Halloween Activities

 

Pumpkin Decorating

We bought a medium size craft pumpkin from Micheal's and a bag of Halloween stickers.  First, we painted the pumpkin black.  Second, we covered the pumpkin with silver, glitter spray paint.  Third, We added the glitter Halloween stickers we had bought.

 

 

Corn Maze Fun

We had lots of fun at the corn maze with Grandpa and Grandma.  I found a place that had a mini maze for kids, a petting zoo, and pony rides.  While there, we picked out a large pumpkin for carving and a bunch of little pumpkins for some other crafts.

 

 

Carving Pumpkins

We took our large pumpkin over to my parents house and Grandpa helped my daughter carve her pumpkin (meaning she picked the design and Grandpa did all the work).  She did not want to touch the guts of the pumpkin but I was able to get her to play a counting game with the seeds.  Thank you to Grandpa for the wonderful pumpkin carving.

 

Here is my daughter with her Jack-O'Lantern, baby pumpkins, and pumpkin lights.

 

 

Pumpkin Painting and Glitter

She had picked out a bunch of small pumpkins at the corn maze.  We had her friend come over and paint a couple with her.  When they got done painting they added glitter.

 

 

Halloween Sensory Box

Includes- Green and Purple Pony Beads, Glow in the Dark Snakes, Glitter Stickers, and

Confetti (skulls, spider webs, bats, and jack o'lantern)

 

Light Projector Fun

We decided to make a scary scene on the light projector today. 

 She said it should have a spider in it. 

This is what we came up with. 

We used her felt shapes to build a house, I drew the spider web, and she placed one of her spider stickers (back still on) in the web.

 

 

Skeleton Puzzle

I went onto Google images and searched for a skeleton building activity.  I printed off this skeleton and cut it out.  Instead of building it and pinning it together we used it as a puzzle all week.  I plan on laminating it so that we can have a skeleton puzzle for our Human Body study.



 

Shaving Cream and Confetti

My sister-in-law sends my daughter cards for every holiday and usually there is confetti in the envelope.  We use this confetti for lots of different things- art project, sensory bins, etc.  Here are a couple quick pictures of what we did with the Halloween confetti this week.

 

A tray full of shaving cream is fun but add sparkly, themed confetti and you make it awesome.

Thank you to Aunt Jenny for all the great cards and confetti.

Graphing

Over the last couple months I have been slowly introducing graphs into our play time.  I am really surprised by how much fun my daughter has had while learning different ways to graph.  Here are some examples of how we have made graphs fun.

Venn Diagram

She picked out a bunch of things to take in the bath with her one day.  We recorded whether the objects stayed afloat, sank, or did both (depending on if we filled them with water or not).  After she got out of the bath we set down and discussed how a venn diagrams works.  She helped me list all of the items that stayed afloat in the first circle, all the ones that sank in the second circle, and all the ones that did both where the circles connect.

We also did a hands-on version of this venn diagram.  I made two big overlapping circles on the floor and I let her place the objects where they belonged.  This would be a great way to introduce venn diagrams to kids that are really hands-on and do not enjoy "paper and pen" learning activities.

Bar Graph

My daughter and I grabbed a collection of different items from around the house.  We grouped them together so that we could easily count all of one type of object.

I prepared the bar graph and explained how it works.  We counted the first two objects together and I showed her how to fill in the graph.  Then she did the rest with only a little help.

She really enjoyed counting her favorite toys and graphing how many she had.  She also really liked that I added in some fun snacks that she could eat after graphing them.

Coordinate Graph

This is not something that I had planned on teaching her early on but she has a Leapster Game that uses coordinate graphing in one of the games.  She kept getting frustrated because she could not understand it.  So I decided that I should find an easier way to teach her so the game would be more enjoyable.

I used our dry erase graph sheet to make two different graphs.  In one I used the "name" of the square to help her learn how the naming works.  I told her to find A1 and then helped her find the 1 on the side of the graph and the A at the bottom.  I showed her that when you find where those two lines cross that square is called A1.  As we found the squares I called out, she colored them in.

In the second graph, I used pictures in the squares instead of the "name", that way she really had to learn how to follow the lines to the right square instead of cheating by just reading the name in each square.  As we found the squares she circled them. 

