preschool

New Year’s Eve Sensory Tray

December 31, 2021 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

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This New Year’s Eve sensory tray is full of party vibes. It is an inviting loose parts tray to offer at a New Year’s Eve event, or on the first day of class in January. The dinner-themed play invitation is currently ready for my preschoolers to explore when they are back at school next week. I’m excited to see how they use it!

The featured tray is called a “tuff tray”, or “active world tray.” In our country (Canada) they are available to order online at Scholar’s Choice.

My active world tuff tray is a recent addition to my stock of early learning resources, and I love using it.

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Supplies To Collect

New Year's Eve sensory play tray with a party theme.

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To recreate this tray, pick a set of disposable paper New Year’s party plates. Use the colors in the plates to guide the color scheme for the loose parts in the active world tray. My plates are gold, silver, black and white, with metallic touches. I use gold and silver metallic accessories for the tray.

Loose parts to include:

round placemat
disposable cups and cutlery
gift boxes
serving bowls and spoons
tongs
star-shaped containers
strips of bead garland
buttons
play coins
small bells
large ornament bells
present ornaments
balls cut from garland
tiny trophies

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The New Year’s Eve Sensory Tray

Gather loose parts that you have available. Arrange them as a dinner invitation.

New Year's Eve tuff tray filled with dinner-themed loose parts little learners will love to party with.

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Serving containers in a variety of sizes and shapes add appeal and provide options for manipulating loose parts.

Bells are a welcome addition to any sensory activity. There are large bell ornaments and small jingling bells in the tray, offering a musical component.

The featured gift boxes are clear and contain tiny trophies and ornaments. Little learners can explore them and change up the contents. Gold or silver gift boxes would work wonderfully too.

New Year's Eve sensory tray featuring dinnerware, gift boxes, and metallic loose parts.

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Space Kitchen Activity Tray

To extend the sensory experience, switch out the New Year’s dinner plates for tin pie plate ones. The activity tray will become a space-themed play invitation!

Cut metallic bead garland and necklaces make the perfect loose parts for an outer space spaghetti pretend play meal.

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Other active world tray ideas:

Fall Sensory Play

Spider Theme Activities

Christmas Village Tuff Tray

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New Year's Eve sensory tray dinner-themed loose parts little learners will love to have a pretend party with.

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More New Year’s Activities:

New Year’s All Gold Sensory Activity

New Year’s Countdown Activities

New Year’s Crafts

New Year’s Sensory Tray

New Year’s Art and Math Activities

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[Read more…]

New Year’s All Gold Sensory Activity

December 30, 2021 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

An inviting New Year's all gold sensory bowl filled with shiny items little learners will love to explore.

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This New Year’s all gold sensory activity is filled with … you guessed it…all gold loose parts! It’s one I’ve been wanting to put together for a while and finally did. Whether the loose parts are organized in a bin or tray, this activity is one your little learners will love to take part in.

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Gold And New Year’s

Glittery, metallic gold is a popular color for New Year’s celebrations. And it usually plays a big part in Christmas festivities too.

Gold is considered a symbol of wealth. But in addition to monetary wealth, the rich color also represents a wealth of experience, knowledge, and love. And who doesn’t wish for all these things, especially at the beginning of a new year?

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Follow me on Pinterest for more New Year’s ideas.

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Supplies To Collect

New Year's all gold sensory bin loose parts tray for little learners to explore.

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Gather the following supplies in metallic gold:

tiny trophies
small present and drum decorations
play coins
assorted buttons
miniature ornaments
bows
jingle bells
strands cut from beaded necklaces
tongs
spoons
cups

It’s easy to find these items during the holiday season. And I’m sure you will be able to think of even more things to add.

New Year's all gold sensory activity loose parts tray.

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“All Gold” Sensory Bin

A large clear plastic salad bowl makes a good bin for this sensory setup. But a plastic square or rectangular container works fine too.

A rich New Year's all gold sensory activity featuring shiny metallic loose parts for little learners to explore.

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No base ingredient is needed for this eye-appealing activity. Just throw a mix of metallic gold loose parts in your container of choice. Then set it out on a table with golden cups, tongs, and spoons for your little learners to explore.

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All Gold Sensory Tray

If you only have a small supply of golden items, why not use a serving tray. Your little charges will be happy to dive in and investigate the shiny “treasures” in the tray.

