early learners will enjoy.


Chinese Money Tree Tray

Set a tree drawing inside a wooden tray. Add containers with Chinese coins and green and gold gems.

Invitation to decorate a Chinese money tree with gold coins and acrylic gems.

Feel free to download this template for the project.


Tree PrintableDownload

This printable is for individual or one classroom use only.


Invite your little learners to decorate the tree.

Invitation to decorate a Chinese money tree with gold coins and acrylic gems.

[Read more…] about Chinese Money Tree Activities

Filed Under: art, Chinese New Year, gardening, preschool, sensory, trees Tagged With: Chinese New Year, loose parts, printables, sensory tray

Beet Science And Sensory Activities

November 22, 2020 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

Beet science and sensory activities. Beet washing station, ordering beets by size, and growing new greens and roots. Links to two festive recipes.
Beet science and sensory activities. Beet washing station, ordering beets by size, and growing new greens and roots. Links to two festive recipes.

This fall at a greenhouse a display of golden beets caught my attention. They weren’t on my list to buy, but I couldn’t stop thinking about them after I got home. So on my next visit to the garden center, I purchased golden beets and a red bunch too. The showy vegetable inspired beet science and sensory activities that can be introduced on the fly.


Beet Washing Station

Set one or both kinds of beets in a tray with water and a vegetable brush. Invite your early learner to scrub the beets to make their color shine.

Beet washing station with red beets.

Red and golden beets in a beet washing station.

[Read more…] about Beet Science And Sensory Activities

Filed Under: autumn, fall, gardening, preschool, science, sensory, Thanksgiving Day Tagged With: beets, Christmas, measurement, Thanksgiving Day

Sunflower Seed Sensory Bin Activities

November 21, 2020 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

Three sunflower seed sensory bins. Dinosaurs, sunflowers, pumpkins, sand toys, and loose parts are highlights of the bins.
Three sunflower seed sensory bins. Dinosaurs, sunflowers, pumpkins, sand toys, and loose parts are highlights of the bins.

A sunflower seed sensory bin is a fantastic way for early learners to explore these edible seeds, and use them in play. The seed base is a natural fit for fall and pumpkin-themed accessories. Here are three sensory bin suggestions brimming with these dramatic seeds.


Sunflower And Sand Toy Bin

Sand toys, sunflowers, and fall-themed gems in a sunflower seed sensory bin.

Add shovels. pails, sieves, watering cans, leaf gems, round fall-themed gems, and craft sunflowers in different sizes and colors to a sunflower seed base. This bin works well as a spring gardening center. Or extend summer into fall by offering the bin to your little learners in September.


[Read more…] about Sunflower Seed Sensory Bin Activities

Filed Under: art, autumn, dinosaurs, fall, gardening, preschool, sensory Tagged With: dinsosuars, playdough, pumpkins, sensory bin, sunflower seeds, sunflowers

Flower Theme Activities

November 8, 2020 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

Flower theme art, sensory, and pretend play activities. Early learners will love the winged creatures (dragons, unicorns, and an angel) featured in the theme.
Flower theme art, sensory, and pretend play activities. Early learners will love the winged creatures (dragons, unicorns, and an angel) featured in the theme.

Last spring I picked up two voluminous begonia plants that had large wing-shaped leaves. One plant was called “dragon wing begonia,” and the other was a double pink-flowered variety with similar wing-like leaves. The vigorous plants inspired dragon and flower theme activities for early learners, and angel and unicorn play.


Nonstop Pink Begonia Flower Activities


Nonstop pink begonia still blooming after Canadian Thanksgiving Day.
Nonstop Pink Begonia

Begonia “Through The Seasons” Sensory Tray

Around Canadian Thanksgiving Day, the nonstop pink begonia was still blooming profusely. At the same time collecting pine cones was on my list of tasks to do. By the end of the week, snow was in the forecast. Our area didn’t get snow, but many places in our province did. The mingling of elements of summer, fall, and winter in that week was the inspiration for this sensory tray for little learners. Included are flower leaves and blooms, pine cones, and cotton ball snow. Rocks, stone eggs, and a show-stopping dragon round out the tray.

