We had a great week celebrating the Summer Olympics,

GAMES:

Balloon between the knee race:Inflate the balloon, but not too much so that it fits comfortably between the knees of the child. Have the kids put the balloon between their knees and hop or run to the finish line.

Hug a balloon friend relay:Place a balloon between to children’s tummies, have them hug each other tight and move sideways to the finish line.

Backwards race: Just walk backwards trying not to bump into each other to the finish line.

 Crafts:

1. Roll the construction paper into a cone shape, tape closed.
2. Layer the tissue paper squares, red on the bottom, then orange, and yellow on top.
3. Gather from the center of the squares and hold in your hand like a bouquet of flowers.
4. Put some white craft glue into the sides of the opening of the cone.
5. Place the tissue paper into the cone and let the glue dry completely.

Gold Metal:

Baking soda clay recipe http://www.serve.com/ajoy/clayrecipes.htm This clay is perfect because when it drys it is more like ceramic. Have the kids roll out the dough, and use a cup to cut a circle. Children can use a toothpick to make patterns , use a straw to poke a hole for the for the string to go through. You can bake this clay in the oven or let it air dry ( may take a few days ) when dry use acrylic gold paint. When paint is dry lace a piece of string through the hole.

Picture Frame:  I took a picture of the kids with the Olympic torches they made, I made the picture frames ahead of time and let the kids decorate them with peel and stick foam pieces ( From Dollarama ). You will need 2 4×6 pieces of craft foam, trace a circle on one piece and cut out the circle, glue picture on solid piece of foam then glue pieces together. Glue magnet on the back.

Snack: Olympic cookies ( Sugar Cookies )

Kids will love decorating their own Olympic cookies - and eating them afterwards. Make sure your workspace and the kids’ clothes are well-protected from the bright colors used in the icing!

It is important that the games be fun and competition is not the focus. Everyone is a winner for participating. I made a chart with the children’s names, every time they participated in a game they put a sticker beside their name.

 

A camping we will go…..Preschool Camping Fun

Set up a tent in your backyard, I left mine up all week. The kids had a blast pretending to camp. It even  rained this week, we  had circle/story time in the tent.

Indoor circle time: set up a small tent, or have the kids make one out of blankets, pillows, chairs and anything else they can find. Set up a campfire using blocks. Use red and yellow as flames. Ask children if they have ever been camping. Talk about all the different activities we do when we are camping.

Outdoor circle time: If you have a tent, set it up in your backyard. If you dont you can improvize with tarps. Have the kids collect small sticks from the ground ( a good way to clean up the yard too… LOL ) and set up a pretend campfire. Sitting around the pretend campfire is a great time to play games like ” Eye Spy ” and    ” Telephone”

Crafts: Campfire painting   You will need: Brown, Red and Yellow paint, Bubble wrap. Have the kids paint a brown “ X”  on the bottom of the page to represent the wood. Scrunch up the bubble wrap into a ball and dip it into the yellow and red paint, have kids stamp with the bubble wrap above the brown “X” . This painting turned out great! Tee Pee Tent: Decorate a construction paper semicircle, then roll it up into a cone shape,tape or staple closed  and cut out a flap for the opening. Collage: Go for a walk, and collect leaves, rocks sticks and other nature items. Back at home, suggest that the children glue the items on a piece of paper in the shape of tent.

Snack: Everyone loves S’mores. Give each child two graham cracker squares ( one large graham cracker broken in half ). spread nutella on both pieces and place a large marshmallow on one piece and place the other piece on top ( the nutella on both pieces helps the top graham cracker stay on ) once they are all done place them on a microwave safe dish ( as many as you can fit on the plate ), microwave for 25- 35 seconds ( adult job only ) Don’t forget to make seconds because everyone will definitely want s’more.

