KidsSoup - Spring

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Free Weather Crafts, Preschool Activities, and Printables

Preschool Weather Centers

Dramatic Play Area

Daily Weather Report (Weather Cards and Activitiy available inside our KidsSoup Resource Libary)

Preschool Activities:

Sensory Play

Cloudy Sky
Attach some contact paper sticky side out on a window. Provide cotton balls, a felt sun, and some felt rain drops to place on the sticky and let children make the weather of the day, or some cloud pictures.

Preschool Activities:

Gross Motor Skills

Puddle Jumping
Take children outside and draw some circles with chalk on the floor. Encourge children to empty a bucket full of water in each circle. Then, let children jump from puddle to puddle or over the puddle. Indoors: Cut out some puddle shapes out of blue craft paper and attach on the floor.

Weather Circle Time Activities

What's the Weather Today? (Printables and lesson available inside our KidsSoup Resource Libary)

Chart the weather for each day of the month or week. The month of April is a great time because in many areas the weather can vary greatly. Ask children to name as many descriptive words as they can about the day! For example, is it sunny, warm, rainy, cloudy, windy, cold, etc? Place the weather card on the appropriate day of the week on the My Weekly Weather Report chart.

Preschool Activities:

Extension Activity: Let children choose and sort the clothing and talk about the activities they can do in that type of weather.

Preschool Activities:

Umbrella Walk
Talk about umbrellas with children. Explain that people use umbrellas to keep the sun and rain off. Open up an umbrella and have children see how many of them can fit under it. Go for a walk with children in the rain with the umbrella. Have them listen to the rain as it hits the umbrella. If it's sunny, go for a walk with children and the umbrella and discuss how the umbrella shades them from the sun. After children are back inside make a coffee filter umbrella craft.

Coffee Filter Umbrella Craft (Craft description with step-by-step pictures available inside our KidsSoup Resource Libary)
Wet the circle coffee filter with water. Use a paintbrush to drip watercolors on the wet paper. Let dry. Fold the coffee filter two times. Twist two pipe cleaners together and form in to a cane shape. Insert the pipe cleaner inside the umbrella. Add a stapler to the bottom of the umbrella.

Preschool Activities:

Weather Rhymes and Book Suggestion

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Rain, rain, go away.
Come again some other day.
We want to go outside and play.
Come again some other day.

Rain on the Green Grass

Rain on the green grass,
And rain on the trees.
Rain on the rooftop,
But not on me!

Weather Watch preschool and kindergarten weekly plan and lessons (Printables and lesson available inside our KidsSoup Resource Libary)

Eency-Weency Spider
The eency-weency spider

Went up the water spout. (Move hands up while touching index finger and thumb alternately.)
Down came the rain (Move hands down while wiggling fingers.)
And washed the spider out. (Cross arms.)
Out came the sun (Make a circle with arms above head.)
And dried up all the rain.
And the eency-weency spider

Went up the spout again. (Start spider moving up again.)

Science Activity Evaporation
Fill two jars with the same amount of water and mark the level of the water on the outside of the jars. Put a lid on one of the jars. Place the jars in a sunny place for a few days. Discuss with children what happened. Have children note that there is more water gone from the jar without lid and that inside the jar with the lid they can see tiny drops of water. Ask questions like: What happened to the water in the jar with no lid? (The water went into the air. It evaporated.) What happened to the water in the jar with a lid? (The water stayed in the jar, Because of the lid, the water wasn?t able to escape or evaporate.)

Rainbows Activities and Lessons

Rainbow Colors

Rainbow purple,
Rainbow blue,
Rainbow green and yellow, too.
Rainbow orange,
Rainbow red,
Rainbow smiling overhead.
(Author unknown)

Rainbow Salad Snack
Let children make a "rainbow" salad using the following fruits: red strawberries, orange oranges, yellow pineapple, green apples, blue blueberries, and purple grapes. Children will learn the colors of the rainbow while making and eating a delicious and nutritious snack!

Free Weather Printables


Find the Matching Umbrella	Umbrella Tracing Worksheet	Rain Prewriting Skill Worksheet

Other Great Preschool and Kindergarten Weather Theme Activities and Links:

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Other weather related KidsSoup preschool and kindergarten themes and activities:

Preschool Activities: Media Root	Preschool Activities: Media Root	Preschool Activities: Media Root	Preschool Activities: Media Root
Weather Watch Weekly Lesson Plans	Wind and Air Activities and Crafts	The Weather and the Four Seasons	Rainbows of my Own Story Time

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Bugs and Garden Critters Preschool Activities and Crafts

jgarcia — Sun, 19 Jul 2015 19:55:50 +0000

Bugs and Garden Critters preschool and kindergarten activities, crafts, games, and lessons. Garden critters, worms, snails, ladybugs, bees, caterpillars and butterflies are the focus of these preschool lesson plans and activities. Learn all about the critters that wiggle their way through the dirt and buzz around the garden! Together with your children, you will explore nature and the environment that surrounds us. Preschool and kindergarten children will participate in hands-on science lessons, garden critter investigations and activities, and arts and crafts projects. They also will have some creepy crawly fun with our engaging games and preschool activities, all while gaining a deeper appreciation for these little creatures. So, have everyone put on their bugologist hats and get out their magnifying glasses for a garden critter-friendly hunt and much more!

Samples of our bugs, insects, and gardent critters preschool activities, crafts, and games available inside our KidsSoup Resource Library:

Themes and Projects

FREE

Free Bugs and Insects Crafts, Activities, Rhymes, and Printables

Bugs and More Learning Center Ideas

Small World Play Area

In your sand table add some fake grass, some artificial plants and leaves, a fake spiderweb, and a supply of plastic bugs.

Fine Motor Skills

Play Dough Center (Activity and printables available inside our Kidssoup Resource Libary)
Place pictures of bugs and insects on the wall. Let children create different bugs with play dough.

