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Letter Preschool Theme

Letter U is for Under the Sea Fizzing Sensory Activity for Preschool

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Every year our preschool class learns about ocean life. Sometimes I teach the topic using the letter “O is for Ocean.” Other years, I build the day around the letter U and teach it as “U is for Under The Sea.” Either way, it is so much fun – especially with this under the sea fizzing sensory activity!

Under the sea lesson for #preschool - so much fun!

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This preschool lesson includes an Ocean Paper Plate Craft that little children just love to make, teamed up with this ocean fizzing activity.  As we are winding down at the end of school, I read them the adorable story “The Pout Pout Fish [A Pout Pout Fish Adventure]”  It makes for a perfect day.


You know how children love surprises? Well, there definitely are surprises built into this sensory experience.  The children will each discover a hidden treasure inside their own baking soda ball [how-to make them below] that you have placed in the sensory bin. Just give each student a squirt bottle filled with white vinegar, tinted blue with food coloring. Have them squirt their baking soda ball until it dissolves, revealing a little plastic undersea animal toy, which they can keep.

Think about it. This under the sea fizzing experience introduces them to basic chemistry – vinegar, when it meets baking soda, FIZZES!  Of course, before you are finished, add water to the bin to let them play. Kids LOVE to play with the toys in the bin.

O is for Ocean activity for #kids #preschool

How To Create Your Under The Sea Experience

Now, don’t be overwhelmed by all the parts to this activity. It is so easy to put together and worth every bit of the effort. Your kids will love it!

Overview: you will build an “oceanscape” with sea creatures for your students to observe, touch and play with. They will also discover what happens when vinegar mixes with baking soda (FIZZ!!!)

FUN Letter O is for Ocean fizzing sensory experience for kids! #kidsactivities #preschool #sensoryplay Can also be used for Letter U is for Under the Sea Click To Tweet

O is for Ocean preschool fizzing fun #preschool #sensory
Supplies
baking soda “rocks” that you will make
baking soda (large box)
towels
smocks

The bin that we previously used for a colored rice sensory table was perfect for this activity. It is actually a garment storage container that has wheels (wheels are NOT necessary but it just has them) and a lid.
You’ll want to protect your floor. We purchased and inexpensive plastic table cloth  meant for a sea themed birthday party. It was a beautiful drop cloth for this activity. A plastic shower curtain liner would work just as well.
How to make baking soda rocks for the under the sea ocean experience #preschool

How To Make Baking Soda “Rocks”

Scoop dry baking soda into a large mixing bowl.
NOTE: One 8 oz. baking soda box will yield approximately 3 baking soda balls. 
Gradually add water till it is a consistency that can be molded into balls.
Place a plastic sea creature toy or small sea shell inside the baking soda ball and mold it with your hands like you would a snow ball.
Gently place it on a tray to dry.
For effect, you may want to use a sea shell to imprint the outside of the damp baking soda rock.
Allow them to dry for at least 24 hours till hard.
Note that you still will want to handle them gently.

Vinegar Squirt Bottles

These plastic condiment bottles will be filled with white vinegar and a couple of drops of blue food coloring.
O is for Ocean fizzing experience for #preschool #ece #STEM

How To Set Up Your Ocean Scene

Spread the table cloth/drop cloth on the floor.
Put the empty plastic bin on top of it.
Arrange river rocks, glass gems and sea shells around the bin.
Stage plastic sea animals all around.
Time for your children to come in and see!
*To keep the vinegar smell off their clothes, cover them in a big t-shirt or smock with sleeves.
** Be sure to use full strength white vinegar. Cleaning vinegar is diluted and will not give the fizz effect that you are looking for. 
Kids sensory bin for teaching about under the sea life #oceans
Now, gently place baking soda rocks in the dry bin.
Give a blue tinted, vinegar filled condiment bottle to each child.
Have them squirt a rock and see what happens.
  This is the science part! Baking soda + vinegar = fizz 
Watch it fizz and see the look of delight on their faces!
After a while, the plastic sea creature will “emerge” from the rock.
Now fill the dish pan with cool water and gently pour it into the bin.
Let them play and have fun!
Adorable under the sea preschool craft with blue paper plates, bottle caps and fish crackers. #preschool #kidscrafts #kindergarten

Enjoy!


