Summertime Fun Through Physical Health & Safety

Summer brings us more opportunities to learn and grow through outdoor play. Within Kindergarten QuickSource®, we learn:

"Physical Health and Safety supports a child’s overall education and growth. Children learn best when they have healthy minds and bodies. You can promote a child’s physical health and development by planning activities that involve fine and gross motor development and by teaching good nutrition and hygiene."

This summer, involve the kids in active play on most days of the week in order to promote optimal physical health and development.

Find FREE activities that will reinforce gross and fine motor skills, the understanding of basic safety rules, the importance of regular physical activity and an overall healthy lifestyle.

Moms, Dads, Teachers, Childcare Providers: get started with the following activity, Throwing and Catching. You will need a soft beanbag and a target (optional).

Let’s Get Started:

1. One of the best ways to teach children throwing and catching is to use beanbags. Beanbags don’t roll away and soft beanbags allow for safe activity without injury.

2. For children just learning this skill, have them choose a target. An actual beanbag toss game could be used, or the target can even be as simple as just a spot on the wall.

3. Allow the child to practice tossing the beanbag at the target.

4. When each child has practiced, pair the children and allow them to try to throw the bag directly into their partner’s hands. The partner will try to catch the bag.

5. When the children are able to catch the bag regularly, move them to soft sponge balls. They will roll, but the child should be familiar with catching by this point.

Summer is the best time to explore the outdoors and be active; get the kids out there today!

Summer Countdown!

There are only four more weeks left until the first day of summer! Can you believe it? The coming of summer calls for a countdown. Here's a great activity to try with your preschoolers, called Link-by-Link Calendar. This project will aid in the understanding of calendar days by making the concept of date and time more engaging and easier to visualize. Children will also track the days in the calendar by counting, which will serve as a useful introduction to the concept of numbers, dates, and time.

For this activity, you will need several sheets of construction paper, a pair of scissors for each child, and crayons or markers.

Activity: Link-by-Link Calendar

Goal: Participate in a Variety of Tasks, Complete Tasks and Express Curiosity about New Activities

Let's Get Started:

1. Distribute one strip of paper to each child

2. Assign a number to each child (this will represent each calendar date until the event)

3. Allow them to decorate their strips, making sure they include their assigned number on the strip.

4. When all of the strips are decorated, demonstrate how to create the first 'link' by securing both 1 1/2"ends of the strip together with tape.

5. Have the students line up in numerical order, with strips in hand.

6. The first child in line will link her strip by looping it into the center of yours and securing the 1 1/2" ends together with tape.

7. Each child will do the same, one by one, in numerical order, ultimately creating a chain.

8. At the end of each day that passes, have each child unlink his or her numbered link, corresponding to the calendar date.

9. Each day, the chain will allow young ones to 'see' how many days are left until the special day, just by looking at their chain and counting the links.

If using POCET™, this Activity correlates to Developmental Guideline: AL1 Participates in a Variety of Tasks, Completes Tasks and Expresses Curiosity about New Activities.

For more great developmentally-apppropriate activities, visit http://www.teacherquicksource.com/ and browse through all age areas, including Preschool, Kindergarten, Infant, Toddler, and Head Start. Don't forget to explore activities promoting environmental awareness at Environmental Quicksource®.

Active Play For Preschoolers

Spring has sprung, and before you know it, summer will be here. It's time to get our little ones outside to soak up the sun and get moving! From Preschool QuickSource® we learn that "You can promote children's physical health and development by planning activities that involve fine and gross motor development and by teaching children good nutrition and hygiene." There's no better time to start than Springtime!

Here is a fun activity to try with your preschooler. Animal Moves is a great way to integrate gross motor skills into science curriculum. For this activity, you will need Animal Photo Cards or several pictures of animals.

Activity : Animal Moves

You can use animal imagery to encourage children to move and interact!

Goal: Introduction or enhancement of balance and control during locomotor movements.

Let's Get Started:

1. Show the children one of the animal pictures.

2. Discuss the movements of that animal.

3. Have the children move around the space pretending to be that animal.

4. Repeat the activity with a different animal.

If using POCET™, this Activity correlates to Developmental Guideline: PH 3 Demonstrates Balance and Control During Locomotor Movements.