Preschool Activities:

Art Center

Provide children with some deluted paint and paintbrushes. Demonstrate how to dip the paintbrush inside the paint and let the paint drip or dab the paint on one half of the paper to make small dots. Then fold the paper in half and smooth the surface and open it up to let it dry. Let children draw antennae, legs, and wings on their bugs.

Bugs and Insects Learning Activities and Games

Insects
by Barrie Teague Alguire

Every insect has six legs, (Hold up six fingers.)
And some of them have wings. (Hold hands out and waggle fingers like wings.)
Some have antennae on their heads, (Hold two fingers up to head.)
And some of them will sting! Ouch! (Tap your palm sharply with one finger.)

Going on a Animal-Friendly Bug Hunt
Choose a safe place to look for bugs with children: a section of a park, part of a yard, or part of the school playground. Clip a piece of paper on to clipboards that children can use to write and draw on during the hunt. Attach a pencil with string to each clipboard. Place a set of magnifying glasses in a basket to take along on the hunt.

Tell children that they will be going on a bug hunt. Discuss with children where we can find bugs (under rocks, in the grass, under leaves, in the soil, etc.). Explain that it is a bug-friendly bug hunt which means that the bugs can be observed but not disturbed. Explain to children that touching the bugs can damage their delicate wings and body parts.

Note: Explain to children that animals that are soft-bodied and without legs are not usually considered to be bugs. Worms belong to a phylum called Annelida. Slugs and snails belong to the phylum Mollusca.

Bug Hunt (Concentration Game)

Use a set of bug stickers. Attach one set of the bug stickers on to a piece of paper. Write the title "Bugs and More" to the top of the paper. Place each sticker of the second set on its own card. Let children choose a card and try to find the matching bug on the "Bugs and More" paper.

Bugs Counting
Make bug cards by adding 1-10 bugs on 10 cards. On the back of the cards write the matching number. Hold up a card and let children call out the number of bugs on the card. Turn the card over to see if they were correct.

Bug Counting Cards (Activity and printables available inside our Kidssoup Resource Libary)

Preschool Activities:

Bugs and Bees Counting
Spray paint some beans yellow, and then use a black marker to draw stripes to make bees. Print out some flower shapes and write the numbers 1-10 on the flowers. Let children place the matching number of bees on each flower.

Preschool Activities:

Bees Number Recognition Activity (Activity and printables available inside our Kidssoup Resource Libary)

This fun bee number recognition game can be played in a large group or be used in your math corner. The children pick a bee card, count the bees, and place a bee counter on the flower with the matching number.

Preschool Activities:

Bug Walk
Have children pretend to be different bugs and walk around the room by walking on all fours. For the spider let them first sit on the floor and then walk on all fours with the belly up.

Garden Critters Preschool Weekly Plan and Activities

Hen, Rooster, and Chicks Science and Activities

Spiders and Bugs Activities and Games

Spider Web
Provide children with a chair and some fake spiderwebs. Instruct children to create a spiderweb by stretching the web around the chair. Add a plastic spider and a supply of plastic bugs in a bowl. Let children place the bugs inside the spiderweb and remove them again before the spider eats them.

Bugs and Insects Coloring Pages and Worksheets for Preschool and Kindergarten


Bugs in the Yard Drawing	Beetle Coloring Page	Draw the Face of the Ladybug	Five Little Ladybugs Rhyme and Booklet

FBugs Rhymes:

Bugs Are Crawling
Adapted by Jolanda Garcia

Bugs are crawling on the ground
And onto my shoe without a sound.
Up my shin and to my knee,
Creepy bugs are all over me!
Tickle, tickle . . . ooh, please don't bite!
Look for another hiding spot, all right?

Insects All Around
Original Author Unknown
(Tune: Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star)

Ladybugs and butterflies,
Buzzing bees up in the sky,
Teeny, tiny little ants,
Crawling up and down the plants,
Many insects can be found,
In the sky and on the ground.

Preschool Activities:
Media Root

Other bugs and insects related KidsSoup preschool and kindergarten activities and themes:

Preschool Activities: Media Root	Preschool Activities: Media Root	Preschool Activities: Media Root	Preschool Activities: Media Root
Bees Activities and Crafts	Butterfly and Caterpillar Activities	Snails and Worms Activities	Spiders Activities and Crafts

Easter Crafts, Activities, Games, and Printables.

jgarcia — Sun, 19 Jul 2015 19:55:50 +0000

While many families have their own traditions to celebrate Easter, often eggs, bunnies, chicks, and egg hunts are part of the festivities. Here are a few fun ideas for Easter crafts and decorations, educational games, and Easter inspired activities to help you celebrate this springtime holiday with your family or children in your care. Find great chicken and Easter bunny coloring pages and more egg-citing crafts, activities, games, and other resources.

Samples of our more than 100 Easter preschool activities, kids crafts, games, and printables available in our KidsSoup Resource Library:

Themes and Projects

FREE

Crafts

Activities and Lessons

Little Rabbit Interactive Reading

Math

Eggs Matching and Patterns

Bunny Patterns Activity

Science and Exploration

Hen, Rooster, and Chicks Science and Activities

Chicken and Eggs Life Cycle

Games

Easter Egg Hunt Board Game

Bunny and Eggs Rhyming Activity

Movement

Booklets and Other

Worksheets

Easter Activities and Games

Fun Ideas to Celebrate the Easter Holiday with Your Family.

Eggstravaganza
Children of all ages love to color and decorate Easter eggs! Coloring eggs has been a part of spring festivities for centuries. In both Passover and Easter traditions, the egg symbolizes new life. This year consider involving the whole family in an evening of Easter egg decorating. Younger children have fun using Q-tips to dip into egg colorings to decorate their eggs.

