Why Science in Preschool?
This list of science center posts is constantly growing. Click on each picture to be taken to the original post. Why Imaginative Play?
This list of imaginative play posts is constantly growing. Click on each picture to be taken to the original post. This list of classroom tips is constantly growing.
Click on each picture to be taken to the original post. Why Sensory?
This list of sensory posts is constantly growing. Click on each picture to be taken to the original post. Why Living Organisms in Preschool?
This list of science center posts is constantly growing. Click on each picture to be taken to the original post. Why a Light Table?
This list of light table posts is constantly growing. Click on each picture to be taken to the original post.
Light Table: Arthropods and Insects
The holiday season is upon us and the cooler weather has arrived.
Stores and restaurants are always the most popular themes in our Imagination Center. Our Gingerbread and Cocoa Cafe is no exception. As the cooler weather finally hits our area and the holiday season arrives, this theme sets the tone for festive, educational role-play.
Even a small space can be inviting and engaging.
For those of you who follow along on our blogging journey, you may know our classroom is small. Despite the size, just the right amount of engaging activities can be added, without clutter. Besides, less really is more. However, one place I carefully spurge on is our Imagination Center. The Gingerbread and Cocoa Cafe has everything a little, lovely cafe could want: an inviting storefront, bakery/small specialty kitchen, and a quaint eating area. Despite the main furniture items being the same, the unique added touches make it easy to imagine something completely different. The storefront sign, at the top of our cafe stand and the other signs and labels are included in the Gingerbread and Cocoa Cafe Dramatic Play Pack found in my TPT store HERE.
The modern cafe uses chalkboard decor.
Menu boards and signage, at modern cafes, tend to lend towards a chalkboard theme. The Gingerbread and Cocoa Cafe menu boards were printed at Staples, on 11x17 cardstock and laminated (they are included in the Gingerbread and Cocoa Cafe Dramatic Play Pack). Everything I print, or murals I make, are laminated for durability. They last several years, through many theme rotations.
Independence is key, when role playing.
Aprons are one of my staples for role playing. To foster independence, I use my regular Montessori design, with one strap and a hook and loop closure. Since I only have up to four scholars in a center at one time, I have only two aprons: the Cookie Baker and Cocoa Maker/Cashier. The labels were printed onto iron-on transfer paper and ironed onto the cloth. If you choose to use printable iron-on transfer paper, make sure you choose the paper made specifically for dark fabrics (if ironing onto fabric with any color or print). The additions to these aprons are a double pocket front, to help hold items while running the cafe. The Gingerbread and Cocoa Cafe Dramatic Play Pack has various job title tags to choose from.
The cafe menu offers hot chocolate and gingerbread cookies.
The Gingerbread and Cocoa Cafe makes soft, fluffy gingerbread cookies, offered three ways: plain, flooded with frosting and flooded with decorations. Our cafe also offers delicious hot chocolate, made from a "Secret Family Recipe". Add-ins include whipping cream and marshmallows. All menu items are made from scratch and made to order, through my scholars imaginations.
The hot chocolate station is separate from the baking station.
To make the roles completely separate from each other, the play kitchen was removed and a small hot chocolate station was set up. The wooden cooktop is from Melissa and Doug and works perfect for a small station such as this. Most of the hot chocolate ingredients are stored at this station, with the exception of the sugar, which can be found on the shelves in the baking station. Small, plastic mugs are perfectly themed with images of gingerbread men. They were purchased from Oriental Trading Company and come in a pack of twelve. The extra small, plastic, silver colored spoons are from a party supply store. They are just the needed size for our little mugs and of course, tiny hands. Mini white pom-poms are the ideal sized marshmallows for this pint-sized cafe. Tongs are added for fine-motor development. The whipping cream is two ripple cut circles of white felt, in various sizes, hand-sewn together with a simple gathering stitch. Most of the store/restaurant themes that offer whipping cream, also have an empty can of whipping cream as a prop. However, even though the Gingerbread and Cocoa Cafe Dramatic Play Pack has a label for a can, there wasn't room for something that tall on the station shelving in our classroom.
The hot chocolate needs to be pourable.
