"It's Child Play!"
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There are enough child play and learning activities here under each letter of the alphabet to keep the kids (and whole family) amused for a whole week!
So a cunning parent could simply plan to “do” one letter of the alphabet for a week, and thus have a six months of activities !
A a
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Arts & Crafts
Apple Stamping
Apple stamping is a lot of fun. Cut an apple in half, and carve out the shape of the letter "A".
Have your child stamp the letter on a sheet of paper and say the "A" sound each time they stamp.
Angels
Cut out a large white triangle for the body, and skin-colored circle for the head, and trace hand prints on white construction paper for the wings.
Glue together, and add facial features and a halo.
My "A" Book
Staple several pieces of white construction paper together with a colored construction paper cover. Print "My A Book" and your children's name on the cover.
Cut out magazine pictures of those things which begin with the letter "A", as well as actual upper and lowercase letters from ads or article titles.
Let the children chose the pictures and letters they want, and glue them onto their book pages.
Later, arrange a time for the children to read their books to you.
Feelie BoxHave a feelie box, that children can't look into, such as covered with a towel or sheet.
Have them guess the object starting with the letter "A" that you have placed in the box.
Make an Airplane
You will need:
2 paper towel rolls
1 toilet paper roll
Craft Sticks
Glue
One of the paper towel rolls, measure about 3" down from the top and cut 1/2 way through.
Measure another 2" down and again cut halfway through.
Remove the section between the cuts.
Glue the second paper towel roll through this section.
Paint the airplane and using craft sticks to form an "X", paint them white and glue to the front of the airplane for a propeller.
Break another craft stick in half and insert them in the tube under the wings for landing gear.
Ants
Use 3 sections of a cardboard egg carton to form the body.
Have the children paint it any color they wish.
Using pipe cleaners, put antennae on the first section, and four legs on each of the 2 back sections.
Draw eyes or use wiggly eyes on the front section.
Make an Ark
Cut out two large boat shapes and punch holes around sides and bottom.
With shoe laces or yarn (wrap ends tightly with tape to prevent fraying), lace the 2 pieces together.
Make a rainbow shape for the top to fit on like a handle.
Let the children color the handle and staple or glue to the top of the ark.
Fill the boat with animal crackers.
As each child selects a cracker to eat, have them tell what kind of animal it is.
"A" Collage
Cut out a large "A" from poster board or other heavy paper.
Have the children find pictures of things in magazines that begin with the letter "A", and either cut or tear them out.
Glue them on the "A."
Acorn Collage
Cutout a large "A" from heavy paper or cardboard.
Have the children collect acorns, and glue them to the "A".
Explain how acorns grow into oak trees.
Ant Fun
Cut out a big letter "A" for each child and let them make ant prints all over it with their fingerprints and a stamp pad.
Use small tip markers to draw in legs.
Games & Activities
Acrobatics
Invite the children to perform acrobatic feats such as somersaults, head stands, back bends, bridges, rocking horses, etc.
Be sure to put down a gym mat, or arrange a field trip to a gym.
Consider sponsoring a gymnastics meet.
ABC Bingo
Easy to make out of construction paper or poster board. Use buttons or beans to cover spaces.
Have children match as you call out lower/uppercase, etc, first child to cover card yells "Bingo."
Prizes can be simple, such as a granola snack or extended time in a certain area.
Aluminum "A"
Cut aluminum foil into long strips and glue to a large cutout letter "A".
Discuss the uses of aluminum with your kids, as well as recycling.
Have each child bring something recyclable from home and let them place in a recycle bin.
"A" Sounds
Talk about things from home that begin with the letter "A" and see how many things the children can think of.
Airplanes
Make paper airplanes and fly them around, or line up chairs in 2 rows and pretend it's the inside of an airplane.
Make up your own tickets, provide flags for someone to wave when the runway is clear.
I know my Address!
Encourage each child to memorize his or her address.
Draw and cut out a large construction paper house to place on a bulletin board.
Then, as the children memorize their addresses, invite them to pin his or her name and address on the house shape.
A good way to help children remember their address is to have them sing it to the tune of a simple song such as "Rain, rain go away."
Animals, animals everywhere!
Take the children to a zoo! Most all zoos have a petting area for younger children.
Talk about each animal and what it eats, what it feels like, and whether or not it would make a good pet.
The "A" Box
Decorate a box with the letter "A". Inside the box place items or pictures of items that begin with the letter "A".
This also works well if you use pictures, and have each child in turn draw out one picture and tell it's name and what they would do with it.
Acrobatic "A"'s
Divide the children into groups of threes. Have the children in each group lie on the floor and use their bodies to form the letter "A".
Let the children in each group trade places and form the letter "A" again, so each child gets a turn at being a different part of the "A".
Then have the children gather in larger groups and form a giant "A".
Astronomical Astronauts
At circle time, show the children pictures of astronauts and talk about what they do.
Transform your drama center into the moon.
Give the children white shirts, boots, and helmets to wear for the astronaut's clothing.
You can make an astronaut's helmet by using a paper grocery bag or cardboard box and decorating with foil, stickers, pipe cleaners, Styrofoam balls and other items found in daycare.
Have pictures of planets hanging all around the center, and maybe even have the children paint a mural of a rocket ship during creative time and put that up on the wall.
Have the children pretend they're walking on the moon, and talk about what it would be like to be weightless in space.
"A" is for animals
Cut out magazine pictures of animals and laminate, if you wish.
Have the children put them on the wall in daycare to make your own zoo, or put the pictures together in a picture book for the daycare.
Then have the children draw 4 of their favorite animals and make a picture book for each child to take home.
Alternatively, photocopy animal coloring book pages for the children to color and make a picture book.
Animal Masks
Make animal masks out of paper plates or grocery bags using decorative items such as stickers, tissue paper, markers, glue, yarn, etc.
Have a puppet show or small play and let the children make up their own lines for their animal.
Moon Walk
Along the astronaut theme, have children look for "moon rocks" in a treasure hunt.
Make the moon rocks out of balled-up aluminum foil or paint Styrofoam balls in silver.
"A" is for Antarctica, Africa, and Australia
Use a globe or world map to show the children where these different continents are compared to our own.
Talk about what a continent is, and read books or show videos on the different continents to learn about their culture.
Encourage the children to become a group pen pal (for younger children) or individual pen pals (for older children) with children from other places in the world.
There are sources all over the internet to get them started on this.
You can also explore what kinds of toys children on these continents play with, and show the children how to make their own.
Alligator Fun
Let the children pretend to be alligators in a swamp.
Call "Alligators Go!" and "Alligators Stop!" at random.
When the Alligators are all going, they make the short sound of the letter "A".
When they are stopped, they are very quiet.
Anyone who makes a sound when they're stopped is "eaten" and is out.
Who Am I?
Give the children clues about an animal, and let them guess which animal you are describing.
Where Do I Belong?
Mount pictures of animals on a tag board or felt board. Have the children sort the pictures into farm, pet or zoo categories.
Grow Your Own Avocado Plant!
Get several avocados. Cut them open to remove the pits.
Help the children plant the pits by sticking three toothpicks in the sides of each pit, evenly spaced.
Fill a small glass with water, and set the pits so that the pointed end of the pit is in the water.
Watch the root of the avocado grow, then replant in loose soil.
This makes a beautiful plant, but it will usually not yield avocados, as most avocado trees take an average of 13 years to produce fruit, and they must be cross-pollinated with other avocado trees to produce fruit.
Accordion Folding
Teach the children to make accordion folds, and have them create something that makes use of the folds.
Examples include a bird with wings, a woman wearing a skirt, or a simple paper fan.
Alphabet Hunt:
Hide some pictures of things beginning with the letter "A", around the room, some easily visible and some a little harder to find.
Then let the children go on a hunt for the pictures.
Recipes & Snacks
Simple Snacks:
Almonds
Alphabet cereal
Alphabet soup
American cheese
Angel Food Cake
Animal Crackers
Apple Butter/Juice
Apples, applesauce
Apricot
Asparagus
Avocados
Apple Chat: Give each child an apple. Ask them to describe the apple using all of their senses except taste.
Then cut the apple in half and explain that they grow from seeds.
Point out the various parts, invite them to count the seeds, and cut the apple into bite-size pieces.
Let them eat a piece and describe how it tastes
Ants on a Log or Raft: Spread cream cheese on a piece of celery (log) or a Triscuit-type cracker (raft).
Let the children put raisins on their logs and rafts.
Letter "A" Taste Test: Try apples, avocados, artichokes, apricots, and any other foods starting with the letter "A" that you can find.
Baked Acorn Squash: Show the children an acorn squash. Put an acorn and the squash beside each other, and discuss how they are alike and how they're different.
Ask the children how they think an acorn squash got it's name.
Help the children see that an acorn squash is shaped like an acorn. Then use the squash to make A-Okay Acorn Squash as follows: Cut the squash in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds and pulp.
Put the squash face down in a baking pan and pour in about 1/2 inch of water.
Bake at 375 for 25 minutes. The squash is done when the flesh is soft. Pour the water out and turn the squash over.
Put a little butter and brown sugar over the squash, and add cinnamon or nutmeg if desired. Put the squash back in the oven until the butter has melted. Enjoy!
Songs, Poems & Finger Plays
Finger Puppets
Finger puppets are always a big hit in role playing with children. They can be easily made from construction paper, and decorated with almost anything, such as cotton balls, glitter, yarn, markers, stickers, etc.
Have each child make up a finger puppet and divide the children into small groups. Have each group do a small puppet show for the others.
You can easily construct a stage out of a cardboard box, using tissue paper or fabric scraps for the side curtains.
I'm a Little Airplane
(Sung to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot")
I'm a little airplane (children raise arms from sides to shoulder height)
Watch me fly! (Spin one arm in front as if a propeller)
Here are my instruments
From down low to up high (With their other arm, they reach from the ground to above their heads)
First I get all revved up (Make engine-like noises while still spinning their arms)
Then I can fly (Raise arms to shoulder height)
Lifting off the runway (start walking forward)
Up into the sky! (Go up on their tiptoes and continue to move forward. Let them circle awhile before returning to their original positions.)
Ants
Ants, ants,
Everywhere,
Rushing here,
Rushing there.
Carrying treasures
To their nest,
Never stopping
For a rest.
Ants, ants
Here and there,
Hurrying and scurrying
Everywhere.
Alligators and the Monkeys
5 little monkeys
Sitting in a tree
Teasing the alligator
"Can't catch me!"