For more fun activities to encourage and promote optimal physical health and gross motor skills development, turn to Teacher QuickSource® and browse through developmentally-appropriate activities for Preschool and Kindergarten age ranges. Click on Physical Health & Safety and try a variety of active play activities. Now get moving!

Earth Day is Almost Here!

Earth Day is coming! Enjoy learning opportunities that bridge the creative arts & curriculum with environmental awareness. As we enjoy the daily treasures that the arrival of spring brings, we should aim to find ways to cultivate environmental awareness and appreciation. Look to Environmental Quicksource® for FREE activities for developing learning outcomes in arts & crafts and curriculum areas, all of which help to foster appreciation for the environment.

Here's a favorite activity to try for children ages 2 to 4 years. This is versatile enough to be done at home, daycare or preschool. You will need markers and journal notebooks.

Citrus Bird Feeders (ages 2-4)

Feeding the birds is a popular activity that toddlers enjoy. This activity will help them to connect with and care for nature. This type of bird feeder is suitable for children with allergies, and an alternative to the traditional peanut butter and pinecone feeder.

Goals:
Help connect with and care for nature

Let's Get Started:

1. Cut each piece of fruit in half. Using a large metal spoon, loosen the contents of each half of fruit. Put the birdseed into a bowl. Save one piece of fruit of each kind for the toddler to investigate

2. Show the toddler the fruit. Let her hold each kind, look at it, smell it, and taste it.

3. Show her the fruit cut in half.

4. Give her a spoon and encourage her to scoop out the contents of the fruit.

5. After the fruit has been cleaned out, give the toddler a scoop. Encourage her to scoop the birdseed out of the bowl and to fill the fruit with the seed.

6. Put the fruit halves on a windowsill and watch for birds.

Furthermore:
Take photographs of the birds that eat from the fruit. Make a bird-watching book. Encourage the toddler to draw a picture of the bird (keep in mind most toddlers are in the scribbling stage of fine motor development).

There are plenty of fun and simple ways to help children understand the importance of caring for our planet. Start with Environmental QuickSource® today, and celebrate Earth Day every day!

Spotlight on Sensory Awareness

As Valentine's Day approaches, we are reminded of the warmth that springtime will usher in. Before you know it, March will be here! As the seasons change, all of our senses are engaged - from the sunrise, to the fresh smell of rainfall, to the crunch of leaves underneath our feet - there are so many 'events' that our senses take part in. Teach children to appreciate nature by simply taking the time to celebrate the changing of the seasons and make each a learning opportunity about the five senses.

Find several FREE age-appropriate activities for your young learners for developing sensory awareness at Infant and Toddler QuickSource®.

Here's an activity to try today, called That Smells. This experience correlates to correlates to Developmental Guideline: EA6: Notices Differences in Temperature, Smell and Taste.

Experience: That Smells

Let's Get Started:
1. The caregiver should always give children an opportunity to experience different smells.

2. Choose smells that are not strong, but pleasant and make an attempt to allow the child to smell the fragrance.

3. For example, the teacher can let a child smell a particular food or flower and comment on the smell. The caregiver may want to model smelling the smell.

4. The caregiver should try to avoid using strong or unpleasant smells with the infant.

A New Year Brings New Learning Opportunities for Baby!

A new year brings a wealth of learning opportunities and experiences. Focus on finding learning opportunities in everyday objects and everyday activities. You can play a gentle game of tug-of-war with a blanket, look and talk about colors in a photo, or dance to music. You can play hide and seek with Baby's stuffed animals, or take Baby on a nature walk. There are so many simple activities you can do!

As always, look to Infant and Toddler QuickSource® for a plethora of fun, simple and FREE activities that you can do from the comfort of your own home!

Try the following activity today! This will help Baby with motor skills.

Experience: Watching for Smiles

Let's Get Started:

1. Grinning will usually turn into smiles after a short period of time. The caregiver should engage the child so that the smiling response becomes more frequent.

