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Preschool Snacks

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1)  Fruit and Cracker Pizzas Ingredients : Crackers of your choice Cream cheese spread   **be aware of any lactose intolerant children Cut up fruits of your choice Spread cream cheese on crackers and top with cut up fruits of your choice. This is an easy enough snack that children can build themselves. Food Groups : Dairy (may need to substitute for lactose intolerant children), grain, and fruits. 2) Ham and Cheese Roll Ups Ingredients: Deli sliced ham String cheese Food Groups: Dairy, Meat and Alternatives... (if you add fruit and veggies to the side of this snack, or choose to wrap it with a whole wheat tortilla, this will add all 4 food groups) 3) Cream cheese and Jam Snack Crackers Ingredients: Crackers of choice Fruit jam Cream cheese Spread cream cheese on crackers, followed by fruit jam or jelly. Food Groups: Grains, fruits, dairy (need to substitute or eliminate for children who are lactose int
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Seasons

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Here are some open ended art activities the children can be creative with as well as learn about the seasons using all of their senses.. 1) Pumpkin play dough invitation to play! Here children have the opportunity to be creative with pumpkin play dough for an autumn theme!  Various items from the autumn season, such as fake leaves are used. (sourced from : https://www.fantasticfunandlearning.com) 2) Open ended winter time snowflake craft The children will be using popsicle stick to create a snowflake with various craft items to glue to it. Not a single snowflake is the same, and I am sure it will be the same once all the children finish this craft! ( sourced from: https://www.giftofcuriosity.com/open-ended-snowflake-craft/ ) 3)  Here is a great activity where children can learn about all 4 seasons at once, or if this seems like a daunting task for the children, you can choose just one season as your theme. 4 Seasons Hand Prints Get the children to stamp the
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Recycling!

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1) We can teach children to recycle egg cartons: Lay out cut up pieces of egg cartons so the children can create something unique. Art with Egg Cartons ( Image from google images) This can be done as a colouring or painting activity to promote creativity and fine motor skills.  Any craft items such as pipe cleaners, etc can be used to decorate their egg carton creations. Materials: Egg Cartons Glue Various craft items (pipe cleaners, googly eyes, pom poms, etc.) Markers or paint Hint: items do not stick well with glue to Styrofoam egg cartons. 2) Lets recycle items from nature! Leaf People The children can use leaves to create leaf people! It can be fun if the children are involved with the gathering of leaves as well. 3) Children can use newspapers or magazines as a collage item or to create pictures: Let's Save the Earth!
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3D

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Similar to a collage with paper materials, children can explore loose or larger items to make a 3D collage: 1) This is an amazing idea, that can be worked on in a group on a large table as well.    3D loose item collage ( sourced from: teachertomsblog.blogspot.ca) This is a great idea to use materials that would normally end up in recycling. 2)  Another great 3D idea is using play dough as a means for the children to create 3D sculptures: Lay out a variety of materials along with the play dough so the children can create something unique such as play dough bugs (or anything that comes to their imagination) 3) Items such as tissue boxes or milk cartons can be used to create 3D Art: ( image from:  http://jacquewadsworth.typepad.com/.a/6a00e5509180fb883301127943cafc28a4-450wi) Children can once again use a variety of recycled craft materials and paint/markers to design the boxes or cartons into whatever they choose.
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Holidays!

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Open ended crafts for holidays: 1) Here is a craft with bottle caps that's aim is essentially to create a flower for Mother's Day, however it can be made open ended by laying the materials out (bottle caps, construction paper, buttons), but letting the children create something of their own. Bottle Cap Flower Craft ( sourced from: www.craftymorning.com) 2) Father's Day open ended creativity at work: The children can use rocks to make their own picture frame for Dad.  They don't necessarily need to colour in a template that says "You Rock Dad", as this makes the activity more close ended.  DIY picture frame made with rocks! ( sourced from: www.katarinaspaperie.com) 3) Valentine's Day Art Invitation to create own valentines cards This is open ended in the sense that the children are not forced to create something that looks like a specific template. ( sourced from: www.buggyandbuddy.com)
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Multiculturalism in the Preschool

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We can help children learn about multiculturalism through some of the examples below: 1)                                                  "We are all different, but we are one" ( image sourced from google images) Our group (group #2) did a hand stamping activity.  The children put their hand in paint that matched their skin tone , and stamped it onto a poster board .  The poster board had paper plate in the middle mimicking the earth.  The children also had blue and green paint to make the planet earth in the middle.  The theme was that in this world we are all different, but we are all one. 2) We can lay out multicultural material and ask the children to try to match their skin tone with this art medium as well, and get them to trace their hand. ( image sourced from google images)                 Matching Your Skin Tone Activity 3) We can lay out different fabrics for the children (some fancy fabrics can be obtained from thrift stores su
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Creative Painting!

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The following are examples of painting ideas focused on process rather than product: 1) Painting on foil             Children will be able to experiment with tin foil as a different type of medium to work with. 2) Painting with yarn             3) Painting with coffee filters was demonstrated by a group in our class. Materials required: Paint, Coffee filters, white sheets of paper, rubber bands. Different colours of paint were put into coffee filters and tied at the top.  The children were free to pat, or smear and create a unique piece of art.  They were also developing fine motor skills while painting and picking up the coffee filter paint sacs. 4)        Sponge Painting Our group (group #2) demonstrated painting with different shape sponges, sponge tools, pot scrubbers and q-tips.
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