Along came the alligator
Quiet as can be (whisper this part loudly)
SNAP!!! No more monkeys sitting in the tree! (snap your hands together and tickle the kids)
Sing Hurray for A!
(To the tune of "Farmer in the Dell")
Let's sing hurray for A,
Let's sing hurray for A,
Let's sing hurray for A today
Let's sing hurray for A.
Apple starts with A,
Asparagus starts the same way,
Let's sing hurray for A today,
Let's sing hurray for A.
When the Ants Go Marching In
Oh when the ants
Go marching in
Oh when the ants go marching in
How I want
To be in that number
When the ants go marching in
(Good song for the children to march around the room to)
B b
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Arts & Crafts
Necklaces
Make bead necklaces. Sort buttons.
Blue Birds
Cut out the bird body. Trace circles (head), wings and beaks, one for each child. The children cut out the traced patterns.
Use blue construction paper for the body and head, yellow for the beaks, and white or light blue for the wings.
Have the children draw in the eyes and color in the wing if they want. Write their name on the wing and hang them around the room.
Brown Bears
Use brown paint, paper plates, pompon balls, markers, crayons, tissue paper, lunch bag puppets, whatever you like. Draw or cut out bear shapes and colour and decorate.
Beach Balls
On white constriction paper, trace large circles for the children to cut out. Than with a black marker make a small circle in the middle and divided the ball into six sections.
Than paint the sections in bright colors -- yellow, blue, red -- leaving a section between each color.
Baby Bonanza!
Ask parents to send some baby and new mother magazines and catalogs in.
Invite the children to look through the magazines and catalogs and cut out pictures of baby items - high chairs, baby food, cribs, baby toys, bottles, diapers, playpens, and so on.
Discuss how each baby item is used and then help the children glue the pictures to a large sheet of construction paper.
Balloons
Finger-paint Balloons: Glue five lids (baby food lids) open ends up, in a semicircle on a piece of heavy cardboard and fill each cap with a different color of tempera paint.
Have each child in turn dip all five fingers of one hand into the paint in the lids and then press them on a sheet of white construction paper to make prints.
When the paint has dried, let the children draw lines down from their fingerprints, turning them into balloons with strings.
Painting with Balloons
Pour three or four different colors of tempera paint into separate aluminum pie tins.
Partially blow up a small balloon that matches each paint color.
Then have the children dip the balloons into the matching colored paints and press them on sheets of white construction paper to create balloon prints.
Bee Wings
The letter B could be the wings of a bee. For a big bee attach the letter B to a big blown up balloon.
Be sure to discard the pieces when the balloon pops.
Binoculars
With two empty toilet paper rolls per child, glue the rolls together to form binoculars.
Punch holes at one end on the outside of the rolls and tie a string from one to the other so binoculars may hang around neck.
Decorate with stickers, markers, or paints. Wear on walking field trips!
"B" Beans
Have each child make a large letter B with glue on paper - glue the beans in the letter shape.
Beautiful B Banners
Cut large triangles from blue, brown or black construction paper. Have the children use paint, glitter, scraps and other materials to make a big B on the banner - have children cut out pictures from magazines of items that begin with the letter B - glue them to the side of the banner.
Birthday Cake
Make a large birthday cake from construction paper. Have each child draw, color and cut out a candle from construction paper.
Write their names and birth dates on the candle and glue to the cake.
Bird Feeder
Mix birdseed and peanut butter together. Have the children use popsicle sticks or tongue depressors to scrape the mixture onto wide spaced cones.
You could also string together pieces of bread, orange slices, cranberries and popcorn.
Send home a list with the children of foods that birds will eat - have them bring one of these items in - then make the bird feeders from whatever foods they bring in. hang the food outside for the birds.
If possible hang the feeders from a tree that can be seen from a window so the children can watch the birds eating.
"B" is for Breakfast
Cut out breakfast foods from magazines - glue to a paper plate - write B is for Breakfast at the top
Brown B's
Give the children small dabs of red, yellow and blue or orange and black finger paint - have them mix them with their fingers - makes brown - have the children write B's in the paint.
BeeHive
Help the children cut out a simple bee hive from brown paper - and make a small bee.
Butterfly
Fold white construction. paper in half - cut out a butterfly shape. drop small amounts of tempera on one wing - fold and press together.
Big Bugs
Give each child a potato for a body of a bug. Provide toothpicks, pins with colored heads, pipe cleaners, buttons, and colored paper to complete the bug. Have the children give the bugs names beginning with the sound of B.
Beautiful Blue Bunnies
Give each child bright blue tempera or finger paint and have them paint a cut out shape of a bunny. Have each child tell something about their painting.
Write out what the children say in their own words, then have them find and draw balloons around letter.
Busy Bees
Have children paint a paper plate yellow. Let dry. Then paint on black stripes, if desired. Cut out rectangles with a circle on top for the antennae.
Glue that to the plate. Afterwards just add eyes (either draw them or use the googly eyes) and a smile.
Blue Bubbles
You will need: throwaway cups, Equal amounts of liquid dish soap and water, blue food coloring or blue paint, Straw (cut small slit in it to prevent sucking up into the mouth but allowing bubbles to come out the bottom).
Mix up bubble solution in each cup. Add blue food coloring. Blow bubbles into cup until almost overflowing.
Take white paper and lay in the bubbles. When they pop on the paper, it leaves pretty blue circles.
Beads
Provide opportunities for children to string beads.
Start by having them string the beads in any order - then try to have them follow a pattern.
FingerBugs
Cut out a letter "B" shape. The children cover it with fingerprints and use markers or finger paints to decorate the fingerprints as bugs.
Bears
Cut circles of various sizes from brown construction paper. Help the children arrange the circles on sheets of paper to make little bears.
Suggest that they make a blue bow tie and glue on two buttons for eyes.
Games & Activities
"B" Different!
Get pictures of birds, butterflies, bees, bears, bunnies...
Read and talk about how they are alike and how they are different. What is big? What is small?
Bees
Ask a beekeeper to come to your school/home. We had one who brought everything he used. It was fascinating for us to see all their equipment and the bees, their honey, etc. Talk about queen bees, drone bees, worker bees.
Play "the Flight of the Bumblebee" and teach the children to do the tail wagging dance that bees do when they return to their beehive.
Bounce balls
Balance bean bags on your head while walking on a balance.
Bones
Collect and clean bones from the kitchen: chicken, turkey, beef, pork, lamb.
Sort them and talk about where each came from and what animal.
Let's Pretend
Pretend you are a bag piper, baby, bike, bear, bat, bee, bed, bird, butterfly, bunny, bubble, bean, baseball player, ballerina, etc.
Beans
Do a comparison on the different kinds of beans. Have a bean buffet! ( make different bean dishes)
Make a graph asking: Which beans do you like best? Green beans, Lima beans, Baked Beans, Refried Beans,etc.
Bugs
Ask the Orkin man or another pest control company representative to come to your school/home and give a lecture on bugs.
They usually have samples and may even have coloring books!
Birds
Do a study on birds and have a guest bring birds to your class or go to a zoo or a bird center.
Baskets
Have someone come in to demonstrate basket weaving.
Letter Bag
Introduce each letter by pulling out a Letter Bag (gallon size Ziploc bag containing things that begin with that letter).
The B Bag could contain: buttons, belt, beans, brads, a beet, beads, a bottle of bubbles, a banana (plastic one wouldn't have to be replaced), a stuffed bear, miniature ball, bag, bandana, barrette, bell, bone, bottle, basket, badge, book, balloon, etc.
"B" Box
Have a box containing things that begin with "B" and things that do not. As you remove the things from the box, have students identify them.
Then allow students the opportunity to choose one thing each that begins with the "B" and place it back into the box. Those things that do not begin with B do not go into the box.
You may have the students identify what sound that they begin with also. (Some things that could be used that were not listed for the B Bag are: basketball, baseball, barbecue sauce, bowl, backpack, boot, and battery.)
Beautiful Babies!
Encourage each child to bring a baby picture of himself or herself to school. Display the pictures on a bulletin board.
Invite the children to guess who the babies are. Put in one of your own.
Balloon Lotto
Make a balloon lotto game by dividing a piece of heavy white paper into six sections and drawing a different colored balloon in each square.
Cut matching colored squares out of construction paper.
To play the game, have the children take turns placing the construction paper squares on top of the matching colored balloons.
Balloon Fish
Partially blow up ten small balloons. Place them in a dish pan full of water.
Set the pan on the floor and let the children take turns fishing for balloon fish with a food strainer.
Help each child count his or her catch before putting the fish back in the pan.
Balloon "Keep it Up"
Give each child a balloon. Have the children practice blowing them up.
Help each child tie his or her balloon and play "Balloon Keep It Up".
See how long the children can keep their balloons up in the air without letting them touch the ground.
Balloon Match
To make the game, draw or trace a picture of a clown holding a bunch of balloons on 8 X 12 poster board. Draw the balloons by tracing around a plastic milk cap.
You'll need to save caps in several colors.
With markers, color the clown and each balloon to match your collection of milk caps. To make the board longer lasting, use Contact paper.
Fun With Beanbags
Play a type of tic-tac-toe game where they toss the beanbags onto a board and try to have them land on certain targets.
You could also put letters on the floor, have the children toss a bean bag, and have them name the letter that it lands on.
More advanced children might think of a word that starts with the letter.
Balance
Challenge the children to try walking with a book or beanbag balanced on their heads. Then ask the children to stand with one foot lifted up off the ground.
Then have them close their eyes. Discuss what happens!
Balance Beam
Tape a long strip of wide tape down the middle of a hallway floor.
Challenge the children to walk along the tape line.
See who can walk the farthest without stepping off the tape.
Bean Counter
Give each child one sectioned half of an egg carton and a large handful of dried beans. Post a number between one and ten (depending on the maturity of the children).
Ask the children to count that many beans into each section of their egg cartons.
Backwards Exploring
Try a backward day. What can you wear backwards? You can wear a hat, shirt, or pants backward.
What else can be worn backwards? Can shoes be worn backwards? What are some reasons we don't spend our lives walking backwards?
What would life be like if we had to walk backward?
The Magic Bus
Make a bus out of your chairs (put them all in a big box the kids paint is even more fun) and go on an imaginary trip and see all sorts of B things out the window.
Bus, part 2
Will your local bus company bring a bus for the kids to see inside or can you take a bus ride if you have public transportation available?