Easter Games

Keep the eggcitement going after the egg hunt by playing some of these games:

Easter Obstacle Course
Separate children into two teams. Provide each team with one spoon and a sugar egg or plastic Easter egg. Each team needs to navigate its way around and through various obstacles without dropping its eggs.

Easter Bunny Hop
Conduct a relay race for two or three teams. Each player must cover a certain distance while jumping with a plastic egg between his/her knees.

Egg Roll
Using only their noses, children must roll an egg across the finish line. This also makes a good relay.

Easter Baskets

Preschool Activities:

Before Easter arrives, get creative and help your children make their own Easter baskets out of clean half-gallon milk or juice cartons. Cut a section off the bottom of the milk carton. Clean thoroughly and cut a piece of craft paper to wrap around the container. Glue craft sticks to create a fence around the container and let dry. When dry, use small flowers or decorative craft foam pieces to decorate the container. Drill a hole to opposite sides. Twist two pipe cleaners together to make a handle. Attach handle on container and fill with Easter grass. This also makes a very nice Easter table decoration.

Easter Bunny Activities and Rhymes

Easter Bunny Small World Play Area and Printables

Preschool Activities:

Easter Bunny Books and Songs

Five Little Easter Bunnies
Adapted by Jolanda Garcia, KidsSoup Inc.

Hippety hop and hippety hay,
Five little Easter Bunnies went out on Easter day.
Hippety hop and hippety hay,
One little Easter Bunny hopped away.

Four little bunnies...
Three little bunnies...
Two little bunnies...
One little bunny...

Hippety hop and hippety hay,
Where are the Easter Bunnies today?
Hippety hop and hippety hay,
I hope they come back another day.

Easter Bunny Envelope Craft

What you need:
Bunny patterns
Small envelope
White, black, and pink craft paper
Pink pom-pom
Black marker
Scissors
Glue

What you do:
Print bunny printable and trace shapes on to white and pink craft paper. Cut two 4-inch long strips out of black craft paper. Glue the pink ears on top of the white ears and glue to the back of the envelope (see pic 2). Turn envelope around and glue teeth below the envelope flap (see pic 3). Glue the whiskers on the flap tip (see pic 4). Glue pink pom-pom on top of the whiskers and draw eyes with the black marker to finish the bunny. Children can place Easter words inside the bunny or make a Happy Easter card from a index card.

Free Easter Crafts, Finger Plays, Rhymes and Activities

Two Easter Baskets

Two Easter baskets,

Under a tree.

One for you, (Make a left fist with thumb inside.)

And one for me. (Make a right fist with thumb inside.)

I peeked in one basket,

And what did I see? (Look down at left fist.)

A new baby chick,

Smiling at me!

Then I looked in the other,

And what do you think? (Look down at right fist.)

Out popped a bunny,

Quick as a wink! (Pop right thumb out of fist.)

(Author Unknown)

Free Easter Crafts


Easter Girl Bunny Coloring Page	Paper Cup Bunny Pattern	Easter Bunny Maze	Easter Word Search

Paper Cup Bunny
Paint paper cup brown. Let dry. Cut bunny's head with ears, arms and legs out of brown craft paper. (Note: depending on your paper cup size, arm length may need to be adjusted.) Glue finished head to the inside of the paper cup. Glue arms around cup and glue hands together. Cut and glue carrot to the hands. Glue feet to the bottom of the cup. Fill cup with Easter grass and add small candy or chocolate eggs. Pattern

Egg Carton Chicken
Cut egg cup of egg carton and fold wings up. Paint and glue feathers to the back of the cup. Cut beak and comb out of craft paper and glue it on the cup. Add small wiggly eyes. Place a hard boiled egg in the cup. Voila! you've got a very nice addition to any Easter table.

Egg Carton Flower with Egg
Trace and cut flower shape out of craft paper or craft foam. Cut one cup off the egg carton and color with paint. Let it dry. When dry, add a generous amount of glue to the middle of the flower and glue cup on top of it. Add a colored egg and you have a easy Easter table decoration.

Paper Roll Bunny
Paint paper roll brown. Let dry. Trace and cut bunny pieces out of brown craft paper. Roll and glue head piece together. Hold together or use cloth pin until dry. Put generous amount of glue to inside of the paper roll and attach head. Glue ears to the back of the roll. Glue roll on top of the feet and attach arms. Decorate head with eyes, nose and whiskers. Patterns available on our KidsSoup Resource Library.

Easter Cookies
Your young guests will no doubt be ready for a snack. In addition to any other delicious treats you plan, allow children to decorate some baked sugar cookies shaped like eggs, rabbits, or chicks. (You can bake the cookies ahead of time and freeze them until ready to decorate.) Provide bowls of pastel-colored icings, jelly beans, sprinkles, and other decorations.

Preschool Activities:
Media Root

Egg Coloring and Decorating

Hard Boiled Eggs
If you intend to eat the hard boiled eggs, keep them refrigerated. Note: Eggs are not safe to eat if they have been left out or are painted with acrylic paints.

Blown Eggs
They are much more fragile and harder for young kids to handle. I would also not advise to use blown eggs with young kids.

Crepe Paper Dye

You need:

Different color crepe paper
Hot water
Small bowls or cups
Slotted spoon
Cooking oil
Soft cloth

Soak crepe paper in hot water in individual bowls or cups for each color. Add eggs and allow to sit in water until the desired color is achieved. Remove with slotted spoon and allow to dry. Polish with small amount of cooking oil and soft cloth.

Food Coloring Dye

You need:

Food coloring
Hot water
White vinegar
Small bowls or cups
Slotted spoon
Cooking oil
Soft cloth,

For each color measure 1/4 tsp food coloring in small bowl. Add 3/4 cup hot water and 1 tbsp white vinegar to each color. Add eggs and allow to sit until they are the desired color. Remove with slotted spoon. Polish dry eggs with small amount of cooking oil and soft cloth.

