Putting The Pretty In Preschool – Page 73 – Finding Beauty In Everyday Early Childhood Experiences

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Also read: Butterfly Sunflower Papercraft

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Sunflowers And Playdough

Offer a circular party tray with playdough and sunflower parts for children to use. The one below includes

seeds
petals
leaves
stems
flower heads
seed packages

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Discovery Tub With Sunflowers And Bugs

Set out a shallow tub for children to explore that contains

sunflower parts
insects
magnifying glass
a pair of binoculars

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Sensory tray with sunflower heads and leaves, insects, binoculars and a magnifying glass.

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Growing sunflowers and exploring them through activities offers young children valuable nature experiences. And in late summer/early fall, a visit to a sunflower patch or maze makes a terrific field trip or family outing!

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Dinosaur And Sweet Potato Vine Activities

July 26, 2019 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

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One Spring I was greenhouse shopping, and a ledge of sweet potato vines caught my attention. The sales clerk suggested that the leaves looked like dinosaur footprints.

That thought stuck with me, and soon after I picked two uniquely colored sweet potato vines to add contrast to the flowering plants on my deck. I was also eager to use some leaves in dinosaur-themed nature play.

When the sweet potato vines had grown and poured over their pots, I snipped a few leaves off the plants to feature the activities below.

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Dinosaur Themed Small World

Sweet potato vine leaves in a dinosaur-themed sensory tub. Rocks, twigs, plastic and marble eggs, and blue water complete the scene.

Small world scene with dinosaurs, rocks, twig, plastic eggs, marbles, blue water, and sweet potato vine leaves.

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Painted Leaf T-Rex Footprints

An invitation to make leaf prints shaped like dinosaur footprints with silver and bronze paints and sweet potato vine leaves.

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One side of cut leaves are painted with tempera paints. Next the leaves are carefully pressed on paper to make T-Rex dinosaur footprints. Bronze and silver paints make the art project extra special!

Printmaking project. Sweet potato vine leaves are painted with bronze and gold metallic paints. The leaves are pressed on paper to look like dinosaur footprints.

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Sorting T-Rex Footprint Shaped Leaves

An invitation to sort different sizes and colors of “dinosaur footprint” shaped leaves into “alike and different”. Large passionflower leaves add variety to this activity.

An iInvitation to sort sweet potato vine and passionflower leaves. A Math activity using nature materials.

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Activities with leaves are a welcome opportunity to include nature in art and play centers. Do you have a favorite activity to do with leaves or leafy plant you treasure? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.

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Related: Fall Leaf Crown Paper Crafts

Make a gorgeous leaf crown craft with one of these leaf crown printables.

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Superhero Activities

May 28, 2019 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

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As everyone can attest, Superhero activities are hugely engaging for children. Superheroes are also a topic I was hesitant to plan a full theme around for many years. I was afraid that the children’s excitement level would go up, and never return to a manageable rate.

One year I decided a generic Superhero theme could be feasible as the last one of the school term. I thought the children might get riled up, but I would be sending them home for the summer afterward!

The Superhero activities were a hit and turned out to be perfectly manageable. Dress up props were available in the gymnasium, where loud noises and running were the norms. A number of books read in the classroom highlighted good character traits of Superheroes. Puzzles, manipulative toys, and sensory trays rounded out the play choices.

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Edmonton Comic And Entertainment Expo

Last Fall I attended the Edmonton Comic & Entertainment Expo because it looked so fun! I also hoped to get some more ideas for my Superhero theme. The multitude of booths showcasing art, toys, outfits, and much more offered loads of inspiration. And I visualized a Superhero theme working for our next Father/Preschooler evening (held this past March.)

Pictures of booths and merchandise set up at a Comic And Entertainment Expo.

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Father/Preschooler Night Superhero Activities

The Father/Preschooler evening started out with a potluck supper. Open-ended toys were available for guests to explore, with Superhero figures added in.

Superhero sensory tray with loose parts. — Superhero Sensory Tray

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Superhero coloring sheets were available to decorate. DIY board games, game chips, and dice were set out around the eating area.
Flags, eucalyptus sprigs, and themed table scatter adorned the tables.

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After dinner adults and children were invited to visit feature centers. Everyone was encouraged to take a strip of tickets out of a bowl to “pay” for each center activity.

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These were the options:

1) Photo Op: Take A Picture With Your Favorite Superhero

Justice League props and backdrop purchased from Party City were used for this activity. Individual, adult/child, and group photos were taken. The snapshots turned out amazing!

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2) Purchase Superhero Art

Guests could purchase a picture of a Superhero Father made by a preschooler. Family members bought their own child’s work of course!

Superhero figure drawing with a handprint cape.

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3) Photo Op: Take A Picture Dressed Up As A Superhero

Dress-up clothes were available for children and adults to wear. There was a telephone picture and calendar Superhero action word backdrop. Individual, adult/child, and group photos were taken.

The reflective aviator sunglasses pictured with the table decor above were my favorite look!

Superhero dress-up clothing, telephone print and action word backdrop for a photo opportunity.

