Activities - Blue Leaf Preschool

Distance Learning

Welcome to Blue Leaf’s Distance Learning Platform!
Please use these resources to continue to learn, grow, and stay connected with our Blue Leaf family.

*Note for Grown-ups: These activities are just a list of suggestions and are by no means, a requirement. Hopefully they fill you and your child’s hearts with some joy and entertainment.

Activity List

4/2 – Play Dough Extension

Play dough has so many possibilities for open ended play and by adding some found objects around the house it can go into a new direction. For this activity, however, I chose to use paper straws and pasta.

Materials:
Placemat/cutting board for easy clean up
Play Dough (I really like this recipe or this dough that is premade)
Paper straws
Pasta

Prepare the area for your child, for older children you can add scissors and let them cut the straws into different sizes.

Both boys enjoyed this activity and placed the pasta through the straws. It then quickly turned into making robots and adding so many more straws! They were happily entertained and involved in their play!

Other ideas for found objects:

Rocks, nuts/bolts/screws(be sure to be safe and aware of any choking hazards with small children), flowers, sticks, beads.

4/1 – Laundry Basket Fishing

Our boys love to play with the laundry basket! It has been a race car that is pushed up and down the hall, a dog cage (yes, the little one was “okay” with his brother putting him in his crate) we have tied ribbons as silk scarfs to it, and today it is a fishing boat. The great thing about this activity, is once you have it all set up it can easily become anything that your child wants it to be.

Materials:
Laundry Basket
Small soft objects; bath toys, rolled up socks, small stuffed animals (if you would like to make it more challenging you can use hard objects)
Tongs
Sheet (optional)

Place the sheet on the floor then add the laundry basket. Place the small objects (we used some bath toys and wooden blocks) around the basket and then add the tongs into the basket.

Set back and watch what happens!

3/31 – Line Up

There are a few children at Blue Leaf that naturally create lines with their toys. It always makes me smile as I clean the classroom to discover little nooks where the toys have been lined up or stacked in a certain way.

Materials:
Tape
Objects that you have a large quantity of (beans, Grapat toy, cars, lemons..)

The length of the tape and how small the objects are should be dependent on how old your child is and their ability level.

With the tape, create different lines, they can be straight or zig zagged, however you and your child would like to proceed. They can even be a few different small lines.

Once the tape is prepared place the object besides the tape and explain what can be done.

I love how simple and beautiful this is!

3/31 – Chalk Painting

By adding some water and paint brushes, drawing with chalk can be extended. Often times this turns into painting with water or just playing with water!

Materials:
Chalk
Paint Brush
Water
Lots of room to draw!

The other day we drew a huge heart on our driveway. It was so nice to see so many of our neighbors stopping by to admire the boys hard work. Sitting out in the front yard has been a wonderful way to wave to neighbors as they walk by!

3/30 – Water Tables

Children are always very interested in water tables and I have never met a child who is not! There are so many different ways to set this up, you can easily adapt this for younger children by creating a water “table” using a cookie sheet.

There are 1001 ways to add to this activity, adding primary colors with food coloring for color mixing, adding objects that float and sink and my personal favorite, nature ice blocks. This does take a day to set up and several “check-ins” during that time, but it is well worth it. While I chose to do this with nature objects you can really do this with anything, herbs, legos, toy cars, rocks..the list goes on.

Materials:

Large container to make the ice block

Freezer

Small objects for the ice blocks

Container as the “water table”

Instructions

3/27 – Seed Starters

As we are now officially in Spring what a wonderful way to celebrate than to plant some seeds! This can be done in a variety of ways; you can choose to use eggshells or the egg carton.

Materials:

Soil

Seeds (you can use dried beans from the pantry)

eggshells or egg carton

Set up the activity with all the supplies that your child will need. I have found it easiest to have a small amount of soil and using a small spoon to scoop the soil.

Have your child place some soil into the egg carton.

Once all the holders are filled your child can place their finger into the middle of each one and add a seed or bean!

Water and Enjoy. For older children you can begin a daily observation, by creating a small book by folding/cutting computer paper and stapling together.

3/27 – Chocolate Cloud Dough

We love chocolate, clouds, and dough! Who can blame us?!

