Putting the Pretty In Preschool

Finding Beauty In Everyday Early Childhood Experiences

pretend play

Winter Sensory Trays

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Snowflake confetti rules in these three winter sensory trays featuring polar bears, penguins, and shiny accessories.

Snowflake confetti makes an eye-catching base for three simple winter sensory trays. Combined with a few accessories, it sets the stage for sparkly sensory play experiences your little learners will delight in.

The find: shiny snowflake and dot confetti in a blue, silver, and white color scheme.

Basic Winter Sensory Tray

Supplies to collect:

Winter sensory tray loose parts.

snowflake confetti

turquoise gems

silver and white bead garland strips

large silver snowflakes

star cups

clear spoons

Set in a tray, these pieces make the perfect hands-on sensory activity for your little ones to celebrate winter with.

Snowflake studded winter sensory tray filled with shiny pieces.
Shiny pieces rule in this snowflake confetti based winter sensory tray.
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Frozen 2 Inspired Sensory Bin

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Frozen 2 inspired sensory bin with pumpkins, apples, leaves, rocks, and craft supplies. A reindeer, snowman, and people characters complete the bin.

When I came across the Frozen II based storybook “We’ll Always Have Each Other” earlier this year, I immediately fell in love with the fall color scheme. The rich red and orange forest colors, peppered with gold, green, and purple got me super excited about putting together a Frozen 2 inspired sensory bin.

This endearing story written by John Edwards touches on pumpkins, the changing seasons, and the close friendship between Olaf and Anna. The line “life may get harder sometimes, but we’ll stay strong for each other” seems even more relevant today than when it was written more than a year ago.

Sensory Bin Color Guide

These papers were my color guide for choosing craft supplies and loose parts for the vibrant sensory bin. I used leaf punches in two different sizes to turn cardstock into tiny leaves to sprinkle in the bin.

The color guide for a Frozen 2 inspired sensory bin.
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Skeleton And Eyeball Waterplay

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Oh, so fun skeleton and eyeball water play activities with eyeballs, wiggly eyes, skulls, bones, and skeletons. .

Your early learners will be oh, so excited to explore skeleton and eyeball waterplay activities with skulls, eyeballs, and bones. The supplies to collect are low cost: skeleton parts can be found at dollar stores and local party stores, especially in autumn.

Skeleton And Eyeball Soup

Collect:

plastic eye balls

squishy eye balls

plastic skulls

ice cube skulls

bones

extra large wiggly eyes

skeleton models

clear plastic cups

red and blue food coloring

water pitcher

spray shaving foam

ladles

clear cups

tulip shaped punch bowl

Skeleton and eyeball loose parts ready for sensory play.

A tulip-shaped punch bowl makes a handy container to fit 3-4 children around. But use whatever you have available…a container of any size or shape will have play possibilities.

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Flower Theme Activities

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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
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Toilet Paper Roll Monsters

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Toilet paper roll monster craft and activities. Easy to make watercolor painted monsters to use with stacking blocks or a red split lentil-based sensory bin.

For most of the year, there has been a plethora of recycled crafts and activities posted on blogs and social media, and toilet paper rolls have been a “hot” material for craft and sensory projects. Debuting in this post are spunky toilet paper roll monsters. They are so simple to make and can be used with toys or in sensory bins for imaginative play.

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Reptile Theme Activities

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Reptile-themed art. science, small world, and pretend play activities for early learners. Topics include snakes, turtles, and lizards.

A Reptile Theme is THE WAY to encourage early learners to get more comfortable with animals such as snakes, lizards, and turtles. Little ones often have a fear of these animals, partly because of how they get depicted on television. Hands-on activities alleviate fear and encourage an interest in learning more about these creatures.

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Chinese Valentine’s Day Activities

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Chinese Valentine's Day celebration activities. Art, reading, math, light table and block play. These activities are perfect for a Chinese multicultural theme.

On the weekend of August 25 and 26, 2017, Chinese Valentine’s Day was celebrated at the Edmonton Chinatown Multicultural Center, located in downtown Edmonton.  This traditional Valentine’s Day celebration dates back to the 1800s in China, and is celebrated on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month, in late August.

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Scissor Skill Snow Cutting Activities

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Invitation to cut craft supplies to make fake snow. The snow is featured in small world and sensory activities. Scissor skill practice for early learners.

A scissor skill snow cutting activity snipping craft supplies is sure to attract your child’s attention. A rich base will be created for small world and sensory activities. A bonus is that this snow will never melt or be too cold to play with.

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Ninja Theme Facts And Activities

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This ninja theme draws inspiration from the picture book “Wink, The Ninja Who Wanted To Nap”, written and illustrated by J. C. Phillipps. The book is filled with energy, wisdom, and tidbits about Japanese culture. For young children, the story is a captivating read. The illustrations provide inspiration for multicultural story extensions.

Ninja theme featuring sensory, small world, art, large motor, and pretend play activities. Ninja facts and picture book inspiration included.

In the story, a little ninja named Wink is excited that he is a famous circus performer.  But he cannot get in a much-needed nap because his fans follow him everywhere!  He walks through a garden of cherry trees, and moves through and hides in different parts of town, but his followers persist.

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