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New Year's metallic gold sensory bin loose parts tray.

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Aside from being associated with New Year’s events, gold is an alluring color all in itself. And this is my primary reason for putting together this glamourous play invitation.

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What would you add to this sensory activity? Share in a comment below.

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More New Year’s Activities

New Year’s Eve Sensory Tray

New Year’s Countdown Activities

New Year’s Crafts

New Year’s Sensory Tray

New Year’s Art and Math Activities

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[Read more…]

CD Case Christmas Craft

December 24, 2021 by Annette Kaminsky 2 Comments

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An empty or used empty CD case can be turned into a beautiful art or craft project. There are many creative ideas to try. For this blog post, I’m choosing to feature a CD case Christmas craft.

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Follow me on Pinterest for more creative ideas.

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Supplies To Collect

Gather the following for this seasonal craft:

clear CD jewel case
thin unpainted wood holiday decoration
festive cardstock
acrylic craft paint
scissors
ruler
glue stick
white glue or glue gun
craft bits: pony beads, holiday confetti, garland strips, sequins, punched paper snowflakes

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Assembling The CD Case Christmas Craft

Steps to making a CD case Christmas craft. An all-ages craft the whole family can do.

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Carefully remove the tray from a clear CD case.

Trim the cardstock pattern of choice to the size of the case.

With the case open, use a glue stick to adhere the cut cardstock to the bottom right section.

Paint a thin holiday-themed wood decoration with acrylic paint and let it dry. The paint and decoration can easily be found at dollar stores.

Note: Acrylic paint dries quickly and comes in a large variety of colors. It’s so fun to use!

Glue the painted wood shape to the cardstock.

Add craft bits of choice.

Close the case snugly.

Make this easy and fun holiday-themed CD craft today!

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Display on a shelf or wall in the classroom or your home.

Tips: The craft bits can be glued down so they are stationary or left movable.

These holiday-themed CD case crafts are a lot of fun to make. Have the whole family create one!

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These charming CD case Christmas crafts are perfect for displaying during the holiday season.

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If desired, add a clear seal to keep the CD case closed.

You may wish to make this CD case Christmas craft in a variety of holiday and winter themes. The craft lends itself to being showcased in groups.

Make this cozy CD case Christmas craft in a variety of festive color schemes. An all-ages family craft.

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Of course, little learners can get in on making this creative craft. The activity could be a cooperative one for a parent/teacher/caregiver and child.

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CD Case Christmas Blocks

Instead of displaying the crafted CD jewel cases, include them on a table with blocks for little learners to use in construction play. This is an idea I look forward to exploring in the future.

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Make this winter-themed snowman CD case craft today! It's easy and fun to do.

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[Read more…]

Plaid-Themed Christmas Rice Bin

December 24, 2021 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

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Sensory bins are one of my favorite things to put together. There is a multitude of themes for bins to choose from, and so many interesting loose parts to include. Sometimes one or two items provide inspiration for a whole bin. And that’s the case with this rustic plaid-themed Christmas rice bin.

A few years ago, I spotted plaid gift boxes at Michael’s and snapped a couple up. Right then and there I got the idea for this cozy bin. It took a while to collect enough intriguing items for little learners to explore. This year the concept finally came together.

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Plaid-Themed Christmas Rice Bin

The container to hold all the sensory supplies is an inexpensive spiral saucer sled!

Glutinous rice is the base. I like it a lot because its super white color provides good contrast for the contents of the bin. One five kg bag fills the saucer-shaped container nicely.

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Plaid-themed Christmas items scattered over the rice are:

gift boxes
plush ornament balls
sheep fridge magnets
nutcracker soldier marionette ornament
cuddly bear
shovel ornament
small photo frame accented with jingle bells
Santa train engine cookie tin on wheels

A delightful plaid-themed holiday rice bin filled with cozy items for little learners to explore year after year.

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The photo frame could be personalized with a picture of a little learner.

The bells on the frame add a musical element to the play experience, always a plus.

The nutcracker soldier has a special feature: his legs do the splits when the attached string is pulled.

Undoubtedly the Santa train engine cookie tin is the highlight of the holiday-themed bin.

Cozy plaid-themed Christmas gift boxes and ornaments to fill a holiday rice bin.

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Tip: If you try a version of this activity, make sure there are no sharp edges on the items you choose for your bin.