 

 

T is for Turtle Preschool Craft with 3-D Eyes

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Little 3-D marshmallow eyes give this turtle preschool craft some dimension – cuter than cute!   
T is for Turtle preschool craft with 3-D marshmallow eyes #kidcrafts

Oh, how I have looked forward to teaching this lesson about turtles. In previous years, our preschool class studied  T is for Tee Pee,  T is for Turkey and T is for Teeth. It was time to do turtles – especially with the fond memories I have of “my own” turtle named Manfred. *Read the amazing story below. 

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Fun Facts We Learned About Turtles

  • Some live on land, some live in water.
  • The ones who live on land have stumpy legs. Sea turtles and other water-dwellers have webbed feet.
  • Turtles can be itty-bitty small or big huge!* (tortoises)
  • Turtles are reptiles.
  • Turtles eat a variety of foods. Some eat vegetation. Some eat insects. Some eat animals.
  • Baby turtles hatch from eggs using a “tooth” to chip their way out!
  • More: Fun Turtle Facts from Science Kids

The Story:  How My Second Grade Class Found A Tortoise

T is for Turtle and T is for Tortoise preschool lesson with a fun real story about a tortoise
My Tortoise Story:  this real life event is affectionately remembered by me as “the best day ever!” Long long ago, in a place far, far away (Upstate New York) there was a second grade class –my second grade class–  and there was a little 8 year old girl in that class, that would be me. Though this event happened far in the past, the images will stay with me forever.
During recess, our class was playing outside on the playground. Suddenly, a real live huge and I mean GIGANTIC tortoise slowly crept out of the woods. He was so big that two children hopped on his back, to the great distress of the teachers. Shocked at what they were witnessing, the teachers couldn’t move fast enough. “Get off. Get off!”  and ” Keep away from his mouth!” they yelled to their giggling little students. The students did get off but he was soon surrounded by a sea of wondering children. Can you imagine our parents when they asked us how school was that day? LOL!  By the way, we named him “Manfred.”
Somebody – probably the principal  – called for help and soon the police arrived. It isn’t clear to me whether we were still outdoors when Manfred the tortoise was taken away but he did become a permanent resident of the local zoo. Manfred kept his name and he lived there for decades. He passed away a few years ago and it has been said that he was well over 100 years old. When I read the news,  I kind of felt like a friend had died. Manfred the Tortoise will always have a special place in my heart.

 

T is for Turtle Paper Plate Craft

This craft is simple and fun to make. I had run out of googly eyes so I came up with this brainstorm – marshmallow eyes! I had mini’s on hand. I cut them in half, put a dot of black paint on each and Voila! Eyes! I like them better than the googlies.


Use mini-marshmallows and a dot of paint to make 3-D eyes for your turtle craft

Supplies
Turtle part template on white paper
Small paintbrush
Cotton swab
Stapler
Tape
Black marker
White school glue
T is for Turtle
Directions
Cut the small marshmallows in half.
Paint a black tempera paint pupil on each marshmallow “eye ball”*

You will find that they harden a bit in a short period of time.

 

Template for the parts to make a T is for Turtle paper plate craft with your #kids

How to Make Your Turtle Paper Plate Craft

Cut out the turtle parts from your template.
Tape the tail onto the legs part of the turtle.
Now you will have two parts: front and bottom
Trace the front and back onto green paper and cut them out.
Staple front to one side of a paper plate shell making sure that the “dome” part of the shell will be on the correct side. You don’t want the staples and tape to show.
Do the same on the other end for the bottom legs with tail of the turtle.
Tip:  you can also use some tape to secure it.
Glue the marshmallow eyes on the head.
Draw the nose and mouth using the marker.
Using large marshmallows, dot colored tempera paint all over the paper plate, decorating his shell.
You now have one adorable turtle!

Enjoy!


Letter M is for Mouse Preschool Craft and Lesson

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This simple little craft and classic children’s book, If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, make the Letter M is for Mouse lesson come alive in a preschool classroom. Your kids will love it!

I just love teaching preschoolers. Everything is new to 3 year olds. For instance, when I was teaching them about mice, I had to start with the basics:  “One is called a “mouse”; more than one is called “mice. ” A few little sets of eyes got bigger. It was news to them!

On M is for Mouse day, we talked about what mice eat – fruit, grains and seeds – and that they sleep in the daytime. Another surprise to my little 3 and 4 year olds.  I used a picture book to teach them the basics. The vivid pictures really kept their attention.

 


For your lesson plans:  Fun Mouse Facts For Kids 

 

Cute M is for Mouse craft for #preschoolers #kids #kidscrafts Click To Tweet

 

This is a sweet little craft that is so easy for your little ones to make.