Wax Crayon Eggs

You need:

Wax crayons
Paper towels
Egg dyes in different colors
Slotted spoon
Cooking oil
Soft cloth

Draw crayon pattern on hard boiled egg. Dip egg in dark colored dye. Keep egg in dye until desired color is reached. Remove with slotted spoon and place in 200 degree F oven for a few minutes until wax is melted. Wipe with paper towel. Variation: Dip egg again in lighter dye to fill in pattern where wax was. Polish finished eggs with cooking oil and soft cloth.

Sponge Painted Eggs

You need:

Liquid tempera paint or liquid egg color
Paper cups (for each color)
Small pieces of foam or sponge
Clothespins (for each color)
Egg cups

Place hard boiled in egg cups. Partially fill paper cups with different colors of paint. Use clothespin as handle and clip a piece of sponge to a clothespin and dip into paper cups. Lightly dab the sponge over the top half of the egg. Let dry. Turn egg over and repeat procedure. Let the egg dry completely.

Here's to a wonderful tradition-filled Easter!

Other Easter related KidsSoup preschool and kindergarten activities and resources:

Preschool Activities: Media Root	Preschool Activities: Media Root	Preschool Activities: Media Root	Preschool Activities: Media Root
Chickens and Eggs Activities	The Easter Egg Farm Activities	Easter Bunny Craft and Decoration	Easter Eggs Math Activities
Preschool Activities: Media Root	Preschool Activities: Media Root
Easter Eggs Felt Story Activity	Easter Eggs CVC Words Activities

Spring Activities, Crafts, and Lessons

jgarcia — Sun, 19 Jul 2015 19:55:50 +0000

Preschool and Kindergarten Spring Lessons, Activities, Crafts, and Printables. Spring into spring with our flowers, spring kids crafts, spring preschool activities, weather activities and lessons, and color green printables. In spring, the earth warms significantly, causing new plant growth to spring forth, giving the season its name. Spring is a time to fly kites, to enjoy colorful rainbows, and to celebrate the birth of baby animals. And if that's not enough, you'll find a myriad of preschool crafts, activities, rhymes and songs, folder games, and printables to help celebrate the coming of spring and learn the color green!

Samples of our more than 80 spring activities, crafts, games, and printables available in our KidsSoup Resource Library:

Themes and Projects

FREE

Crafts

Activities and Lessons

Math

Planting Beans Numbers Recognition

Spring Pattern Fun

Science and Exploration

The Life Cycle of a Frog Lesson Plan

Spring Theme Intro Lesson

Games

Weather Matching – What Should We Wear?

Bunny, Bunny, Run Away - Circle Game

Umbrella Matching and Sorting

Movement

Booklets and Other

Worksheets

It's Raining - Pre-writing Skills

Weather Tracing

Twiggle Books

Rabbit's Rainbow Twiggle Book

Free Spring Kids Crafts, Coloring Pages, and Printables

Ask children what they know about spring and write their responses on the wall or on a piece of paper. Write the It's Spring rhyme on the board and discuss the signs of spring with the children.

It's Sping!

Frogs croak,
Rains soak.
Chicks peep.
Crickets leap.
Bees hum.
Robins come.
Birds sing.
It's Spring!

Make a Spring Mural
Place a long green sheet of bulletin board paper on a table or let children each decorate their own green craft paper. Provide garden magazines and let children cut out flowers and plants and glue them on the paper.

Extension:
Let children cut out or draw their favorite flower on a piece of paper and write about it. May favorite flower is _____.

Spring Garden Craft

Preschool Activities:

Cut off the top of an empty milk or juice carton. Make a planter base (4" tall). Glue a 5-inch strip of green construction paper around the planter base. Glue craft sticks (you can use natural or paint your craft sticks) to the outside of planter box to make a fence. Decorate fence with foam flowers or cut flowers out of colored construction paper. Fill with dirt and plant flower seeds.


Flower Matching Worksheet	Hidden Ladybug Worksheet	Lily Spring Garden Coloring Page	Umbrella Tracing Worksheet

Rabbit Paper Plate Craft
Paint paper plate green. Let dry. Cut out a half moon of the inner circle of paper plate. Trace and cut bunny shape out of brown craft paper. Add wiggly eyes and pom-pom as a nose. Glue to the outside of paper plate. Cut 1 1/2 inch strips out of different colors of green craft paper. Snip into grass shape and glue on front of paper plate.

Flower Garden Art Project
Paint a blue sky and some brown soil on white craft paper. Draw and cut a stem and leaves out of green craft paper. Draw and cut different sizes and shapes of flowers out of colored craft paper. Glue stem and leaves on paper. Add a small amount of glue to the center of the large flower shape and glue it on top of the stem. Repeat with smaller flower shape and glue on top of bigger flower shape. Add a small pom-pom or crumpled tissue paper to the center of the flower. After glue is dry, shape the flower to look three dimensional.

Preschool Flowers Activities, Crafts, and Printables

jgarcia — Sun, 19 Jul 2015 19:55:50 +0000

Flowers preschool and kindergarten activities, games, crafts, and lesson plans. April showers bring May flowers. May is a traditional month to celebrate spring. The weather is turning warm, birds are singing, and flowers are blooming. One way to celebrate spring is to make May baskets and fill them with flowers. Discover with your children the world of plants and flowers during the month of May. Plants are living things. Many plants have flowers, but some do not. Flowers come in many shapes and make the seeds that grow into new plants.

Samples of our over 100 flower preschool and kindergarten crafts, activities, games, and lesson plans available inside our KidsSoup Resource Library.

