10 Leaf Activities

1. Arrange them on clear contact paper and seal with another sheet to make a placemat or window hanging

2. Leaf rubbings

3. Spread glue on paper and sprinkle on crushed leaves for a mosaic look

4. Cover leaves with light fabric (muslin works well) and pound with a hammer

5. Gather a collection of leaves and create a leaf monster or creature

6. Paint on one side of the leaf with watercolor and press on paper to leave a print

7. Paint the vein side with fabric paint and press onto a t-shirt

8. Catch leaves as they fall out of the tree

9. Gather two of each leaf and set up a matching game

10. Sing a leaf song

WELCOME AUTUMN

To the tune "London Bridge"

Autumn leaves are falling down, falling down, falling down,

autumn leaves are falling down,

welcome autumn.

Sweep the leaves and put them here, put them put here, put them here,

Sweep the leaves and put them here,

welcome autumn.

Jump right in and have some fun, have some fun, have some fun,

Jump right in and have some fun,

welcome autumn.

Exploring Sunflowers

The sunflowers are starting to droop and I decided to let C do a little sunflower dissection. They really are pretty interesting. Once you remove the little yellow buds, a whole sea of seeds lies underneath. He spent a good fifteen minutes removing the seeds one by one with tweezers!

Exploring Corn

There's nothing like eating fresh corn on the cob. But before the yum-fest happens, let it be explored. Spend some time examining the ears of corn in their husks.

What does the husk feel like?

How can we find out what's inside?

What does the silk feel like?

Why do you think the corn is inside the husk and silk?

How does your family prepare corn?

Where do we get corn on the cob?

Have you eaten corn other ways?

Shuck the corn. Prepare the corn. Eat (and enjoy!) the corn.

All Purpose Bubble Solution

This is a good general use mixture.

Ingredients:

4 1/2 Cups Water (Distilled Water works best)

1/2 Cup hand dishwashing detergent (Dawn or Joy are best!)

Optional: 1/2 Cup Karo light corn syrup or Glycerin

1. Combine water and detergent. Stir well, but do not shake.

2. For stronger bubbles add corn syrup or glycerin, or more detergent.

*Extension: Make large bubble wands from straws threaded onto string.

Air Moves Things

Materials: Straws, feathers, pom poms, plastic bottles, pebbles, crumpled paper balls, any objects that might move with air.

Place objects on a flat surface and blow through a straw, aiming air at the objects to see which ones move and how much air it takes to move them.

*Extension: Can you find 3 MORE things that air will move?

*Extension: Have air races. Who can move the feather to the end of the room the fastest?

*Extension: Go on a wind walk and observe all the things moving in the wind.

*Variation: Use turkey basters or paper fans to move objects.

*Variation: Create abstract paintings by dropping small amounts of paint on paper and blowing the paint around the paper with a straw.

The Shapes We Eat

Pick a time frame to pay special attention to the shapes that we eat. Pizza is a circle, cut into triangles. Crackers are round or square or even ovals. Graham crackers are rectangles but can be broken into squares or smaller rectangles. Oranges are spheres. Cheese slices can be cut with cookie cutters. Shapes are all around us!

*Extension: Cut out magazine pictures of food shapes.

*Extension: Play this game in a restaurant while looking at the menu.

Iceberg, Right Ahead!

Fill a few plastic containers with water and food coloring. Put some small toys in the colored water and place into the freezer. These frozen blocks are a fun addition to water play or in the bath tub. Discover what happens as the ice melts.

It Looked Like Spilt Milk

Just want to recommend a book that might inspire a few activities this summer. It's called "It Looked Like Spilt Milk" by Charles G. Shaw and published by HarperFestival.

*Extension: Cloud watching.

*Extension: Paint white paint on blue paper and then fold it in half. What does it look like now?

Adopt a Tree

Meet my adopted tree, above. At first, I was a little hesitant to jump on this activity as a preschool activity, but I realize it's important to show children change over time. Select a tree nearby that you can observe throughout a year. It can be informal, as in talking about it each time you walk by. Or you can be formal "scientists" taking samples, collecting measurements, researching it, taking its picture, drawing it, and even getting crayon rubbings of the bark and leaves.

A fun book to read with this activity is The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, Harper & Row, 1964.

Mentos in Diet Coke; Cause and Effect

Parents: I recommend your supervision while doing

the following activities with preschoolers.

Here's how I spent 30 seconds of my last science and math class. Have a little fun with cause and effect and drop some mint Mentos into a rolled up paper tube and release into Diet Coke!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diet_Coke_and_Mentos_eruption

*Variations: Explore the reaction of vinegar and baking soda. Or fill a film canister 1/3 full with water and drop in an Alka-Seltzer. Replace the lid and flip it over, setting it down on the lid. Wait for the POP as it blasts off!