Bowling
Use any ball and 2 Liter soda bottles with a little sand in the bottom.
Great fun indoors or out.
Books
A show and tell day could center around everyone's favorite book.
Balloons
Depends on the age for safety! Fill them with a couple scoops of confetti and then blow them up.
Have the kids jump on them and pop them.
Bank
Set up a bank in dramatic play area. Make sure you have a briefcase and deposit slips, etc.
A local bank or parent might make a donation.
Our local bank has a special program for kids. They might do a field trip.
Beautiful!
Help the children make a list of beautiful items, such as a rainbow, a ring, or a sunset.
Ask each child to draw a picture of the item that he or she thinks is the most beautiful.
B Show and Tell
Send a note home asking all the children to bring something for "show and tell" that begins with the letter B.
This works best if the kids can bring something on any day of the week because inevitably, some of the kids and/or parents forget.
When the children share this item that they bring, ask them to put it beside, below or beneath a box.
Babies
Use the opportunity to discuss babies.
The kids can bathe them and give them a bottle and a binky.
Bread
Make some. Those new bread makers aren't quite the same as the good old' days of kneading and punching, but they are fun to use.
Also, a field trip to the bakery will thrill the kids too!
Blow Bubbles
Try different shaped "blowers" to get different effects.
See who can blow the biggest bubble.
Boots
Bring in all kinds -- borrow some from the fire department, a fisherman, a hunter, a soldier or sailor, a construction worker... can you match the boots to their job?
Barney
Dance to loud Barney music or watch a Barney video, as long as your sanity holds out.
Band
Get bells and a drum to bang. Go get some kazoos at the dollar store and have a marching band.
Add other instruments and walk around the block a few times.
Beanie Babies
If you have them, share them. If not, I bet some of the kids do.
Encourage the children to make up stories and plays involving their beanie babies.
B Circle
Have the children stand in a circle.
Throw the ball to a child who has to say something that begins with B. That child then throws to another, etc.
Continue until no more words can be thought of.
Recipes & Snacks
Bananas
Take a survey - find out how many children like bananas - graph the results.
Then make several different banana dishes for the children to sample - such as Banana Nut Spread (mix mashed bananas with peanut butter - spread on crackers), banana pudding, banana berry mix (slice bananas, add other fresh berries, top with yogurt and brown sugar).
Banana splits
Let the children cut their own bananas with a plastic knife.
Bread
Make Banana Bread using your favorite recipe.
Butter
Very easy - pour whipping cream and a touch of salt into baby food jars - shake until butter forms!
Bean Salad
Point out that beans are a vegetable. Make bean salad (mix green, wax and kidney beans top with Italian dressing mixed with a little sugar).
Breakfast
Bananas and bagels or biscuits for breakfast.
Feast on a Blanket
Have lunch on a blanket.
Bugs on a Bed
Give each child a slice of bread.
Have the children first put "bedspreads" on their "beds" using peanut butter, cream cheese or butter.
Then have them put "bugs" on the beds using small edibles such as raisins, nuts, cereal bits, small pieces of fruit or vegetables.
Banana Pudding
Set up supplies to let each kid make their own banana pudding with layered bananas/vanilla wafers/vanilla pudding.
Brown Cows
(Root beer float with chocolate ice cream)
Explain how this drink got its name - "brown" is for the color of root beer and "cow" is for the milk in the ice cream.
Other "B" Foods
Bacon
Bagels
Baked Beans
Banana Bread
Barbecue Beans Bean Sprouts
Beets
Berries
Black Eyed Peas
Bran Muffins
Bread Sticks
Broth
Brownies
Brown Sugar
Brussel Sprouts
Butterscotch
Buttermilk
Beef
Bell Peppers
Biscuits
Bologna
Brazil Nuts
Songs, Poems & Finger Plays
Lullabies
Teach the children to sing "Rock-a-Bye Baby" and invite them to share other lullabies they know.
Bounce the Balloons
(Sing to: "The Mulberry Bush") This is the way we bounce the balloons
Bounce the balloons, bounce the balloons
This is the way we bounce the balloons,
Gently in the air.
Beauty and the Beast
Rent Beauty and the Beast and have children role play afterwards
Play Beach Boys music.
Sing London Bridges
Have children stand in 2 rows, facing each other, link hands and raise to form a long bridge.
One child at a time goes under the bridge, and the bridge "collapses" on the words "We all fall down", catching whichever child is under the bridge.
Sing Baby Bumblebee
Sing Little Bunny Foo Foo
Add features to the letter B to make a bunny
Bubbles
(Tune: Twinkle, Twinkle)
Bubbles floating all around (pretend to catch bubbles)
Bubbles fat and bubbles round (make a big circle w/arms)
Bubbles on my toes and nose (point to toes; point to nose)
Blow a bubble. ..up it goes! (pretend to blow bubble; point up)
Bubbles floating all around. (pretend to catch bubbles)
Bub. . .bles fall. ..ing to...the...ground. (sing slowly & sink to ground)
C c
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ART & CRAFTS
Cotton Counting
Glue corresponding number of cotton balls onto paper labeled with a number.
Cookie Jar
Make some pretend cookies out of cardboard or construction paper. On one side color the cookie in and on the other side place a picture of things that begin with the letter C.
Place these pretend cookies in a plastic container and label it "Cookie jar."
Have each child pick a cookie and go over the C word on that cookie, by saying it and listening for the C in the word.
Also, you can give each child a blank cookie & have them draw something that begins with the Letter C.
Collage
Have each child bring in a picture (they may also draw their own picture) that begins with the letter C.
Then, on a big poster board draw the letter C and glue all the kid's pictures around it to make a classroom collage.
Candy-Eyed Calico Cat
Give each child a cat pattern, glue, small scraps of patterned material, toothpicks, flat candies (two for each cat and a few to eat).
Give children these directions: Apply a light layer of glue to the cat.
Cover a as much of the cat as possible with material scraps. Glue on toothpicks for whiskers. Glue on two flat candies for eyes. Allow to dry.
Cloud prints
Put a couple drops of white paint in the center of blue paper, fold, and squeeze the paint around.
Then open them up and write on them what each child thinks they look like.
Crayon Melting
Cover old heating or warming try with aluminum foil and heat up.
Let children lay their papers on the tray and draw with crayons.
The wax melts and soaks into the paper. Let wax dry. These are fun to hang in windows for a stained glass effect.
Candle
Provide art supplies for children to make pretend candles. Use toilet-paper tubes for the candle. Help the children paint the tubes with tempera.
Show them how to stuff red, orange and yellow tissue paper in the top of the tubes for the flame then glue a strip of construction paper around the base for the candle holders.
Help them glue the tubes to small paper plates.
Candy Cane
Make a candy cane with pipe cleaners - use one white and one red - twist the pipe cleaners to make a striped stem.
Bend them into a candy cane shape.
Clock
Make paper clocks on paper plates - Attach construction paper hands with brads.
Identify the big hand and little hand and the number on the clock -if the children are old enough use the clocks to tell the time and hour.
Painting with Carrots
Cut real carrots into 2-3" pieces. Use them like a rubber stamp - dip in orange tempera and print to make a letter C.
Cars
Invite the children to cut out pictures of cars from old magazines and make a collage.
Cat
Draw a simple cat shape on a large piece of paper. If the kids are old enough have them draw it.
Have the children paint their cats black and cut them out when the paint is dry.
Have them add eyes and whiskers.
Cats again
Let them draw pictures of their favorite story book cat or make paper doll cats.
Catalog
Have an assortment of catalogs available.
Let the children browse through and cut out five favorite items.
Glue them on construction paper.
Clover
If Clover is in season have the children pick some.
Cut a large Letter C and glue the clovers on.
Clown
Paint clown faces on all interested children.
Take pictures of your cute clowns.
Note: Be sure to use hypoallergenic paint or costume makeup designed for sensitive skin.
Clown Face
Make a clown face out of a paper plate, construction paper, and an inflated balloon.
Have the children color a clown face, then punch a small hole in the center of the face.
Help the kids pull the knot of the balloon through the hole and tape the knot in the back.
Clothesline Art
Ask children to color, cut out, and clip "C" objects to a clothesline stretched across the room.
Pictures could also be cut from catalogs.
Use clip clothespins. You might want to limit their pictures to things they would find on a clothes line.
Clay
Encourage the children to play with clay. Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes in clay, and let them set and dry completely, then paint.
Coal
Make coal or charcoal crystals. put coal or charcoal briquets in a tray.
Mix together 2 TBS each - salt, water, bluing (available in the laundry section), and pour over coal or charcoal. Add drops of food coloring wherever, and coat each piece with a few drops of ammonia.
The next morning you should see crystals beginning to form. If not repeat the process.
Cold
Glue pictures of hot and cold foods on index cards.
Help the children sort the pictures into hot and cold categories.
Caterpillars
Give the children construction paper circles - one for each of the eight basic colors.
Tape one circle to a classroom wall.
Let the children draw various shapes on each circle, and attach to the circle on the wall.
See how long they can make the caterpillar.
Add eyes and antenna to make the caterpillars head.
Comic strips
Save the Sunday comics and daily comics.
Cut the comic strips into separate frames, and cut out a large construction paper C.
Glue comic frames on the letter C - if they are old enough have them sequence them.
Castles
Use paper towel and toilet paper rolls to make a castle.
Cut slits in the tops to attach to other rolls to make varying heights. Paint the tubes goldish and use sponge squares in red paint to make it look like a stone castle.
Clown Bank
Tape a round piece of cardboard to each end of the paper towel tube.
Cut a slot for the clowns mouth. (make it big enough for coins to fit through).
Paint the tube white.
Glue yarn hair and clown features cut from paper.
"C" Box
Decorate a box with the letter C. Inside the box place items that start with C such as: camera, can, card, candle, corn, car, canoe, carrot, coat, comb, cookies, cotton, cat.
Decorative Cans
Collect empty cans, wash them and smooth over any rough edges.
Let the children decorate the cans with colorful self-stick paper or by gluing on wallpaper, felt, fabric, shells or magazine cutouts.
Then let them use their decorated cans as holders for straws, buttons, puzzle pieces, games, or crayons.
Games & Activities
Match my coin
Give each child a penny, a nickel, a dime and a quarter.
Hold up one coin and have the children hold up a matching coin.
Tongue Twisters
Ask children to repeat in unison after you.
Then ask if anyone would like to try to say a tongue twister as fast as possible alone.