She seemed to understand the concept of following the lines but it was just too difficult for her right now.  When I could see she was starting to get upset that she wasn't able to do it on her own I came up with a new way to play. 

I made a large graph on the back of our map and put it on the floor.  I placed a toy in each square.  She stood on the edge of the graph with two yard sticks and I called out B3.  She had to find the B column and lay her stick across the whole column.  Then she had to find row 3 and lay her stick across that whole row.  She then found where the sticks touched each other (over the B3 square) and she got to pick up that toy.  This game was really fun for her and she asked to play it a few times in a row.  By the end I could see that she was understanding the concept and the sticks were giving her the confidence that she was finding the right square.  Now when we do the "paper and pen" version of this graph I give her two pipe cleaners to use to help follow the rows to the correct square.

This has been the hardest graphing concept for her to learn by far but she is picking it up without frustration because we are working together and making it into a game.

Making Puppets

We organized all of our winter stuff today and we found a couple gloves and a mitten that were missing mates.  Instead of trashing them I decided to pull out some crafting supplies and let my daughter make puppets. 

 

I pulled out a bag of yarn scraps, a tub of buttons, googly eyes, scissors, and a hot glue gun (I help with gluing, mostly because I'm a control freak, but I'm sure she could do it without burning herself).  She had complete say on what they would look like.

 

Here are her puppets! "The pink and white ones are silly and the black one is a monster!"

 

We are learning about the human body right now so during this project we spent time talking about facial features, our senses, and hair growth.  I also asked questions such as, "Would having four eyes, like your monster, be better?  How?"  Her favorite thing that we talked about is that there are no bones in your nose or ears.  I told her "Our ears and noses are made of cartilage."  and she excitedly yelled, "Like a shark!"  It's so fun to see the learning connections she is starting to make.

Oil Pan Magnet Board

My daughter and I both love magnets.  I have a couple small magnetic boards hung up in play areas and one side of the fridge dedicated to magnetic toys.  But, I wanted a bigger and easily movable board.  I picked up an oil drip pan from the automotive department at Walmart ( I think it was $10-$12).  My husband drilled a couple of holes in it so that I can hang it up when needed. 

 

Here are just some examples of what we do with this large metal pan.

Ramp

Daddy and her love to have car races down the ramp.  My daughter also loves to roll balls down it or use it as a mountain that her animals must hike up.

 

Messy Play

Sometimes I put messy play projects on it (nothing super messy because of the holes we drilled).  My daughter loves playing play doh on this board because it gives her the freedom to do things she would not be able to do while playing play doh on the table (Example- try to make foot prints).

 

Magnet Play

When it is on the wall she spends time just playing with her magnets.  We enjoy using it to act out stories.  In this picture we have Dr. Seuss cut-outs (I added the magnets), her gears, and a bunch of letters she grabbed off her other magnet boards.

 

Floor puzzles

This was one of the main reasons I wanted this large board.  I thought it would be great to be able to put magnets on the back of the pieces and put the puzzle together on the wall so that it was out of the way.  It probably would have worked great if we permanently attached the oil pan to the wall.  But since we get it down a lot and we bend it a little using it for other activities the floor puzzle does not work as well as I hoped.  However, since we only have carpet, the board is still great for putting on the floor and playing with her floor puzzles.

School Work

We use the board to practice math and language during school time.  I use the numbers from a magnetic travel sudoku game and words from a magnetic sentence building kit (both pictured below).  I also make magnets to go with whatever we are learning (example- more or less symbols).

 

Just a few of our magnetic toys that I recommend

Toysmith Magnetic Sudoku Kids

Orb Factory Mosaica

Smethport Tabletop Magnetic Sentence Builder

Tomy Gearation Refrigerator Magnets

 

 

 

 

Downtown Aquarium

The Downtown Aquarium in Denver is another fun place to visit with little ones.  