Protect That Brain! Eggheads

This format is a bit different because I used it in my math & science class.

Materials: Eggs, newspaper, markers, scissors, tape, various materials to construct with (Examples: fabric, rubber bands, styrofoam, bubble wrap, egg cartons, cardboard, cotton balls, pipe cleaners, straws, anti-slip mat, etc.)

Objectives: Observing, comparing, and communicating. Discover why we wear helmets when we ride our wheeled toys.

Age Group: Preschool

Procedure: Your brain controls your entire body. You brain helps you move and think and learn! Our brains are soft and they are protected by our bony skull, just like the inside of an egg is protected by the shell.

Invite the children to draw faces on the eggs and create various helmets from the supplied materials to protect their “eggheads.”

Drop the eggs wearing the helmets from about waist height. If the eggs break while wearing the helmet you can ask “Was the helmet unsafe?”, “Did the egg fall at an angle so that it was not protected?”, “How would you make the best helmet?”

Scaling up: Challenge children to protect eggs dropped from a higher level.

Scaling down: Have a few egg-helmets ready made for trials. Or cut apart egg cartons for the helmets to eliminate the construction part.

Safety Concern: Raw egg can contain salmonella bacteria. Keep eggs cold until ready to use. Wash hands thoroughly! You could cook the eggs beforehand.

Toilet Paper Tube Binoculars

Share recycling with your children.

Is this the world you want to leave them?

Tape two toilet paper tubes together and you have binoculars for a bird walk or spotting animals at the zoo. Maybe a nice addition if your little man is playing soldier for the day or if your princess is looking out the window for her prince charming to come along. Decorate 'em, paint 'em camo, add a string...make it yours!

Grow an Animal

Dollar Tree has these neat little sponge-like critters that you can purchase that when you put them into water they grow and grow. The alligator works well for this activity.

To make this "educational" you check in on your animal daily for a week. With a simple measuring tape, measure the length and make a graph or chart to show its growth progress. You can also take pictures of the animal each day next to the measuring tape, print them, and challenge your child to sequence them.

There you have it, $1 math & science!

Roly-Poly Science

C is fascinated by these little guys and in just the time it takes to unload the car of groceries, he's gathered a handful. So playing from his curiousity, I came up with some questions to ask him about the bug that rolls into a ball and gave him a magnifyin glass to get a closer look.

Tell me what they look like?

What do you think roly-polys eat?

Tell me about your roly-poly.

How do they move?

Which end is the head and which is the tail? How can you tell?

Why do you think it curls up in a ball?

Can you tell me something else that is the same size as the roly-poly?

Want to know more? Read A Pill Bug's Life by John Himmelman, Children's Press, 2000.

This is a fun link too. New vocabulary= isopod! http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/invertebrates/isopod/Pillbugprintout.shtml

Dissecting Flowers

Materials: Fresh flowers, magnifying lenses, tweezers

Purpose: To teach children about flowers and their various parts; and to let children explore flowers.

Procedure: Give child a flower to examine closely. An older child might learn scientific names for a few of the parts. A good chart can be found at: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/plants/printouts/floweranatomy.shtml

Younger children can compare, count, measure, feel, get a closer look.

Cautions: Allergies, some pollen may stain like on the anthers of a lily

*Extension: Grow your own garden. Sunflowers are a great example of plant life cycle because once grown, the seeds can be harvested to grow more.

*Extension: Press flowers or petals between wax paper sheets inside of a thick book to use for art projects.

Boat Loads

First, you'll need a small boat. You can use a toy boat, modeling clay, styrofoam or foil to create one. Float your boat and load it with small items, such as paper clips. Add a few at a time, watching the boat sink lower into the water. How much cargo will your boat carry before it sinks? Can you design a boat that will hold more cargo?

*Variation: Design the tiniest boat you can that still floats.

*Variation: Create a boat with a sail and blow it across the water. Ask a friend to race his or her boat across the water with you.

Great Zoo Escape

Hide several of your child's plastic or stuffed animals, counting as you go so that none get left behind later. For younger children, you might find it easier to stick to one room of the house. Exclaim "Oh no, (number) of animals have escaped from the zoo!" Ask your child for their help returning the animals safely. Count as you go.

*Variation: Take the game outside for an outdoor safari. Colorful gardens work especially well.

*Variation: Have a sandbox? Bury some treasures for later discovery. Jewels from the craft store are especially exciting, or rocks painted gold. Be sure not to give away the secret and watch your child's reaction.