Here’s a fun beading activity for very young children. The pipe cleaners are easier to handle than strings or shoelaces and they fit perfectly inside the straw-beads.

What you will need: pipe cleaners, colored straws, scissors, and tape.

First make your beads by cutting the colored straws into one inch pieces. If you are working with older children, they can help with blunt scissors, or you can do this step yourself in preparation.

Show the children how to slide the straw-beads onto the pipe cleaner. This is excellent fine-motor and eye-hand coordination practice!

Once a pipe cleaner is nearly covered with the pieces of straw, you can bend and combine them into whatever shapes you want. Leave a bit of pipe cleaner hanging out at the end; you can fold it over to hold on the last bead and tape over it, or you can tape the two ends together to make a loop. You can also tape two pipe cleaners together for a longer string of beads.

Check out a few of the things we created. The headband is simply bent into shape. The crown and necklace are made from two pipe cleaners and the bracelet is one. This activity kept the children engrossed for nearly an hour; they loved it!

Challenge the kids to use all one color or to create patterns with the different colored beads to make this activity even more educational.

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Today we made jumping paper frogs. These are a very simple origami project that kids love, because they really jump! All you need is some paper and crayons or markers. I used small strips of paper, about 3×6 inches, but 3×5 index cards would work well also.

Start by having the children color the paper green. They can use all one shade or several different ones for a more interesting effect. It’s great fine motor practice for them to try to cover as much of the paper as possible. At least one side of the paper should be completely green.

Now it’s time to fold the frogs. Turn the green side of the paper down, with the paper situated so it is taller than it is wide. Fold each upper corner down to meet the other side, then up again, one at a time. Then fold the top down to make a line at the bottom of the X. Unfold and fold it down again to make a line in the middle, as the pictures show.

Then comes the tricky part. Fold the sides of the X inward to make a ‘pop-out’ triangle and press to sharpen the creases. (If you need more detailed instructions here is a great video to watch). Turn the paper over and turn up the bottom corners of the triangle to meet the top point. These are the frog’s front legs. Next fold in the sides to meet in the center. Fold the bottom (straight edge) of the paper up and back down again like an accordion to make the frog’s hind legs.

There he is! You can add some eyes if you like (googly eyes might be fun!). To make him jump, gently stroke his back from the head down with your finger. My two-year-old could do it herself and was so impressed!

If your children are young like mine, you’ll probably need to do most of the actual folding, but the frog is simple enough that I think most five-year-olds could follow along while you fold an example. And no one is too young to enjoy the fun of a paper frog that really jumps!

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Here’s a super long picture for you to pin or save for later with all the steps that you’ll need to make this jumping frog.

Looking for child care centers or local preschool programs? We can help! Just go to MomTrusted.com to search for the best child care solutions around!

I am always on the lookout for preschool learning activities that can easily be replicated at home for a fraction of the cost. So when I saw a package of foam bath letters and numbers at the store for $8, I knew could easily make these at home for much, much less using colored foam sheets from a dollar store. In fact, if you do the math for the materials I used to make letters (which was only 12 of the small sheets), these only cost me $0.40 altogether. Yes….only 40 cents!!! How awesome is that?!? They were a snap to make since I just free-handed the letters, but you could easily use a stencil, as well as make numbers and shapes….and still not spend more than a $1! Best part, this is a bath time activity that is not only fun for your preschooler, it’s additional learning time (my preschool LOVES using these letters in the tub). Plus, there are a variety of activities you can do  depending on your preschooler’s age and interest (I listed a handful of learning activities towards the bottom of this post). Of course, these foam letters, numbers, and shapes can be used outside the tub, too. And despite them costing so little, they’ve held up extremely well to the preschool torture testing (meaning my preschooler hasn’t torn a single one to date, and I made these weeks ago!!). Here’s what you’ll need to make these colorful bath time foam letters (numbers and shapes):

Materials:

• Foam Sheets (I got a package of 30 foam sheets for a $1)
• Pen/Pencil/Marker (to draw or trace letters, numbers, shapes onto the foam sheets)
• Scissors
• Letter, number, shape stencils (optional- if you don’t want to free hand them or want them to look uniform; I didn’t have any on hand, which explains their uneven shapes and sizes)

Step 1: Using a pen, pencil, or marker, trace a stencil letter, number, or shape or dare to free-hand them.

• TIP: If you have stencils on hand, it would be a great way to get your preschooler involved in the process, plus give an opportunity for extra practice those fine motor skills. In addition, it’ll give them extra letter recognition time.
• TIP: To add a little more fun and creativity to this activity, make a variety of shapes (small, medium, large- circles, squares, triangles, rectangles, etc.). This way your preschooler can create pictures with them while enjoying bath time.

Step 2: Once you have all the letters, numbers, and shapes traced/drawn, cut them out.

• TIP: Again, here’s another opportunity to include your preschooler in on the preparation for this activity while also working on those fine motor and hand-eye coordination skills cutting them out  of the foam.

Step 3: Now your foam letters, numbers, and/or shapes are ready for use in the tub. There are many activities that you can do with your preschooler to make even bath time a time for learning.

• You can work on letter (number/ shape) recognition by having your preschooler find the given letter (number/ shape).
• You can work on name recognition and spelling, having your preschooler spell his/her name with the letters.
• You can have your preschooler work on spelling and recognizing site words.
• You can work on number recognition and counting by having your preschooler match the number with the correct number of circles, for instance:

Looking for child care centers or local preschool programs? We can help! Just go to MomTrusted.com to search for the best child care solutions around!