Themes and Projects

FREE

Crafts

Activities and Lessons

Math

Bees or Butterflies Numbers Recognition Activity

Spring Pattern Fun

Science and Exploration

Collecting Nectar - Sense of Taste and Pollination

Parts of a Flower Science Exploration

Games

Flower Box Rhyming

Flower Garden Bingo

ABC Flower Boxes

Movement

Spring Movement Rhyme: "A Busy Spring Day"

Butterfly Dance and Color Recognition

Booklets and Other

The Surprise - Mother's Day Emergent Reader

Worksheets

Big Circle Bee Pre-Writing

Flower Garden Coloring

Twiggle Books

Free Flowers Activities, Printables, Crafts, and Flower Book Suggestions

Flowers Learning Centers

Block Center
Add some brown fabric or felt, silk flowers, toy garden tools, and seeds to your block center. Let children create garden beds and plant flowers.

Pretend Play
Make a flower stand. Provide shoeboxes, plastic vases, silk flowers, a cash register, pictures of flowers, and wrapping paper. Let children pretend to be a flower shop and selling flowers to their customers.

Sensory Table
Place moist sand in your sand table together with silk flowers, sunflower seeds, plastic gardening tools, a watering can, and garden gloves. Let children plant a flower garden.

Flowers Learning Activities

Down in the Garden Finger Play

Down in the garden (point to right)
Where the dandelions grow, (touch heels of hands together, curve fingers)
They have soft puffballs (make circle with thumb and forefinger)
That I can blow. (blow through circle)
The seeds all scatter, (float hands, wiggling fingers gently)
And they float through the air (spread hands)
Soon we'll have dandelions everywhere!

Flower Life Cycle (Science)
Print the Flower Life Cycle cards and place on the board. Talk about the life cycle of a flower. Let children roll into a ball pretending to be a seed. As you play soft music let children slowly grow in to a flower, and then sway in the wind and look up to the sun.

Parts of a Flower Science Activity

Explain to children that a flower or any plant has different parts: roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and seeds. Flowers produce seeds that can grow into new plants. Flowers have parts on the outside (petals) and the inside (ovule, pistil, stamen, stigma). Flowers will wilt, dry out, and die if they are uprooted from the soil. Cut flowers survive in just water, but only for a few days.

Instruction:
Show children a flower, such as a daisy or carnation, with roots attached. Ask children, "Can anyone name the parts of a flower?" Point to the petals or flower of the plant and ask, "What are these called?" Explain to children that the flower has parts on the outside (petals) and the inside (ovule, pistil, stamen, stigma). Explain to children that flowers produce seeds that can grow into new plants. Point to the leaves and say, "Leaves are the plant's food factory. The flower makes food from sunlight. It's called photosynthesis. The stem is the plant's drinking straw. With the roots the stem helps bring water to all parts of the plant." Point to the center of the flower and explain that flowers make the seeds that grow into new plants. Last, point to the roots and explain that the roots hold the plant in place. Plants need water to live. They take it in through their roots. The water travels through their stems to the veins in their leaves up to the flower.

Free Flowers Printables and Coloring Pages


Flower Basket Rhyme Patterns	Flower Coloring Page	Lily's Flower Garden Coloring	Flower Field Colors Worksheet

Flower Activities

Planting Flowers 1-10 (Number Sense)

Fill a tall flower pot or with sand. Print and cut flower shapes out of construction paper. Decorate the flowers and attach a craft stick to each flower. Write the numbers 1-10 on the flowers. Let children plant the flowers in order from 1-10.

Variation:
Print the flower number cards 1-10 and cut out. Place the cards face down on the table. Let children turn over a card and plant the matching number of flowers inside their flower pot. If two children are playing ask, "Which flower pot has more flowers?"

Flower Planting Numbers 1-10 Game (Activity and Printables available inside our Kidssoup Resource Library)

Preschool Activities:

Flower Garden Patterns
Cut our flower shapes out of three different colors of craft paper. Let children copy and create flower patterns.

Sunflower Seeds Counting (Number Sense and Fine Motor Skills)
Print out our flower pots mat with the number 1-10 and laminate. Place sunflower seeds inside a small basket. Let children count and place the matching number of seeds on each pot.

Picking Flower Petals
Cut out a brown circle and 20 yellow flower petals out of craft paper. Let children roll a die and pick the matching number of petals from their flower.

Flower Sniff
Show children a selection of flowers that have different fragrances. Let them smell each flower and make a chart of their favorite flower smell.

Flower Pressing
Go on a walk and collect some flowers. Explain to children that the flowers will wilt and die quickly after being picked. Tell them that to preserve their beauty, we can press the flowers. To preserve the flowers they need to be completely dried out. Have children choose two or three flowers to preserve. Write child's name on a piece of newspaper. Arrange the flowers face down on the paper without overlapping. Cover the flowers with another piece of newspaper. Carefully place them inside a heavy book such an old telephone directory. Allow flowers to dry for at least two weeks.

Flower Math Activities
At the craft store buy small ribbon rosebuds in a variety of colors. Use a muffin tin to sort by color or count them or make patterns.

Flower Garden Lesson Plans and Activities

Free Flower Crafts

Flower Seed Collage
Print sunflower pattern and cut out. Trace onto craft paper. Have children glue a variety of seeds onto flower. Show them how to get different effects by using one kind of seed for the center of the flower and another kind of seed for the petals. Have children color the stem and leaves green.

Popcorn Flowers
Mix popped popcorn in paper bag with colored tempera paint and shake. Have children draw a stem and leaves for their flower on construction paper. Glue popcorn on paper for flower petals.

Coffee Filter Flowers
Give each child 3-5 coffee filters or tissue paper. Have children color (decorate) them with magic markers (or watercolor paints). Once children are finished decorating, lay the coffee filters on top of each other and gather them in the center. Twist a green pipe cleaner around the center for a stem. Display bouquet in a vase.

