Supporting Christian Science families and their young children
Materials
Tempera paints in pastel colors
Tulip shape drawn on cardstock
Used gift cards or expired key cards
Directions
Draw large tulip shape on white cardstock.Drop small amounts of tempera paint in various colors onto the tulip shape. Invite your child to use a gift card to scrape across the paint, filling in the tulip shape with paint. Once the paint has dried, cut out the tulip shape, tape to a green stem made from green construction paper and display on a window.
Materials
Tempera paints in pastel colors
Large paper
Sponge brushes
Directions
Tape a piece of large paper to the work surface. Invite your child to create a pastel painting using tempera paint in pastel colors. Sponge brushes work well for this activity.
Allow painting to dry and then display.
Materials
Box of baking soda
1/2 cup of cornstarch
Warm (almost hot) Water
Food coloring
Spoons, sponge brushes, pastry brushes
Spray bottle with vinegar
Directions
Invite your child to mix the dry ingredients and then add water, stirring until it’s not too thick. It may take almost a cup of water. Add food coloring. Your child will enjoy painting on the sidewalk or asphalt. Next have your child spray the paint creations with vinegar. This paint dries very quickly – but washes off with ease!
Materials
Empty plastic bottles with interesting designs on the bottom
Tempera paint in pastel colors (add white paint to make pastels)
Paper Plates
Large White Paper
Painter’s Tape
Directions
Pour various colors of tempera paint in pastel colors onto paper plates. Tape the large white paper to the workspace. Invite your child to dip the bottoms of the bottles into the paints and press onto the paper. Allow paint to dry before displaying.
Materials
4 cups birdseed
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup water
1 envelope Knox Unflavored Gelatin
3 Tablespoons Light Corn Syrup
1 Pound Lard
Cookie cutters
Cookie sheet
Parchment paper
Cooking spray
2 Straws cut into thirds
Yarn or twine
Directions
Mix flour, water, light corn syrup, and unflavored gelatin to form a paste. Slowly stir in birdseed, making sure it is all coated. Melt lard and add to mixture. Place cookie cutters on cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Coat the insides of the cookie cutters with cooking spray. Invite your child to spoon birdseed mixture into the cookie cutters and press down with the spoon. Poke a hole in each one using a straw, making sure the straw goes all the way through the birdseed mixture. Allow ornaments to dry for 3-4 hours. Remove the ornaments from the cookie cutters and place in freezer overnight. Thread a piece of yarn or twine through the hole, tie, and hang ornament from a tree branch. Using a pair of binoculars, observe the various birds that come and enjoy the special treat.
Materials
File folder
Paint chips in pastel colors (two of each color; cardstock works too)
Packing tape
Scissors
Directions
1. Trim paint chips.
2. Attach one set to file folder using packing tape.
3. Use second set to match.
4. Make a pocket for the second set out of packing tape (fold one piece in half for the pocket and use three more pieces to attach to the folder).
5. Invite your child to play.
Children enjoy this simple game, which helps them develop color awareness. Color matching also reinforces one to one correspondence, which will help them with math as they grow older.
Materials
Long white paper (group painting) or large easel paper for one artist to paint
Tempera paint in various colors (including white paint)
Small sponges or sponge brushes
Directions
Pour a small amount of the various colors of paint onto the paper. Add about the same amount of white tempera to the paints. Using a small sponge or sponge paint brush, invite your child to mix the white paint into the color paint and observe what happens. The paints are now pastels! Allow paint to dry and display.
Excellent practice in fine motor control and one to one correspondence
Materials
Golf tees in a small bowl
Jellybeans in a small bowl
Piece of styrofoam
Directions
Invite your child to poke golf tees into the styrofoam and then carefully place one jellybean on the top of each golf tee. Count the golf tees and the jellybeans.
Lesson Extension for Preschoolers:
Sort the jellybeans by colors
Make patterns using the jellybeans
Practice addition and subtraction (3 red and 2 blue make 5 jellybeans)
This activity provides excellent fine motor practice and one to one correspondence practice, placing one jellybean on one golf tee.
Variation: Use marbles instead of jellybeans
Your baby is growing so fast during the first year and by the second half of the year, your baby is interested in exploring the world around him. Soon your baby will be crawling, cruising, or walking and interested in investigating what he can see.
Here are some activities to try with your baby:
Materials needed: Small toys or books, blanket
What to do: Place a toy or book under a blanket, leaving part of the object showing. Then ask your baby, “Where is it?” and encourage him to look for it.
Variations: After your baby has mastered finding a partly hidden object, move on to hiding it completely under the blanket.