Have you put together a unique sensory bin? I’d love to hear about it.

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More Christmas Activities

Llama Llama Holiday Drama Sensory Bin

Christmas Village Tuff Tray

Orange-scented Playdough Invitation

Santa Claus Sensory Bin

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Candy Cane Science Experiment

Plaid-themed Christmas Rice Bin

Lemon-scented Christmas Playdough

Lemon cypress scented playdough with cut silk poinsettia leaves and bracts.

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Easy S’mores Bars

Christmas Tree Decorating Center

Christmas Sensory Play

Handprint Angel Christmas Keepsake

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[Read more…]

Christmas Sheep Craft

December 23, 2021 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

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This adorable Christmas sheep craft offers all the fun that dressing in “crazy Christmas clothing” does. It is inspired by a charming cartoon posted on Facebook by Farm Rescue. A free printable is downloadable below to make the craft easy to make.

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Christmas Sheep Craft Supplies

Gather the following craft supplies in holiday colors for this craft:

pom poms
bows
garland
pipe cleaners
foam Christmas shapes
gem stickers
stars
snowflakes
buttons
fade-resistant construction paper

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Making The Sheep Craft

invite little learners to make this colorful Christmas sweater-inspired sheep craft.

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Draw a sheep on white cardstock or download one of the printables below. Cut it out. Then snip off the head.

Downloadable template for a Christmas sheep craft.

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Sheep Printable 1Download

This printable is for individual or one classroom use only.

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Sheep Printable 2Download

This printable is for individual or one classroom use only.

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Trace and cut out a slightly larger version of the wooly body from colored construction paper.

Use a glue stick to adhere the colored piece over the top of the white body.

Then glue the head back on.

Invite your little learner to add festive decorations to the sheep using white glue or a glue stick.

Make this festive sheep craft to add some fun to the holiday season.

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Make this adorable festive sheep craft with easy to gather supplies.

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Make this crazy Christmas sheep craft with holiday craft supplies. Free printable included.

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Variation Of The Craft

For an easier version of the craft, download and make a copy of the sheep printable. Have your little learner color it and add Christmas sticker accents.

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This craft is fun for the whole family to do. Why not invite everyone to make one. You could have a contest and pick the winner of the “craziest Christmas sheep craft.”

Make this Christmas sweater-inspired sheep craft in a bunch of colors!

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[Read more…]

Chocolate Mint Playdough

December 23, 2021 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

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This no-cook chocolate mint playdough smells divine! I usually opt for a variation of my favorite stovetop-cooked playdough for early learning activities, as I always make a huge batch of it. But this soft, pliable recipe turns out perfectly and stores well in the fridge. It’s the perfect addition to any holiday celebration. Since it is December, it’s being featured with Christmas-themed accessories.

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Follow me on Pinterest for more playdough ideas.

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Chocolate Mint Playdough Recipe

Gather the following ingredients for this recipe:

1 ½ cup flour
½ cup cocoa
½ cup salt
2 tbsp. cream of tartar
2 tbsp. mint flavoring
3 tbsp. oil
1 ½ cup boiling water

Combine and mix the flour, cocoa, salt, and cream of tartar in a bowl.

Add boiling water.

Drop in the oil and mint flavoring.

Stir all ingredients together.

Knead the dough on a cutting board when cool.

Store in a plastic bag in the fridge.

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Playdough Activities

Set out the playdough with rolling pins, holiday cookie cutters, and festive loose parts.

Oh so heavenly chocolate mint playdough and holiday-themed accessoies.

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Soft, pliable, chocolate mint playdough recipe and holiday-themed accessories.

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When using a second time, offer cupcake liners, festive erasers, and white glitter for children to make chocolate confections with. Gingerbread and candy cane erasers are the “stars of the show” below.

Christmas accessories and glitter add a festive touch to this chocolate mint playdough activitiy.

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Tip: Little fingers will get stained with chocolate during these playdough activities. Make sure there is a handwashing station nearby.

Holiday erasers and white glitter add a festive touch to this chocolate mint playdough activity.

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Your little charges may be tempted to taste the playdough since it smells so heavenly. It might be nice to have a small chocolate treat for them to eat after wrapping up this play invitation. A chocolate mint flavored treat would be ideal.

