Ms Tamra's Bookbag

One of our preschool friends brought this wonderful book to share and the entire class LOVED it! We listened to it over and over and over again! Even when we weren't listening to it the kids were talking about it, humming it and singing the song.  Couldn't recommend it more!

You can listen to it here . . . bet you'll love it too! http://harpercollinschildrens.com/feature/petethecat/audio/pete-the-cat.mp3 

C is for (more) Color Creations!

We started out the day listening to this great Alphabet Pals book . . . 

Penelope pig wants to paint her pig pen purple . . . but Zac keeps mixing the wrong colors.  

Will she ever get a perfectly purple pig pen? 

Then it was time to try our own magical color mixing with paint . . . 

Each hand was painted a different primary color (ex. left hand red, right hand yellow) and put on the paper to make a print. Next, hands are rubbed together (while saying magic words, of course!) and a new color appears! 

I try to do new things each year so kids who come multiple years get fresh activities, but this is one is such a favorite it's a guaranteed repeat :)

C is for color

We started off today's exploration of both color and Jazz Music with this fun book . . . 

I got this at a music teachers convention two years ago--
but you can get it online.
I LOVE  it and the kids do too!

After reading the story, we listened to the accompanying CD and drew pictures of whatever the music sounded like in the color we heard. 

Everyone heard something different--

 We had a pink dancing princess, a big brown bear,  

and even a green trumpet!

 Then we ended up with an impromptu dance--

the kids LOVED the Jazz music!

One of our gross motor activities for the day used these simple plastic lids with flashcards taped on the bottom.  

We put them upside down on the floor and marched around listening to our new favorite Jazz music.  

When the music stopped, we ran to put our toes next to a circle, then got to flip it over and name what was on the bottom.
We'll use this game throughout the year with letters, and numbers.

Did you know that some colors are made by mixing other colors?  

Ms Tamra used a green marker to draw a big green dot on this coffee filter then she used a straw to drip a little water on it. 

When it dried, we could see that the green had yellow and blue it in!

We also did this with orange and purple.

 We'll do more with mixing color magic on Friday :)

Finally, here's a picture of Ms Munching Mouth . . . 

She LOVES to eat letters!  

During our one-on-one assessments this week, the kids named letters as they fed them to her.  

There were lots and lots of giggles as she almost nibbled little fingers :)

See you Friday!

Crazy Colors

This book is a fantastic way to start a discussion of color.  

Each child picked a color and we'd read about an animal featured in that color. 

 Who knew frogs were blue? 

Or there's a bird with blue feet?  

The number one highlight of the day was our magical exploration of colors using Ms Tamra's magic powder and clear liquid . . . 

(vinegar & water; food coloring covered with baking soda . . . shhhh! don't tell!)

 As you stir and say the magic words exciting things happen . . . 

and then a color magically appears!

Here's a peek at a couple of centers . . . 

Can't wait to see what Wednesday has in store!

Cool Colors!

Today, after reading Ed Young's Seven Blind Mice we had so much fun exploring colors.  Here's the details:

We dug for treasure in the wheat box.  The kids had to find 3 hidden objects of each color and put them in the container.  Warning: if you try something similar--have a vacuum nearby!

We made paint hand print magic . . .

Each hand was painted a different primary color and put on the paper. After rubbing their hands together and repeating the magic words, the kids were thrilled to see a new color appear!

While children were working at other centers, I asked a child to come over to my "game," handed them a paintbrush and asked them to paint a crayon of a specific color.  The kids had fun and it was an easy way for me to assess their color knowledge.

And then there was the shaving cream.

Each child had three piles of shaving cream with red, blue and yellow finger paint (yes--morning parents,  . . . I learned from your kids that the next group should do this outside, wearing painting shirts and using finger paint instead of food coloring!)

It was so fun to watch how each group responded to the experience differently.

The girls jumped right in (I love the looks of delight on their faces!), mixing and exploring the new color combinations . . .

The morning boys were much more hesitant and delicate .  . .

but it wasn't too long before both tables looked like this . . . 

The afternoon class even went for the table legs . . . 

Both classes had fun watching the shaving cream magically disappear when I hosed the tables down (and their hands . . . feet. . . faces . . . :)

It was a great day of all sorts of color exploration!

Perfect Playdough

What is a preschool class without playdough?!? 

Supplies:

1 Cup Salt

2  1/2  Cups Flour

1 tsp oil

1 Cup water (warm)

Directions:

Mix flour and salt in large bowl.  Add food coloring to the warm water (we added yellow first and then blue so we could watch it "magically" transform to green).  Pour in the water and add oil--then  . . . 

STIR 

(each child took a turn using their strong stirring muscles)

PLAY

And STORE in an airtight container.

Colorful fun!

Today we had fun exploring the magical world of colors! 

This activity was a huge hit . . . 

Magic Handprints

Supplies:

Blue, red, yellow WASHABLE paint; Large paper and LOTS AND LOTS of soapy water!

Directions:

Have each child dip one hand in red paint and make a print on his paper. Then have him hold that hand HIGH in the air while he makes a yellow handprint with the other hand. Now, they rub the two hands together while saying, "ABRACADABRA" and then make a "magic" print with the new orange color.  For added fun, repeat to make purple and green prints!  

(Idea adapted from the Aug/Sept 2009 issue of The Mailbox magazine)

And with that we'll sign off with a ROAR!