2. The smiling reflex may begin to exhibit itself when the child is sleeping. It is not uncommon to see an infant smiling in her sleep. Although this may be a reflex or the result of a pleasant dream, the child is beginning to have this physical response.

3. When an infant begins to have eye contact and engages the person talking to her, the caregiver will begin to see slight grins.

This experience correlates to Developmental Guideline: EP2: Smiles.

Have fun with the everyday, and create learning opportunities out of the simple things!

Celebrating the Environment This Holiday Season

As the holiday season approaches, we gather together to reflect on the past year and all of the things we are thankful for. One thing we should include on this list is the bounty that Mother Nature bestows on us with every season—from the blue skies, to the much-needed rain, to the sun rays that stretch over us while we're at play, to the wintry evenings that make us thankful for the warmth of family and friends. Why not use this time to emphasize to young ones the importance of caring for the environment? Live by example and take steps to help children be environmental stewards at an early age. This correlates to Preschool POCET™ Developmental Guideline SE10: Demonstrates awareness of community helpers and environment.

To start, look to Environmental QuickSource® for FREE activities that will help you connect conservation concepts to classroom activities. This convenient resource will help you explore ways to educate children on the importance of caring for the environment to help make the earth a healthier place. And Discount School Supply also offers a plethora of other FREE eco-resources such as tips, activities, and products that bring us closer to keeping the Earth a beautiful, sustainable place.

Remind kids that we can all take steps to reduce our ecological footprint. Together, we can make a difference. Small steps lead to great strides in helping care for the planet and ensuring that young people have a healthy place in which to learn and grow.

Laying the Groundwork for Literacy Success

In Preschool Activity QuickSource®, we learn that "Literacy begins by immersing children in literacy-rich environments and fostering a love of language and reading. You can support young children's emerging literacy skills by planning activities that involve discriminating sounds, identifying print, recognizing letters, developing a love of books, writing, and appreciating the rhythm of language."

At the core of literacy development, children first learn to identify sounds associated with letters, then, letter combinations associated with written words. Be sure to engage early learners in activities that focus on sounds. Here's one to try, Environmental Sounds, that correlates to POCET™ Developmental Guideline: LT1 Identifies Sounds in the Environment and in Speech.

Before you start the activity, make sure you have comfortable shoes and clothing for each child, and anything else you might need for a walking field trip. Also, you might want to have walking rope on hand, and to further reinforce learning, consider the Outside Sounds Listening Lotto Game.

Let's Get Started:

1. Prepare for a walking field trip, either around the neighborhood or to a local park.

2. As the children are walking during the field trip, ask them to identify any sounds that they hear during the field trip. Encourage the children to be alert to any sound they hear while on the field trip.

3. Sounds that might occur during a walking field trip might include: cars, trucks, buses, trains or planes in some areas, birds, children stepping, people talking/laughing, etc.

Find more activities like these at www.TeacherQuickSource.com and help early learners build the foundation for literacy success.

Back To School!

With the advent of a new school year, it's the ideal time to make sure you have all the materials you need for your assessment system.

Remember to stock up on Checklist Folders, Lesson Plans, Portfolio Pads, or anything else you might be running low on. Remember to browse the Infant & Toddler supporting materials too!

Also, mix up your daily routine by engaging young ones in new activities every week. You can always find FREE, age-appropriate activities on www.TeacherQuickSource.com . Freshen up your day-to-day routine while enriching and expanding the learning possibilities!

Here's a simple and fun back-to-school activity that correlates to POCET™ Developmental Guideline: PH1 Demonstrates Eye-Hand Coordination. This activity is called Pat, Pat, Clap, Clap.

All you will need for the following activity is you, a child, and Get up & Go! Dice.

Let's Get Started:

1. Set up a face-to-face partnership with two children.

2. Teach the children to pat their thighs twice and then clap their hands twice.

3. When the children are comfortable with those motions, add a cross clap with their partner (child claps partner’s right hand with his right hand then repeat with the left hands). The activity would then include pat, pat, clap, clap, cross-clap, cross clap.

For more FREE activities, visit Teacher QuickSource®.