Blog Archives - WELCOME THE LAUREL SCHOOL TODDLER, PRESCHOOL & PRE-KINDERGARTEN VIRTUAL CLASSROOMS

Ocean Foil Painting

5/29/2020

Check out the read aloud by Ms. Julia and see if you can create an ocean for your little boat to float on!

Our Lessons For the Week!

What is our theme? Ocean Foil Painting

What is the lesson (overall purpose)?
To reflect on the read aloud and talk about where your boat will go.

MA Guidelines/Standards:
APL 1: The child will demonstrate initiative, self-direction, and independence.
SEL7: The child will demonstrate the ability to communicate with others in a variety of ways.
SEL12: The child will demonstrate the ability to reflect on and evaluate the results of his/her actions and decisions.
APL 1: The child will demonstrate initiative, self-direction, and independence.
SEL10: The child will demonstrate the ability to seek help and offer help.

Learning Outcomes:
To recall the story and create art using different materials and media.

Songs, Books & Videos (Motivational Techniques)
If I Had a Little Boat read aloud by Ms. Julia (See Video Below)

Materials:

Cardboard
Tinfoil
Tape (I used packing tape, but I'm sure any kind would work)
Paint (we used dark blue, light blue and white tempera paint)
Q-tips
Glitter (optional)
Ocean Stickers (or print ocean clipart to glue on)
Construction paper boat

Activity (Procedure):
1) Wrap a piece of tinfoil around your piece of cardboard. Tape the tinfoil (on the back side of the cardboard) into place.
2) Squeeze paint onto the foil and have your child(ren) swirl the paint around with a q-tip. Once finished painting, shake glitter onto the paint at this point.
3) Once the paint is dried place ocean stickers onto your ocean scene.
4) Glue your boat to your ocean scene or place it on top so you can move it around your ocean.

Activity Wrap Up:
Lay project overnight to dry before adding stickers or gluing anything to it.

How do I know what my child is learning? (Assessment)
Ask open ended questions. Where will your boat sail too? What will it find when it gets there? What kind of animals live in the ocean?

How can you extend this activity? (Modifications)
You can use a paint brush or cotton balls.

Helpful Hints: (Pitfalls & Solutions)
If your child decided to use their hands to finger paint it the oils from their hands may cause the paint to peel off of the tinfoil.
Be careful not to rip the tin foil.

Bottle Cap Fish

5/28/2020

Lets try using those milk jug caps to make some fun fish!

Our Lessons For the Week!

What is our theme? Bottle Cap Fish

What is the lesson (overall purpose)?
Finding ways to repurpose materials instead of just throwing them away.

MA Guidelines/Standards:
APL 1: The child will demonstrate initiative, self-direction, and independence.
SEL7: The child will demonstrate the ability to communicate with others in a variety of ways.

Learning Outcomes:
This craft is great to teach children about shapes as well as about recycling.

Songs, Books & Videos (Motivational Techniques)
https://youtu.be/Ya_Yya021V8 - Summer Wonders read aloud by Ms. Julia

Materials:

blue paper
Milk jug caps
colored paper(for the fish tails)
Google eyes (or you can draw eyes)
black marker
green tissue paper
glitter glue
white paint
paper straw
2 small small paper plates
school glue

Activity (Procedure):
1. To make the fish you need a milk cap and a triangle shape cut from paper. Start by gluing the triangle down on a blue sheet of paper. Squeeze some school glue onto one of your paper plates. Dip your bottle cap into the glue to give it a generous amount all around the rim and then glue the milk cap down overlapping the triangle to make the fish shape.
2. Continue adding fish all over your paper. Finish them by gluing on a googly eye.
3. To make the scales on your fish you can use glitter glue or markers. Make scales on the bottle cap and also lines to define the tail fin.
4. Use a black marker to draw a mouth on your fish. It probably would have been easier for the kids to draw the mouth on before using the glitter glue (just a heads up) that way they don’t accidentally smear glitter glue on their fingers or all over their fish.
5. To make the bubbles, dip the end of a paper straw in white paint and then press it onto your paper. The key to getting this to work properly is to make sure the white paint doesn’t bubble over the hole at the end of the straw. Every time we dipped the straw in the paint we had to turn it up and blow into the straw to pop the bubble if there was one. If you don’t blow the bubble out, you will just get a solid circle.
6. Now you can stop right here and enjoy your fishy scene, but if you want to add more detail to your scene you can crunch up little strips of green tissue paper and glue them to the bottom of your paper to make water plants.

