Let's Explore - Creative Activities for Preschoolers

Veggie Cookbook

 

Okay, here it is!  I've put together all the recipes, resources, tips, and tricks that all you generous people shared with me.  I added in a few more book and internet resources, too.  I already printed my copy and I'm ready to get cooking!

Download the pdf Eat Your Veggies: Kid-Friendly Vegetable Recipes + Tips

Feel free to share the love and pass this along to your friends.  More veggies for all! :)

Happy (and Healthy) Eating!

Friday Fun: Autumn Bingo

I realize that it's not technically Autumn yet.  It is still quite hot and summery around here.  But I am wishing for fall, so why not start with some fun Autumn Bingo!

We'll be using fall-colored buttons and leaf buttons for markers.  You can download a pdf of our simple bingo game by clicking on the graphic below.  There are 3 bingo boards and one set of calling cards to cut apart.  All the boards have the same graphics, just in different spots.

By the way, since some of you have been asking, almost all the clip art I use for my projects comes from Word.  Microsoft Office has an online clip art gallery where you can search and download tons of free clip art and add it to your Word clip art bank.  I use Office for Mac, but I imagine it works just the same for PC.

Have a great weekend!

Pretend Play: Flower Shop and Gardening

This idea has been in my mind for a while, and I finally pulled all the pieces together yesterday. I set-up a Flower Shop and/or Gardening pretend play prop box for the girls. I was able to gather quite a few things from around the house, then added in fake flowers and plastic vases from the Dollar Store. It has been such a hit! They played with it for at least an hour yesterday, and it was the first thing they wanted to do this morning.

The box includes:
2 plastic "crystal" vases
2 fake potted plants
an assortment of fake flowers
some empty pots from herbs we planted
brown crinkle paper (from the gift wrap area) for soil
2 small watering cans
flower-shaped notepads for taking orders, writing receipts, etc.
flower fabric for a tablecloth
picture cards with flower and garden-related words

Still to add:
empty seed packets (after we do some planting this weekend)
gardening magazines & catalogs
gardening tools
ribbon
small gift cards
play money

The girls added their own touch with signs and price tags, too.

A fun way to bring a little bit of springtime inside. If you are interested, here are the picture cards I printed for the girls: Download flower_word_cards.pdf

I just printed mine on white cardstock and cut apart. I thought about covering them with clear contact paper, but the girls were too eager to get started!

Happy Spring!

Bingo!

My girls LOVE to play bingo! We make our own bingo games -- sometimes I make them on the computer, other times we print out a blank grid and we use seasonal stickers for the pictures. We play bingo with letters, numbers, rhyming words, shapes, money, holidays, etc. Practically any skill you want to work on can be made into a bingo game! Ready to play? Here's what you need:

• bingo cards for each player -- vary the size of the grid based on the level of your child(ren)


• calling cards -- one for each picture, letter, etc. that shows up on the bingo cards


• markers -- buttons, coins, poker chips, goldfish crackers, cheerios, etc. On special occasions, we might play with jelly beans or M&Ms.

One person can be designated as "the caller," or you can take turns drawing cards. Mark your card when you have a match! When you have a straight line filled, yell "Bingo!" Or, try for 4-corners or blackout (whole board filled).

How about a fun Travel Bingo? Make bingo boards with pictures of things you might see while driving. Tape the bingo board to a small cookie sheet and use magnets for markers. Or, put the bingo board into a plastic sheet protector and use a dry erase marker to mark your sights on the road. Just might help pass the time on a long drive!

Here is a similar portable bingo for the grocery store -- just fill your board with pictures of food and let your little one hunt and mark while you shop! (Microsoft Word Document)

Download grocerybingo.doc

and Spring Bingo:

Download spring_bingo.doc

and here's a blank bingo board for creating your own games!

Download bingo_blank.doc

This site also has printable bingo cards with lots of themes to choose from.

I would love to hear about your bingo playing adventures!