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4) Purchase Superhero Self Portraits

Guests could purchase a preschooler’s Superhero self-portrait.

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These Superhero activities were easy to set up and set the tone for many positive interactions between fathers and preschoolers. And the children did art, math, sensory exploration, and pretend play in the process.

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Mother’s Day Crafts And Gifts

April 30, 2019 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

Mother's Day paper crafts with jewelry and decorative key chain accents. Art ideas all children can do.

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Mother’s Day is just around the corner, and every mom deserves to be treated special. Here is an easy Mother’s Day craft that is bound to hit the mark. A key chain or brooch makes a lovely addition as a gift.

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Supplies used:

flower and butterfly paper punches
craft paper with cream, gold, and silver tones
gold and silver metallic bead stickers
white pearl and silver jewel stickers
butterfly adhesive shapes
template with the word MOM
decorative silver key chains
glue stick

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Follow me on Pinterest for more ideas.

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Making The Mother’s Day Craft

Create a template with the word MOM on it or download one of my templates.

Decorate the word "mom" with gorgeous paper butterflies and flowers. This craft is suitable for all ages and works great for Mother's Day or word review.

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Mothers-Day-TemplateDownload

This template is for personal or one classroom use only.

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Paper punch small flowers and butterflies from patterned paper with complementary tones.

Add on sticker beads.

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Have children use a glue stick to attach butterflies and flowers, or just butterflies to the lines of the letters that spell the word “mom.”

Add a brooch or key chain gift to the finished picture.

Mother's Day collage craft with flowers and butterflies glued on to the word 'Mom.' A starfish keychain is fastened on as a gift. This craft is suitable for all ages.

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Metallic sticker beads are the inspiration for this color scheme. I was thrilled to find a scrapbook pad called “Bless Our Home” with paper sheets in patterns of gold, silver, grey, and cream. The paper theme is perfect for a Mother’s Day craft, and the colors and patterns complement the shiny gold and silver beads.

Mother's Day paper collage craft with butterflies glued on to the word "mom." A silver flower brooch is added on as a gift. This craft is suitable for all ages.

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Leftover paper flowers and butterflies can be used as table scatter for a Mother’s Day Tea.

Tan denim cloth flowers and butterfly and flower table scatter. — Table Scatter And Tan Denim Cloth Flowers

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Other Decorating Ideas

Invite children to decorate the word “mom” with sticker pearls and jewels. This craft is simpler but just as beautiful. A sea turtle key chain is added to the picture below.

Mother's Day craft with sticker pearls and silver jewels added on the word 'mom.' A sea turtle key chain is added on as a gift. This craft is suitable for all ages.

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Or have children decorate the word “mom” with jewel and butterfly stickers. A fish key chain is a finishing touch.

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A sparkly flower brooch compliments the picture below.

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A glitzy shoe key chain enhances this craft.

A pretty key chain gift fastened to the word "mom" in a Mother's Day paper collage craft. This art activity is suitable for all ages.

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Download a template that is easy for little learners to read and decorate here.

"Beautiful mom" printable for little learners to decorate with sticker beads and gems. The easy-to-read letters promote word recognition skills. A craft perfect for Mother's Day.

Beautiful Mom TemplateDownload

This template is for personal or one classroom use only.

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A Handmade Key Chain Option

Michelle (craftymorning.com) features Handprint Shrinky Dink Keychains that would go along well with a rainbow-colored version of this craft.

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Which of the above designs is your favorite?

What color schemes are inspiring you right now? Leave a comment below.

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Try this beautiful Mother's Day papercraft with a choice of jewelry or decorative key chain accents. A keepsake that all children can make.

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Spring Bunny Canvas Art

April 20, 2019 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

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The birds are chirping, and there is excitement in the air. Everyone seems to have a skip in their step. I think it is because spring has come early to our city and… it’s the Easter long weekend!

Here’s an easy spring bunny art activity that will add some hop to the skip, and be sure to keep everyone’s good mood up.

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Spring Bunny Canvas Art

A few simple supplies are all that is needed for this activity:

white canvas panel (12-inch x 18-inch)
non-toxic paint dot markers
colored cardstock
bunny template
scissors

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The Bunny Canvas Art Process

Trace a bunny on colored cardstock in a size that leaves room to paint dab around it on the canvas board. I sized the bunny to fit just inside the edges of an 8 x 11 ½ piece of paper.

Cut out the cardstock bunny and place it in the middle of the canvas board.

Choose your favorite dot marker colors.

Dab paint dots around the bunny template.

Let the canvas dry.

Dot markers used to paint around a bunny template on canvas. An easy art activity suitable for all ages.

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For this project, I used an inexpensive canvas board from a Dollar Store.

The dot paint markers were a great find at Michaels. I was excited to see so many colors in the package! I chose blue and teal, inspired by a bunny art project I had seen painted in similar tones. Your favorite color scheme would work just as well.

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This spring bunny paint project dries quickly…a real plus. It can be displayed on a small easel along with matching decor.

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Easy dot marker Spring bunny canvas art suitable for all ages. This is an attractive art activity to display.

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