Christmas Music

Happy Music Monday!

Sometimes, just the basic Christmas songs are the best! There are a few catchy ones that are just too cute to pass up. With the right props or actions, these easy tunes are a hit!

Jingle Bells

Jingle Bells is a fun tune to sing..especially if you have a bell! Just a few simple bells attached to a pipe cleaner makes a great musical instrument. We also have an Elmo stocking that sings it with us (it was a great after Christmas sale item..$4!).

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

This is another great tune :) We use a red circle cut from construction paper as a prop for Rudolph's nose. Anytime the songs refers to Rudolph or his nose, I hold the red circle up to my nose. An even better way to encourage participation is to give your child a "red nose" too!

Frosty the Snowman

One of my personal favorites! A fun way to "accessorize" this song is with pictures or actual props. A corn-cob pipe, button nose, 2 eyes made out of coal, suitcase, magical hat, stop sign... all of these can be made out of construction paper, flannel or felt or actual items. Props make everything so much fun!

Have a magical musical Monday!

Words Are Wonderful Wednesdays

Language is a beautiful thing!

My 2 yo, Princess Peanut, has been talking for a while. But recently, her words have become a litle easier to understand :) Getting children to talk & communicate is quite a task. But with lots of speaking activities, encouragement & prompting, it can be accomplished! Helping a child communicate better will also help ease frustration (think temper tantrums) on everyone.

On Wednesdays, I will post language activities that I have used thru out the years. I have tried to incorporate fun into these activities to encourage participation. I hope you find them helpful!

Terrific Reading Tuesday

Hello :)

I love books! I started collecting preschool age books when my older children were little...so you can imagine that I have a VAST collection. Enough so, I could open a library! But, you don't have to have a book collection to read to your child or even use in a classroom. The library is a wonderful source of children's books with many different multi-cultural examples for you to bring home & share with your little ones. Most libraries lend out books for a month..so that is plenty of time for you to rent out books for the duration of a theme. And then, you can always return the books & get new ones..with no storage issues!! :) Gotta love keeping it simple!

On Tuesdays, I will give out great book suggestions that I have used over the years..along with props or any kind of additional info I used with the books. I do have some favorite authors & will share those as well.

**Here's a tip : When renting out books from the library, keep your receipt printout that names the books you have checked out. Staple that receipt to your lesson plans so when you use that lesson plan as a reference the following year, you will not have to search titles again :)

Until then...Happy reading!

Music Mondays

Happy Monday!

If I have learned anything over the years, music makes the day so much sweeter! I love having music in the background when I do anything. Well, the same theory goes for toddlers & preschoolers as well.

While there are so many different types of music one can listen to, the best kind of music is the song that you can sing along to! Kids love to sing. And you don't have to be a singing superstar, either. Kids do not mind!

Props are great to go along with the songs, too! It helps teach the children to retell the song/fingerplay/story. My favorite Christmas song with a prop is "There's a Little Elf"

There's A Little Elf
Original Author Unknown
Sung to: "If You're Happy & You Know It"

There's a little elf that's sitting on my nose,
There's a little elf that's sitting on my nose.
He is sitting on my nose,
Then off away he goes.
Now there's no little elf on my nose.

There's a little elf that's sitting on my knee,
There's a little elf that's sitting on my knee.
He is sitting on my knee,
Just watch and he will flee.
Now there's no little elf on my knee.

There's a little elf that's sitting on my head,
There's a little elf that's sitting on my head.
He is sitting on my head,
Then away he goes to bed.
Now there's no little elf on my head.

The prop is a little elf made from simple art supplies :pipe cleaners, green, white & red beads & a small styrofoam ball. sequins & small straight pins or hot glue are also needed.

How to make Elf prop:
You will need:

pipe cleaners
Green, Red & White beads (approx. 38)
Sequins
small styrofoam ball

What to do:
Use the pipe cleaners to make a body for the elf. Use a stick-figure as a model. Twist the pipe cleaners together so it makes a torso, arms & legs.

String 2 beads on the pipe cleaners for the torso. Stick the Styrofoam ball to the top of the pipe cleaner body. You can use whatever bead pattern you like. I used approx 6 beads for each arm & 12 beads for each leg. When done, twist up the end of the pipe cleaner to "hook" the beads in place.

Using sequins, create the eyes, nose & mouth. (I used very small straight pins to secure the sequins in place). This is definately a prop that requires supervision if you use straight pins. Hot glue is another method.