Flowers Snack Idea

Fruit Salad Flowers
Cut oranges and apples into thin slices, slice bananas, cut celery into long strips, and cut green grapes in half. Give children large plates and show them how to arrange fruit to build a flower: apple and orange slice for petals, banana slice for centers, celery for stem, and green grape halves for leaves. Then give them a few sunflower seeds to put in the center of their flower.

Sunflower Snack
Cover a half of an English muffin with peanut butter. Add sliced bananas around the edge. Then, add a few raisins or shelled sun flower seeds in the middle.

Flower Books, Rhymes and Songs

Other Flowers related KidsSoup preschool and kindergarten activities, themes, and resources:

Preschool Activities: Media Root	Preschool Activities: Media Root	Preschool Activities: Media Root	Preschool Activities: Media Root
Flower Garden Activities and Crafts	Flower Garden Story Time Activities	Flowers are Living Things Science	Flower Books and Rhymes
Preschool Activities: Media Root	Preschool Activities: Media Root	Preschool Activities: Media Root	Preschool Activities: Media Root
Flowers Science Activity	Bees Activities and Crafts	F is for Flower Activity	Parts of a Flower Science Lesson
Preschool Activities: Media Root	Preschool Activities: Media Root	Preschool Activities: Media Root	Preschool Activities: Media Root
Learning with Flowers Lesson	Flowers Artwork and Poem	Flower Craft and Rhyme	Flower Math Lesson and Activity

Groundhog Day Preschool and Kindergarten Activities

jgarcia — Sun, 19 Jul 2015 19:55:50 +0000

Preschool and Kindergarten Groundhog day crafts and activities.
Groundhog's Day is celebrated in the USA on February 2 in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. On February 2, it is believed that the groundhog comes out of his burrow. If the sun is shining and he sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter weather. If it is cloudy and the groundhog cannot see his shadow, he will come out, and it is a sign of an early spring. We created some great Groundhog's Day preschool and kindergarte activities, crafts, games, and lessons for you and your children to celebrate this fun event and we predict your child will have lots of fun!

Samples of our Groundhog Day Preschool and Kindergarten Activities, Crafts, Lessons, and Printables

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Free Groundhog Day Craft and Rhyme

Preschool Activities:

Print Groundhogs stick puppets printable and let children color them. Cut out the groundhog and glue it to the tip of a craft stick. Make a small hole in the bottom of the cup big enough to push the craft stick through. Cut a one-inch strip off a brown paper bag and snip small cuts into it. Glue to the inside rim of a Styrofoam cup. When dry, push the end of the stick groundhog through the bottom of the cup. Move the stick up and down to make the groundhog peek out of its burrow.

I See a Little Groundhog
(Tune: I'm A Little Teapot)

I see a little groundhog,
furry and brown,
He's popping up to look around.
If he sees his shadow,
down he'll go.
Six more weeks of winter? oh, no!

Preschool Activities:
Media Root

Groundhog's Day

Groundhog's Day, I looked around,
Saw my shadow on the ground
Yes, I saw my shadow, when I took a peek
That means winter six more weeks!

Groundhog Day Activities

Lead a discussion and ask children if a groundhog really can predict the weather. Make any of these groundhog weather prediction activities.

Groundhog Shadow Activity

On February 2, Groundhog Day, let children bring a stuffed toy to school. Explain to children that the name of the famous weather predicting groundhog is Punxsutawney Phil. Let children name their stuffed toy to something like San Diego Sam, Florida Fiona, Denver Dan, etc. Let children predict if and when the "stuffed toys" will see their shadows. Place the stuffed toys outside. Together visit the "stuffed toys" to look for their shadows.

Use our groundhog cup craft to watch for his/her shadow. (Craft description and patterns available inside our KidsSoup Resource Library)

Preschool Activities:

Groundhog Day Spring or Winter Activity

Discuss with children the weather and nature in winter and spring. What kind of clothes do we wear. What happens in nature in the spring? In winter? etc. Let children sort different pictures to the correct season.

Groundhog Day Winter or Spring Sorting Activity (Activity and printables available inside our KidsSoup Resource Library)

Preschool Activities:

Butterfly Life Cycle Lesson Plan

Groundhog Day Games

Shadow Tag
If it's sunny outside and the body casts a shadow, play shadow tag. Instead of touching a person, whoever is It must step on someone's shadow.

Shadow Tracing
Allow children to experiment with what their shadow does before the drawing activity. One child "poses" while his or her partner traces the outline of the shadow on the pavement with a piece of sidewalk chalk.

Shadow Art
You need:
A large flashlight
White paper

Tape white paper to the wall. Have child sit on a chair in front of white paper. Shine the flashlight on the child so as to create a silhouette on the paper. Have another child trace the silhouette.

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Other Groundhog Day Preschool and Kindergarten Resources, Lessons, and Activities

Preschool Activities: Media Root	Preschool Activities: Media Root	Preschool Activities: Media Root
Groundhog Day books, songs, and rhymes	Groundhog Day Weather Prediction Activities	Hearts Groundhog craft and shape activities

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Preschool Butterfly and Caterpillar Activities, Games, and Lessons

jgarcia — Sun, 19 Jul 2015 19:55:50 +0000

Butterfly and caterpillar activities, lessons, games, crafts, and printables for preschool and kindergarten. Crawl and fly into springtime with this theme on caterpillars and butterflies. These two forms of the same creature provide opportunities for children to learn about insect life cycles and develop compare and contrast skills. In addition, children are introduced to the story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and many fun rhymes and games that encourage language development, movement, nutrition, math ability, and respect for the natural world. Butterflies are not only beautiful creatures, they are important to the earth's ecosystem. Your children will have fun learning about caterpilllars and butterflies and enjoy a variety of colorful butterfly crafts, butterfly preschool activities, butterfly and caterpillar science lessons, games, printables, and other resources available in our KidsSoup Resource Library.