Activity Wrap Up:
Lay your artwork on a flat surface to dry.

How do I know what my child is learning? (Assessment)
Ask open ended questions. Ask them to describe their picture to you. Explain how they made it and what shapes and colors they used.

How can you extend this activity? (Modifications)
What else can you find in the ocean? Can you create those creatures as well for your picture?

Helpful Hints: (Pitfalls & Solutions)
Make sure you give it enough time to dry.

Sand Dough

5/27/2020

Why not bring some of that sand home from the beach to make your own sand dough!?

Our Lessons For the Week!

What is our theme? Sand Dough

What is the lesson (overall purpose)?
To strengthen fine motor skills and to experience different textures.

MA Guidelines/Standards:
PreK-PS1-4 (MA). Recognize through investigation that physical objects and materials can change under different circumstances.
PreK-PS1-2 (MA). Investigate natural and human-made objects to describe, compare, sort and classify objects based on observable physical characteristics, uses, and whether something is manufactured or occurs in nature.
SEL12: The child will demonstrate the ability to reflect on and evaluate the results of his/her actions and decisions.
APL 1: The child will demonstrate initiative, self-direction, and independence.

Learning Outcomes:
This activity is great for developing the muscles in your hands that will later help with writing.

Songs, Books & Videos (Motivational Techniques)
https://youtu.be/LoHgl9vH5Vo - If You Ever Want To Bring a Piano to the Beach Don't! Read aloud by Ms. Julia

Materials:

1 cup of all-purpose flour
1 cup of fine beach sand {not craft sand}
1/4 cup of salt
1 tablespoon of cream of tartar
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
1 tablespoon of glycerine
3/4 cup of boiling water
Shells and rocks found at the beach

Activity (Procedure):
Whisk the top set of ingredients together in a large boil. Add the boiling water and mix well with a wooden spoon. When cool enough to do so, dump the dough out onto the counter and give it a good knead. Let it cool completely (this will get rid of any residual stickiness) and then play!

Activity Wrap Up:
When you are done with your playdough place it in an airtight container for later use.

How do I know what my child is learning? (Assessment)

ask reflective questions as children are engaged in activities, such as “What happened when ___? What did you think would happen?”
help children connect their plans with implementation (e.g., “You planned to ___, how did it work out?”).

How can you extend this activity? (Modifications)
Finding shells and rocks at the beach as well as beads and other things from your home to use in your playdough. You can make prints with these items in the dough.

Helpful Hints: (Pitfalls & Solutions)
Let it cool completely (this will get rid of any residual stickiness).

Shell Paintings

5/26/2020

We live on Cape Cod and love shells. Let's find some special ones to paint and keep!

Our Lessons For the Week!

What is our theme? Shell Paintings

What is the lesson (overall purpose)?
To explore the beach and find shellto paint

MA Guidelines/Standards:
RI.PK.2. With prompting and support, recall important facts from an informational text after hearing it read aloud.
SL.PK.6. Speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas.
PreK-PS1-2 (MA). Investigate natural and human-made objects to describe, compare, sort and classify objects based on observable physical characteristics, uses, and whether something is manufactured or occurs in nature.
SEL12: The child will demonstrate the ability to reflect on and evaluate the results of his/her actions and decisions.
APL 1: The child will demonstrate initiative, self-direction, and independence.

Learning Outcomes:
To work on our fine motor skills and to feel different textures. Some are smooth.

Songs, Books & Videos (Motivational Techniques)
https://youtu.be/Ya_Yya021V8 - Summer Wonders read aloud by Ms. Julia

Materials:
Shells
Paint brush
Acrylic paint (any paint you have is fine but acrylic will show up the best)
Small cup of water and towel to wash and dry off brush

Activity (Procedure):
Go on a walk on the beach.
Search for shells and try to find ones that are still whole.
Rinse them off and let them dry outside.
While your shells are drying watch the read aloud video and talk about what you saw at the beach and in the book.
Decorate your shells with paint.

Activity Wrap Up:
Let the shells dry and place them on display for your family to see inside or outside.

How do I know what my child is learning? (Assessment)
See how they are using the paint brush. Are they being gentle and using brush strokes?
Ask what colors they choose.

How can you extend this activity? (Modifications)
You can paint rocks and maybe a dried up crab shell also.

Helpful Hints: (Pitfalls & Solutions)
Make sure there isn't anything on the shells that will make the paint peel off.
They must be clean and dry before painting.