When you are done, use this elf with the song. He can sit on your nose, knee & head. When it comes time to put him in bed, be sure to whisper that part quietly & pretend to rock the elf to sleep.

Have fun!

Santa's Little Reindeer

I love hand/foot print art projects!

What a great way to remember the size of a little one's hand & foot...especially during the holidays. It is truly a precious thing.

Making Reindeer out of hand & foot prints is very simple. It does require adult help, but that just makes th project more special! There are 2 ways of doing this project....with paint or with construction paper. I prefer the construction paper way, as paint tends to crack after a few years & ruins the keepsake.

Santa's Little Reindeer

What you need :

Red, Black & Brown Construction Paper

wiggle eyes or white paper to make eyes

glue

Trace one foot with black.

Trace both hands with brown.

Trace a small circle in red

Cut out all pieces. Assembly is simple..place the foot down, toes up(this is the reindeer's head). Glue the hands(thumbs out) to the top of the foot fore the antlers. Glue the red circle to the heel of the foot for the nose. Use white paper or wiggle eyes for eyes.

To use paint:

you will need:

Red, black & brown paint

wiggle eyes or white paper for eyes

sheet of white paper to place prints on

Have a sheet of white paper ready. Using a sponge, paint the bottom of one foot. Place the foot on the paper, pressing in the arch section to make sure that the whole foot is imprinted on the paper. Remove foot from paper & clean off paint.

For the hands(antlers), start with the left hand. Paint the hand with black paint & place it thumbs out on the top of the footprint. Clean the hand off & repeat with the opposite hand.

Using a thumb, paint it red & place it on the heel of the foot for the reindeer's nose.

Glue eyes on after the paint has dried a few minutes.

Santa will enjoy his little "helper" reindeer!

25 days of Christmas

Hi!

With the holidays around the corner, there is so much fun to be had with arts & crafts & traditions! One easy craft to do (usually around December 1st) is the 25 Days of Christmas Countdown. This is an easy project, but does require adult help if using a stapler.

25 Days of Christmas

You will need:

-25 Strips of construction paper in green & red.

-A cut-out of a bell (usually in Yellow)

-A stapler or paste

-25 Days of Christmas Poem

The size of your paper strips will depend on the size of your paper chain. I tend to use small strips so the chain is not too big. Usually 4"x1".

Place the strips of construction paper on a table & have the child sit with you. Using a stapler to fasten the strips (it seems to hold better than paste), have the child hand you alternating colors of paper strips while you make the chain. This is a great counting activity as well.

Once you have made a strip of 25 links, attach the bell to the top link. I printed out the poem & stapled it to the back of the bell so it is handy every night.

Every night before bed, I have Princess Peanut rip a link off & I read the poem to her. The we stand by the Christmas tree for a picture, as the chain will get smaller & smaller each night.

This project can be done at any time during the Christmas season. Of course, if you do this project after December 1st, just adjust the amount of paper links so when your child reaches the bell, it is Christmas Eve!

The 25 Days of Christmas Poem

December 1st til Christmas is the longest time of year.

Seems as though old Santa never will appear.

How many days til Christmas?

Its so mighty hard to count!

So this little chain of ringers will tell you the amount.

Clip off a ringer every night when the Sandman casts his spell

and Christmas Eve will be here by the time you ring the bell!

Welcome!

Hi!

Welcome to my blog. I am a Disney-crazy stay at home to 5 great kids. But, before I was a stay at home mom, I was a preschool teacher. I taught preschool for 10 years, specializing in 3 yo's. As my children grew older, I decided it was time to move along with them. So, I earned my CDA & Director's credential & moved on up to before & after school age care. Luckily, I was able to become a stay at home mom about 7 years ago. We also decided to add to our family during that time. Now that I have an active, eager to learn 2 yo, I began to go through my preschool lesson plans & resources in hopes of teaching her at home.

Reorganizing all of my themes & lesson plans brought back a lot of memories that I shared with my older children when they were younger. I also realized that I have a LOT of resources. I have decided to share what I have & post frequently of the different themes & projects that we do.

I hope that a lot of my ideas are helpful..whether you are a stay-at-home mom or a preschool teacher looking for new or different ideas. I lovethe idea of sharing, especially when teaching at home. So if you have an idea to share as well, please post it in the comment section!

Welcome to Ms. Maria's Preschool at Home!