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[Read more…]

Christmas Village Tuff Tray

December 22, 2021 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

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This Christmas Village tuff tray is filled with people figurines participating in outdoor activities. It’s the perfect winter play invitation to include in holiday celebrations.

A tuff tray is a sturdy, portable tray that can be used on a table, on the floor, or outside on the ground. Although it stores easily, it can also be set on a stand. I recently purchased a tuff tray online at Education Station, and love using it for this snowy activity.

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Supplies To Collect

A winter-themed pioneer village tuff tray filled with people participating in outdoor winter activities during the Christmas season.

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For the holiday tuff tray set up, gather the following:

wooden train tracks and train
wooden vehicles
silver and white placemats
tin foil disposable lid
snowflake window cling sheet
gem snowflakes
Christmas village-themed gift boxes
winter-themed people and animal figurines
miniature village signpost, mailbox, light post, fence, bench, and tree props

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Setting Up The Christmas Village Tuff Tray

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Place a large, round silver placemat in the center of the tray to represent a skating rink. Or add a circle cut from tin foil.

Lay wooden train tracks around the circular placemat.

Set in another snowy or icy area by trimming a white or silver rectangular placemat into a curved shape.

Add a round tin foil or white cardstock disposable container lid to suggest a third outdoor play space.

Then arrange the gift box buildings around the edge of the tray. These can easily be found at a dollar store.

Cut out large window cling snowflakes, leaving the backs on. Set them in open areas in the tray.

Next, put winter-themed people figurines and miniature village props on and around the “snow” and “ice.”

Generously sprinkle in gem snowflakes.

Finally, set a wooden train on the track. Or add community helper vehicles.

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Your little learners will be excited to investigate this Christmas Village tuff tray. If some of the figurines and props you choose to use are breakable, they need to be used carefully by little ones. The holiday play invitation must be supervised by an adult at all times!

This tuff tray setup is non-messy, so can easily be added to a session where there are ample other activity choices.

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[Read more…]

Christmas Light Table Activity

December 21, 2021 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

Invitation to scoop and sort Christmas-themed reusable ice cubes in this magical light exploration play activity for little learners.

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This Christmas light table activity is oh so simple to set up! And the festive light play invitation will add ambiance to your Christmas theme offerings.

A light table is a table illuminated by light and comes in a variety of sizes. Some smaller ones have removable legs for versatility. Portable light boxes and light panels are other excellent alternatives for light exploration activities.

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For more activities with light, follow my Pinterest board Light Play.

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Light Table Supplies

Clear containers and accessories, and reusable ice cubes are the key items to collect for this magical center. Gather:

clear salad bowl
plastic see-through gift boxes
plastic egg holders
clear serving spoons
Christmas-themed reusable ice cubes

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The Christmas Light Table Activity

Counting, sorting, and scooping opportunities at the light table with Christmas-themed reusable ice cubes and clear containers.

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Fill the salad bowl with reusable ice cubes and set it on a light table along with a serving spoon.

Spread the plastic gift boxes, egg holders, and extra spoons around the bowl.

Invite little learners to scoop ice cubes from the bowl into the gift boxes and sort ice cubes in the egg holders.

Color and shape sorting, counting, and practice with eye-hand coordination are a few benefits of this play invitation, aside from just being a lot of fun!

Invitation for little learners to count and sort reusable Christmas-themed ice cubes at the light table.

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If you do not have a light table or lightbox in your classroom or home, you can make a simple and economical DIY version. Just add Christmas lights to a clear plastic tub with a lid. I’ve tried this and it works just fine!

Reusable ice cubes can be picked up at dollar stores, or in the picnic supply section of other stores. I’m always checking for ones that complement the themes we do in the classroom.

The clear gift boxes were an awesome dollar store find, and I snapped up ones trimmed in red, green, silver, and gold. Little learners would enjoy scooping and transferring ice cubes into all sizes and shapes of containers, so use what you have available.

Clear gift boxes are the perfect containers for scooping reusable Christmas-themed ice cubes at the light table.

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A light table can be used for science, discovery, math, art, drawing, literacy, music, and more. What’s your favorite way to use one? Share below.

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[Read more…]

Christmas Treasure Blocks

December 21, 2021 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

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These Christmas treasure blocks are a festive addition to any play space. They are filled with seasonal loose parts and are fun to use in play by themselves or in addition to other toys.

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Follow me on Pinterest for more ideas.