Materials:

4 cups flour

2/3 cups Vegetable Oil

1/2 cup Cocoa powder

3 tbs Vanilla

Add all ingredients into a Tupperware container (I prefer using plastic shoe boxes, this allows you to quickly cover it up and store for later use)

Your child can knead the mix like dough until it forms a soft consistency.

Add animals, cooking utensils or our house favorite, construction trucks.

Have fun!!

3/27 – Collage

What a great way to reuse any magazines laying around the house. In the classroom we have been working on color collages that you can continue at home, make a rainbow or go wherever the wind takes you with this one. If you choose to make a color collage, you and you child can decide on your color and then flip through the magazine to find this color (some colors are harder than others). If you want this to be a more independent activity have your child start ripping the paper out of the magazine.

This is a great way to practice fine motor skills and children always enjoy “ripping” paper, no matter the age.

We decided to to ours on canvas with tissue paper. If you decide to use liquid glue/water mix this will allow your child to continue to “paint” over that paper that they have laid down…something that is always very fun.

Materials:

Magazines/tissue paper

Glue (I prefer liquid glue, but stick glue also works)

Paint brush

Table Cloth or cutting board for easy clean up

Small bowl to mix water and glue

Large piece of paper

3/27 – Calm Down Bottles

Warning: These bottles can be mesmerizing… Our boys love shaking them up and staring into them, watching the glitter swirl around, like a space galaxy.

Materials:

One of the following: Vegetable Glycerine, Clear soap, Baby oil, Vegetable oil, clear glue

Glitter

Water bottle (making sensory bottles is the only reason we have Voss water bottles)

Hot glue gun, gorilla glue (to glue the top of the bottle shut)

Dish soap

Food coloring

1. Prepare your bottle by taking off the label.

2. Choose the glitter that you would like to use. Add about an inch of glitter to the bottle.

3. Add a little bit of water to the bottle and swirl gently to mix up the glitter.

4. Fill up 1/4 of your bottle with one of the mediums from the material list (we are using Vegetable glycerine)

5. Add water until the bottle is almost full.

6. Add two or three drops of dish soap to help prevent the glitter from clumping

7. Close the bottle and turn it a few times.

8. Open the bottle and swirl the glitter around using your finger. This will help separate the glitter. At this point, you can add food coloring to your “calm down” bottle.

9. Close the bottle again and give it a good shake.

10. Re-open and top off with your chosen medium (glycerine). At this point, add the glue to the ridges of the top of the bottle and quickly shut tight.

3/26 – Nature Treasure Box

As you finish up your cartons of eggs, set the containers aside (we will be doing more activities next week that will also use egg cartons).

This is a simple activity that will keep your child busy outside. My boys loved finding little treasures for their “Treasure Box,” until they found a salamander. From there it quickly turned from a “Nature Treasure Box” to a salamander house. This also kept them happy and busy while enjoying the sun and rain.

Materials:

Coloring/Decoration medium

Egg Carton

The Outdoors

Instructions

3/25 – Transferring

Transferring is always a wonderful activity for children of many ages. You can do this with a variety of materials that you can find around your house.

Materials:

Bowls

Spoons

Measuring cups

“Transfer” Material

Instructions

3/25 – Banana Bread

This is one of my favorite banana bread recipes. Many years ago when I was subbing at The Berkeley School another teacher made this with the class and I could not get over how yummy it was! She was kind enough to give me the recipe.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar (I usually use less)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1 six ounce cup yogurt (We enjoy using the French style vanilla)
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla (sometimes I like to use almond extract)
2 ripe bananas, mashed (it’s great adding a mortar and pestle for this part to allow your child to help, this is a great option for children)

Instructions

3/24 – Rock Painting

Before doing this activity you can listen to A Stone Sat Still, that can be found here, Today when you go out on your walk, keep an eye out for a stone or a rock that catches your eye. Can you hold it? Can you climb on it? How does it feel when you touch it? Find one that is small enough that you can carry home for this activity.

Materials:

Paint

Paint Brush

Rock

Have all materials set up and enjoy! Now you will have a beautiful addition for you potted plants or bedroom!