It’s spring, and chances are it’s beautiful outside! My two toddlers love to spend time outside together, so I’m always looking for new outdoor activities to keep them active and learning.

This week I decided to put together a nature walk/scavenger hunt so they could practice paying attention to their surroundings. My daughter is only two, so I kept it very simple; six basic shapes represented six items we were looking for. We did our hunt right in the backyard, but it would also work well for a walk around the block or a trip to the park.

The items on the sheet are a dog (paw print), a leaf, a branch, grass, a yellow flower, and something red. This is a leave-it-as-you-find-it hunt, so nothing is collected; just mark things down as you see them.

The kids loved this activity! When we had found everything on the list, they were both so proud of themselves, and wanted to know when we could do it again.

Here’s a printable of our nature scavenger hunt checklist you can download to use on your own nature walk. You can also easily make your own list; just draw a few simple symbols on a piece of paper and go for a walk with your eyes open!

Click to download

Looking for child care centers or local preschool programs? We can help! Just go to MomTrusted.com to search for the best child care solutions around!

My preschooler loves playing with play dough, but what do you do when you run out? I’ve tried making my own, but it’s never turned out as smooth as the store-bought dough. Plus, I don’t like the price tag for it. So, as usual, I browse the internet for ideas. When I first saw this dough online, I fell in love with it. Only 2 ingredients? And no cooking? Sold! It was almost too good to be true. Be warned: this cornstarch-shaving cream dough is amazing! The texture is very soft and silky, and it’s very moldable (kind of like moon sand, but with out the high cost). Best of all, it’s super easy to clean up. A few minutes with the vacuum, and everything was good as new, unlike play dough that gets stuck in your carpet. This is a great addition to any classroom or home. Just make sure your child doesn’t eat it because of the shaving cream! Here’s what you’ll need to make this awesome and easy dough:

Materials:

• Shaving cream
• Cornstarch
• Food coloring (optional)
• Cups, spoons, bowls, play dough toys, etc. (optional)

Looking for child care centers or local preschool programs? We can help! Just go to MomTrusted.com to search for the best child care solutions around!

Today my son took 6 trips to bring all his matchbox cars out into the family room to play with them.  We built ramps and had races.  He crashed and wrecked them.  Pure fun.

After he was done, he needed to put them all away.  The putting away part is never as much fun as the getting out or playing parts.  He was a little bit whiny and I could tell this was one of those moments when the situation could turn on you.

“…there’s so many to put away…(pout face).”

“I bet you can carry ALL of the cars at one time.”

His face changed a bit.  “No I can’t.”

“OOOOO…I have an idea.  Here, hold you’re shirt out like this and I’ll load it up with all your cars.”

His face lit up.  “YEAH”

He giggled the entire time it took to put all the cars in his shirt and all the way into his bedroom to put them away.

“Daddy!  Look, I can carry ALL my cars at one time!”  He was so proud.  :)

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I usually cringe when I think of the mess that my preschooler makes when we do projects and activities together because any activity (seriously any activity), she somehow manages to become a mini tornado of destruction. But I came across this pin on Pinterest. After reading the Hands Free Mama’s post the pin led me to, my perspective was changed…drastically. Sure, the post was about the parent who is so distracted by things such as phones and computers that there is the very real threat of missing one’s offspring’s childhood, but I took much more from it than that: be there for their childhood and realize that they are just children. While I admit that I am usually sitting behind a computer for work or distracted by my phone, I am also guilty of  trying to make my kids behave how I think they should….including being a “neat freak”. This is just NOT who my daughter is at all. She enjoys the mess, the chaos, the process of destruction. So after reading this post, I decided to just bite my tongue (which is really hard to do for someone who is as OCD as I am) and let her make the mess without my constant nagging about how messy she was being or trying to do mid-mess cleanups. I sat back, watched, and simply let her be a kid. She loved every minute of it….and so did I. =)

Materials:

• Flour
• Various cups, bowls, spoons, and kitchen utensils
• Vacuum (to easily and quickly clean up your preschooler’s destruction =)  )

Looking for child care centers or local preschool programs? We can help! Just go to MomTrusted.com to search for the best child care solutions around!

Click any of the images to download this printable Mother’s Day card. Or download your printable Mother’s Day Card for kids here!

We would love to see your creations too!  Share them with us on our Facebook Page!

Looking for child care centers or local preschool programs? We can help! Just go to MomTrusted.com to search for the best child care solutions around!

Here’s another unconventional (but fun and silly!) painting method to try out:  spaghetti painting!  It’s slippery and slimy and messy – a super tactile way to paint!

You’ll need

• cooked spaghetti
• paint containers (we used muffin liners – you’ll need something shallow enough that the floppy spaghetti can really “get in there” and load up on paint)
• acrylic or tempera paint
• big white paper

Cook a little spaghetti (or if you have some leftovers without sauce, this is a great way to use it up!)  You won’t need too much – maybe about one serving.

Next, protect your surfaces.  Aprons, smocks, table coverings, etc are all a good idea with this one.
Put out a few big sheets of paper.  Dip spaghetti into the paint, and try out different methods of mark-making on the paper!  Drag it, drip paint, slap the spaghetti on the paper!  Some kids might hesitate to get so messy, so don’t be afraid to get right in there with the kids and touch some slimy spaghetti paint.  Encourage them to fill the whole paper, and then start a new one!

Looking for child care centers or local preschool programs? We can help! Just go to MomTrusted.com to search for the best child care solutions around!

Looking for child care centers or local preschool programs? We can help! Just go to MomTrusted.com to search for the best child care solutions around!