Kool aid playdough

Here is a great recipe for playdough I made the other day for some of my preschool classes. The kids love the scent.

2 Cups Flour
2 Cups hot water
1 Cup salt
2 Tablespoon oil
5-6 teaspoon cream of tarter
1 pkg koolaid crystals(no sugar added)

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a microwave safe bowl. Add oil and water and mix until well combined. Put in microwave for 30 seconds at a time, take out and stir until play dough can no longer be stirred. Knead for a few minutes to get rid of any lumps and to make a nice smooth dough. Store in an airtight container until needs replacing.

The fun thing with this recipe is I can change color and scent as often as I like to mix things up a bit.

Enjoy and let me know how you like the play dough

Art for toddlers

Today I am covering a class for a friend. This class is a mommy and me class, and focuses on art for toddlers as well as music.

Now I am a crafty person, but thinking this through, I did not know what I was going to do.
Picking a craft for young kids is really hard.

I found something online this morning, that is going to work just perfect.

The first craft we will do is a paint craft. I am going to give them a rectangle piece of paint paper. I will fold it in half, one side behind the other. I will let the kids paint one side, and then take the back folded over piece and make a butterfly picture, by folding over the blank piece on top of the paint to make the mirror image.. Fun.

The second craft, will be sticker art. Who doesn't love stickers. I will cut out a shape and let the kids decorate it with stickers.
I have a tonne of music to incorporate into the music half of the class.
I think this class will be fun. I hope the kids have fun.

The class went really well. I really enjoyed it. It is a 1 hour long class. The first 15 minutes, I let the kids play, and then we sat down for a circle time, where we sang, open them, shut them, counted our fingers and itsy bitsy spider. I showed them a copy I made of the craft they were going to do. The coloring center was already set up with stars, stickers and crayons.
The kids had a great time with the painting, they were thrilled with the butterfly prints. They also enjoyed the stickers, but the painting was more popular.
After all the children had completed their craft and had some more playtime, we cleaned up and then we sat down with musical instruments, and sung head and shoulders, alice the camel, old Macdonald, and the alphabet.
Overall it was a really nice class, the kids and parents were really great with the fact, that I taught the class quite differently from the normal instructor, but everyone enjoyed it. It is a class I could see myself doing more of.

ABC's and 123's

Here are some songs that I use when we do a number or alphabet themed class. They are fun and the kids like them.

Counting Fingerplay

Have children in your circle on their feet, get a beat going with a clap and a stomp & say "Get your potatoes up! And let's count!" Hold up fists (potatoes) to count with fingers up.

One potato, two potato, three potato, four!
Well, I made a batch of hot potatoes and
(bend forward and stir as in a big pot)
Dropped 'em on the floor!!
(look shocked, and put hands on face in surprise)
Five potato, six potato, seven potato, eight!
So I stomped 'em into mashed potatoes
(stomp feet while walking forward a few steps and then back)
And plopped 'em on a plate
(hands out like plopping potatoes on a plate!)
Nine potato, ten potato, can't believe my eyes!
(cover and uncover eyes in surprise)
The children ate 'em up and now they want some french fries!!!
(Say to children "how many?" and march with swinging arms and stomping feet while counting...)
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 fries!
(jump up and reach over head to sky on 10)
"Again??"
Do the count again, faster and a third time even faster then plop back down to sitting after the last 10.

ABC Exercise
Do the motions to the letters

Learn the abc's with ease
While getting fit and having fun

A arch B bend C clap
D droop E expand F flop
G grow H hop I itch
J jog K kick L leap
M march N nod O open
P prance Q quake R rock
S squat T turn U uncurl
V vibrate W walk X make an X shape
Y yawn Z zig zag

Movement

In one of my toddler classes the focus is on activities to get kids moving and learning basic movements.
Here are some of the movements I focus on and what I set up for the children to do

Jumping

Jump on mini trampoline
Jump off a large mat
Jump in hoops or on circle pads

Balance

Walking on balance domes
Walking across a line of circle pads on the floor or tape
balance on balance beam