Now ask the students to add one or more "C" words to the following to make tongue twisters: "Cassie cooks........" "Clifford counts......" "Carl caught......" "Cliff climbs........" etc.
Coat race
Divide children into 2 teams. Each child is to put the coat on and race to the child at the other end, they took the coat off and the other child had to put it on and race back.
The team that finishes first wins. Then make crowns and have a parade.
Clouds
Go outside and look at the clouds, and use your imaginations to "see" things.
Caps
Sort Bottle Caps or Milk Caps
Cactus
Show the children a cactus plant. The Christmas cactus is especially nice and blooms around December.
Help the children compare the cactus with other plants.
Point out that since a cactus needs less water than other plants, it can live and grow in hot, dry areas.
Calendar
Remind the children that calendars help us keep track of the days, weeks, and months of the year. Make a calendar for each month.
Review the day of the week and the date each day.
Practice saying the days of the week from memory.
Candy
Discuss why cake, candy, cupcakes and cookies should not be eaten often.
Help them make a list of some foods that are healthier (carrots, cucumbers, etc)
Grow a carrot
Choose a carrot that still has green leaves and stems attached. Cut the carrot 2" from the top, and place in a shallow bowl.
Place pebbles around the carrot then fill halfway with water. Set in a sunny window.
New sprouts will appear in about a week.
Once the carrot has sprouted, plant it in some soil and enjoy watching it grow.
Car
Kids love to make car noises. Let them follow you along a imaginary road and pretend to be cars.
Go fast and "zoom", go slowly, stop quickly and "eek" as brakes work, go around lots of curves, putt-putt-putt with engine trouble, etc.
Clean
Emphasize putting toys away when finished playing.
Give out best cleaner buttons to children who help.
Set up a Cleaning Center - include a small broom, mop, dustpan, sponge, apron, feather duster, vacuum, etc.
Demonstrate the proper use then encourage the children to try.
Cloth
Explain that cotton grows on plants. Cotton is made into thread, the thread is woven into cloth and the cloth is sewn into clothing.
Cut cotton cloth into strips. Invite the children to feel the cloth and decide whether warm or cold weather clothing should be made from cotton.
Coats
Discuss why we wear coats. Cut pictures from magazines and make a closet for the coats by folding a piece of construction paper the long way.
Glue a small construction paper circle on the closet for a doorknob and write "My Coat Closet" glue the pictures of the coats inside.
Coconut
Demonstrate how to crack a coconut.
Cut the coconut into little chunks, and invite the children to sample the coconut and the coconut milk.
Coin Fun
Put one coin inside a feelie bag. Invite the children to reach inside and see if they can guess which coin it is.
Color Cards
Write color words on flash cards for older children and practice reading the words aloud.
Coloring Center
Set up a Coloring Center - place crayons, coloring books, drawing paper, tracing paper, markers, colored pencils, etc.
Let the children go wild!
Computer
Teach them a computer game.
Cave
Make a cave in one corner of the play area by draping sheets or blankets over some tables.
Let the children pretend to be caterpillars crawling in and out of the cave.
Ask them to make the hard sound of C as they crawl around.
Catch It!
Cut off the tops of plastic milk jugs with handles to use as receptacles for catching balls and beanbags that the children can "toss" to each other.
Remind the children to be cautious when doing this activity.
Cards
Sort a deck of playing cards according to suits then sequence.
Play card games such as "War", "Uno", "Old Maid", "Fish". use the cards just under 5 for the younger children.
Copycat
Stand in front of the group and demonstrate a movement such as shaking your arm, making a funny face, standing on one foot, etc.
Challenge the children to copy you.
After you have acted out 4-5 movements invite the children to take turns being the leader.
Crawl
Sponsor crawling relays.
Draw two large letter C's on the floor with chalk or tape - have the children crawl along the C.
Recipes & Snacks
Cookies
Make Chocolate Chip Cookies with the kids - a triple C word.
Make Corn on the Cob
Have the children list other foods that are yellow or that begin with C.
Carrot
Have several carrots on hand - clean and cook some of the carrots.
Invite them to taste raw and cooked carrots, and ask how they are alike and different.
Take a survey - graph the results.
Crazy Caterpillar Critters
Provide a variety of vegetables that begin with the letter C, such as celery, carrots, cucumbers, cabbage and cauliflower. Cut these into small pieces and rounds.
Have them assemble a caterpillar in the shape of a C by sticking the vegetables together with peanut butter or cream cheese.
Give each child a piece of cabbage to be the "grass" under the crazy critter.
Chicken Pox Pancakes:
Strawberries, Pancake mix, Bananas, Powdered sugar
Chop the berries into small chunks, allowing one or two per pancake face. Set aside.
Prepare the pancake mix according to package directions.
When the pancakes are done, place each serving in a stack on a separate plate.
For every two stacks of pancakes, you need to peel one banana. Carefully slice off the two ends and put one on top of each stack for a nose.
Then cut two thin slices from each end for eyes.
Then cut banana in half for a long curved mouth.
Arrange the strawberry chunks chicken pox all around each face.
Drop a pinch of powdered sugar on each pox for a tasty bit of puss.
Serves as many little polka dotted people as your heart desires.
Other Snacks
Carrot sticks
Cucumber slices
Celery sticks
Cheese
Crackers
Cinnamon rolls
Cornbread
Cereal
Carrot juice
Cranberry juice
Cantaloupe
Cottage cheese
Cashews
Cupcakes
Cauliflower
Songs, Poems & Finger Plays
C is for Cookie
C is for cookie
That's good enough for me,
C is for cookie,
That's good enough for me,
C is for cookie,
That's good enough for me.
Cookie, Cookie, cookie.
Cookie starts with C!
The Runaway Cookies
The cookie jar people Hopped out one night
When the cookie jar lid was not on tight.
The gingerbread man opened raisin eyes
And looked about In great surprise.
The frosted bunny twinkled his nose
And danced around on his cookie toes.
The sugary duck began to quack
And shake the sugar off his back.
The cinnamon bear could only grunt
For he was too fat to do a stunt.
The coconut lamb jumped up so high
That his little white tail flew toward the sky.
They were all so happy to be at play
That they danced and danced
And danced away.
They danced away
So very far
That they never came back
To the cookie jar.
C Song
(Skip to my Lou)
Carrots, castles, candy canes,
Cucumbers and clouds with rain.
Cats and cookies, crayons too.
I think C is cool. Don't you?
I'm a Little Cat
I'm a little cat,
Soft and furry
I'll be your friend,
So don't you worry.
Right up on your lap I like to hop.
I'll purr, purr, purr and never stop.
D d
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Arts & Crafts
The Letter D
Make a large block letter D on a sheet of construction paper and have the children cut it out.
Then taking pictures from magazines, have the children glue objects that begin with the letter D on the large D.
Dime
If you have a dime rubber stamp, use it to make dime prints (heads and tails) all along a letter D cut from light-colored construction paper.
Invite the children to look at the dime prints and describe what is on each side (use large Dime).
Designer belts
Have long rolls of paper to go around each student's waist.
Using cut out shapes, the students will follow a pattern on the belt.
When completed allow the students to wear their belts.
Diamond patterns
Have children create a necklace using diamonds and straws.
Dotted D
Copy large D shapes onto construction paper.
Have children use q-tips and paint to make dotted Ds.
Dots
Children decorate letter D shapes with dots made with a hole punch.
Takes time, but it helps build up the strength in those little hands.
D Dinosaur
Print a large D on a piece of paper for each child.
Place the papers, a capital D stamp, stamp pad, and markers at the writing center.
Invite students to use the stamp and markers to turn their D into a "D dinosaur."
Have them color their dinosaurs and take them home.
Dachshund
Have children fold a long strip of construction paper accordion style.
Ask each child to cut out D-pictures from magazines and glue them to the accordion sections.
Have students design and cut out a dog's head, feet, and tail and attach them to the paper accordion to make a D-dachshund.
Paper Dolls
Cut out and decorate paper dolls to form a multi-cultural garland, decorate with crayons, markers or paint.
If done on posterboard, decorate sections with scrap material, rickrack, buttons, yarn, etc.
Desk Organizer
Cut paper towel tubes into various lengths. Paint each tube a different color.
Glue the tubes (grouped in a bunch - 4-5) to a piece of painted corrugated cardboard.
Use to hold pencils, rulers, paint brushes, scissors, etc.
Dachshund Pencil Holder
For the body, remove the side of a paper towel with scissors to make sort of a well.
Cover the tube and only one end with construction paper. For the head, cut a circle of paper 5" .
Cut a 1/3 wedge out of the circle.
Fold the remaining 2/3 into a cone shape and tape together.
Tape the head to the body.
Add paper ears, draw on eyes, a mouth and a nose.
For the tail, glue a piece of chenille stick to the covered end of the tube. For legs attach 4 small corks with glue.
Daddy
Make an "I love Daddy" card! Simply take a piece of construction paper, bend it in half.
Color (or paint) a picture of Daddy (or for Daddy--if drawing daddy is too hard!)
Than, on the inside write "I love you Daddy!!" (Daddy has 3 D's in it!!)
Dinosaur Crowns
Cut sponges into the shapes of tyrannosaurus dinosaur footprints.
Fold paper towels in half and place them in shallow containers.
Pour a small amount of brown tempera paint on top of each towel.
Give the children crowns cut out of construction paper.
Let the children cover their crown with dinasaur footprints by pressing the sponge stanps first into the paint and then onto their papers.
When the paint has dried, write"tyrannosaurus (child's name)" on the front of each crown.
Daisies
Have the children cut out a circle and glue it to the center of a paper plate.
Show them how to cut petals in a variety of colors and glue them around the circle to form a daises.
Have the children add stems and leaves.
Dads
Ask the children to draw and color large pictures of their dads (or another important male figure in their lives).
Have them tell you something special about their dads to write down on the pictures.
Drizzle Goo
1 cup flour, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup salt, 3/4 cup water, food coloring
Mix all together and put in squeeze bottle.
Drizzle on paper, or on a hot day - your friends!
Make a Dog Collage
Cut out pictures from magazines of dogs and glue them on a posterboard for a dog collage.
Games & Activities
Play Pin the Tail on the Donkey.
Play dominoes.
Visit a Dentist's Office.
Visit a Doctor's Office.
Dinosaur Bones
Make some dinosaur bones out of Clay which hardens.
Bury them in a sandbox and go on a dinosaur dig.
