LEARNING LINKS: A MANIPULATIVE WITH ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES

If you have an infant, you have probably used similar links to hang their toys off of a stroller, for example. BUT, they can also be used for preschoolers. These 3-year-olds sorted these links by color and shape, made patterns with them, and used a large “pocket cube” to work on their turn-taking skills while playing a game whose goal was to have them complete a pattern…

STRINGING BEADS 💎 WITH PIPE CLEANERS VS. STRING – A DISCOVERY MADE FOR TODDLERS! 🙌🏻

It’s possible that I’m late to the party and that everyone else knew this but me. But, in case you didn’t, pipe cleaner necklaces and bracelets are all the rage in my house right about now. 💎 For months I have given B every thickness of string I could find and have added tape to the tip to help her lace it through the hole (this method helps…

WATER 💦 BEAD LOVE! 💕

If you haven’t discovered water beads yet, welcome to my obsession. Up until this week, I had only bought the multicolored packs (some with fine motor tools included), but there’s a cloud and weather activity I want to do later this week that will require only blue beads (pictured here). I may have also purchased Halloween 🎃 👻 colored water beads for Saturday night’s sensory station. 🙈 But seriously, they…

MAGIC NOODLE MODELS: OUR SKULL & BRAIN

I first learned about #magicnoodles in my 20s while teaching preschool, thanks to one of my favorite teacher friends, Cheryl Pinckney. Until just recently, I had forgotten about them but wow 😮 have I been missing out. What’s so special about them? You dab them with a damp cloth and they stick together, like magic, making any structure possible. In this case, we used the noodles to represent the brain…

A MOUTHFUL OF MATH AND FINE MOTOR PLAY

A picture of an open mouth, white beads as teeth, a 🦷 toothbrush, and a pair if plastic tweezers…it really doesn’t get too much more simple. If you have a die laying around, you can roll it and have them remove or pull the corresponding number of teeth. We tried it with our 3-year-olds, but they’re just not there yet, and that’s ok. They still…

PRESCHOOL HALLOWEEN CRAFT: SPIDERS 🕷 ON A WEB

We got our fine motor play on through lacing while talking about spiders and counting how many legs they actually have. It’s math, it’s science, it’s just plain fun (and adorable)! MATERIALS:• Paper plate• Single hole puncher• Paint 🎨• Glue• Tape• Yarn 🧶• Scissors ✂️• Construction Paper• Pom poms• Goggly eyes 👀 STEPS:• Punch holes in a circular pattern around a paper plate• Paint the plate 🎨• Allow paint to dry• Cut…