Small chocolate brown colored pom-poms make the perfect hot chocolate. They can be stirred, spooned up and poured into mugs. The containers for all of the hot chocolate ingredients are available at the station, following the recipe that's posted in the station area (adding one-to-one correspondence, measurement and sequencing). The salt shaker comes from the Melissa and Doug condiment set.
The Bakery Station has everything needed to make delicious gingerbread cookies.
The gingerbread recipe is posted and all tools and ingredients have labels, teaching scholars that text has meaning. Exposure to pictures with text is important, whether they are able to read or not. The spice rack is another Melissa and Doug favorite. It came with all of the spice ingredients needed to make gingerbread. The order board is magnetic. The candy cane bucket is usually found at the register area, but due to our small counter space, it was placed at the end of the bakery station.
Felt gingerbread cookies make the perfect play food.
The felt gingerbread cookies were made using the actual cookie cutters available in the bakery station, to add realism to the role playing. Each cookie is lightly stuffed with polyfill. The flooded cookies were covered in stiff red or green felt. The flooded and decorated cookies were made by adding puffy paint. I made sure to decorate them as closely to the clipart in the dramatic play pack as possible.
Bakery supplies are as realistic as possible, to follow the sequence of the recipe.
Using the same cookie cutters that are in the baking station, I made a "rolled out" set of dough, with two cookie cutouts. My scholars can roll out the dough, cut out the cookies, and place them on the cookie sheet to bake in the oven. When the cookies have been baked and cooled, they can be decorated using the piping bags. The frosting in each bag is colored felt, rolled into a cone shape and stuffed with polyfill. My scholars enjoy the squishiness of the piping bags, making the decorating process more realistic. Plastic piping tips are usually around a dollar for a set and the set makes just the right amount of piping bags. Rather than spending the money on the flimsy clear decorator bags, I use a double layer of gallon sized freezer bags, trimmed at the top. The bags are tightly tied with ribbed ribbon.
Making supplies reusable is important.
No matter what theme is set up, it's important to try and produce as little waste as possible, making most or all of the props reusable. This also makes the theme cost efficient. My order forms are laminated and have a magnet strip on the top back. The order forms can easily attach and be removed from the magnetic order form board. A dry erase marker is added to the order form box, making the order forms reusable year, after year. The Gingerbread and Cocoa Cafe Dramatic Play Pack has themed money. Just simply print the pages on green paper. I use plastic play coins found on Amazon. The cafe stand was purchased at Walmart and the awning cover was sewn from holiday fabric and attached with velcro. The cafe stand storefront sign is part of the Gingerbread and Cocoa Cafe Dramatic Play Pack. The number line was permanently attached and is from a Pocket of Preschool math and literacy pack.
Modeling the various roles will set the tone for how the center is used.
Before my scholars use the themed set up, I model the different roles that can be played in the center and demonstrate how to use the supplies. It's amazing how well they role play running a small business. My scholars take their roles seriously and learn so much through the theme. This center provides opportunities for developing fine-motor, sequencing, counting, measurement, reading, writing, one-to-one correspondence and very important social skills - plus more! Find the Gingerbread and Cocoa Cafe Dramatic Play Pack in my TPT store, HERE. Two versions of the table menu and various signage are available in the pack: chalkboard and an ink saving white background.
CLICK ON THE IMAGE BELOW
to purchase the Gingerbread and Cocoa Cafe Dramatic Play Pack
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My Amazon Picks to complete
the Gingerbread and Cocoa Cafe can be found below: The holidays are here and my scholars love our home-school connection. When families with young children decorate for the holidays, the children want to be a part of the decorating process. The twinkling lights, the glimmering decorations and the busy excitement of the season can oftentimes bring chaos into the classroom. Bringing in a connection from home to school can actually help reduce the hubbub and be incredibly beneficial, when set up as a skill building activity. Why not bring in a tree and child-safe decorations for scholars to decorate? They can hang, remove and re-decorate, over and over, using fine-motor. For the two weeks in between themes, our Imagination Center is transformed back into our "home". During the holidays, when our "home" is set up, I like to add a holiday touch. A simple fireplace mural with a stocking hung and embellished with sprigs, is printed from a blown-up clipart file and laminated to be used each year. The wreath is from the dollar store and is secured with a Command Strip hook. The Christmas tree is only four feet tall and the perfect size for young children to decorate. Small, plastic decorations are the perfect size to add fine-motor practice. Tubes of small, plastic ornament balls can be purchased at most dollar stores. To make them last from year-to-year, I hot glued the cap to each one. This also reduces any chance of students finding a hole that they'd be tempted to stick a finger into, getting stuck. Many of the large grocery chains, such as Walmart, carry a variety of small ornaments that are made for mini trees. Just be sure to lookout for anything sharp and breakable. In order for the ornaments to be easily gripped and separated from each other in the basket, I replaced the cording with thin satin ribbon.