M is for Mouse Craft

Supplies

White Cardstock

Template to color and cut out

Crayons

Googly eye

Nose – use a sticker or a pom pom or a colorful craft button

Yarn for a tail … tied in a bow at the end

Gluestick

Tape *optional

Scissors

Directions

Print the template on white cardstock.

Color the parts (the smallest circle is the interior of the ear)

Cut out the parts.

Glue the large circle for the outer ear on the top of the mouse, about 1/3 of the way from the nose.

Glue the smaller circle inside of the ear.

Glue on the eye and the nose.

Glue or tape the tail from the underside of the mouse.

Simple!

M is for mouse craft template

Template for Mouse craft

 

M is for Mouse preschool craft and If You Give A Mouse A Cookie book for #kids

Enjoy!

 

 





Letter G is for Garden Preschool Lesson

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You will love this preschool lesson – Letter G is for Garden. It is so much fun because your little students will plant their very own garden! All it takes is a paper cup, some dirt and a dry lima bean. This lesson includes a FREE PRINTABLE tag for their gardens. 

Letter G is for Garden preschool lesson

I have taught this preschool lesson several times and only once did my bean plant not sprout. That was my fault. The dry lima beans I used were old. After that failed attempt, I made a mental note to always buy a fresh bag of lima beans. Nice thing, with all those unused beans left over it gives me an excuse to make my favorite dish, Lima Beans and Pork.

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Letter G is for Garden Preschool Lesson

What we learned about seeds and plants: 

  1. Stems grow up – roots grow down – this simple fact is news to many 3 year olds. Watch the joy on their faces as you tell them!
  2. Plants grow from seeds.
  3. How to plant a garden:
    1. Dirt – seeds get planted in dirt. Getting that dirt ready for the seeds is the first part about making a garden. You must loosen the soil and remove roots and large debris.
    2. Worms – God put them in the earth to keep it loose. Don’t be scared of worms. They are friendly and it is OK for them to be there.
    3. Stones – a few small stones can also stay. They are good for gardens. They help for the water to drain through.
    4. Seed – plants grow from seeds. We plant seeds in the dirt and they will grow into plants someday.
    5. Sun – seeds and plants need sunlight to help them grow.
    6. Water – seeds need drinks of water. They get those drinks from rain or people can water them.
    7. Patience – the seed that you planted will come up but it takes a few days. Watch and wait. It will come up soon.

Timing: I planted my lima beans about a week before I taught this lesson. It took 3-5 days to see the plant peek above the surface. After it did, progressive growth could be seen every hour. Lima beans grow fast! [ By the way,  if you don’t have lima beans, dry kidney beans work, as well.]

Give Your Kids A Label: To make this activity special, I made “My Garden” tags and glued them on craft sticks for the kids to put in their cups. I printed a sheet of the tags on white card-stock and laminated them , first, to protect them from moisture. Next, I cut them out and glued them on the craft sticks using white school glue.

Scotch thermal laminator

Laminated label for lima bean plant

Letter G is for Garden #preschool lesson Click To Tweet

Here is a copy of the garden tags for you to print and laminate:

G is for Garden labels for a preschool activity

FREE Printable “My Garden” Tags

 

Lima Bean Plant Activity For Preschoolers

Supplies

Paper Cups

Dry Lima Beans

Dirt – prepared

Large Spoons

“My Garden” Tags

 

Directions

Using a skewer or a ballpoint pen, poke 3 – 5 holes in the bottom of each paper cup for drainage.

Dig some dirt from your garden.

Prepare the dirt by sifting through it by hand. Remove debris, roots, bugs. You may leave the worms in the dirt if you would like to.

Print, laminate and make the My Garden signs.

Bring the dirt, seeds, cups and signs to school along with 2 or 3 large serving spoons.

Have your children spoon dirt into their cups about 2/3 way full.

Have them poke their finger into the middle of the dirt and drop one lima bean in it.

Scoop one more bit of dirt on top of the seed, covering it.

Now they can put their sign into the cup.

Transport your garden supplies in a laundry basket or box

Transporting your garden supplies to school.

Instruct your students and their parents to water the plant when they get home. Remind them that they need to have it on a plate. There are holes in the bottom of the cup and the dirty water will drain out. You can have your children water their plants in school if you are going to keep the gardens there but if they are traveling home with them it may be best for them to wait.