Stacking

stacking cones
stacking domes
stacking blocks
stacking Lego

picking up

anything works
picking up balls
hoops, bean bags, small toys, blocks etc.

pushing

Pushing large ride on push toys
see saw(using legs to push)
Pushing train on tracks
Pushing large cars and trucks

kicking

Kicking balls in tunnels
kicking balls in nets
kicking down block towers

throwing

throwing different sized balls in baskets
throwing bean bags
throwing ribbon bean bags

climbing

climbing over mats
climbing up stairs
climbing up the slide

Crawling

Crawling under things
Crawling through the tunnels

Weather songs

Here are a couple of songs great for the beginning of circle time when you talk about the weather outside. I use the felt board at the beginning and the kids put up clouds, sun, rain, snowflakes etc. Some of these songs could be done as well with the felt board or on their own.

Frost
Tune: The farmer in the Dell

The frost is on the roof (point hands over head)
The frost is on the ground (point to the floor)
The frost is on the window (make a window with your hands)
The frost is all around (make large circles with your hands)

What's the Weather
Tune: Oh, My Darling Clementine

What's the weather, what's the weather
What's the weather, everyone
Is it windy, is it cloudy
is there rain or is there sun?

Weather
Tune: Twinkle, Twinkle little star

Look outside now, can you say
What the weather is today?
Is there sunshine, is there rain
is the wind blowing down the lane?
Look outside now, can you say
what the weather is today

verse 2

Look outside now, can you say
what the weather is today?
are there snowflakes falling down
are there big clouds floating around
look outside now, can you say
what the weather is today?

Clean up songs

There are a few clean up songs out there. I tend to stick with the same one which is

Clean up, clean up
everybody, everywhere
Clean up, clean up
everybody do your share

This is another one I found that I like too.

Twinkle, twinkle, little star
time to clean up where you are
put each toy back in it's place
keep a smile upon your face
twinkle, twinkle little star,
time to clean up where you are.

Maybe one day I will incorporate this one into my class just for change.

Fall action songs - Halloween

Last of my fall action songs is Halloween. Here is what I have.

I'm a little pumpkin
Tune: I'm a little teapot

I'm a little pumpkin
round and stout (hold arms to form a circle)
packed full of seeds that you can scoop out (pretend to scoop seeds)
When I get all carved up (pretend to carve pumpkin)
then I'll be
The cutest jack - o- lantern you ever did see.

The great pumpkin
Tune: Did you ever see a Lassie
have the children dance

I am the great pumpkin, great pumpkin, great pumpkin,
I am the great pumpkin, come dance with me
For your friends are my friends, and my friends are your friends
I am the great pumpkin,come dance with me.

One Little Pumpkin
Tune: Mary had a little lamb

One little pumpkin rolled round and round (rolling arms)
Round and round, round and round,
One little pumpkin rolled round and round,
For this is Halloween
2. two little goblins hoped up and down (hoping up and down)
3.three little skeletons walked down the street (walking)
4.Four little witches flew threw the air (arms out at side pretending to fly)

Five Little Pumpkins
Action poem

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate (five fingers up)
The first one said "Oh my it's getting Late" (Hands on Cheeks)
The second one said "There's a chill in the air" (arms around self)
The third one said "But we don't care" (swing pointer finger)
The fourth one said "We're ready for some fun!" (hand in air)
The fifth one said "Let's run, run, run!" (running motion)
So woooo went the wind, and out went the lights,
And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight!

Pumpkins

Tune: Are You Sleeping

Pumpkins are growing
Pumpkins are growing
In the patch
In the patch
Look at all the pumpkins
Look at all the pumpkins
Orange and Round
Orange and Round

Walk in the Dark
Tune: Pop Goes the Weasel

Sometimes I like to walk in the dark
I like to shout and scream.
I walk up behind somebody I know
BOO its Halloween

Spin, Spin, Little Spider
Tune - Ten Little Indians

Spin, spin, little spider,
Spin, spin, wider, wider.
Spin, spin, little spider,
Early in the morning.

Dance, dance, little spider,
Dance, Dance, Dance out wider.
Dance, dance, little spider,
Early in the morning.

repeat second verse using "jump, crawl, run