Flower weaving

5/22/2020

Weaving is so much fun! But it's even more fun to weave with things found in nature!!
Our Lessons For the Week!

What is our theme? Flower weaving

What is the lesson (overall purpose)?
Working on fine motor development.

MA Guidelines/Standards:
SEL10: The child will demonstrate the ability to seek help and offer help.
SEL12: The child will demonstrate the ability to reflect on and evaluate the results of his/her actions and decisions.
APL 1: The child will demonstrate initiative, self-direction, and independence.
APL 2: The child will demonstrate eagerness and curiosity as a learner.
APL4: The child will demonstrate creativity in thinking and use of materials.
APL6: The child will seek multiple solutions
to a question, task, or problem.
PK.MD.1. Recognize the attributes of length, area, weight, and capacity of everyday objects using appropriate vocabulary (e.g., long, short, tall, heavy, light, big, small, wide, narrow).

Learning Outcomes:
PK.MD.2. Compare the attributes of length and weight for two objects, including longer/shorter, same length; heavier/lighter, same weight; holds more/less, holds the same amount.

Songs, Books & Videos (Motivational Techniques)
https://youtu.be/AnoNb2OMQ6s - shape song
https://youtu.be/GysjOAZzvz0 - Mouse Shapes read aloud

Materials:
Sticks
Yarn
Assorted flowers, leaves, bark, long strands of grass. (Anything you think you could add to your weaving).

Activity (Procedure):
To begin, collect sticks for your loom. 1/4 to 3/4 inch diameter sticks will work well for this craft. The length will depend on the size and shape of the loom you plan to make.
Secure the sticks together with yarn to create the base of your loom.
Pull tight as you wrap the yarn in a criss-cross fashion around the two sticks, then tie it off at the back.
Make the loom any size or shape you want.... you can make a rectangle or maybe a triangle.... you can get really crazy and make a trapezoid or even a hexagon!
Tie a piece of yarn around one of the corners and begin wrapping it around the loom.
Wrapping it around the stick twice will help keep the yarn taught and prevent it from sliding on the sticks.
Tie the yarn off on one of the corners when you reach the other side of the loom.
Get creative with your loom. Use colorful yarn or ribbon, string beads along the yarn as you wrap it, or paint the sticks with a fun design!
Time to decorate your loom! Go on a nature walk in your backyard, neighborhood, or the park. Collect interesting grasses, flowers, leaves, seed pods, nuts, and pieces of bark that you find on the ground. If you are lucky, you may even find a feather.
Weave your treasures through the strings of the loom.

Activity Wrap Up:
Display your project.

How do I know what my child is learning? (Assessment)
Ask your child open ended questions. Use words like longer and shorts. And you can compare and contrast different pieces of your weaving project.

How can you extend this activity? (Modifications)
These nature looms look especially pretty when displayed in a window. And you can redecorate them anytime you please.

Helpful Hints: (Pitfalls & Solutions)
Make sure you pull the yarn tight enough and space it out but not too much.
If the yarn isn't holding the sticks together you can hot glue them first.

Painting with flowers

5/21/2020

What if instead of painting with a paintbrush you tried painting with flowers!!

Our Lessons For the Week!

What is our theme? Painting with flowers

What is the lesson (overall purpose)?
To experience different textures while creating art. Colors, different size flowers and leaves.

MA Guidelines/Standards:
SEL3: The child will demonstrate self-efficacy (confidence/competence).
APL 1: The child will demonstrate initiative, self-direction, and independence.

Learning Outcomes:

acknowledge children’s independence or leadership.
allow children to work at their own pace; acknowledge increments of accomplishment.

Songs, Books & Videos (Motivational Techniques)
https://youtu.be/ql6OL7_qFgU - flower video

Materials:
Construction paper
Assorted paint colors
Assorted leaves, flowers etc.

Activity (Procedure):
Make your flour and water paste. You will want it to be thick so start with 2 parts flour to 1 part water. You will want it to be thick.
Paint the flour mixture onto the paper and stick your flowers and other assorted nature finds to your picture.

Activity Wrap Up:
Your project will need time to dry.

How do I know what my child is learning? (Assessment)

ask reflective questions as children are engaged in activities, such as “What happened when ___? What did you think would happen?”

How can you extend this activity? (Modifications)
You can paint with sticks and leaves and anything else you find in nature.