Samples of our over 90 caterpillars and butterfly preschool and kindergarten crafts, activities, games, and lesson plans available inside our KidsSoup Resource Library:

Themes and Projects

FREE

Crafts

Activities and Lessons

Free Butterfly and Caterpillar Activities, Games, and Printables for preschool and kindergarten

Butterfly and Caterpillar Learning Center Ideas

Small World Play Area

Add some green sheets of fabric (leaves) and a large box (chrysalis stage) and some butterfly wings. Let children pretend to be caterpillars eating the leaves, then crawling inside the box for the crysalis stage, and last turn into butterflies and fly away.

Play Dough Center

Print a butterfly shape and laminate. Let children use play dough to decorate the butterfly wings.

Fine Motor Skills

Colorful Butterflies

Preschool Activities:

Caterpillars:
Provide children with pipe cleaners and colored beads. For the caterpillar's head, make a knot to one end of the pipe cleaner. Let children add the beads to create different colored caterpillars.

Caterpillars eat leaves
Cut leaf shapes out of green craft paper. Provide a hole punch and let children pretend to be caterpillars eating the leaves.

Preschool Activities:

Cocoons
Use hot glue to attach three pom-poms together to make a caterpillar. Attach a piece of yarn to the caterpillar and invite children to wrap the yarn around the caterpillar to create a cocoon.

Butterfly and Caterpillar Science Activities

Preschool Activities:

First comes a butterfly
Who lays an egg.
Out comes a caterpillar
With many legs.
Oh, see the caterpillar
Spin and spin
A little chrysalis to sleep in.
Oh, oh, oh, look and see,
Oh, oh, oh, look and see.
Out of the chrysalis, my, oh, my,
Out comes a pretty butterfly!
Original Author Unknown

Pretty Butterfly"
(Tune: "

Caterpillar and Butterfly Life Cycle Science Lesson and Resources (Available inside our KidsSoup Resource Library)

Preschool Activities: Media Root	Preschool Activities: Media Root
Butterfly Life Cycle Story Book	Butterfly Life Cycle Sequencing Cards

Discuss the butterfly life cycle with your children. Invite children to pretend to be a butterfly's egg by curling up in a little ball. Ring a small bell and let children turn into caterpillars munching at leaves. Ring the bell again and children wiggle to turn themselves in to a chrysalis by lying on the floor. Last, walk around the sleeping children and softly place a scarf on each child. Ring the bell again and let children pretend to be butterflies "flying" around the room with their scarf wings.

Caterpillars and Butterflies Comparison Activity (Lesson available inside our KidsSoup Resource Library)

Read Where Butterflies Grow (Picture Puffins) by Joanne Ryder. Tell children to pay careful attention to the information so that they can compare what is the same and what is different about caterpillars and butterflies during the activity that follows.

Preschool Activities:

After reading, post a caterpillar and butterfly poster and ask children to look carefully at each picture. If desired, the Caterpillars and Butterflies emergent reader (see KidsSoup Resource Libary) can be read and discussed instead. Lead a brief discussion about caterpillars and butterflies and their characteristics. Create a Venn diagram on a chart paper.

Caterpillar Activities and Games

Caterpillar Names
For each child, write the letters of their names on circle cut-outs and place inside a plastic bag. Label the bag with the child's name. Hand out a large circle with two pipe cleaner pieces and invite children to create a caterpillar head. Let children remove the circles from their bags and arrange the circles next to the head to spell her/his name. Invite children to create their friend's caterpillars as well.

Preschool Activities:

Caterpillar Name Artwork
Let children place and glue their caterpillar head and the circle letters of their names on a piece of construction paper.

Caterpillar Math Activities

Number Sense
Cut a large leaf shape out of green craft paper. Place a number card (1-10) on the leaf. Encourage children to use a pipe cleaner and beads to make caterpillars with the matching number of body segments and then place them on the leaf.

Caterpillar Patterns
Provide a bowl with three different pom-pom colors. Draw caterpillar segment pattern cards. Let children copy the caterpillar patterns.

Set out three different colored paint or ink pads. Let children create fingerprint patterns to match the caterpillar cards.

Caterpillar Number Sequencing
Place a caterpillar head on the floor. Write the numbers 1-10 on die cut circles. Let children place the circles in order from 1-10 to create a caterpillar.

Caterpillar Literacy Activities

C for Caterpillar
In advance write a letter C (one for each child in your group) and some other letters on die cut circles. Cut out a large letter C shape and glue a caterpillar head to one end. Explain to children that the word "caterpillar" begins with the letter C and makes the /k/ sound. Together with children, draw the letter C shape in the air. Next, invite children to pick out a letter C circle and place it on the letter C caterpillar.

ABC Caterpillar
Place a caterpillar head on the floor. Write the letters of the alphabet on die cut circles. Let children place the circles in order to create one long caterpillar.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Activities (Lessons, activities, and printables available inside our KidsSoup Resource Library)

Book: The Very Hungry Caterpillar

The Very Hungry Caterpillar teaches the days of the week and the life cycle of a butterfly. In this fun book, a little caterpillar eats and eats and changes into a beautiful butterfly. Children will learn about counting, the days of the week, and good nutrition. We have gathered some ideas that you can do before, during, or after reading the book. Don't try to do all the activities the first time you read the book. Children love to hear the same story over and over again which gives you plenty of opportunities to add some other activities.

After reading the book create felt story pieces to re-tell the story.

Days of the Week: Learn the days of the week.

Preschool Activities:

Nutrition: Talk about what caterpillars like to eat. Talk about favorite foods and what children need to eat to grow up strong and healthy.

Butterfly Activities and Games

Butterfly Colors

Hand out a craft stick butterfly to each child. Play some soft music and let children dance with their butterflies. When the music stops, call out, "All butterflies fly to something red." Children search the room and land their butterflies on something with the color red. Repeat with other colors.

