Some of the most popular Toddler activities this week...

Capturing the Colors of Autumn

Leaf printing activity: collect leaves, coat with fabric paint, press onto shirt or other fabric, blot off excess paint, enjoy.

  

                                      

How To Make Beautiful Wire Wrapped Stone Pendants

Simply cut a 2 foot piece of wire, make a "rabbit ear" loop, place the loop at the top of the stone and wrap until you use all of the wire.

TIP: Rough stones are easier to wrap than polished stones.

I found these child sized wire cutters and long nosed pliers at our local craft store. How perfect.

Seed Balls

Today we made seed balls!

It's a technique for planting in abandoned places, and often inhospitable land, that was developed in Japan by Masanobu Fukuoka, a pioneer in natural farming. And its fun.

1 part seeds, 3 parts compost, 5 parts clay. Mix in a little water to make the consistancy of play dough. Roll into small balls and let dry in the sun. Then the fun part....5,4,3,2,1...throw!

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103129515

Fingerprints --are you a whorl, arch, or loop?

We've been studying the human body all month. After learning about our skin, we decided to make fingerprints. Here's the activity:

Pencil, paper, clear tape and your fingers (or toes!).

Rub a dark spot of pencil graphite onto a piece of paper. We used scraps of card stock for additional durability.

Rub your finger over the graphite.

Place clear tape onto your finger (sticky side touching graphite).

Place tape onto white paper to see fingerprint.

Now it's time to study and classify your print. Now this is real police work!
http://www.ridgesandfurrows.homestead.com/fingerprint_patterns.html

Analyzing fingerprints may be a little bit challenging for our younger friends.

Here's a great pattern observation introduction game for toddlers and younger preschool children.

Copy Me Game

A simple game fun for all ages. One player creates a pattern the other copies it. wonderful for building visual-perceptual and fine motor skills for reading and writing.

The History Of Bread: Lesson 2 Wheat Crackers

Our class has been studying the history of bread. After grinding wheat berries to make our own flour, we began experimenting with a basic wheat cracker recipe. After mastering the basic recipe we allowed the children to experiment by substituting different ingredients. We kept a careful recipe log and notes on each substitution. The children were incredibly insightful and creative. We tested about ten different variations.

The activity was set up as an individual choice for one child at a time. The crackers were baked in a toaster oven(supervised by a teacher).

Basic Wheat Crackers

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup of cracked wheat
1/8 tsp salt
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp of water

Mix dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients. Knead dough until smooth and consistent in texture. Additional flour or liquid can be added to obtain the right consistency. Roll dough to approximately 1/8 inch thickness. Cut cracker shapes with small cookie cutters. Bake on a cookie sheet for approximately 5 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until crackers are lightly browned and crisp. Cool and enjoy.

Recipe makes 25-30 one inch crackers.

Namaste's Favorite Wheat Crackers

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup of cracked wheat
1/8 tsp salt
2 tbsp of butter
2 tbsp of maple syrup
1 tbsp of fresh squeezed orange juice
2 tbsp of orange zest

A Passion For Wildflowers...

Our children are discovering wildflowers on walks around our school property, through the nearby fields and up by the pond.

We incorporated this passion for wildflowers inot a variety of works throughout our classroom. Flower arranging in the practical life area, still life drawing in the art area, identification of wildflowers and wildflower bingo in the language area, parts of a flower and leaf identification in the science area, plus lots of books to do our research.

A Moment To Relax

This year we have quite a few children in our classroom with special sensory needs. We recently put a basket of massage tools out on our shelves and presented the tools with a very brief introductory lesson. What a hit! All of the children love taking a break from their work to sit quietly on a mat for a moment of relaxation. I've also been spotted on occasion using this material to work out some stressful kinks in my neck after a long day of paperwork or paying bills.

Quick and Easy Sensorial Activities

Textured fabric matching activity to be completed using a blindfold.

Smell matching activity using three pairs of identical salt and pepper shakers lined with construction paper and filled with cotton balls scented with essential oils.