Three seasons sensory tub with pine cones, begonia leaves and flowers, and cotton ball snow. A dragon and stone eggs complete the tub

[Read more…] about Flower Theme Activities

Filed Under: art, dramatic play, gardening, playdough, preschool, pretend play, science, sensory Tagged With: dragons, flowers, sensory bin, sensory play, unicorns

Celery Science Experiment

October 14, 2020 by Annette Kaminsky 2 Comments

Celery and food coloring science experiment.
Celery and food coloring science experiment.

This classic and colorful celery science experiment is easy to do and has quick results. It works well as a “color-changing celery tree” activity in autumn but is awesome to perform at any time of the year. Your early learner will be thrilled with the speedy and dramatic results of the experiment.


Supplies Needed


leafy celery stalks

glasses or jars

food coloring hues

pitcher with water

knife

cutting board

Celery and food coloring experiment supplies.

Procedure

Cut the bottoms from celery stalks.

Invite your early learner to generously squirt food coloring hues into glasses or jars, and add about 4 centimeters of water to each one.

Have your child place a celery stalk in each container, and use it to stir the liquids.  

Set the jars or glasses with celery on a table or windowsill.

[Read more…] about Celery Science Experiment

Filed Under: autumn, gardening, science, sensory, trees Tagged With: celery, color, experiment

Corn Theme Activities

September 6, 2020 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

Corn theme activities perfect for autumn. Sensory and art setups inspired by a corn maze.

Corn is a symbol of autumn, and a garden plant with so many uses. We love it in foods, but it is also found in products such as oil, glue, hand soaps, cosmetics, and varnish. And corn cobs in an array of hues are showstoppers in fall décor. The versatile vegetable can be enjoyed by children in the corn theme activities below.

Corn Maze Visit

A corn maze visit is a farm infused adventure everyone should have. Aside from the obvious nature challenge of finding one’s way through a giant corn maze, the experience offers so much more.

[Read more…] about Corn Theme Activities

Filed Under: art, gardening, sensory Tagged With: corn, corn maze

Carrot Theme Activities

August 18, 2020 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

Carrot theme sensory, art, and baking activities.

One of the easiest vegetables to grow in an indoor or outdoor garden is carrots. This makes carrot activities ideal for hands-on nature experiences with young children.


Carrot theme sensory, art, and baking activities.

We usually think of carrots as orange, but did you know that they come in a variety of colors? You can purchase a rainbow bunch, which has purple, red, orange, yellow, and white carrots. Being a lover of all things colorful, I chose rainbow carrots for some of the carrot theme activities.

[Read more…] about Carrot Theme Activities

Filed Under: art, gardening, Math, preschool Tagged With: bunnies, carrots, counting activity, measurement

Activities With Sunflowers

August 26, 2019 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

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

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.


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.

Sunflowers in different colors, shapes and sizes.

Start seeds indoors near a sunlit window, or under a grow light. After the last frost, transplant the tiny plants to pots or add them to a garden plot. In areas with long growing seasons, plant the seeds in gardens or containers outdoors immediately.

Sunflowers need a sunny location to flourish. They require regular watering but can tolerate some drought. Plants in pots may need to be transplanted to larger ones when they grow bigger.

For more information about growing sunflowers, view this post from Gardener’s Path.


Sunflower Activities For Young Children

Invite young children to help plant and grow sunflowers. The frequent changes in growth offer many opportunities for investigation. Include mature sunflower parts in art and sensory activities.


Printmaking With Sunflowers

Set out red, blue, green and yellow tempera paint colors along with brushes, sunflower heads, and leaves. Have children paint the flowers and leaves and press them on a large piece of paper.

Supplies for making paint prints with sunflower parts.

Let the paintings dry.


Paint prints with sunflowers. Tempera paint and primary colors used with leaves and heads of sunflowers. This is an all-ages activity.

[Read more…] about Activities With Sunflowers

Filed Under: art, gardening, sensory Tagged With: nature, sunflowers

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Hi, I'm Annette Kaminsky. Thanks for visiting my blog. I hope you find inspiration and leave some for me! Feel free to stay awhile!