D at Home
Another fun idea is to have the children bring things from home that begin with the Letter D.
Its fun to see the many different objects that the children bring.
Mystery Bag Game
(This can be done for any letter, or many other themes.) Have 2 identical bags each with a cord to close the top.
Have 2 sets of identical items beginning with the letter D (ex. doll, diamond shape, rubber duck). One set of objects should be put in each bag.
The child holds one bag and you hold the other. Put your hand in your bag and select an object, bring it out, say its name (doll) emphasizing the 'd' sound.
Ask the child to put their hand in their bag and try to find the same object using only her sense of touch - not allowed to look inside.
D Math- Feeding the Dogs
Wash and dry five dog dishes or bowls. Number the dishes from 1 to 5 (may add a doggy as well) by taping numbered pieces of paper to the sides. Set out the dishes and fifteen dog biscuits.
Let the children take turns identifying the numbers on the dishes and placing the appropriate number of bones in each one.
Variation: Instead of dog biscuit and dog dishes, use small bone shapes cut out of brown construction paper and paper bowls.
In The Doghouse
Objective: Children will match dots/numerals to numerals.
How to play the Game: Count the spots on each Dalmatian.
Match each Dalmatian to the correctly numbered Doghouse.
You can trace an outline of a Dalmatian from any coloring book and add your own spots.
Putting Doggy All Together
Given a dog divided in to 5 sections numbered 0 to 4, have the children count while pointing to each number. After they have identified the numbers the dogs will be cut apart at the divisions. T
he head of the dog should be placed for the children as a starting point.
Then have the children correctly assemble the dog in number sequence.
Double Decker
Using "Uno" cards the students will match numbers, colors, and patterns.
D's in the Drawer
Print the letter D on an index card and attach the card to an empty drawer.
Place the drawer on the floor, along with your D Display Box. Have the children sit with you in a circle.
Let one child begin by taking an item from the box, naming it and then placing the item in the drawer. Continue until each child has had at least one turn.
My ___ Book
Give each student a set of the pages to the little book. Name an object and have the students find the object and put their finger on it (for all objects).
Allow the students to color object. Assemble the book.
Have each student read their book to the group.
Dogs
Have a picture of a large dog: discuss things dogs do, parts of a dog, what dogs eat, etc. Make construction paper headbands and have the children design the ears they wish to have.
Add pictures of dogs to the band.
Get a hold of a local kennel club and see if they have "trade" magazines they will be discarding.
Doughnut
Cut large doughnut shapes (one for every two children) from different colors of construction paper.
Cut each into two puzzle pieces. Mark one piece with an upper case D and the other with a lower-case D.
Give each of the children a dough-nut half and have them note the colors and the letters.
Then let them walk around to find the matching halves of their doughnuts. May have other halves on the floor or on the board for the students to match.
Dinosaur
For this activity you will need a realistic picture of a dinosaur, chart paper, and a marker.
Show children the picture. Say: "Pretend this dinosaur just walked into the room.
Show me what you would do." Then ask children to describe how they would feel.
Say: "Let's write a story about the day the dinosaur came to our class." Have children dictate sentences for the story and record them on chart paper.
Then read the story back to the children, tracking the words as you do so.
Read the story a second time, asking children to point out words that begin like duck. Display the story where children can "read" it on their own.
Suggest that interested students illustrate it.
D is for dominoes
Introduce them to the children. Make a domino matching game on paper as a learning game.
You have a sheet of paper with drawn dominos on it.
Turn real dominos upside down and let them find them!
Ducky Walk
Have children pretend to be ducks going in a walk. As they walk, instead of quacking they make the D sound.
Dandelion Walk
Walk the neighborhood looking for dandelions. When you find them, help the children to pull them up from their base, getting the roots if you can.
The kids will think they are pretty and you will be "weeding" the neighborhood at the same time!
Dodge Ball
Have the children form a circle facing inward. Choose two or three children to go inside the circle, the other children throw balls into the center trying to touch the inside children.
If they are successful, they exchange places with the children they hit.
Dial Pad
Cut and paste a telephone dial pad and teach the kids to Dial 9-1-1 and/or their home phone numbers.
Recipes & Snacks
Doughnuts
Use 1 package refrigerated biscuit dough. Punch a hole in the middle of each biscuit (a bottle cap will work). Fry in 1 inch of hot oil for about 1 minute or until light brown on both sides (fry the "holes" too).
When cool, shake in a bag of cinnamon mixed with sugar, brown sugar, or powdered sugar.
Dirt Dessert
Give each child a small paper cup with 1/2 cup VanillaYogurt.
Let them measure and crush 1/2 cup of Granola and sprinkle on top for "dirt".
Songs, Poems & Finger Plays
Donut Song
(Tune: Turkey in the Straw) (Traditional)
Oh I walked around the corner
And I walked around the block
And I walked right into a donut shop.
And I picked up a donut and I wiped off the grease,
And I handed the lady a five-cent piece.
Well she looked at the nickle
And she looked at me,
And she said, "Hey kid can't you plainly see?
There's a hole in the nickle,
There's a hole right through!"
And I said, " There's a hole in my donut too!
Thanks for the donut! Good day!"
Dippy Donut Song
(tune: Baa Baa Black Sheep)
Yum, yum, Donuts.
Chocolate iced,
Glazed and twisted,
Warm and nice.
Cream filled, Peanuts on the top.
Long John! Jelly! I can't stop!
Better than a sticky roll,
Eat them right down to the hole!
Nursery Rhyme
Diddle diddle Dumpling, my son John
Went to bed with his stockings on.
One shoe off and one shoe on,
Diddle diddle dumpling, my son John.
Dinosaur Poem
Dinosaurs lived long ago.
They were so big and strong, you know!
Sharp teeth and claws,
Long tails too.
Some that walked
And some that flew.
Though they don't live here anymore,
We still adore the dinosaur!
E e
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Arts & Crafts
Egg Shell Art
You will need:
crushed egg shells
food coloring
glue
construction paper
You will need a large amount of crushed egg shells for this activity. Sending a note home to parents asking for leftover shells will help.
Soak egg shells in a solution of food coloring and water.
Prepare a number of different colors. When shells are the color you desire, remove and spread on paper towels to dry.
Direct children to make a large, simple drawing or design and to glue on the crushed egg shells wherever they wish.
Allow artwork to dry before displaying.
Fun With "E"
Cut out large letter E shapes. Make a collage of pictures of things beginning with E.
Let the children cut out the pictures and glue them on.
Elephant
Place several pieces of white paper between two pieces of grey paper and cut out an elephant shape.
Teach a lesson on elephants that are an enormous size.
You can talk about sizes big/little.
Glue on pictures of elephants and other enormous animals.
Eggs
Decorate egg shapes cut out of wrapping paper or construction paper.
You can also play a matching game if you cut out 2 egg shapes out of each type of wrapping paper, wallpaper sample, or construction paper.
Envelopes
Decorate envelopes and let the children draw an elephant, or decorate a paper egg to mail to a friend or grandparent.
Easter E
Draw a large block capital and lowercase 'E'.
Color, paint, or decorate the "E" with stripes, polka dots, or some other Easter egg design.
Stay inside the lines!
E is for Eggs
Distribute an empty egg carton and twelve small paper eggs to each group. Have children cut E-pictures from magazines, glue the to the eggs, and place the eggs in the egg carton.
Help the children label the backside of the eggs with the picture name.
Ears
Use a large sheet of paper on which is written the following statement, "I have two ears to hear with".
The children can paste pictures of things, which make a sound that they can hear.
E Practice
Invite children to form the capital letter E using craft sticks.
Glue to construction paper.
Pattern Eggs
Draw and cut out six large cardboard eggs. Glue a different pattern of fabric or wallpaper to each egg.
Cut the eggs in half .Let the children take turns matching the egg halves.
Patterned Egg Match-Ups
Cut 6 to 10 egg shapes out of cardboard. Cover each shape by gluing on a different pattern of wallpaper, wrapping paper or fabric.
When the glue has dried, cut each egg shape in half. Mix up the halves and give them to your children.
Let them take turns putting the egg shapes back together by matching the patterns on the egg halves.
Eight spider leg hats
Make bands that will go around each student's head. Cut eight black strips of paper for each student. Have the student count the strips.
Staple four legs on each side of the hat. On eight small circles write or trace the numbers one to eight. Glue the circles to the end of each leg.
Eyes can be added to the band. Color a spider and number/trace a number on his legs.
E gross motor Elephants
Make enormous elephant ears. Using gray paper make a hat with enormous elephant ears. First use one or two sheets to make the headband.
Fold the paper in half the long way a couple of times to make it stronger. Measure the hat size on the child's head. Staple to secure the hatband in place. Use an entire sheet for each of two fan shaped elephant ears.
Attach them to the side of the hatband. Expand to a large muscle skill movement game. Have your children put their hands in front of their face like an elephant's trunk. Start the game with a simple elephant walk.
Then go through the elephant's day. Have the children stretch and do what elephants do. Stretch and pick leaves from high in the trees or grass from down low on the ground.
Try having your elephants hold trunks or try an elephant hug.
Easels
Get out all your easels and different kinds of paint, chalk, etc.
Eggs
Use plastic eggs (from Easter) and have the children glue Easter-egg grass in half of an egg.
Show them how to make a chick by gluing two cotton balls together and making a tiny face on the top ball.
Have them put their chicks in their eggs and use stickers to decorate the outside of the eggs.
Eskimos
Ask the children to cut out a large round shape for the face of an Eskimo. Show them how to glue white cotton balls around the face for the fur of a hood.
Have them glue or color on other features. Talk about why Eskimos need to be dressed in warm clothing.
Egg yolk painting
Take egg yolks and add food coloring. Makes a very pretty and shiny picture.
Paper Plate Elephant
The children paint paper plates gray. Add construction paper ears, eyes (the BIG wiggly ones look cute), then cut out a circle from the center of the plate - this is where the children stick their arms through to make the trunk!!
Easy Elephants
You can make elephant trunks by painting paper towel rolls gray and when dry the children can put them on and pretend to be elephants.
E Collage
Have each child bring in a picture from home of something that begins with the letter"e".
Then, after each child says what they brought in, make a class collage of all the pictures.
Egg Carton
Make an egg carton nursery by placing empty eggshell halves in the cups of an egg carton. Fill with potting soil and plant a couple of radish seeds or carrot seets in each shell.
Try putting under a grow-light or in a sunny window to hasten growth.