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Supplies To Collect

The following supplies work well in these see-through treasure blocks:

buttons
jingle bells
Christmas tree garland
pom poms
pony beads
craft stars
gem snowflakes
metallic snowflakes
rubber candy pieces

Seasonal loose parts are perfect to use with these see-through Christmas treasure blocks.

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Assembling The Christmas Treasure Blocks

One wood panel on each of these treasure blocks is easily removed by loosening the screws. After the blocks are filled, the panels can be screwed back on so no festive pieces fall out.

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My Christmas treasure blocks feature a red, green, white, and gold color scheme, but feel free to choose another one.

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Other Christmas-themed loose parts that would work well in these blocks are:

sequins
cut straws
gem Christmas lights
foam pieces
erasers
paper shred
bows

Christmas erasers, figurines and vehicles, other blocks, and seasonal décor can be included in a Christmas treasure block play invitation for added interest.

Christmas erasers and foil trees add interest to a Christmas treasure block play invitation.

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Treasure blocks are a recent addition to my educational toy supply, and I am definitely in love with them. I look forward to using them in more themes for little learners.

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[Read more…]

Lemon -scented Christmas Playdough

December 19, 2021 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

Christmas playdough infused with cut lemon cypress sprigs and cut silk poinsettia leaves and bracts.

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This lemon-scented Christmas playdough activity incorporates lemon cypress branches and cuttings from silk poinsettias. The plant-themed playdough experience evolved from not being able to go on a well-loved field trip this Christmas season.

Most December months our preschool visits a local greenhouse. The children view a vast poinsettia display, smell a lemon cypress tree, participate in a scavenger hunt among cut Christmas trees, and go on a hayride. Then they plant a paperwhite bulb. The trip is always a highlight for preschool families.

This year the field trip wasn’t possible, so I decided to bring a small, feathery needled lemon cypress tree to preschool for the children to view, smell, and use in playdough activities. I wanted to include other seasonal plants as well but realized that most popular Christmas plants are somewhat toxic or poisonous to humans.

Chartreuse green lemon cypress trees for sale during the Christmas season.

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My preschoolers loved this playdough invitation and your children will enjoy it too.

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Playdough Recipes

To offer this lemon-scented Christmas playdough invitation, start by making a favorite playdough recipe. Or use my go-to basic recipe:

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1 cup salt
4 teaspoons cream of tartar
2 cups water
3 tablespoons oil

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Add the first three ingredients to a sturdy pot and mix them together.

Stir two tablespoons of oil into two cups of water.

Add the water and oil to the dry ingredients and combine.

Heat on the stove on medium heat.

Stirring frequently, cook until the mixture is no longer glossy and the dough forms a ball.

Place the dough on a cutting board.

Knead when cool, adding in one more tablespoon of oil.

Store the playdough in a sealed plastic bag.

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A lemon jello playdough works beautifully too. Substitute lemon jello for cherry jello in the recipe.

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The Lemon-scented Christmas Playdough Invitation

For this scented playdough invitation, start by showing little learners a potted dwarf lemon cypress tree. This small, fine-textured evergreen is hand-trimmed to have a Christmas tree shape and is sold in pots at Christmas time.

Next, have your little charges rub a branch and experience the resulting lemon fragrance.

Give each child a lump of playdough, a few lemon cypress branches, and a pair of scissors.

Offer lemon cypress sprigs with scissors, cookie cutters, and erasers in a fragrant Christmas playdough activity.

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Have them cut the bright yellow-green sprigs into pieces and add them to their playdough. Using the scissors to cut the playdough is fine for them to do too, as it strengthens their little fingers.

Then give little ones a few silk poinsettia leaves and bracts to cut and blend in.

Scissor Invitation with playdough and silk poinsettia leaves and bracts.

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Offer additional supplies such as rolling pins, plastic pie cutters, wooden sticks, and Christmas-themed cookie cutters and erasers.

Lemon cypress scented holiday playdough invitation with cut silk poinsettia leaves and bracts.

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When blended, the plant parts add pops of seasonal color to the playdough and give it a Christmassy look.

Offer this lemon cypress scented playdough invitation with cut silk poinsettia leaves and bracts.

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Tip: A coleus plant can be substituted for silk poinsettia leaves and bracts, as it isn’t poisonous. I plan to take one indoors to save for this activity next fall.

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