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puttingtheprettyin.preschool

The bright sun streaming through my office window The bright sun streaming through my office window belies the fact that it is -16  degrees C /  3.2 degrees F outside. So an icy ice drum post it is!  This activity can be done indoors or outside any time of the year. ❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️ 🌞🌞🌞 🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈

How is the weather in your part of the world?

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This post is inspired by the storybook “The Snow This post is inspired by the storybook “The Snowy Day” by Ezra Jack Keats. The book was published in 1962 and features an African-American boy as the main character. I read the story every winter to my preschoolers and they are spellbound each time. ❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️

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A heart jewelry sensory tray that goes beyond Vale A heart jewelry sensory tray that goes beyond Valentine’s Day with its spring colors. The jewelry theme is inspired by a post by @littlelilacpreschool .

❤️💚💙💛🧡💜❤️💚💙💛🧡💜❤️💚💙💛🧡💜❤️

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Happy Valentine’s Day! Here’s a last minute cr Happy Valentine’s Day! Here’s a last minute craft for dinosaur lovers. Link in profile to a free printable. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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Make a last minute purchase at this Valentine’s Make a last minute purchase at this Valentine’s Day store! 😍

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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Invitation to decorate a Chinese money tree. This Invitation to decorate a Chinese money tree. This activity is inspired by an invitation to decorate a cherry tree by @rubberbootsandelfshoes .  Money tree facts and a free tree printable are #ontheblog .
💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰

#ChineseNewYear #lunarnewyear #trees #treeprintable #invitationtocreate #money #gold #sensorytray #waldorf #reggioinspired #playtray #prek #eyfs #moneytree #festiveplaylearn #trayfortheday
A woolly Valentine’s Day craft. The pattern for A woolly Valentine’s Day craft. The pattern for this craft is now on the blog...link in profile.

This craft was first featured last year and is inspired by a post from Agnes @hellowonderful_co . I’ve shared her adorable version in my stories.

❤️🐑❤️🐑❤️🐑❤️🐑❤️🐑❤️🐑❤️🐑❤️🐑❤️🐑

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Valentine’s Day playdough invitation. The dough Valentine’s Day playdough invitation. The dough in the middle is jello playdough. The dough on the right is my all time favourite basic playdough recipe.  The recipes for these three varieties are on the blog. Link in profile.

#playdough #ValentinesDay2021 #hearts #jelloplaydough #mainananak #montessori #playdoughfun #sensoryplay #toddleractivities #playbasedlearning #earlylearning #eyfs #playmatters #playtime #mainanmurah
Sometimes you just want to use designer erasers fo Sometimes you just want to use designer erasers for their original purpose. 😅😅😅

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Dinosaur fossils have been found all over the worl Dinosaur fossils have been found all over the world, even in cold, icy places like Alaska and Antarctica. But could dinosaurs have survived in polar regions? Link in profile to a blogpost that explores this topic with scientific views and sensory activities.
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 #polardinosaurs #dinosaurs #dinosaurfossils #earlylearning #paleontology #playdoughtray #prek #puttingtheprettyinpreschool #playdough #winterplay #sensory #tactile #handsonlearning #playandlearn #learningthroughplay #Canadianblogger
Sensory tray inspired by polar ornaments.

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Chickpea based Chinese New Year sensory tub. The c Chickpea based Chinese New Year sensory tub. The chickpeas are dyed with varying amounts of red acrylic paint, and some are left undyed. Read my latest blogpost  to find out more about the chickpea dying process. Link in profile.

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Recent Posts

  • Ice Drum Musical Instruments February 26, 2021
  • Arctic Animal Facts And Sensory Trays February 25, 2021
  • Valentine’s Day Gingerbread Cookies February 18, 2021
  • Jewelry Sensory Tray February 15, 2021
  • Valentine’s Day Musical Instruments February 14, 2021
  • Dinosaur Valentine Craft February 13, 2021
  • Scissor Skill Heart Collage February 10, 2021
  • Valentine’s Day Playdough Activities February 7, 2021
  • Valentine’s Day Sensory Tubes February 6, 2021
  • Woolly Valentine’s Day Crafts February 6, 2021

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