Plastic Eggs
Write sentences on writing paper, cut them apart, and insert a sentence in a plastic easter egg. Students draw an egg from the basket and write their sentence on paper.
When finished, they can trade egg for a different one.
Elmo
Use a heavy piece of paper shaped like Elmo's head and then tear and glue on red paper so it looks like Elmo's fur, then of course add the rest of the features, they look adorable.
Number 8 books
For each student staple 5 half-sheets of paper together. On the front write "book of 8s." Using various stamps the students will stamp 8 prints for each page.
Squares may be used as guides for stamping. On the last page color the number eight.
Eyes and Ears
Have children draw a face on a piece of paper minus the eyes and ears.
Have them look through magazines to find pictures of eyes and ears to glue to their picture.
Games & Activities
Tongue Twisters
Elmer Elephant has enormous ears. Ella Eagle laid eleven eggs. Elsie eats eight eggs.
Ernie eel enjoys exercising. Ernie easily erases errors. Every evening Eric Elk escapes.
"E" Questions
Tell the children to answer "yes" or "no" to these questions and to explain why they answered as they did.
Can an envelope be empty? Is eleven more than eight? Is an easel elastic? Would an elevator eat eggplant?
Are earmuffs electric? Can you hear an echo? Is an evergreen a type of tree? Are some elephants enormous?
Enormous Box
Decorate an Enormous Box and fill it with things that begin with "E"such as egg, egg beater, egg carton, earmuffs, earphones, earrings, elephant, elf, engine, envelop, erasers, elastic, easel, etc.
Elbow
Print the letter Ee on several index cards and also print previously taught letters on other cards.
Have the children wave their elbows in the air when they see the letter Ee on a card.
Exercise!
Exercise with the children. There are a lot of video tapes out there designed for exercise activities for children.
Egg to Bird
Talk about the process of an egg becoming a chicken or other bird - Have pictures or laminated cards depicting the various stages of a baby bird hatching.
Egg Relay
Have an Egg relay race using plastic eggs - see who can get all the eggs in the basket first.
Electricity
Cut out pictures of things that do and do not use electricity. Ask children to sort the pictures.
Discuss how some of these devices are used. Invite an electrician in to talk about his/her job.
Egg Cartons
Provide egg cartons for counting and making sets. Write numbers in the bottom of the cups.
Have the children count the correct number of beans, buttons, etc. into each cup.
E's in the Eggs
Label stickers with E's and attach them to large plastic eggs. Inside each egg put a picture of something whose name begins with E.
Place the eggs in a basket. Have the children sit in a circle with the basket in the middle.
Let each child in turn take an egg from the basket and name the letter on it.
Then have the child open the egg and name the picture inside.
E Practice with grids
Invite children to form the capital letter E using available large blocks.
Talk about the different number and sizes of blocks the children used to make the letter.
Have children trade blocks and form the letter E again.
Emergency
Talk about and then practice with the students what to do in case of a emergency. Explain that the best thing is to go get help from a grown-up.
If no one is around, they should dial the emergency number they learned and tell what happened, give their name, say their telephone number, and give their address.
Stress the importance of staying on the phone to take directions and to answer any further questions.
Number Eggs
Collect five plastic eggs that are all the same color. (Or use eggs of different colors and mix up the tops and bottoms.} Using a permanent felt-tip marker, write the numerals 1 to 5 on the top halves of the eggs and draw corresponding numbers of dots on the bottom halves.
Place the egg tops and bottoms in two separate boxes.
Then let the children take turns finding the matching numbered halves and putting the eggs together.
Extension: When the children have correctly matched the egg halves, let them fill the eggs with corresponding numbers of dried beans, if desired.
Feed the Elephant
Draw an elephant face on the side of a large cardboard box and cut a hole for its mouth with a knife. Give each of the children several unshelled peanuts and let them take turns "feeding the elephant" by tossing the peanuts into the elephant's mouth.
Add more peanuts to the box at end of the game and let each student reach in and grab a handful. Let the children keep and eat as peanuts as they can hold.
Pass the Egg
Have the children sit in a circle. Give each child a plastic spoon.
Have one child be the starter and give them a plastic egg.
Have the children pass around the egg using the spoons
Egg Carton Toss
Give each child an empty egg carton. Ask them to open their egg carton and lay it on the floor. Take a few steps back and toss, one at a time, a handful of beans or other small objects.
When they are finished, have them count how many objects landed int he sections of the egg carton.
Elephant Soccer
Ask the children to form a circle, each child standing with feet wide apart. Ask them to hold their arms down in front of them with their hands clasped for trunks.
Let them roll a ball across the circle trying to get it through someone else's legs. They may use only their trunks to stop the ball.
If the ball does go out of the circle through someone's lets, that person must run and get it and bring it back.
Add more balls to the circle as the children become proficient.
Recipes & Snacks
E is for Egg
Have scrambled eggs for breakfast, or scrambled egg sandwich for lunch.
English muffins
Egg drop soup
Hard-boiled eggs
Egg plant
Eskimo pies
Egg Boats
Hard-boil one egg for every two children. Have the children work in pairs to peel the shell from the egg. Slice the egg in half and carefully remove the yolk and put into a small paper cup.
Have each pair mix the yolk with 1-tsp. Mayonnaise, 1/2 Tsp. Mustard and a dash of salt and pepper
This mixture is scooped back into the hollows of the white. Have each child make a sail for the boat with a toothpick and a paper flag with the letter E on it.
Stick the sail into their "boats" before they eat.
Songs, Poems & Finger Plays
Poem: "The Elephant"
He's ever so big and ever so fat. (hold hands high and then apart)
He has no hands, he has no toes. (shake finger and head for no)
But goodness gracious, (hands on cheeks)
Such a nose! (put right fist on nose and go down, making an imaginary trunk)
One Little Elephant
One little elephant went out to play, (Make an elephant trunk with your arm held in front of your face)
Out on a spider's web one day. (Pretend to walk carefully on a spider's web)
He had such enormous fun,
That he called for another elephant to come! (Motion for the other "elephants" (kids)
(Yell) Too many elephants! There goes the web! (Fall down with the kids)
Self Help A -Z Parenting Happiness Kids games and learning Activities free e-book – 100 pages of games and fun for children of all ages. Happiness and wellbeing child activities and child games, personal development article about parents and childrens play self help, happiness kids fun activities and educational games, childrens education and personal development, kids learning and self growth projects and activities.
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Arts & Crafts
Go Fishing
Make a fishing pole by rolling up newspaper, and tape to secure.
Then cut out and color some fish. Attach yarn or string to the fish, then attach to your pole.
Fan
Fold a piece of paper accordion-style. Tape the bottom together, and fan yourself.
Jumping Frogs
Take a green circle, or paper plate painted green, and fold in not quite in half. Don't fold all the way down. Then add two white half ovals for eyes on top of the fold, and glue behind the fold.
Add a dot in the middle.
For a tongue glue a half oval shape to the bottom of the top flap (the one you folded down). Then add green accordion strips for legs.
Feet Butterflies
Have each child stand on a piece of paper with feet slightly apart.
Trace around each foot to make "butterfly wings". Draw a butterfly body between each pair of feet (wings) and add antennae.
Decorate with crayons, markers, paint, and sprinkle with glitter.
Fabric collage
Cut shapes of various sizes from different textured fabrics. Give the children pieces of construction paper. Let them glue the fabric shapes all over the papers.
Then have them rub their hands all over the collages and describe the different textures they feel.
Feather Painting
Set out feathers or feather dusters and shallow containers of paint. Give each child a large construction paper bird shape.
Let the children use the feathers as brushes to paint their birds.
Personalized Flags
Explain to children that every country has its own flag and people display them and wave them on national holidays to honor their country.
Set out various colors of sticker dots, stars, and other shapes. Let the children create their own flags.
Flower Jars
Let children place small amounts of clay in baby food jar lids. Give them small dried flowers to arrange in the clay. Screw the lids to the jars.
Tie a ribbon around the necks of the jars and let the children give them as a gift to a family member or friend.
Finger paint Fans
Give the children small paper plates to finger paint. After the plates are dry, print a capital and small F.
Tape a tongue depressor to the back for a handle and let the children have fun fanning themselves.
Feathery F
Have a large letter F and glue feathers all over it.
Sandy F
Have a large letter F and sprinkle on colored sand.
When it is dry, it becomes a tactile experience to trace over it.
Festive Frames
Make frames by cutting them out of cardboard or by gluing popsicle sticks together.
Then decorate them with sequins, glitter, stickers, markers, buttons, etc. Glue a magnet to the back of the frame.
Feet
Put a large sheet of paper on the floor, and let the kids step in paint.
Walk across the paper, step into a bucket of water to rinse your feet off.
Rainbow fish
Take a fish pattern, glue brightly colored tissue paper and tin foil pieces on for the scales.
Games & Activities
Fish
Make a fishing game by cutting out fish shapes from construction paper and attaching paper clips to the head of the fish.
Use a straw to make a pole and attach yarn for the line. Use either a magnet, or another paper clip bent like a hook and let the kids fish for their prey! If they can name the color of the fish they can keep it
.Whoever has the most fish wins. You can also use it for letters, numbers, shapes or anything you are trying to teach.
Friendship
Make a circle with the children. Hold hands, squeeze the hand of the person next to you.send the squeeze around the circle, and when your hand is squeezed put one foot forward.
Four and Five
Have the children practice writing the numbers 4 and 5 (maybe on an outline of F?)
Make Funny Faces
Feed The Frog
Take a coffee can and spray paint it green. For eyes glue two wiggle eyes inside two green milk lids (plastic lids from gallon of milk).
Drew on a mouth. For the game, roll a large die and count bugs into the can.
Great math game.
Letter Bag Items
Fan
Father
Feather
Fence
Fig
Fire hat
Fish
Five
Flag
Flower
Fork
Four
Fox
Frog
Fur
Discuss feelings: happy, sad, angry, scared, surprised, etc.
Feathers or Fur?
Explain to children about animals having feathers or fur. Cut out magazine pictures to show birds and animals.
Hold the pictures up and ask the children if the animal has fur or feathers.
F is for fire safety
Fire Truck (for dramatic play area)
You need:
1. A large card board appliance box
2. 4 Paper plates
3. Red, white, and black paint
4. Some large paint brushes
Let the children paint the box with the red paint. Then let the children paint the plates with black paint. Cut a ladder out of card board and then let the children paint it white.
