 February Issue 1002
Congratulations to the Providers who completed the PreschoolFirst -Arlington County
Family Child Care Pilot II |
| Preschool Activity: The Skin You're In |
This February increase children's body awareness in your classroom with our My Body theme. Spend some of that extra time you'll have indoors to explore the largest organ of the human body - your skin!
Here's what you'll need for older toddlers and preschoolers:
Materials:
Here's How:
Prior to the activity, visit a party supply store and purchase one plastic skeleton approximately 12 in. long for every two or three children in the class. During this activity you will ask the children to work together in groups. Each group will use one skeleton for the activity. Purchase enough small red heart candies to put one inside the chest of each skeleton. Make three large batches of red, brown, and beige play dough. Prepare a worktable and arrange the skeletons, the play dough, and appropriate play dough tools on the table.
Gather a small group of children to join you at the worktable. Encourage the children press their own skin and feel their ribs, collar bones, tummies, and hands. Ask the children to guess what is underneath their skin. Write the children's ideas on a large sheet of poster board. Say, "Why do we have skin all over our body? What do you think skin does for us?" Record the children's responses on the poster board and discuss skin's important job.
Show the children an appropriate illustration of the inside of the human body, point out and discuss a few different important organs. Pick up a toy skeleton and say, "Let's make model of a person! We'll use this piece of candy for the heart." Demonstrate how to put the heart into the chest cavity. Refer to the illustration and encourage the children to help you make different organs such as the stomach and lungs and muscles and place each on the skeleton in the proper place. Ask the children to help you use the brown and beige play dough to make the largest organ of all - the skin! Help the children roll out pieces of play dough and wrap the skeletons. Display the skeletons on a special table near the sheet of poster board on which you wrote the children's ideas about skin. Encourage the children to discuss the activity with parents and caregivers.
Create a special Skin I'm In Investigation Station for the class on a shelf or window ledge. Collect several different clean chicken bones, magnifying glasses, and a microscope if you have access to one. Place the items on a tray next to a small pad of paper and colored markers. Encourage the children to use the magnifying glasses and microscope, look carefully at the surface of their skin and the chicken bones, and "record" their observations through drawings in the book. Discuss their drawings during a Story Circle Time.
Valentine's Day Heart Healthy Snack
Valentine's Day is usually a day filled with snacks such as candy and sweets. This Valentine's Day make a snack that is heart healthy and good for children! You'll need a large heart-shaped cookie cutter, plastic knives, a slice of whole wheat bread for every child, a jar of strawberry or cherry jam, and some peanut or almond butter. Check your classes' health records for any allergies to the foods in this activity and make the appropriate substitutions. Ask the children to help you toast slices of bread, cut each with a heart-shaped cookie cutter, and spread a layer of peanut butter (or almond butter) and a layer of jam on them. Create a special plate for each child with 9 in. x 12 in. sheets of various "skin tone" colored construction paper. Fold each sheet of paper in half lengthwise and cut it into the shape of half a person. Write one child's name on each plate. At snack time, serve each heart healthy snack on the person-shaped plate.
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| Infant & Toddler Activity:
Interesting Words and Textures |
Help your youngest learners explore the world of texture through their skin - the body's largest organ! Stimulate their sense of touch and introduce new words to their vocabulary.
Here's what you'll need for infants and younger toddlers!
Materials: A basket filled with items that are safe and have an interesting and different textures. For example:
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Cotton gloves
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Leather gloves
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Plastic dishwashing gloves (only for the teacher to wear)
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Craft feathers (only for the teacher to hold)
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Cotton balls (only for the teacher to hold)
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Real flowers (such as carnations or roses)
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Salt (only for the teacher to use)
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Balls with different textures that are larger than 3 in. (fuzzy tennis, dimpled golf, etc.)
Here's How:
Prior to the activity, check each child's information to make sure they are not allergic to any of the materials chosen. Gather all materials and place them in a basket. Set the basket on a shelf or table near a comfortable area of the floor that is clearly out of the reach of children but easy for a care teacher to reach.
Sit on the floor with the children and loosen their socks or shoes so they can finish pulling them off. Push up their sleeves or long pants so you can touch different places on their skin with a variety of textures.
With infants, take one of the items from the basket and name the texture. Gently roll, touch or move it along each of the child's feet and legs. Say a phrase to describe the object, texture and the body part. For example: "fluttery flowers on your feet," or "soft feather on your toes." Use this as a game to use new and interesting words. Repeat the simple touch game with each infant in your care.