“BYE BYE PLANT!” Eventually, someone is going to get tired of having a lima bean growing on the kitchen counter. When you and your child are ready to say “goodbye” to it, first soak the dirt with water and slowly pull the plant out so that your little one can see what the roots look like. Remember the preschool lesson:  roots grow DOWN, stems grow UP!

Check out the complete ☑️ Alphabet of Preschool Crafts & Lessons A-Z

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 



Fun Things To Teach Preschoolers About Frogs

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Frogs are fascinating! Their big bulgy eyes, strong hopping legs and super strong swimming power are more than enough to keep a child’s interest. Add watching one EAT A BUG and the day is complete! We just studied the Letter F is for Frog in my preschool class. Let me tell you what we did.

Letter F is for Frog preschool lesson

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One fascinating thing about frogs is their life cycle. We learned it in a few ways. I showed the children a diagram of the life cycle and pointed out that, after they hatch from eggs, they begin looking like little fish. They agreed that tadpoles look just like fish! I sent them home with a picture of the life cycle of a frog that they could share with their families.

Next, we saw a brief You Tube video that taught about amphibians but it concentrated primarily on frogs.  (see it below)

For our daily lesson,   I read  “Frogs” by National Geographic Kids to our class. It is full of beautiful pictures.  This book is perfect for teaching a lesson about frogs for students in preschool, kindergarten and the younger primary grades.

Now this was special>> one of our students caught a frog in her yard and she brought it to school, so we had a real live frog for everyone in our class to see. And my students got to see how to capture a frog, too. LOL Yes, I opened the container for the children to get a better look at the little guy and he hopped out. Gee whiz, frogs can MOVE FAST! Thankfully, I got him safely back into his container. Disaster overted!

Getting movement into our day: we hopped like a frog as we walked down the hallway at school all day long!

5 Fun Facts About Frogs

Frogs are amphibians

Frogs hatch out of eggs.

Frogs breathe through their skin.

A group of frogs is called an “army.”

Baby frogs, called “tadpoles”, look like little fish.

*More fun facts about FROGS here.

If you live near a creek or a pond,  take your kids frog-hunting. Put together a little critter habitat for your frog to live in at home for a while before you release him back in the wild. If you do not have easy access to frogs, you can buy a kit and watch it grow!

Give your preschoolers a day of fun learning all about FROGS! #STEM #preschool #kindergarten Click To Tweet

Want a really fun frog craft to do with your kids? This F is for Frog Preschool Craft is very special. The frog “hops” on its lily pad!

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 



Making Dinosaur Eggs for Preschool

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D is for Dinosaur is a fun preschool lesson with so many possibilities. Our favorite classroom activity was to break open “fossilized” dinosaur eggs. You can make your own at home and here’s how:
 
fossils, dinosaurs, preschool lessons, Letter D
One of our favorite activities on Letter D is for Dinosaur day was to use a hammer to break open a pretend fossilized dinosaur egg. Three and four year olds love the excitement of discovering what will be inside their rock. As they uncover the little plastic dinosaur toy, they are told that they can bring them home to keep. Here is how to make the dinosaur eggs:

how to make dinosaur eggs for preschool D is for Dinosaur lesson

How To Make Dinosaur Egg Fossils for Kids 

Supplies

4 cups dirt
1 cup sand
2 cups flour
1 cup salt

Makes 12-14 dinosaur eggs

how to make dinosaur eggs - preschool

Directions
If you are using dirt from your garden, sort out roots and other unwanted particles to make it a purer mixture.
Combine dirt, sand, flour and salt in a big mixing bowl.
Add water to the consistency of a stiff, thick dough.
Take a hunk of dirt-dough in your hand, knead it.
Put a depression in the middle.
Insert plastic dinosaur toy.
Press and roll the ball with your hands like a meatball.
Put it on a tray to sit and dry for 3-4 days.



Dinosaur Fossil Lesson

Teach your children about paleontologists and how they dig for dinosaur bones.
Pretend that you have found a fossilized dinosaur egg or a fossilized dinosaur. Help the little ones use a lightweight hammer to gently crack it open and make the discovery!Little #kids love learning about #dinosaurs! Make these fun dinosaur egg fossils and discover what's inside! #preschool Click To Tweet

Special Attraction: we watched the adorable Sesame Street Dinosaur DVD featuring Elmo which teaches it in such a fun way. This video is the perfect companion-piece to this lesson.

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