Helpful Hints: (Pitfalls & Solutions)
The soft stem of most flowers mean that you need to almost drag the flower along the paper – rather than make definite brush strokes – something different for a change!

Flower Pictures

5/20/2020

What if instead of using glue you tried using flour and water!?
Our Lessons For the Week!

What is our theme? Flower Pictures

What is the lesson (overall purpose)?
To experiment with different textures and materials instead of the regular glue.

MA Guidelines/Standards:
APL 1: The child will demonstrate initiative, self-direction, and independence.
APL 2: The child will demonstrate eagerness and curiosity as a learner.

Learning Outcomes:
Talk about how you can use different materials to create a work of art while enhancing fine motor skills and independence as a learner.

Songs, Books & Videos (Motivational Techniques)
https://youtu.be/ql6OL7_qFgU - Flower video

Materials:
Flour
Water
Paint brush
Colored construction paper
Assorted flowers found outside

Activity (Procedure):
To make glue from flour and water, add about two Tablespoons into a jar and slowly add water until you have a paste like consistency – needs to be thick!
Brush the “glue” onto the spots where you would like to stick flowers or clover the paper with glue and stick flowers everywhere!!

Activity Wrap Up:

display children’s artwork at their eye level and encourage them to revisit their own and other children’s creations.

How do I know what my child is learning? (Assessment)

help children to formulate questions and plan in-depth investigations on topics of their own interest.

How can you extend this activity? (Modifications)

use their senses to explore their environment (e.g. textures; sounds; tastes; mixing materials; cooking, etc.).

Helpful Hints: (Pitfalls & Solutions)
This is a great activity that can be done almost anywhere there is flour!! It is not about the final masterpiece, rather the process of collecting flowers, sorting them out, and sticking them onto paper.

Spring Crown

5/19/2020

After learning about pollinators do you feel like a pollinator master? Well then it's time to make a spring crown!

Our Lessons For the Week!

What is our theme? Spring Crown

What is the lesson (overall purpose)?
Create opportunities for choice (e.g., provide time, space, and a variety of materials and activities that are familiar and challenging).

MA Guidelines/Standards:
SEL3: The child will demonstrate self-efficacy (confidence/competence).
APL 1: The child will demonstrate initiative, self-direction, and independence.
APL 2: The child will demonstrate eagerness and curiosity as a learner.
APL4: The child will demonstrate creativity in thinking and use of materials.

Learning Outcomes:

emphasize the creative process over replication of an adult-made product - show children how to use materials rather than what to make with them.

Songs, Books & Videos (Motivational Techniques)
https://youtu.be/ZDjFZVqiLvY - flower video

Materials:
Duct tape
Brown paper grocery bags
Scissors
Colorful mix of leaves, flowers, and anything else you’d like to use for embellishments on your crowns.

Activity (Procedure):

Step 1: Measure the circumference of each queen or king’s noggin. Use that measurement (plus an extra couple inches for the “seam”) to cut a two inch wide strip from the paper bag that will fit around their heads.
Step 2: Cut another paper bag strip of the same length, but this time cut one side straight and one side in whatever pattern that you’d like to appear along the top edge of the crown (we did a simple zigzag cut).
Step 3: Tear off a piece of duct tape of the same length then lay it down on a flat surface, sticky side up. Attach your plain strip of paper bag at the bottom edge (make sure any printing on the bag faces down) and the shaped strip along the top edge, leaving most of the sticky tape area exposed. This adhesive strip is where you’ll attach all of your beautiful spring adornments to create a glorious crown!

Activity Wrap Up:
Wear your fancy crown! I bet you can attract some bees with it!

How do I know what my child is learning? (Assessment)

ask open-ended questions that create dialogue (e.g. “What do you think about…?” “Tell me more about it.” “How do you know that?”).
model flexibility by demonstrating that with new information, you can change your mind or adjust your plans and that there may be more than one way to do things.

How can you extend this activity? (Modifications)
You can try doing a pattern with the flowers you have or make more than one crown.

Helpful Hints: (Pitfalls & Solutions)
If the items are too big you can always hot glue them for your child so they stay on their crown.

Acrylic Paint Sun Prints

5/18/2020

This simple technique uses heat and evaporation to create negative images of objects placed on painted fabric!

What is our theme? Acrylic Paint Sun Prints

What is the lesson (overall purpose)?
To take an artistic approach to science and to continue on with our lesson of pollination and flowers.