Small world sensory play is an important part of early learning.
Making a miniature scene, within a sensory experience, adds more than just the typical use of senses to the sensory discovery. It offers an added tool for children to use their imagination and develop verbal language skills. While most children play with a miniature scene, they narrate and add voice to the materials. Children also reenact stories or life events, use rich vocabulary, strengthen memory and develop important sequencing skills.
While the actual materials would be ideal, sometimes it may not be possible.
Our previous small world sensory play table followed our dinosaur theme and offered a very different sensory experience than what's set out for the first winter themed table. As I mention in each sensory table post, I don't repeat a sensory filler throughout the school year, offering unique experiences each time. Bringing in a winter themed sensory table requires a lot more creativity, due to our location. Ideally, real snow would be the ultimate sensory experience for this table. However, we live in the desert and it almost never reaches a temperature capable of accumulating snow on the ground. Most of my scholars may never experience falling or freshly fallen snow during their childhood.
Soft, fluffy, freshly fallen snow can be easily copied (minus the cold) by using Buffalo Snow.
Buffalo Snow is readily available during the holiday season and is most often used in miniature winter display scenes. Buffalo Snow makes a variety of products, but I've found that the Snow Flurries product works well for the main base of the table filler. Its soft, fluffy and can feel similar to freshly fallen powder. To add in the crystal sparkles of fresh snow, gleaming in the sunlight, I add Buffalo Snow Flakes. The flakes are iridescent and add a bit of glittery dimension when you look at the snow flurries in just the right light, or angle.
A snowy landscape wouldn't be complete without Arctic and Antarctic animals.
Although polar bears and penguins wouldn't be found living together, they are representations of species that live in the polar regions of both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. I use this sensory table and a mini lesson to introduce planet Earth. We will be going into further detail of Earth and the other planets of our solar system, when my scholars return from Winter Break. Finding something to tie themes together, further engages students by giving them something to recall, find familiar and verbally share with their peers.
The landscape, in which our small world takes place, needed to offer more materials of different textures. I repurposed non recyclable styrofoam, cutting it into various shapes to make movable and stackable ice sheets/icebergs. Bottle brush trees not only add a very uncommon sensory encounter, they add color to an otherwise monotone landscape. I specifically chose trees in two different shades of green, for color variation. Miniature Christmas tree snowflake ornaments are camouflaged treasures, lightly sprinkled around the table filler. I simply clipped off the strings and the tiny loops that held them.
The sensory tools are just as important as the filler.
For each sensory table experience, I try to bring my scholars back to rediscover the table during the second week by adding or replacing tools. During the first week of the Winter Wildlife table, I offer repurposed measurement scoops, with thin handles. During the second week, I add repurposed clear containers, with large holes drilled through the lids. For the flurries to fall through the DIY shakers, the holes need to be very large. I don't add the flurries to the shakers myself, I leave them for my scholars to discover and use their skills to unscrew and screw back on the lid. Some of my scholars may struggle with the task, but that gives them the opportunity to communicate with their peers, asking for assistance from them before coming to me.
It may be a bit messy, but its a unique sensory adventure.
Offering a wide variety of sensory materials is extremely important in childhood development. The more diverse the sensory experiences, the stronger the brain connections become. Its important to realize that messy is just as important as contained. When you can watch your student's encounter a new sensory experience, that they may not have the opportunity to experience in the future, its magical.
Please note, as a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, I may earn a small commission on qualified recommended links.
