Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Where Does Summer Go?

My apologies again...

Last month I posted I would return to regular posts...but that didn't happen.

Remember...teachers do need some type of a break from always doing "school stuff."

Well, I have returned to my regular Facebook posts, so please be sure to visit www.facebook.com/educationease.

More posts will return HERE once the new school year begins - August 18th!

Thanks for your patience!

Friday, June 3, 2011

Wonder Where I've Been?

Don't worry...I am still here...

We all need a little vacation once in a while...

Regular posts will start up again next week...

Friday, May 20, 2011

Pretty Butterflies

We made these butterflies earlier this week.

All we needed was an outline of a butterfly and "bleeding" tissue paper.  It's easy and awesome.

My favorite part is getting the color on your hands...I love a messy project.

Simply paintbrushes and cups of water are the only other supplies needed.

After a day of drying, we peeled off the tissue paper and discovered a colorful, magical new creation!




Now THAT'S A Snake!

If you've been following my blog, you know that my class has been learning about gardens and insects recently.  In one of our discussions we learned that some gardens have snakes.  Some snakes are good because they eat bugs and rodents.

When one of my students found a snakeskin near his home, he was so excited to bring it in!

Notice the little girl holding the toy snake (about the size of a typical garden-variety snake), but look at the adult holding the fully-connected snakeskin - it's a mammoth!





Now...if you don't particularly like snakes...shy away from these next two close-up photos!



After seeing this skin, we trekked out to our school garden lot.  Thankfully we didn't see anything this big - or even remotely so.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Crawly Caterpillars!

Our bug unit and project continues...

Yesterday we read The Very Hungry Caterpillar and enjoyed the colorful illustrations.  We made lovely caterpillars using just the following items:

1.  small cups, used upside-down, for the body of the caterpillar
2.  disposable forks - for the grass (works and looks fantastic!)
3.  variety of paint colors (we voted on primary colors)
4.  Q-tip for the caterpillar legs, face, and antennae



It was fun to see how some children used color patterns to make the body of the caterpillar.  Blue - red - yellow was a popular pattern to follow!


Many of the children remembered caterpillars could not yet fly, so it was discussed that all caterpillar legs could reach the grass.  Only later could the caterpillar fly...as a butterfly!


Ah...the joys of a spring day in Preschool...absolutely wonderful!

Friday, May 13, 2011

Where Are The Bugs?

I love finding uses for old items no one wants anymore.  I know of a good number of teachers who are collectors, savers, and some...hoarders...

Our school office paper shredder was recently full - so I saved the paper.  I knew it would be great in our sensory table.  I've hidden a collection of bugs inside.  The color and print on the paper really makes it tough to find the bugs...a good early childhood mystery project.




Notice the flowers in the first picture.  I had some old Hawaiian leis and took them apart. We all know insects like flowers...

How Did You Use That?!?! The many uses of coffee filters...

Recently some folks around the country have emailed me about a recent post - the Bumblebee one.  They thought using coffee filters for the bumblebee wings was clever.  I could probably think of over 500 uses for coffee filters!  They are cheap...plentiful...and I love them!

A few weeks ago we learned about planting seeds and what seeds need to grow.  Guess what?  I used a coffee filter in this class project, too!  It's actually interactive...

We bunched up the coffee filter to look like a flower bud...and later it opened up and bloomed into a flower.

To those of you out there who emailed...thanks...and here is another example for you:


To make this project, you will need:
1.  One coffee filter (the flower bud/blossom)
2.  One straw (the stem)
3.  4-5 small pieces of yarn (the roots)
4.  Two leaves (we die-cut ours from old wallpaper)

This was a class discussion lesson, and it was completed on a large piece of chart paper.  I made a line that distinguished the ground, allowing the children to see what was below ground and above.