After all the pieces dry put them together using tape, and put some fireman stuff in and around it.
Put 2 small chairs in the front for the front of the fire engine.
Fishing for F's
Cut out various fish shapes out of different colored construction paper. On the back of each write or paste a picture of a word that begins with the letter "F".
Place paper clips on each fish. Make a pole out of a safe piece of wood, string and place a magnet on the end of the string.
Have each child take the pole and catch a fish that has a"F" word on it.
The child says the word he caught out loud.
Flags
Look at flags from different countries and explain what the colors, stars, or stripes stand for , then have each child design their own flag.
You can cut out strips of paper for the children to glue on the flag. Have each child explain why they chose those colors and if they represent anything.
Firefighters
Have firefighters go to your school.
Leap Frog
Let the children pretend to be frogs. Show them how to do a frog leap. Let them practice, short leaps, long leaps, slow leap, fast leaps.
Play music and lay out a pond or swamp with mats as lily pads, so the frogs can land on them to rest. You can always play the freeze/unfreeze froggie leap game!!
Recipes & Snacks
A Fabulous, Fantastic, Funny Lunch of "F's"
Frog Legs (Chicken Wings) Baked, BBQ, or Fried French Fries, Flying Fritters (Corn Fritters), Fancy French Bread (Toasted Garlic Bread) Frog Eyed Fruit
(Put drained fruit in Tapioca Pudding).
Finger foods
Serve finger foods for snack-time.
Fabric Snack Packs
Have the children pack snacks such as fruit, raw veggies, and crackers in small squares of fabric.
Help them tie the ends of the fabric together hobo-style. Then let the children carry their snack packs outside for a FUN picnic!
Food Festival
Have each family bring a dish from a different country.
Talk about which country its from and why they chose that dish.
Eat Fresh Fruit for dessert.
Fig Newtons
French Fries
Songs, Poems & Finger Plays
Poem
Funny, funny froggie, hop, hop, hop
Funny, funny froggie, stop, stop, stop
Funny, funny froggie, run and play
Funny, funny froggie, don't run away!
(Recite this poem miming the actions three times.
First time regular tempo, Second time fast tempo, Third time very slow tempo.)
Sing to Farmer in the Dell.
I'm looking for a friend.
I'm looking for a friend.
Oh, will you be my friend today?
I'm looking for a friend.
Fish Are Swimming (Tune of Frere Jacques)
Fish are swimming,
fish are swimming,
In the sea,
in the sea
, A-splishing and a-splashing,
A-splishing and a-splashing,
Look and see,
look and see.
Five Little Firefighters
Five little firefighters (show five fingers)
Sleeping in a row (rest cheeks on hands & close eyes)
Ring goes the bell-
Down the pole they go. (Pretend to slide down pole)
They jump on the engine (Jump Up)
And put out the fire. (Pretend to squirt with a hose)
Now they're back home-
My, but they're tired. (Stretch and yawn.)
Frog on a Log
There once was a green little frog, frog, frog,
Who sat in the woods on a log, log, log.
A screech owl sitting in a tree, tree, tree,
Came after the frog with a scree, scree, scree.
When the frog heard the owl in a flash, flash, flash,
He jumped in the pond with a splash, splash, splash!
Five Little Frogs
Five little frogs Were down at the pond Down at the pond at play
Along came a hungry ________, And chased one frog away.
Four little frogs Were down at the pond Down at the pond at play.
Along came a wiggly ________, And chased one frog away.
Three little frogs Were down at the pond Down at the pond at play
Along came a giant ________, And chased one frog away.
Two little frogs Were down at the pond Down at the pond at play
Along came a purple ________, And chased one frog away.
One little frog Was down at the pond Down at the pond at play
Along came a flying ________, And chased one frog away.
Then no little frogs Were down at the pond Down at the pond at play
Where do you think the little frogs went When they all hopped away?
Five Funny Fish
Five funny fish went out to play
Far down the river one fun-filled day.
When the mommy fish went f - f - f
Four little fish came swimming back.
Four funny fish went out to play, etc. until no little fish came swimming back.
Then the daddy fish went F - F - F
Five funny fish came swimming back.
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Arts & Crafts
Gum
Glue gum wrappers onto paper. Try to get a variety of different types of gum.
Grass
Glue on grass the kids collect themselves.
Grapes
Use halves of grapes to stamp all over the letter "G", or alternatively, make fingerpainted grapes all over the "G."
Golden G
Get some gold stickers to put on the "G".
Glue and Glitter
Have the kids use glue to make designs on the letter, then finish with glitter!
Gift
Give each child a small box (jello box size is good). give them some wrapping paper and tape.
Watch them try their best to wrap up the Gift, but be sure to put something they made inside first!!!
Golden G again
Make the letter "g" on a piece of construction paper and glue on gold glitter to make a golden g.
Can substitute green, also.
Magic "G"
Materials needed:
White paper
White candle
Water color paint
Paint brushes
Prior to having the children do the activity print the letter G in uppercase and lowercase on plain white paper by using a white candle.
Have the children use watercolor paints to paint over the paper. they will see the magic "G" appear before their eyes.
Oscar the Grouch
Make one with pom poms. Use a film canister for his trash can.
Make Glasses
Use the plastic carriers that hold 6 cans of soda together. Cut them apart so two sections are together. You should end up with 3 pieces.
Then use pipe cleaners to create the ear pieces.
Gift Wrap
Let the children decorate paper bags to make gift bags.
Or you can decorate plain paper to make gift paper. Wrap up items that begin with "g" such as glue sticks, gum, gumdrops, etc.
Gingerbread People
Cut gingerbread people shapes out of brown construction paper or brown paper bags. Give one to each child.
Have the children decorate their shapes with felt pieces ,buttons, ric rac, sequins, fabric scraps, etc. OR Let the children cover their shapes with glue and sprinkle on glitter.
Making Green
Place small amounts of yellow and blue poster paint or finger paint inside a zip lock plastic bag. Put sealing tape over the zip part to prevent "leaks".
Let the children rub the bag between their hands and discover the "magic color" they can create.
Green Gack
Elmer's glue
Borax Detergent
green paint
small cups
popsicle stick
squeeze bottle
First you need to made a borax solution. A squeeze bottle works the best.
Pour in Borax detergent (about 1/2 inch covering the bottom of a 16oz. bottle -- will make 100 gacks). Add water to the rest of bottle, shake well. Take Elmer's glue, fill each child's cup about 1/4.
Then add paint have children stir the solution. Next add the Borax Solution (a good squirt into each cup) H
ave children stir their gack until there is no more liquid left. THIS DOES TAKE SOME PRACTICE (try it first w/o the kids)
Hint: if the gack is still watery stir quickly and if that doesn't help add more glue.
Games & Activities
Grow Grass
Cut a green sponge in the shape of a G. Wet the sponge and place in a shallow pan. Add water as needed to keep the sponge wet, but not soggy.
Let the children sprinkle on the grass seed and watch the grass sprout and grow.
Globe
Show the kids a globe and let them find where they live.
Garbage
Plan G day on trash day. Let the kids watch walk and follow the garbage truck up and down your street.
Grow
Make a grow chart. Measure everyone or have the children lay down and measure themselves with yarn, cut and save it to take home.
Compare sizes.
Garden
Grow a garden.
Have a game day!!
Giggle
Growl like a bear
Gerbil
Borrow one or go to the pet store and see one.
Ghost game
One child leaves the room while the other children pick someone to be the ghost.
"It" hides under a sheet, the child who has left the room reenters and has to guess who is the "ghost", under the sheet.
Gingham
Tell the children that gingham is a fabric with checks the same color.
Have some one that sews save gingham scraps.
Have the children check to see if anyone is wearing gingham clothing.
G day
Have a green day, gold day, and grey day and encourage the children to wear clothing items that match the color of the day.
G Scents
Smell grass, garlic, gumdrops, grease and describe the scents.
Garbage
Pick up garbage around the yard, playground.
Grocery
Visit a grocery store.
Guitar
Ask someone who plays a guitar to visit your group and sing songs.
Giraffe
Discuss giraffes and make a toilet roll and construction paper giraffe.
Ghoulish G's
Ghosts, goblins, gremlins for October.
Grandparents
Have the kids bring in pictures of grandparents current and when young.
Make a matching game out of them.
Recipes & Snacks
Graham Cracker treat
Spread peanut butter on cracker and arrange marshmallows in the
shape of the letter "G" on the top.
Broil for a few minutes until
marshmallows are golden and then arrange raisins on the top of the melted marshmallow.
Snacks
green jello cubes, graham crackers, garlic bread, garbanzo beans, goulash, green beans, greens, grapes, grape juice, grapefruit, grapefruit juice, Gatorade, granola, guava, green split peas (or pea soup), grits, gingerbread
Grassy crackers
Mix green food coloring into cream cheese, or peanut butter to spread on crackers or rice cakes to look like grass.
Gummy Drops
Use Jell-O powder, pour on to a plate. Using liquid droppers (squeeze droppers) drop water onto the plate.
Children roll the drop to the edge of plate with a craft stick. And they have instant gummy drops.
Songs, Poems & Finger Plays
Gumball Man
(Tune: Muffin Man)
Oh do you know the gumball man, the gumball man, the gumball man,
Oh do you know the gumball man, he comes just once a week.
When we put our nickels in the slot, our nickels in the slot, our nickels
in the slot, This is what we got.
_______________ and _______________ (children's names) both got red
______________ and ________________ both got red, but ________ got blue.
Maybe someday we'll be lucky, and instead of one gumball we'll get two.
Groundhog Puppets
Let the children use felt-tip markers to draw groundhog faces on the top halves of tongue depressors .
Give them each a small paper cup with a slit in the bottom. Have them push the bottoms of their tongue depressor through the slits in their cups.
Show them how to move their sticks up and down to make their groundhogs appear and disappear.
Song: (sung to "I'm a Little Teapot")
I'm a little groundhog,
Furry and brown.
When winter comes
I sleep underground.
I'm curled up
As cozy as can be.
When it's spring,
Please wake up me!
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Arts & Crafts
Hands
Ask the children to carefully trace one of their hands and cut out the tracing.
Have them write their names on the cutouts and keep them to attach to and identify artwork throughout the year.
Hairy Harry
You will need:
Styrofoam cup or paper cup
scissors
construction paper
markers
glue
buttons (or cut them out of paper for young children)
potting soil
rye grass seed
Have the children cut eyes, ears, mouths, nose, etc...out of construction paper and glue in place on their cup. Let them also use markers to color on the cup. Let them use buttons to embellish or anything else you may have lying around.