The Amazon Services LLC Associates Program is an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
You can find my Amazon Picks to complete the Winter Wildlife Small World Sensory Table, below:
Farming is a very important part of our lives.
Whether we are personally farming or not, farming and agriculture are an invaluable part of our lives. Without farmers, we wouldn't have the necessary food for survival. Teaching this in early childhood is very important. All the fruits, vegetables, meats, eggs, milk, and grains come from farms. During our Farm and Harvest theme, I teach mini lessons on the importance of farmers, farms and the process or sequence in which animals or plants are cared for correctly. My scholars learn the sequence of growing and harvesting a garden. They'll receive a follow-up lesson later in the school year, as Spring approaches, learning about the parts of plants and growing their own vegetable plant to nurture at home.
Our mural focuses on an apple tree, full of ripe apples to pick and count.
As with all the murals I make for our themes, I start with a base of rolled paper. For our farm and harvest mural I started with a base of blue banner paper and cut light green banner paper into the shape of a long grassy, hilly landscape. The clouds are randomly cut from plain copy paper. The barn, silo, tractor and Fall trees are printed clipart. To add farming fields, I used a light orange-yellow Astrobrights paper hill and dark green Astrobrights paper field rows. I cut a tree trunk shape, freehand, from brown banner paper. The leaves are also cut freehand from Astrobrights paper and glued into position, individually. The "Pick Your Own Apples" sign was made in Photoshop and I've attached it as a freebie, along with a few other goodies, at the end of this blog post.
Every mural I create is laminated and stored in an artwork tube, when not in use. To attach the apples to the tree, I used velcro dots, placing the rough loop side on the tree. The soft side is placed onto the apples, that I purchased in the faux display food section of Hobby Lobby. They are the perfect size for small hands and our apple tree mural. The apples provide the perfect, natural opportunity to count. My scholars naturally count the apples as they pick or place the apples back on the tree. These particular apples have slight differences in size, making it possible for many of my scholars to compare and sort them.
Four different species of farm animals give our little farmers the opportunity to imagine being responsible for other living things.
Our little classroom farm animals include pigs, sheep and cows. The groups of animals have their own pens. The stuffed animals are from Walmart and were purchased during an Easter clearance. The pens are connectable, plastic garden fencing. The pig pen has a randomly cut brown felt sheet for a big mud puddle. The sheep and cow pens have green felt squares for grass.
The hen house is made from a collapsable shelf bin, felt and plastic canvas to shape the roof. Sewing isn't required for this project, if the felt is securely attached together using hot glue. The chicken and rooster were purchased online (link below). The eggs are plastic. I've attached the 'HEN HOUSE' sign freebie at the bottom of this blog post, along with others.
Simple farming supplies are provided to fuel the imagination.
The farming supplies are all individually labeled, using another one of the amazing products from Pocket of Preschool, in the Pocket of Preschool Farm Dramatic Play Pack that can be found HERE. The wall signs for the animal pens, garden and orchard are also from the same dramatic play pack.
Labels for the rake(s) and basket of leaves were not included in the POP dramatic play pack, so I made those labels to complete the supplies I have provided in the center. I made a Gardening Checklist for my scholars to review the sequence of garden planning, planting and harvesting. The Farming Checklist I produced, helps the farmers check off the duties of caring for their small farm. My additional labels and checklists are attached as a freebie at the end of this blog post. The grain bag is made form a small cloth bag, stuffed with polyfill and labeled with permanent markers. The hay is strips of yellow felt. I wrapped unopened seed packets in clear contact paper, so the seeds can still be heard when my scholars shake them over the garden to be "planted". I wanted them to be able to feel the difference in the size and weight of the types of seeds. Being able to also hear the difference in the sound, when they shake the packets, is very important.
Dressing the part adds to the imagination.
Simplifying dress-up makes a world of difference when working with such a small area. Less really does allow for more imagination, so I made farmer aprons with all the characteristics of a typical children's book farmer. The aprons are my regular go-to Montessori style, that allow complete independence. The neck is encased elastic and one simple strap can be easily swung around the back and attached with a small strip of velcro. Each apron required two fat quarters of mottled blue cotton material, a fourth of a red bandana, two extra-large brown buttons and one tractor patch. The red bandana is sewn directly onto the apron as decoration. I made these aprons slightly shorter than my regulars. My own gardening apron is very short, so it doesn't get in the way of kneeling down to work with the soil and plants. I wanted the farmer aprons to be similar, for the same reason.
