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Making Rainbows; An Ongoing Study

There are a few different ways to make rainbows. Rainbows come from mixing light and water. Figure out how you want to do this. You can put things out at your science center for children to explore, or you can do this as a gathering activity. This could be done all in one day, but the idea here is to keep trying all the ways to figure out what works best. It's a study and the children can practice being scientists.

Elizabeth Gruss

Jan 4, 20211 min read

Color By Numbers

Solidify number order while increasing fine motor strength and learning about rainbow color order. Print out the sheet or make your own. Explain to the children how color by number works if you have not done it before. There are extra print outs just for fun.

Elizabeth Gruss

Jan 4, 20211 min read

Curved Numbers

Set up your math space just like you did for curved letters. Set out whatever you have that is curved or can curve to fit the numbers. Print out the cards or make your own! A super easy and affordable way to do this is to air dry or bake (however it's supposed to harden) play dough or clay. This way you can custom make your pieces, and save!

Elizabeth Gruss

Jan 4, 20211 min read

Crayon Sorting

Put all of your crayons (markers, colored pencils can work too) into 1-3 tubs. Set out enough tubs or containers for sorting by color. This could be one for every major color, or one for a few colors (like Red + Pink or all warm colors). Label bins by taping construction paper in that color around bin/tub. Let the kids sort. Bonus- you can do this whenever you need your art area organized!

Elizabeth Gruss

Jan 4, 20211 min read

Curved Letters

Using curved materials (or making your own), set out letter cards and let the children explore. Give a space for them to create their own without the cards. You could use pipe cleaners, pom poms, round stones, or make your own arches with cardboard or drying out play dough.

Elizabeth Gruss

Jan 4, 20211 min read

Tracing Arches

Set up each spot with paper, crayons, and arch shapes to trace. Give each child 1 of each rainbow color and let them trace the arch shape to make their own rainbows. You can make the arches by drying out playdough, baking salt dough, or cutting out from cardboard if you don't have any.

Elizabeth Gruss

Jan 4, 20211 min read

Play Dough Arches

Practice Making Arches with these play dough mats. Set out whatever colors you'd like. Show how to roll and shape if you need to. Set out tools that allow to cut to size.

Elizabeth Gruss

Jan 4, 20211 min read

Color Wheel Exploration

Get to know the color wheel. Print out the color wheel and hang up or set out for observation. Go to your big box hardware store and get paint samples. You can also ask around and see if anyone has extras. Set out lots of samples and cut up lots of samples. Let the children explore, match, and build with the pieces.

Elizabeth Gruss

Jan 4, 20211 min read

Watercolor Sun Catchers

Set up your art table to either be a group project for individual. For group- carefully tape down either all white or different colors of tissue paper to fill the table. Set out cups with colored water or water color palettes and cups of water. I would suggest having water color already to go, each color with a lid and it's own brush as to avoid everything being brown. This would work very well as a collaborative art project. Once dried, carefully lift from table. Use tape ar

Elizabeth Gruss

Jan 4, 20211 min read

Story Puzzle

Use the print out. Cut into each piece. If you want to reuse these each year, laminate and/or glue onto cardboard for durability. This practices order of events/cause and effect, and strengthens reading skills but understanding storytelling.

Elizabeth Gruss

Jan 4, 20211 min read

Matching Rhyming Game

Similar to the picture sounds game,you will be matching cards. Cut all sheets into cards and let the children match which ones rhyme. You can do this as a group in gathering time as well. You can make your own cards if you don't have access to the print out.

Elizabeth Gruss

Jan 4, 20211 min read

Matching Picture Sounds

Use the print out or make your own. Set out full sheets of pictures or cut to have cards, plus letter cards cut out individually. Set these out for individual spots or grouped by picture cards or letter cards.Have the children place the letter on top the the picture it matches beginning sounds with. This can also be done as a group for a gathering time. For this, put the picture sheet where the children can see, hold up a letter card at a time and ask where it should go. For

Elizabeth Gruss

Jan 4, 20211 min read

Sound Matching Bins

Decide how many letters you'd like to do. You could spell out a word like 'Heart' or 'Cookie' or 'Love'. Label bins by taping a piece of paper with one letter written (can do caps/lower case/both) so it is easy to see. You could also tape the letter to the table but kids might move the bins around as they do. Set out 5-10 objects per letter bin to match. Make sure you are picking objects with a clear beginning sound. Let the children find what bin the object goes to. When the

Elizabeth Gruss

Jan 4, 20211 min read

Measuring Snow Flakes

There are a couple different ways to use this sheet. The first is to number popsicle sticks to place on top the the snow flakes. Children will match each snowflake line with the popsicle sticks in numerical order. The next is to create rulers out of popsicle sticks to measure how long the snowflakes are. To make this ruler, you will glue cardboard (from cereal box or whatever) to four popsicle sticks, two rows/two columns). Mark the cardboard to match the measuring lines on t

Elizabeth Gruss

Jan 4, 20211 min read

Number Value

Use the print out or make your own! Have the children place the number of markers on the cookie as is written next to it. This can be done by using stickers, stones, balled up construction paper, or play dough pieces (dried out or not). For even more fun, you could totally put the sheet on top of a magnet board and use circle magnets!

Elizabeth Gruss

Jan 4, 20211 min read

Number Shapes

Practice writing and recognizing numbers by exploring their shapes. Print out the mats or draw your own. Set out containers with items to line the numbers with. This could be pom poms, stickers, pipe cleaners, legos, pieces of construction paper, sticks, rocks.. whatever you have! You can put 2-3 different types at each spot, all the same, or have enough containers filled so the children can pick their own.

Elizabeth Gruss

Jan 4, 20211 min read

2D to 3D Shapes

Here we are using popsicle sticks to make 2D shapes 3D plus giving a gluing opportunity. Print out the sheet or make your own. Set out popsicle sticks at each spot with the sheet. You canset out glue if you have the right age group, or wait until they have practiced with just sticks. The point is to replicate the shape from paper to real life. Show the children they can glue sticks on top of sticks to raise the shape vertically if they desire. This can be as as simple at matc

Elizabeth Gruss

Jan 4, 20211 min read

Frost Can

Save can from canned foods. Take off table. Rinse out. Dull out the sharp lining or glue/tape over (**IMPORTANT STEP** make sure this is...

Elizabeth Gruss

Jan 4, 20211 min read

Snowflake Salt Painting

Practice glue skills, fine motor, and engage in science! Set up each spot with a piece of paper, squeeze glue (if old enough), water color (I suggest 2 colors to watch blend- try pink and red for this month's theme), paint brush, and bowl or container of salt. On the paper, draw or print out simple snowflake designs. PreK children may be able to follow the lines with glue. If not, pre-glue (just make sure you do it right before or it will dry). Let the children sprinkle the s

Elizabeth Gruss

Jan 4, 20211 min read

Baking Cookies

Do this as part of your valentines day activity! Give each child a small amount of sugar cookie dough (you can make this edible or omit this step if you are concerned). Give each child clean rollers (can use play dough ones and can get from dollar tree). Set out cookies cutters and show them to roll and cut. Once baked and cooled, set them up with small amounts of icing and sprinkles each. I get tiny (like 2 oz) containers from the dollar store (packs of like 10). Give spoons

Elizabeth Gruss

Jan 4, 20211 min read

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