Creating An Artful Outdoors

I have never been a great “art” teacher, especially when it comes to creative art. Let’s face it- I never went to art school or painted a mural, so my expertise in that area is limited. However, every early elementary teacher needs to incorporate some type of art activity into their day. Since, it is so important that kids get time for gross motor play, we decided to combine the two together. My co-teacher this year is WONDERFUL at planning awesome art inspired activities that correlate with our theme each week. She really wanted to take a sensory/art project outside for the kids to do. We took paintbrushes, paint cups with red and purple shampoo paint and let the kids paint on the white easel paper. We taped it up and told them to go to town! They had a blast and we used the art to create cut out hearts for another project later in the week.  The positive benefits of taking art outside: It allows the children to express creative art. It gives the students the ability to touch, smell, walk, experience, and create in an environment that is considered to be “out-of-the box” learning. Hearing sounds of nature, feeling sunshine, and communicating with others allows less stress for the child and releases the “happy hormone,” (aka Serotonin). Taking art outside is highly beneficial for better classroom attitudes and overall community improvement. It promotes team building and gross motor skills.

The negative downfalls of taking art outside: Let’s face it, paint of any kind whether you are sitting at a table or painting on easel---gets messy quick! If you don’t have washable paint or plastic fences that can easily be rinsed off with a hose, I would suggest maybe taking crayons and coloring books outside instead of paint. Another downfall, the paint has to dry somewhere, so if you have other classes that use the same playground or outdoor area that you do, you might want to clear it with them first. Our final product was a hit with the other students/staff and the parents loved seeing the kids pictures of them painting outside! What are some other fun lessons you have done outside with your class?

Exercise Activities with Ultimate Play

Did you know that 3 out of 4 children ages 5 to 10 get less than one hour of physical activity daily? (Source) Our school offers an indoor physical activity program for students called UPLAY: Ultimate Play Sports and Movement. Each week, our school coach arranges games and activities within a theme including sports like lacrosse, soccer, baseball, basketball, tennis, football, and more! This sports program helps a child’s social, emotional, cognitive, and physical abilities. Take a look at some of the activities we did this week. . .

For this activity, the children got to pretend to be fly catchers. Each child was given two plastic cones and as the coach blew the bubbles (which are flies) the children had to “swat” or pop them. They had a blast pretending to squish the bugs!For this activity, the kids got to learn about the game of lacrosse. Each child learned to cradle the ball in the net and run back and forth between two stars. Some of the kids got really good at the game and were all smiles when they finished the game without dropping the ball. For this activity, the coach held out a tether ball from a pole for each child to practice bouncing the ball off of their head. The children learned how soccer players have to jump up and hit the ball outward in a game. It was interesting to watch the kids grasp the concept of jumping to the ball rather than letting the ball bounce to them.

For more information about Ultimate Play, check out their website below by clicking on their logo. All thoughts and opinions are solely my own and do not reflect upon the Ultimate Play program.

Math Counting Activity

It’s carnival week at school and we needed a counting activity that could go along with our theme. This simple art/math activity is great for little learners. What to prep: I cut out 7 inch white circles for our “glass bowl” part. Then I used a small circle cutter punch (1 inch) to make the colored gumballs. I then cut red trapezoids for the base and a small red rectangle for the top. We glued on the name strips to the top. I also printed out a small label that says “I can count ________ gumballs” This label allows that student to insert the number of gumballs they have on their sheet. First, each student had to glue on different colored gumballs to their white circle. Then, they wrote their names at the top with a pencil. For independent play, I called each student over for their one-on-one time to count their gumballs and trace their number. Remember to show students how to count using one-to-one correspondence, an early math skills that will ensure accuracy when counting. We had to hang ours in the hallway cause they were so colorful and cute!

Halloween Math Spinner

Are you looking for some early childhood math ideas to spruce up your math centers? These preschool and elementary math spinners are perfect for fall! Kids learn early counting skills and number recognition with numbers 1-10. This 14 page  packet includes matching recording sheets for each spinner. Laminate them and use with dry erase markers or print individual recording sheets to use a class math lesson.

3 Preschool & 3 Elementary Spinners are Included- Halloween Theme, Pumpkin Theme, and a Monster Themed Spinner & Recording Sheet sets. We recommend printing the spinners on white cardstock and laminating for longer durability. This packet is a PDF file, be sure that you have an application compatible in order to open this file.

Be sure to check out more Math Spinner sets and other Early Learning Math Concept packets HERE

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Early Childhood Religion Studies

Ever since Jeff Foxworthy graced us with his presence on the hit TV Show “Are you smarter than a fifth grader,” and now on “American Bible Challenge”….. I found a way to incorporate this “game show” technique into my classroom. Although, with early childhood, it may seem a little too difficult, but YOU can introduce a knowledge of the bible into your daily routine. After we do pledge, we say the Lord’s prayer! Some of the student are still learning it, but hopefully by the end of the year the children will be able to recite it by themselves. I introduced the Lord’s Prayer in a pocket chart with photos correlating to the words, it definitely helps my visual learners.