 

Here is a paragraph from their website-

 

 "The entertainment and dining complex features a public aquarium boasting more than a million gallons of underwater exhibits that highlight fascinating ecosystems around the world. Downtown Aquarium houses over 500 species of animals, the interactive Stingray Reef touch tank, Aquarium Restaurant, Dive Lounge, the Nautilus Ballroom and amusements for the entire family"

 

Here are some pictures from our last visit

She loves little stingrays...

and very large ones!

 

This picture was taken in a walk-through tube that allows you to watch the animals swim up over the top of you.  Lots of fun!

 

Fun domes for the kids to look through.

Feeding the stingrays!

Fun shot of shark and turtle.

 

The shark area also has some glass sections of flooring so you can watch the sharks swim under you and if you are brave you can stand on the glass and watch them swim directly under your feet.

 

For more information about the aquarium, hours, and prices check out their website.  http://www.aquariumrestaurants.com/downtownaquariumdenver/default.asp

Pattern Practice

Here are a few examples of how my daughter is learning about patterns while we play. 

 

She loves her wooden threading beads.  It is one of things that I will find her playing with quietly in her room in the mornings.  Picture 1- She does her own pattern play without any suggestions.  Picture 2- I set up some easy patterns for her to complete.

 

I bought these cubes to practice counting and math skills but they are also great for pattern play.  I start a pattern and she will keep going until she runs out of the right color cubes.  She has also started trying to make patterns for me to complete.  They are not "patterns" yet but it is great to see her trying to learn how to come up with them on her own.

 

These are magnetic mosaic tiles so they are great to use on our big board or on a cookie sheet on the go.  I create simple patterns and she works them until she runs out of tiles.  She really likes when I create patterns that allow her to use all the tiles. (Sorry about glare)

Shape Toys

Here is a list of some of my favorite shape toys we have or I think would be fun to have around for our next little one.  Check out my post on teaching shapes to get some fun learning ideas.

Melissa and Doug Shape Sequence Sorting Set $14.99

Melissa and Doug Shape Sorting Cube $18.98

Playskool Busy Basics Form Fitter $8.80

Yes I know the last two are the same but we like to use the wood and plastic shapes for different types of projects and matching games.

Geometric Shapes Set $19.95

Learning Resources View-Thru Geometric Solids $11.17

Constructive Playthings- Light Table Pattern Blocks $19.99

The last two are great on the light table or with a projector.

Ideal- 11 x 11 Pin Geoboard $3.49

Cra-Z-art Double-Ended Stamper Markers, Alphabet and Shapes, 18-Count  $8.99

 

Teaching Shapes

I recently had someone ask for advice on teaching their granddaughter her shapes.  She is picking up other things really well but is struggling with shapes.  In this post I will show some of the shape toys we have at my house and how we use them.

 

 

Shape Puzzle- I like this one I found at amazon.com better because it has bigger knobs to hold onto which would be helpful with some of the activities we use the pieces for.

 

Sorting Cube- link My daughter's favorite.

 

Elmo Puzzle- link I'm sure you can find it cheaper some where.  This was not my daughter's favorite but I love that the pieces are plastic instead of wood so we can use them in messy crafts and in the bath tub.

 

Shape Flash Cards- From the $1 bin at Target.  I usually see them at the Dollar Store also.

 

Of course the puzzles can be used as puzzles but here are some more Play Ideas!

 



Use the pieces from the puzzles and match them to the shape cards or to each other.

Lay out a shape flash card and help your child find objects that match.

Use the puzzle pieces as stencils in art projects.

Use the puzzle pieces to make shapes in play dough.

 

More ideas

Use plastic shape pieces in messy art projects; such as, stamping, painting, or slime play. 

 

Bath time is a great time to introduce fun games.  The plastic pieces are great to throw in the tub. Your child can use them as cups, boats, etc. and you can name the shapes as they play with them.

 

My daughter loved using the 3d shape sorting blocks for tower building.  She would see how tall she could build the tower and I would say the name of each shape as she put it on the tower.

 

The flash cards are great for playing matching type games.  Also, you can check out some of my other flash card games here.  Most can be played with shapes as well as letters, numbers, and words.

 

Also, remember to point out objects in every day life.  "Oh, that cereal box is shaped like a rectangle."  "Did you know all stop signs are octagons?"

 

I have a couple more shape posts that will be out soon so watch for them!