Learning to follow lists and sequencing is an important skill.
The Farming Checklist helps my scholars care for the animals on the farm, as well as the apple tree. Its a simple visual for them to follow and check off as they complete each farming task.
One of our mini lessons is on the various farm animals and what they eat. My scholars learn that many of the farm animals eat quite a large amount of different types food during the day. Its also very important to collect the eggs each day, to keep them clean and reduce the chance of them getting broken. Later in the school year I reintroduce chickens, as we learn about the life cycle of a bird through hatching eggs in the classroom.
Although we don't see many leaves change color in Arizona, or have the need to rake large amounts of fallen leaves during the Fall season, I wanted to include the experience in our center.
Learning to help with the yard work is a skill lesson most parents would applaud. However, raking silk leaves with an appropriately sized rake is developing something much more than that. The movement associated with raking leaves is called crossing the midline. The midline is the center "line" down the body, essentially separating the right and left side. Crossing the midline is necessary in the developmental process for coordination, brain development, fine motor and more. My scholars enjoy the chance to dump out the basket of leaves and rake the leaves into piles. They've also enjoyed using the leaves to sort and make patterns.
Gardening is a skill that is no longer passed down, generation to generation.
Learning where our food comes from, how it is grown and why its healthy, are all reinforced through the felt and fabric garden. Being able to role-play planting and harvesting a garden, helps to develop skills we take for granted as adults. Young children have a desire to learn about gardening and how things grow. A play garden in the farm/harvest theme is essential.
My garden was adapted from the instructions on the blog: Adventures In Making. I used fabric as the covering for my dirt rolls to reduce friction and make it easier for the vegetables to be pushed and pulled around. Rather than filling my dirt rolls with polyfill, I cut pool noodles to size, wrapped them in two layers of quilt batting and then covered them with the brown cotton fabric. The rolls were stitched together at the ends, to help keep them in place. By doing this, the dirt rolls were sturdy, kept their shape and stayed in place. The vegetables needed roots, to add more realism and help my scholars be able to recognize where the plants take in their water and nutrients to grow. I added the roots by knotting whole strands of embroidery thread in random lengths. The tomato and eggplant greenery was made with pipe cleaners and felt leaves in two shades: lighter on the top of the leaf and darker on the bottom. The garden markers were printed on cardstock, laminated and then hot glued to extra large craft sticks. They're also in the file attached to the end of this blog post, if you'd like markers for the same vegetables.
Gardening requires planning and following a sequential process.
While learning how to garden and the process in which plants are grown and harvested, my scholars enjoy planning, "planting", caring for and harvesting their own garden. Some of my scholars even imagine dirt around the base of the picked vegetables, dusting them off before placing them in the basket. When they care for the plants, I've had a student check the leaves for pests and pretend to release ladybugs, to defend their precious garden plants. Imagination is incredible.
No theme is complete without a banner, sign, or bunting.
Gingham is a farm decor favorite. The bunting is hung with jute and attached to the wall with Command Strips. I've added the farm bunting as a freebie in the files attached to the end of the blog post below.
There are an incredible amount of wonderful children's books for farm and harvest themes.
It's difficult to pick my favorites, since I have so many. My reading center is filled with wonderful picture books to fit the theme. However, if I had to choose, I'd recommend: 'The Farmer's Away! BAA! NEIGH!' by Anne Vittur Kennedy, 'Ten Pigs: An Epic Bath Adventure' by Derek Anderson, 'There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Cow' by Lucille Colandro and one of my oldie-but-goodie favorites, 'Kiss the Cow' by Phyllis Root. I like to place 'Ten Pigs' and 'There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Cow' in my mathematics center. They teach counting and sequencing.
The freebie files for the apple tree sign, labels, checklists, hen house sign and the farm banner
can be downloaded by clicking the links below:
Please note, as a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, I may earn a small commission on qualified recommended links.
The Amazon Services LLC Associates Program is an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
My Amazon Picks to complete the Farm/Harvest theme:
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