MA Guidelines/Standards:
SEL12: The child will demonstrate the ability to reflect on and evaluate the results of his/her actions and decisions.
APL 1: The child will demonstrate initiative, self-direction, and independence.
APL 2: The child will demonstrate eagerness and curiosity as a learner.

Learning Outcomes:
To witness how powerful the sun is.

Songs, Books & Videos (Motivational Techniques)
https://youtu.be/iRLqAhaniyg - video about evaporation.

Materials:

white 100% cotton fabric
acrylic craft paints (darker colors work best)
paint brushes
water
a tarp or plastic trash bag
flowers, leaves, etc.

Activity (Procedure):

Gather your supplies and head outdoors on a warm, sunny day. Spread out a tarp or plastic bag to protect your driveway. Wet the fabric, squeezing it out just enough that it no longer drips, and lay it flat on the tarp. Thin the paints about 1:1 with water.
Paint the fabric.
Gather flowers and leaves with interesting silhouettes. Or if you prefer, household items such as washers, keys, toys, office supplies, kitchen utensils, sewing notions, foam shapes, etc. You will get the best results from objects that lie flat and make good contact with the fabric around their edges. For example, a leaf will work well, an acorn will not.
Arrange your items on the fabric and press them lightly into the paint. If you are working with flowers and leaves, press their edges as flat as possible. To get a sharp image, the edges need to make contact with the fabric.
Let the fabric dry completely (this will take several hours). Now comes the fun part... the peel and reveal! There were lots of "oohs and aahs" from my girls as they pulled off the leaves and flowers.
To heat set the paint, tumble your sun prints in the clothes dryer at high temperature for about 45 minutes. At this point you can wash the prints to soften them up.

Activity Wrap Up:
Talk about how water evaporates from the exposed surface of the fabric as it is heated by infrared energy from the sun. The covered areas of the fabric are essentially protected from evaporation, making them wetter than the exposed fabric. Water diffuses from the covered fabric to the drier exposed fabric, pulling the paint pigments along with it. The trick is to start with enough water to pull all the pigment out from under the items being printed. Through a little experimentation, I learned that using wet fabric and watered-down paint gives the sharpest prints.

How do I know what my child is learning? (Assessment)
Watch the evaporation video and discuss what you saw. Talk about how this happened to your picture.

How can you extend this activity? (Modifications)
While you wait for it to dry you can paint with water
On the pavement and watch to see the sun make it disappear when it dries.

Helpful Hints: (Pitfalls & Solutions)
Don't try this on a windy day.

Have a spray bottle of water handy. Mist the fabric lightly if it starts drying before you've arranged the leaves and flowers.

Darker colored paints make the best prints because they give the most contrast with the white fabric.

Stain Glass Rocks

5/15/2020

After learning about pollinators all week it's time to do something fun for our gardens!
Our Lessons For the Week!

Date: 5/15/20

What is our theme? Stain Glass Rocks

What is the lesson (overall purpose)?
To promote the use of fine motor skills.

MA Guidelines/Standards:
APL4: The child will demonstrate creativity in thinking and use of materials.
APL 1: The child will demonstrate initiative, self-direction, and independence.

Learning Outcomes:
All projects that promote fine motor skills are also pre writing skills as well. Cutting with scissors or tearing paper with your hands are all pre writing skills.

Songs, Books & Videos (Motivational Techniques)
https://youtu.be/Q7l1lb3ZqRs - If You Find a Rock read aloud.

Materials:

Rocks, smooth ones are best but you can use any size or shape
Tissue paper
Elmers glue
Water
Waterproof sealer such as polyurethane
Paint brush

Activity (Procedure):

Wash your rock with water and let dry. To a small cup or bowl, add about 1/3 cup of water and 2 tablespoons elmers glue and mix until combined.
Tear your tissue paper into small pieces. Use a paintbrush to cover the rock with the glue mixture and start laying down your pieces of tissue paper. You will probably have to reapply the glue a few times. I also like to do one coat of glue on top of the tissue paper after you've finished.
Let the rocks dry completely and then apply a few coats of waterproof sealer. Let dry and then place them in your yard or garden!

Activity Wrap Up:
When the rocks are dry place them in your garden or display them somewhere special to you.

How do I know what my child is learning? (Assessment)
Talk to your child about what they did first, second and so on. Help them to get familiar with these words and their meanings. Talk about the colors your child is choosing for their rocks.

How can you extend this activity? (Modifications)
You can use black and yellow to make the rocks look like bees!