Butterfly Symmetry Visual Discrimination Game (Printables and activity available inside our KidsSoup Resource Library)

Let children find the matching wings and put the butterflies back together.

Preschool Activities:

B for Butterfly and C for Caterpillar Folder Game (Available inside our KidsSoup Resource Library)

Preschool Activities:

Celebrate Very Hungry Caterpillar Day on March 20th!

Butterfly Art Project

With a paintbrush, add a generous amount of water on a coffee filter. Shortly after, let children drop some paint on the wet coffee filter. Set aside to dry. Print and cut butterfly body out of craft paper and decorate. Glue coffee filter wings to the back of the butterfly body. Glue butterfly on craft paper. Let children draw the anteannae on the butterfly with a black marker.

Free butterfly coloring pages and patterns:


Butterfly coloring page	Lily with butterflies coloring page	Butterfly pattern

Clothespin Butterfly
Make a pattern for the body out of card stock or construction paper. Let children cut out and decorate. Then fold the body and clamp it into a clothespin.

Other Great Preschool and Kindergarten Butterfly and Ladybug Activities and Links:

Preschool and Kindergarten Calendar Activities and Printables

jgarcia — Sun, 19 Jul 2015 19:55:50 +0000

Calendar Preschool and Kindergarten Activities and Printables. Every year the earth rotates one time around the sun. Help children learn about the organization of this time into days, weeks, and months with this theme on the calendar. Fun preschool activities and ideas to incorporate into morning circle time, songs, movement, literacy activities, and games are all included. Children can graph birthday months, make word wheels, learn about ordinal numbers, sequence the days of the week, and more. Start the theme off by letting children make their own calendar craft and page for the month ahead or begin a countdown to a special day in the future.

Samples of our calendar crafts, and calendar preschool activities and resources available inside our KidsSoup Resource Library:

Themes and Projects

The Weather and the Four Seasons Lesson Plan

Back to School with Pete the Cat Calendar Activities

Crafts

Weather Dial Craft

Handprint Christmas Tree

Snowman Finger Play

Activities and Lessons

Weather Intro Lesson

The Very Hungry Caterpillar - Story Rhyme

Days of the Week

Math

Tracing Calendar 2019

Calendar Numbers November

Calendar Patterns

Science and Exploration

The Weather and the Four Seasons Lesson Plan

Seasons: The Earth Goes 'Round the Sun

An Apple Tree through the Seasons Felt Story

Games

Weather Matching – What Should We Wear?

Going Around the Sun Board Game

Sequencing the Days of the Week Folder Game

Movement

Weather Movement Cards and Activities

"What is the weather today?” Movement Game

Weather Movement Rhymes

Booklets and Other

Months of the Year Word Wall

Hermit Crab Months

All Through the Year Emergent Reader

Worksheets

Tracing Calendar 2019

Happy New Year 2016

Fall Tree Coloring Page

Free Calendar Crafts, Calendar Activities, Rhymes, and Printables

Explain that each year, the earth rotates around the sun one time. It takes 12 months. As each month passes, the earth moves a little bit more around the sun. After 12 months, it has come full circle, and a new year begins. Altogether, it takes 365 days for a complete rotation. For a concrete illustration, have children sit in a circle. Place a model of the sun in the middle. Choose one child to walk around it while holding a model of the earth.

Store days of the week, months of the year, the numbers 1-31, and the years 2010 and 2011 cards in separate manila envelopes. Use thumbtacks or sticky backing to attach the envelopes to corkboard in the calendar or circle area of the classroom.

Incorporate these calendar-themed felt chants into regularly scheduled calendar time activities. Recite the chants and display the correct corresponding days, months, and dates on the felt board when mentioned.

Today is . . .
Original Author Unknown
(Tune: Are You Sleeping?)

Today is __________.
Today is __________.
All day long, all day long.
Yesterday was __________.
Tomorrow will be __________.
Oh what fun!
Oh what fun!

Calendar Crafts

January, February, March,
April, May, June.
July, August, September,
October, November, December.
These are the twelve months of the year.
Now sing them together so we can all hear.
How many months are there in a year?
Twelve months in a year.

Handprint Calendars
Handprint, footprint, and thumbprint calendars make great gifts and are a keepsake for many years to come. Here are some great resources and ideas to get you started with your calendar crafts.

January - Handprint penguin or snowmen

February - Fingerprint or handprint heart

March - Leprechaun

April - Handprint ducks, thumbprint chicks

May - Handprint tulip

June - Handprint butterfly, thumbprint bees

July - Handprint giraffe, sun

August - Handprint fish

September - Handprint apple tree

October - Hand or footprint ghost, spider

November - Handprint turkey

December - Handprint Santa

Visit these great website and blogs for pictures and more ideas:

Calendar Books

A Book of Months

Months of the Year Songs:

The Months of the Year

(Tune: Three Blind Mice)

Months of the Year
(Tune: Ten Little Indians)

January, February, March, and April,
May, June, July, August, and September,
October, November, and December,
These are the months of the year.

Earth Day Preschool Activities, Lessons, and Games

jgarcia — Sun, 19 Jul 2015 19:55:50 +0000

Earth Day began on April 22, 1970 and has been celebrated every April 22 since then. It's a day to remind us to take care of our Earth. We reflect on our planet, our environment, and learn what we can do to help keep the Earth healthy. With our fun and educational activiites children will learn about the three Rs for taking care of our Earth: Recycle, reuse, and reduce.

Samples of our over 50 Earth Day preschool and kindergarten activities, lessons, crafts, and games available inside our KidsSoup Resource Library.

Themes and Projects

Day 1: From Seed to Plant

Forest Trees and Plants Lesson Ideas

Day 3: Seeds

Crafts

Trash Monster Puppet

The Little Raindrop

I Can Help the Earth Handprint Craft