Songs: Check out  classic camp songs I found at http://www.ultimatecampresource.com

 

 

 

 

Summer wouldn’t be the same without the sweet taste of  watermelon, lets learn some watermelon facts

1. This fruit is actually a Vegetable, it is part of the gourd family.

2. Watermelons are over 90% water.

3. Most watermelons weigh from 5-40 pounds, but some can weigh 100 pounds.

4. The 1996 Guinness Book Of Records, shows the largest watermelon at 262 pounds.

5. The seeds ( like pumpkin ) can be roasted and eaten.

SONGS:

Down By The Bay

Down by the bay, where the watermelons grow back to my home,

I dare not go for if I do, My mother would say

Did you ever see a bear, combing his hair

Down by the bay

Down by the bay, where the watermelons grow

 back to my home, I dare not go for if I do,

 my mother will say

Did you ever see a fly, wearing a tie

Down by the bay

 Down by the bay, where the watermelons grow

back to my home, I dare not go for if I do,

my mother will say Did you ever see a moose kissing a goose

Down by the bay

 Down by the bay, where the watermelons grow back to my home,

 I dare not go for if I do, my mother will say Did you ever see a whale with a polka dot tail

 Down by the bay

Down by the bay, where the watermelons grow back to my home,

 I dare not go for if I do, my mother will say

 Did you ever see some Llamma’s wearing their pajamas

 Down by the bay

 Down by the bay, where the watermelons grow back to my home,

 I dare not go for if I do, my mother will say

 Did you ever have a time, when you couldn’t make a rhyme

Down by the bay

WATERMELON  ABC

ABCDE

watermelon is good for me

FGHIJ

I can eat it every day

PQRST

Ripe and very juicy

UVWXY

You will like it if you try

Z-Z-ZZZ

Watermelon is good for me

CRAFTS

Use the cheap paper plates from the Dollar Store, and cut it in half.

We used pink and green coloured sand. Have the children spread glue all over the plate ( we used glue sticks )

after glue is spread, have children sprinkle on coloured sand using a spoon ( using small motor skills,and hand eye coordination)  To keep down on the mess, I use an empty box lid!

Glue on black buttons for seeds.

WILLY WATERMELON PUPPET

Print from www.watermelon.org

WATERMELON NECKLACE

We used dyed noodles, green ( Rind ) Pink ( Flesh ) Purple ( Seeds) and asked the children to make a pattern. To dye Noodles Use 1 tablespoon of alcohol and food colouring, shake in a ziplock bag, then empty bag on a wax paper lined cookie sheet to dry over night.

 

We had lots of fun with the Watermelons.

Weighing Watermelons

Each child got to hold the watermelon and estimate how much it weighed, some were way off ( LOL ) some were right on. We then tried weighing the watermelon on the bathroom scale, but it didn’t work. So what we had to do was weigh someone on the scale, then weigh them holding the watermelon and subtract their weight. The kids LOVED this! we ended up weighing everyone with and without the watermelon!

Measuring Watermelons

We measured the circumference of the watermelon, Then we measured the circumference of every ones head,  The kids had a good laugh over this one! who had a watermelon head? No one even came close! ( LOL ) well OK I was the closest to having a watermelon head!

Charting Watermelons

We charted who likes watermelon and who didn’t.

Willy Watermelon book

To copy and colour, find it at www.watermelon.org

LETS EAT WATERMELON

I cut HUGE pieces of watermelon for everyone to eat! The bigger the better. Then I took pictures of the kids individually eating huge pieces, and Emailed them to Mom and Dad’s ( The parents loved them )

 

Please feel free to add your watermelon craft ideas, games, songs or recipes

I am very excited for the start of this blog! My name is Kellie, I have been a Home Childcare Provider since 1998 and love it. I plan on using this blog to share my lesson plans, craft ideas and themes with you. Feel free to jump in and add your own great ideas. Don’t forget to check out the Daycare Classifieds  on www.smartiepantskids.ca  to post a FREE ad and sell your used toys, supplies, children’s furniture and more.