Ann Arbor Public Schools
Preschool Activities Menu
Week #1: April 13, 2020
Weekly Video Message (can also be found on the preschool homepage on the left side)
Welcome to the Week
Hello Families!
We hope this week's Activity Menu will provide you with some ways to keep your Preschooler active and learning. Our first and foremost priority is that you and your family are safe, healthy, and doing well. If you are not able to do these activities, or if you just do one, that is OK! Do what you can, when you can, if you can. If your child does not like an activity or something doesn’t work, that is OK too. You can encourage your child by saying these words:
- Tell me how you did that…
- Let’s try together…
- You’re working hard…
- What will you do with those?
- Why do you think that happened?
- How can we find out?
- What do you think will happen next?
Remember, children do not learn if they are not having fun!
Week 1 Mindfulness Activity: Rainbow Breath/Go Noodle - YouTube
CREATIVITY
Learning Focus of this Activity: Your child will use materials from around your home in creative ways and use their imagination.
Overview of Activity: Don’t throw it out… wash it and use it for building, playing and art. Designate a box or a bag as a collection spot. Save toilet paper and paper towel tubes, lids, boxes, yogurt cups, cans, water bottles, styro-foam trays and containers, etc. Your child can be in charge of the “Junk Collection” and use it to play store, build towers, color on, etc.
Ideas:
Early
Middle
Later
Build a tower
Stack items, words to use: “more, on top, under…”
Make two towers. Which is taller, which is shorter?
Have your child tell you, or draw a plan of what they will build
Play house or store
Put items in and out of shopping bags - does it fit? “Too big or too small”
Add other items, like a baby doll/stuffed animal, or some “money,” or credit card.
“Write” a shopping list (give your child paper and pencil); include siblings (ex: one is cashier, one is shopper.)
Decorate the items
Make simple marks on the items
Put items together to create something different
Encourage your child to describe what they are making or how they will decorate the items, etc
Ways to Support Your Child:
- You can help your child get started by making a tower and letting them copy it. Start simple by putting one item on top of, or inside another and have your child do the same.
- Encourage your child to plan ahead, “let’s save that one for the junk collection,” or “would this be good for your collection?”
- When a container is empty let your child wash it.
SCIENCE
Learning Focus of this Activity:
- Your child will experiment with various materials in water. (items saved in the “junk collection” above)
- Your child will understand the ideas of sinking and floating.
Overview of Activity: Put water in a container (sink, tub, plastic bowl…). Experiment with materials like plastic milk and water bottle caps, styro-foam trays, pennies or other small pieces and see what happens.
Ideas:
Early
Middle
Later
Does it sink or float?
Use the words FLOAT and SINK (or sunk), as your child puts items in water. Let them experiment.
-Ask your child simple yes/no questions about what happened.
-Sort items into two piles, a float pile and a sink pile. Talk about “more, less, biggest, smallest”
-Ask your child to predict if an item might sink or float, before it goes in the water.
-Ask “why do you think it will float?”
Is it a boat?
Try to put a penny, or smaller item*, onto a floating object and see if it still floats.
(*small legos, pieces of styrofoam)
Add small items until the boat sinks - count the items.
Make up a story about the boat and the passengers. Write it down or let your child record it on your phone.
Ways to Support Your Child:
- Help build finger strength and coordination: Use tongs from your kitchen, or thumb with pointer & middle finger, to take all the items out of the water and put them on a towel or in another container to dry.
- Encourage thinking skills: “try it another way,” or “maybe you could turn it over” - don’t just show them how to make something float
MATH AND LANGUAGE
Learning Focus of this Activity:
- Your child will use words, or gestures, or objects to participate in the finger-play with you. “Five Little Hot Dogs”
- Your child will build their understanding about numbers and counting
Overview of Activity: Say the following finger-play with your child. Use the palm of your hand as the pan and your fingers as the hotdogs. Clap your hands together when you say BAM! 5 Little Hot Dogs - YouTube Video
2* little hot dogs frying in a pan (*you can start with a bigger number, this is just an example)
The grease got hot and one went BAM!
1 little hot dog frying in a pan
The grease got hot and one went BAM!
No little hot dogs frying in a pan
The grease got hot and the pan went BAM!
Ideas:
Early
Middle
Later
Encourage your child to participate
Your child imitates a few of the actions you are doing, or joins in with a clap or the word “BAM!”
Your child does the actions with you and begins to say more words
Your child says most of the finger-play independently and puts on a show for others
Counting
Hold up your fingers and count them with your child. Help your child hold up one or two fingers.
(Use real objects - see below)
PIck a new number to start the finger-play with. Ask your child to put that many “hotdogs” in the pan. “Let’s do 4 hotdogs, can you put 4 hotdogs in the pan?”
-Your child tells you how many hot dogs are left as each one goes away.
-Try changing the finger-play. Say “and 2 went BAM!”.
Ways to Support Your Child:
- Your child will need to hear the finger-play several times before s/he will be able to repeat it.
- You can start the finger-play with 2 hotdogs or you can start the finger-play with 7… use any number that is good for your child.
- Give your child a pan and some “hotdogs” (legos, straws, pretzels, pieces of paper etc.) and act out the fingerplay
PHYSICAL
Learning Focus of this Activity: Your child will develop throwing and catching skills
Overview of Activity: Materials: Socks rolled into balls. Use a box, laundry basket, or a small towel as a target.
Ideas:
Early
Middle
Later
Throw
Stand close to the target, drop or toss the ball in. Get excited about taking a turn, say “My turn!”
Move the target farther away, or change the size of the target (use a smaller box)
If you have stairs, pick a number (4), lay a target (washcloth) on that step (fourth), try to toss socks up.
Catch
Toss the ball into a box or basket your child is holding. Did it make a sound? Words to use: “Loud or not loud; hear it or not hear it”
Toss the ball towards your child’s chest. Encourage them to move hands together to catch the ball.
Play catch with a partner. Every turn, take a step farther apart.
Challenge
Stand on a couch cushion (put it on the floor to work on balance), or put the target up on a chair, to change the game.
Use the other hand for throwing
Use empty water bottles or milk jugs and create a “bowling game”
How many can you knock over?
Ways to Support Your Child:
- Pick a safe area for your child to catch/throw soft balls.
- Show your child how to roll socks into a ball. Does the ball change if you use mom’s socks or the baby’s socks?
- Use a beach-ball or a plastic bag ball (stuff a plastic bag with other bags or newspapers and tie it shut) to help your child catch if a sock ball is too small.