Skills learned: Fine motor skill development, object permanence
Materials needed: Plastic measuring cups or small cardboard boxes
What to do: Take turns stacking the cups or boxes and knocking them down.
Skills learned: Understanding cause and effect, fine motor skills
Materials needed: Wooden puzzles
What to do: Around 12 months of age, your baby will be ready for large wooden puzzles. Choose puzzles that have colorful shapes or simple pictures and knobs for grasping. Demonstrate how puzzles work and offer lots of praise when your child is successful. Puzzles take lots of patience and persistence, but are such a good activity!
Skills learned: Problem solving, fine motor skills, visual skills
Materials needed: Board or cloth picture books
What to do: Regularly read books to your baby, pointing to the pictures as you read and engaging her by changing your voice for different characters. Invite your little one to participate by touch the pictures, lifting the flaps, and turning the pages.
Skills learned: Language development, listening skills
What to do: Around 6 to 8 months of age, your child will learn to clap. Enjoy clapping this rhyme with your child:
Clap, clap, one, two, three
Clap, clap, clap with me.
Clap, clap, four and five.
Clap, clap, bees in hive.
Clap, clap, six, seven, eight.
Clap, clap, you are great.
Clap, clap, nine and ten.
Clap, clap, begin again.
Skills learned: Imitation, rhyming
What to do: Sing songs with real or made-up words that rhyme, like “thump, thump, thump, bump, bump, bump, jump, jump, jump.” Singing songs and repeating rhymes help your baby’s language development.
Skills learned: Develops auditory discrimination
Materials needed: Empty 16-ounce bottle, colored rice or pasta
What to do: Fill the bottle with the rice or pasta, and glue the top back on so your baby can safely watch and hear what happens as he shakes, rattles, and rolls the container. Babies this age are also learning about cause and effect, which is an exciting new skill.
Skills learned: Fine motor skills, auditory discrimination, cause and effect
Materials needed: Cheerios, opaque plastic cups
What to do: Create your own version of the old-fashioned shell game by hiding a Cheerio under a cup and seeing if your baby can find it. This simple activity reinforces object permanence, a major concept.
Variations: Using two different-colored cups, put the Cheerio under one cup and move it around to see if your baby can remember which one was the hiding place. After your baby has found the Cheerio under the first cup, show him you are now putting it under the second cup and see if he remembers that the Cheerio has moved.
Skills learned: Attention skills, memory development, object permanence
Materials needed: Colored plastic containers, mini flashlights
What to do: Turn on some mini flashlights, and drop them into empty water bottles, Tupperware, or any colored, lidded containers. Place your baby in tummy time in a dark room and let him explore the colorful lighted containers on the floor in front of him. Closely supervise as your little one grasps and turns, bangs and rolls the containers.
Variations: Take a flashlight out of a container, place your baby on her back and simply move the light slowly on a dark wall. Pause on objects and talk to or with your child about what she’s seeing.
Skills learned: Visual sensory stimulation, eye movement skills, sustained attention, socialization, bonding, body movement
Materials needed: Washable finger paint, a gallon-size zippered freezer bag, tape
What to do: Squeeze a couple of dark colors of washable finger paint into a zippered baggy and seal tightly. Add duct tape for extra security. Spread the paint around to coat the inside of the bag, then place it on the floor in front of your baby during tummy time. Show him how to make marks on the outside of the bag with his hand or finger.
Variations: Try this activity in a high chair when your child is able to sit independently.
Skills learned: Sensory development, fine motor skills, understanding cause and effect, early writing skills
Materials needed: Small toys, container
What to do: Place a few toys in a container with an opening a bit bigger than balls or pegs, plastic links, or other smaller items. Hand the container to your baby, who will probably turn it over and over, causing some toys to tumble out. Eventually, your baby will realize that something is rattling around inside and that toys seem to be falling out of it, so she will start shaking, banging, and reaching inside the container. Reload the container periodically until your child figures out how to do it on her own.
Variations: Once she’s gotten good at putting items in the container, you can extend the activity by choosing a narrow-mouthed container and longer toys, like rectangular blocks, pegs, and plastic spoons. Your baby will learn through trial and error that she has to turn the objects to fit them into containers.
Skills learned: Object manipulation and orientation skills
Materials:
Egg shell halves
Egg carton
Potting soil
Seeds of choice
Spray water bottle
Directions
Place egg shell halves in egg carton. Invite your child to spoon potting soil into each egg shell. Have you child poke his finger into the dirt and drop a few seeds into the hole. Gently cover with dirt and spray with water. Place the egg carton in a windowsill and observe daily. Count the number of days until you see the seeds sprout. Eggs shells can be transplanted into the ground or a bigger pot once the seedlings are growing strong.