Throughout the day, we incorporate bible knowledge, such as: praying before our meals, reciting a weekly bible verse or reviewing simple biblical stories like Adam & Eve, Jonah and the whale, Daniel in the lion’s den, and Joseph’s colorful dream coat!

I have created a kid version of the game show to help review our bible knowledge. I open the PDF on my screen and read the question out loud. I also use flannel board pieces to review certain stories within the game. The kids LOVE it and are always eager to answer first. (We are still working on raising hands to answer questions in turn)

You can use each of these packets during chapel discussions, on a white board, or print out and place in page protectors for a 3 ring binder with a dry erase markers!

American Bible Challenge Level One: This mini trivia packet includes 11 questions covering people of the bible, books of the bible, and acts of Jesus throughout the bible. American Bible Challenge Level Two: This mini trivia packet includes 17 questions covering more people of the bible, locations in the bible, and acts of Jesus. Works well with the Level One packet.

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Early Learning Math Concept Packs

As summer starts with backyard barbeques, ice cream cones, and long days spent at the beach. . .summer camp is in full swing! I think the hardest thing about summer for teachers is the dreaded thought of coming back in August and having a class full of students who completely forget everything they learned the previous year over the long two month break of summer. Half of our year is spent reviewing past concepts and reminding students to build on what they already know. So, in order to keep my kids brushed up on their math skills, we have created a few basic early learning math concepts packets to use for early childhood.

These packets introduce basic math skills such as number recognition, number formation, measurement knowledge, and counting skills.

Each packet includes: 1 Themed Graph (class participation), number clothespin cards covering numbers 1-12, counting mats covering numbers 1-10, pom-pom counting mats covering numbers 1-10, number tracing 1-20, addition and subtraction mats, and a measurements mat with recording sheet.

2.77 MB/ 26 Pages PDF (Acrobat) Document File
Be sure that you have an application to open this file type before downloading and/or purchasing.

Subjects: Math, Measurement

Grade Levels: PreK, Kindergarten, 1^st

 

1.71 MB/ 26 Pages PDF (Acrobat) Document File
Be sure that you have an application to open this file type before downloading and/or purchasing.

Subjects: Math, Measurement, Numbers

Grade Levels: PreK, Kindergarten, 1^st

This packet also includes a BONUS Color by Number Sheet

2.3 MB/ 28 Pages PDF (Acrobat) Document File
Be sure that you have an application to open this file type before downloading and/or purchasing.

Subjects: Math, Measurement

Grade Levels: PreK, Kindergarten, 1^st

All these packets can be found at our Teachers Pay Teacher store HERE

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Penguin Color Practice

This packet contains early learning printables to use with your toddler or preschooler when learning about colors or a penguin theme. I would highly suggest printing the materials from this packet onto card-stock or laminate for long term use. The entire packet includes: Color Strips, a Penguin Dice Game, and a Penguin & Ice Berg Matching Game.

• Directions for Color Strips: Cut on dotted line and laminate individually
• Directions for Penguin Dice Game: Print onto card-stock and laminate or use with a clear page cover and expo marker
• Directions for Matching Penguin & Ice Berg Game: Print onto card-stock. Cut out penguins individually and laminate. Cut ice berg sheets in half on dotted line and laminate. Students match the color word penguins with the colored ice berg that they live on.

1.16MB/14 Pages PDF (Acrobat) Document File
Be sure that you have an application to open this file type before downloading and/or purchasing.

Subjects Color Recognition

Grade Levels PreK, Kindergarten

Want Something Similar?
We also have this same packet in a Polar Bear Theme right HERE! Check it out. . .

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Polar Bear Color Practice

Are you ready to start off the new year with some arctic themed games? This polar bear color practice kit is packed with fun and easy to use directions and works wonderful in early childhood classroom. These are perfect for individual centers or table toys.

This packet contains early learning printables to use with your toddler or preschooler when learning about colors or doing a winter polar bear theme. I would highly suggest printing the materials from this packet onto card-stock and laminating for long term use.

The entire packet includes: a Polar Bear Dice Game, Color Strips with Polar Bears, and a Polar Bear & Igloo Matching Game.

• Directions for Color Strips: Cut on dotted line and laminate individually
• Directions for Polar Bear Dice Game: Print onto card-stock and laminate or use with a clear page cover and expo marker
• Directions for Matching Polar & Igloo Game: Print onto card-stock. Cut out polar bears individually and laminate. Cut igloo sheets in half on dotted line and laminate. Students match the color word polar bears with the colored igloo that they live in.

1.25 MB/16 pages PDF (Acrobat) Document File
Be sure that you have an application to open this file type before downloading and/or purchasing.

Subjects Color Recognition

Grade Levels PreK, Kindergarten

 

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