Have the children fill their cups about 2/3 full of potting soil. Then plant the rye grass seeds in the soil. Place the cups in a sunny place and water regularly. Hairy Harry will begin to grow "hair" in about seven days.
Homemade Paint
Materials Needed:
small container with a lid
teaspoons
vinegar
cornstarch
food coloring
Mixture:
1/2 teaspoons vinegar
1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
10 drops food coloring
1. Put vinegar, corn starch and food coloring in the container.
2. Shake. If too thick, add vinegar. If too thin, add cornstarch.
Procedure:
Use as you would tempera paint.
Hand Art
Have students trace and cut out their hands, and do hand art.
Hands make great reindeer antlers, angel wings, chicks, bunnies, turkeys, and butterflies.
Hats
Make hats from construction paper (or even headbands) and have the children decorate them with stickers or cutouts of things beginning with the letter H.
Hug
Children trace and cut out each hand, and attach each hand to opposite ends of a long piece of string.
They can send this "hug" to a relative that perhaps does not live nearby, or just give it to a parent.
Miniature Hats
Prepare hats for the class to decorate by melting Styrofoam cups in a 350 degree oven. Place the cups on a cookie sheet and set them in the oven for 30-60 seconds.
(this goes very quick once it starts.) Have the children decorate them by drawing on them with markers and by tying yard or ribbon around them.
Hang them from a tree branch for a display during H week.
Indian Headbands
Fold a strip of cloth and measure it on your head. Mark the length that is most comfortable for you. Attach velcro dots to the ends with a glue gun (An Adult should do this) Bands can be painted to created Indian symbols. Use a slender brush, and acrylic or poster paint.
Horses
Make horses out of cardboard boxes. Cut the bottom out of a box. Cut handles on each side. Cut a head from more cardboard (side view) and glue on front.
Paint them with house paint before hand or have kids glue on big sheets of construction paper. Decorate with ribbons or stickers and yarn for mane, construction paper ears, buy big eyes from a craft store or make them from black and white paper or felt.
Then have kids hold horse at the side and walk/run around while music plays or jump over simple jumps (the library might have some tapes - or use William Tell's overture).
Horseshoes
Make horseshoes out of plastic or cardboard and toss them.
Stick Horses
Stick horses are fun to make. Draw a horse head outline, add features and staple 2 sides together.
Stuff with newspaper and add either a empty gift wrapping roll or a paper towel one will also work Then you can do all kinds of races.
Games & Activities
Hopping on a trail
Press down contact-paper foot shapes along a play area.
Let the children hop along the trail making the sound of H as they go.
Horseshoes
Have the children play a game of horseshoes with plastic horseshoes.
Height
Measure each child's height.
Holes
Have each child use a Hole puncher. For more fun, you can buy small punches in the scrap-booking section of any craft store or Wal-Mart.
They come in various sizes and shapes.
Play hula hoops
House of H's
Make an outline of a house out of cardboard. Cut it out, and have the children each bring in a picture of something that begins with the letter H.
Paste the pictures onto the house. You now have a house full of H's. You can even tack it up onto a bulletin board.
Heart wreath
Cut out a 9-inch circle from cardboard, cut out a 3 inch wide circle from the center. Cut out the same ring out of construction paper and glue them together.
Cut out 2 to3- inch hearts from patterned wall paper or wrapping paper. Glue each heart around the wreath.
You can also crumple up tissue paper of different colors and glue one to the top of each heart on the wreath.
Heart puzzle
Cut out an outline of a 10 inch heart out of white construction paper for each child. Have each child color and write a message or words on the heart.
Cover the heart with contact paper. Then cut the heart into three to five sections.
Give the sections back to the child and have them put their very own puzzle heart back together.
Make a happy book
Play Hop scotch or Heads Up/Seven Up
H Letter Bag
Make a letter bag with items beginning with the letter H. First show the children each of the items in the bag, explaining what each is, and clearly pronouncing its name.
Then the child can reach in and pick an item and try to name it without pulling it out and looking at it. If that is too difficult, they can pull it out and then tell you the name of the item.
Ideas for items to include in Letter H bag: house, horse, hairbrush, hairpin, hand, hamburger (toy), handle, hand lotion, hanger, handkerchief, hazelnut, heart, hen, hexagon.
Recipes & Snacks
H FOODS
Ham, hamburger, hash, hazelnuts, hoagie, honey, honeydew melon, hot chocolate, hot dog, hot sauce
Honey crackles
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbspns honey
4 cups cornflakes
Heat butter, sugar and honey until mixture is frothy.
Boil for 3 minutes. Pour over cereal in a large bowl. Mix well.
Spoon into patty pan cases and let set.
Happy Hamburgers
Provide each child with a small bun or biscuit, serve them a cooked hamburger patty and have them place the hamburger on the buns and give it a happy face by decorating with cheese chunks, ketchup and mustard.
Horse chestnuts
Ingredients: 1/2 pound soft butter
1 1/4 pounds smooth peanut butter
1 1/2 pounds confectioners sugar
1 large package of chocolate chips
Procedure:
1.Mix the butter and peanut butter together until smooth
2. Add the confectioners sugar. (you may need to mix this by hand)
3. Roll the mixture into small balls (about 75)
4. Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler
5. Dip three-fourths of each ball into the chocolate.
6. Place the "horse chestnuts" on waxed paper to dry.
let the children make them, count them eat them enjoy them.
Songs, Poems & Finger Plays
"H" Makes Me Happy
H is for hair and H is for hand
(point to hair, then hand)
H is for heels on which we stand
(stand back on heels)
H is for houses here and there
(gesture to left, then to right)
H is for hats seen everywhere.
(stand hands on top of head)
H is for hearts and horses too,
(touch chest, then gallop in place)
H makes me happy, how about you?
(point to others)
Play Hokey Pokey
Humpback
Humpback! Whatta whale!
(make a big "hump" in front of self)
Splashed the water with his tail!
(big clap)
"Here I go!", I heard him say.
(cup hands to mouth)
Down he went and swam away!
("Dive" with arms)
Finger play (children are sitting)
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Arts & Crafts
Inchworms
Have the children cut an egg carton in half lengthwise. Have the children use green tempera paint and paint the half of carton green.
Decorate with markers, paint, stickers. Add pipe cleaners for antennae and buttons for eyes.
Igloos
Have the children color or paint igloos on dark construction paper.
Ask them to draw someone beside the igloo. Have the children tell little stories about their igloos.
Games & Activities
Icicles
Have the children pretend to be icicles as they move about on the play area. Choose someone to be the sun.
When the sun touches someone, he or she must "melt" and fall down, laying very still.
Inchworms
Play music and have the children move as inchworms on all fours. Show them to move like an inchworm, they should move their arms first, making their bodies go down, then their bodies arch up as the move their feet forward.
Insect Hunting
What you will need for a bug hunt:
A keen eye
Clean, clear containers with air holes or netting on tip. (empty yogurt containers work well)
trowel, or large spoon to collect specimens
Notebook to write down and sketch the insects you find
an overripe banana and a spoon full of brown sugar
Magnifying glass (optional)
Microscope (optional)
for nighttime bug hunting: all of the above plus a flashlight.
Indians
Talk about American Indians. Make an Indian drum out of an oatmeal box, make an Indian vest & headband out of a grocery bag.
Burn an incense
I Spy
Play the game "I spy something_(a color)_____"
Sit the children in a circle, and spot an object of a particular color and say "I spy something_____".
Then go around the circle and have each child guess.
The correct guess gets his or her chance to spot something.
Insect Stamping
Take a stamp pad and let the children place their fingertips into it and press it on a piece of paper and draw the rest to look like different insects; bee, ant, butterfly, etc.
I Search
Trace a giant version of the letter I on construction paper. Place the paper in a center. As children visit the center let them put their names on the back.
Then instruct them to search through magazines and newspapers and cut out as many of the letter "I's" as she can find and glue them to the gigantic letter I.
I Sew
Use a permanent marker and draw on Styrofoam plates with upper and lower case letter "I's". Use a golf tee to punch evenly spaced holes on the lines.
Use bright colored yarn to "sew" the letters I and i.
"I" meaning 'me'
Discussing self, capitalization of the pronoun, make a collage/drawing of "Things I like to Do" in an 'I' shape.
Icing Play
Learn to make cake-icing/frosting, color it, them mould letters and words from it.
Or decorate the top of biscuits with the icing and scratch the letter and words in while still soft.
Insect Zoo
Make up an imaginary insect zoo. All insects must have six legs and have an i-shaped body.
Give them all names that begin with i.
Itch
List things that make you itch.
Invitations
Write invitations to a class event.
Use the computer to make very professional looking ones.
Islands
Play Islands by giving out one large sheet of newspaper to each child participating. When the music stops, each child must fold their paper in half and step on it.
Children are eliminated from the game if feet are not on the paper. As the game progresses the papers get smaller.
Instruments
Make some musical instruments - drums, clapping sticks, shakers - for class, then sing songs with musical accompaniments..
Use some of the instruments to accompany a storytelling session.
Recipes & Snacks
Roll-the-Can-Ice-Cream
This frozen treat is really child's play (fun for grown-ups too).
Supplies -
For the freezer you need:
two empty cans - a 1-lb and a 3-lb with plastic lids
1 1/2 cups of rock or kosher salt
20 cups( about 7 1/2 lbs) of crushed ice
For the ice cream you need:
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk
1 beaten egg (optional)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup of chocolate chips
In the small can mix cream, milk, beaten egg, sugar, vanilla, and chocolate chips. If you use the egg, be sure it is fresh and has no cracks. Uncooked eggs can cause food poisoning.
Cover the small can and set in the center of the larger can. Layer half the crushed ice alternately with half the salt in the empty space between the cans. Cover the larger can.
Now the fun begins:
Choose a hard level surface like a cement walk way and roll the can back and forth for about 10 minutes. Open outer can; empty old ice and water, lift out small can; wipe lid dry and remove. With a rubber spatula scrape ice cream from can sides.
Stir and cover. Return small can. Repack with remaining ice and salt. Cover and roll for 5 more minutes.
Ziploc bag ice cream
You will need: For each child
1 pint-size zip-type plastic bag
1 gallon-size zip-type plastic bag
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
6 tablespoon salt(regular table salt that po