Choose a new item from the basket and say the name of the texture. Gently roll, touch or move it to touch the child's cheeks and neck. Again say a simple phrase that describes the object, texture and the body part. For example: "smooth rubber on your cheek" or "dimpled golf ball on your neck."
Finally say the name of the texture and next move it to touch the child's hands and arms. The child will likely try to grab the object now, closely supervise each child as he/she touches the item -but do not let him/her put it into his/her mouth.
Play this game on different days with the different objects; be sure to name each texture before you touch it to the infant's skin or body. After you play this game many different times, you may notice how the child begins to anticipate what each texture will feels like.
With young toddlers, follow the same steps but ask the toddler to say the descriptive phrase with you. Soon the toddlers will say the phrase when you hold up different items. To change the activity, encourage the toddlers to hold the items and gently touch your arms or cheeks with it.
Babies and young toddlers will love the arousal on their skin while learning their body parts!
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Highlights of the My Body Theme
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Our My Body theme is filled with engaging activities in which children use their five senses and take a "hands-on" scientific look at how our bodies work.
Here are just a few of our favorite My Body Theme Activities!
To locate these and other activities on our site, login, scroll over the red Your Class button, and click the name of your class on the dropdown menu. Look down the class page that appears on your screen and click on the Theme Activities button to bring up the Select Classroom Activities display. Now you can use the selections to browse all the activities for the Winter theme for your class.
Here are My Hands- 18-24 mos.
Children listen to the book Here are My Hands, by John Archambault and learn about different body parts.
Vascular Vest 1- 24-30 mos.
Children learn how a heart pumps blood all around the body. Children show what they know about hearts by making a 'vascular vest.'
Check Up 3- 30-36 mos.
Children play with props in the House area and pretend to visit the Doctor's Office.
Bodies in Motion II - 36-48 mos.
Children follow the teacher through an obstacle course of outdoor fun.
Brain Games 5- 48-60 mos.
Children look inside a model head at a 'brain' and use their own brain to play with various toys and complete thinking tasks.
Non-PreschoolFirst subscribers can download a PDF version of one of these theme activities.
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Head Start Connection:
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Our My Body theme has a special focus on the five senses and the unique features of the human body. This theme directly supports all of the Scientific Skills and Methods, the Scientific Knowledge, and the Self-Concept Indicators from the Head Start Outcomes Framework.Here's a perfect opportunity for children to observe and discuss common properties, personal characteristics and preferences, as well as expand their knowledge of living things and natural processes. Activities such as My Muscles 4 (36-48 mos.) and Make a Picnic for Gregory 3 (48-60 mos.) provide many opportunities for teachers to observe the Approaches to Learning: Engagement & Persistence and focus on the Health Status & Practices Indicators.
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PreschoolFirst Classroom Tip
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 Help prevent the spread of sickness in your classroom this winter. Research shows that washing hands for 30 second can drastically reduce the transmission of common illnesses. One way to be sure children thoroughly wash their hands is to teach them to sing the following song as they lather and rinse. Sing the following word to the tune of 'Row, Row, Row Your Boat.'
Scrub, scrub, scrub your hands.
Scrub the soap around!
Scrub bubbles between your fingers and thumb.
Scrub the germs away!
Rinse, rinse, rinse your hands.
Rinse the soap right off!
Rinse water between your fingers and thumb.
Rinse the germs away!
To create a rebus poster for your sink area, photograph a child performing each line of the song. Mount the pictures in the proper order on a poster board next to the appropriate line of the song. Display the poster on a wall where children can see it when they wash their hands. Invite parents and siblings to come in and learn the song and carry the practice back home!
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| New Updated PreschoolFirst Activities! |
PreschoolFirst Activities are now aligned with Infant Toddler Environment Rating Scale (ITERS) & Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS).
Check out the updated ITERS & ECERS aligned activities!
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Any Suggestions?
We're always looking for more ways to make your job easier. PreschoolFirst continues to improve its site for our subscribers. If you have any specific ideas or requests about themes, we'd be happy to hear them! Click here to send us an email. Keep watching the site as we improve our functions. Remember all PreschoolFirst upgrades, improvements, and new basic features are available to all our subscribers at no additional cost. Your annual subscription gives you access to every basic site improvement PreschoolFirst has to offer, now and in the future.
PreschoolFirst Accounts purchased with the Interactive State Standards Alignment and Multi-site subscriptions receive ALL improvements and new features -- including comprehensive reporting at no additional cost!
Don't forget All PreschoolFirst subscribers have full access to observation assessment tool for children 0-66 months.Enter your observations regularly!
PreschoolFirst is always happy to answer all your questions. Call us weekdays at 1-866-584-2900.
Sincerely,
PreschoolFirst Team at
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