Category Archives: preschool

7 Ways to an Easy and Fun Poetry Tea Time

One of our favorite parts of the week is Tea Time Poetry Tuesday. This weekly tradition includes a real fancy tea set, a table cloth, special scrumptious treats and a stack of poetry books. We sip our drinks, eat our … Continue reading

Pin It
Posted in Early Elementary Years, homeschooling, literature-based learning, preschool | 12 Comments

Every Day is Earth Day

Earth Day doesn’t have to be just one day every April. It can be any day of the year. Here are some activities you can do anytime, anywhere to take care of the earth and show your gratitude for  all … Continue reading

Pin It
Posted in Early Elementary Years, healthy living, homeschooling, Learning Spaces, Museums and Field Trips, nature, preschool, science | Leave a comment

Planting With Preschoolers: Grass Haircuts

We planted some grass seed in these play dough containers. Grass seed is very gratifying for kids to plant. It sprouts quickly, it’s hardy and, if you plant it in a little container, you can do this… Draw on a … Continue reading

Pin It
Posted in nature, preschool, Spring crafts | 3 Comments

Planting Seeds With Preschoolers

Our seed-planting area is ready to for exploration. Our books: What Does a Seed Need? and Spring Is Here!: A Story About Seeds  (these are Amazon affiliate links). We used cut up cardboard tubes from paper towel and toilet paper rolls to … Continue reading

Pin It
Posted in creative play, homeschooling, literature-based learning, nature, preschool | 1 Comment

Kiddie Pool Bird’s Nest and Story Time

 Spring is for the birds.  Stories about birds, really.  And what a fun way to listen to story time and learn about birds, in this easy-to-make nest. More wonderful books about nests and birds: Are You My Mother? by P.D. … Continue reading

Pin It
Posted in creative play, homeschooling, kindergarten, literature-based learning, nature, preschool, science, Spring crafts | 8 Comments

Learning About Polar Animals and Safari Ltd Giveaway!

We’ve spent a week with the polar bears, penguins and seals, with the help of our friends at Safari Ltd. We set up fun and easy habitats to go along with some great learning resources. And, Safari Ltd has generously … Continue reading

Pin It
Posted in creative play, Early Elementary Years, geography, homeschooling, kindergarten, nature, preschool, winter | 32 Comments

Pretend Play Construction with Coffee Grounds

Invitation to play:  Dried coffee grounds and construction vehicles in the  Play Table. Keeping my four year old occupied is an essential part of the homeschool rhythm in our house. For a couple of weeks, I dumped our used coffee … Continue reading

Pin It
Posted in creative play, homeschooling, preschool | 3 Comments

Rainbow Painting With Marshmallows

To teach the concept of the order of the colors in the rainbow, here’s a preschool painting activity with a twist.  We used mini marshmallows to paint our rainbows. We had a box of colored toothpicks but they didn’t contain … Continue reading

Pin It
Posted in holidays, preschool | 2 Comments

Kitchen Science: Sparkly Snow Volcanoes

We had so much fun with this latest project for The Studio, that I just have to share it with you here.  This project is part science experiment, part messy fun.  It was so easy to set up and it … Continue reading

Pin It
Posted in creative play, kindergarten, preschool, science, winter | Leave a comment

Australian Unit Study

We’ve been Down Under for two weeks, learning about the wonderful animals and geography of Australia. We could’ve gone on for several weeks more, there’s so much to learn about this wonderful continent. Here’s a peek at some of the … Continue reading

Pin It
Posted in Early Elementary Years, F.I.A.R., geography, homeschooling, kindergarten, preschool, Unit Studies | 4 Comments

Strong, Brave, Courageous Girls: Picture Book Characters for Our Daughters

You know what we love? Books with strong, brave, courageous, funny, characters.  What is even better is when they have a whole series of their own.  Remember when you were a child, first discovering a love of books? Remember when … Continue reading

Pin It
Posted in Early Elementary Years, homeschooling, kindergarten, learning to read, literature-based learning, preschool | 4 Comments

Water Beads and Shaving Cream Pretend Play

“Cake batter” (shaving cream)… Plus some “sprinkles” (water beads)… And a spoon for mixing and spreading… And you have some wonderful, quiet, sensory fun. Cost: about $4, but only because my 4-year-old grabbed the shaving cream can and emptied the … Continue reading

Pin It
Posted in creative play, keeping toddlers busy so you can actually educate your older children, preschool, toddlers | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Hands-On Geography: Animals and Their Habitats

An invitation to learn and play… This was fun to set up and even more fun to watch my kids explore, hear their questions and find the answers together. Currently, we are learning about Australia, so we set up a … Continue reading

Pin It
Posted in creative play, Early Elementary Years, geography, homeschooling, kindergarten, nature, preschool | 2 Comments

Writing With Spaghetti!

You can thank my six year old daughter for this idea. Bored in a restaurant, she began to write her name on the table using spaghetti noodles. Before leaving, I scooped all the uneaten spaghetti noodles into a take out … Continue reading

Pin It
Posted in Early Elementary Years, homeschooling, kindergarten, learning to read, preschool | 2 Comments

Counting with Ghosts: A Preschool Story and Craft

Our little preschool book club of two had some Halloween fun this afternoon with Ten Timid Ghosts by Jennifer O’Connell. I adore this story, because, while it seems a little scary at first (a witch scares a group of ghosts … Continue reading

Pin It
Posted in Halloween, homeschooling, literature-based learning, math, preschool | 10 Comments