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Materials       
Mini pumpkins
Large plastic tub
Soapy Water
Sponge, cut into quarters
Bowl of water for rinsing
Towels or rags for drying the pumpkins

Directions       
Fill the plastic tub with enough slightly warm water to make the pumpkins float, about an inch.  Add some liquid dish soap and froth the water so it’s sudsy.  Add the pumpkins and pieces of sponge and let your child start scrubbing.  When the pumpkins are clean, rinse them in the bowl of clean water.  Use the towels to dry them off.  The clean pumpkins can be displayed in a basket or used as fall decorations around the house!

Materials       
One cake of watercolor paint
Construction paper
Cup of water
Thin brush
Masking Tap

Directions       
Making marks on paper with a thin watercolor brush is a wonderful way to encourage your preschooler to practice those important fine motor skills!  It’s also a process that requires your child to follow a simple sequence of steps to bring about the desired outcome.  Your child will also become aware of different kinds of lines (straight, curvy, zigzag, long/short lines, vertical/horizontal lines) and shapes.  Use the masking tape to secure the paper to the table in front of your child.  Provide your child with a ½-filled cup of water.  Show him how to dip his brush into the water; then swirl the wet brush on the watercolor cake to pick up the color.  We start out by using only one color of paint initially, to simplify the process.  After he has some paint on his brush, encourage him to “sweep” the brush across the paper.  Dip the brush in the water again, swirl it on the watercolor cake, and mark the paper again.  When your child is finished, show him how to rinse the brush in clean water so he’s ready the next time!

 

 

Ingredients    
Clementine oranges
Celery

Directions       
Peel the number of clementines you will need.  The stem of the “pumpkin” is made from a thin sliver of celery.  If your celery stalks have any thin offshoots, cut those off the main stalks into 1/2 inch pieces, inserting one into the top of each clementine.  If you don’t have enough offshoots, cut thin pieces from the main stalks instead.  

Materials     
A tray
2 or 3 items for your baby to explore
A small blanket or cloth of some kind

Directions       
Sit your baby on the floor in front of the tray.  Give him one of the items to explore. (Put the others aside for now.) Let your baby explore the item for a few minutes.  Choose something that is safe for him to mouth, because that will be part of the exploration!  After a minute or so, take the object from your baby and hide it on the tray under the blanket.  What is the reaction?  If your baby is 6 to 10 months old, he is probably perplexed, wondering where the item went, even though you put it under the blanket in front of him! He has not yet developed what is known as “object permanence,” which is the awareness that if something is gone from view, it’s not gone forever.  Generally, babies at this stage of development learn through exploring the environment that objects still exist even when covered up or hidden.  Try it again with another object. It’s a fun game to play again after a few weeks.  Playing peek-a-boo is another way to illustrate this concept with younger babies.

Materials     
A water table (a large, shallow plastic container placed on the floor or on a low table)
3–4 inches of water
Small plastic cups, measuring cups, funnels, basters, large spoons, jars, sieves, etc.

Towels
Adult supervision

Directions       
Water play for preschoolers is great fun—ask any three-year-old!  But in addition to being fun, it’s a great way for children to improve hand-eye coordination, dexterity, precision; experiment with basic math concepts, including volume, fractions, (half-full, quarter-full) more/less; science concepts, as they determine why some things sink while other things float; social skills as they talk with others about what they’re experiencing and learn to share the water toys.

For blue week, we tried adding blue food coloring to the water.  We used only blue cups, funnels, etc.  We even used a blue water table!  Children love experiencing water play, and the benefits of such an activity are far-reaching, and well worth the occasional spills!

                       

                       

Materials       
Shape sorter and shapes

Directions     
Shape sorters are a classic preschool toy, widely praised by early educators for promoting basic math skills, vocabulary, awareness of same/different, and fine motor skills.  Set a shape sorter in front of your child with all the shapes beside it.  Explain to your preschooler that each shape has its own special “door” into the sorter, and his job is to find the right door for each shape.  Pick up a shape and identify it to your child (a circle, triangle, star, – whatever the shape may be.)  Give the shape to your child to examine, talking about what makes it different from the others.  Then, let your child examine the sorter itself.  Typically, there are cutouts for the shapes on all sides of the sorter, so you can examine the sides of the sorter, one at a time, comparing the cutouts to the shape.  Let him try the shape in some of the cutouts, gently encouraging him to perhaps turn the shape a little to fit it into the sorter.  Congratulate him when he finds the correct “door”.  Then choose another shape and proceed in the same manner.

 If you don’t have a shape sorter, you can make a shape sorting sheet on paper.  Trace some simple shape outlines on a piece of paper.  Using cardboard, or another color of paper, cut out shapes to match those you’ve traced.  See if your child can lay the paper shapes on the correct outline.

Materials       
Blue floral stones
Blue plastic geometric shapes
Blue beads
Blue ribbon pieces
Blue dyed macaroni pieces
etc.

Directions       
For Blue Week, we collected a variety of blue items to be explored on the light table. Light tables give a whole new dynamic to exploration, and if you don’t have one, you can easily make one out of a plastic container and a string of Christmas lights.  Check Pinterest for DIY information.

Another option for exploring items in your color collection is to set the items on a mirror.  Set the mirror on the floor, sit your preschooler in front of it with a basket of items to explore, and watch the learning begin!

 

Ingredients     
Blueberry muffins box mix 
Eggs
Oil
Water
Powdered sugar (optional)

Directions     
When we cook, we look for something yummy, simple, and quick from start to finish!  These pan cakes fit the bill! We give everyone a job:  we have egg crackers, an “oil” man or woman, water pourers, mixers, and even tasters! 

Prepare the blueberry muffin mix according to package directions, but instead of filling muffin pans with the mixture, try frying them in an electric fry pan in some oil, or on the stove, over medium heat. The children don’t do the actual cooking, but they do watch from a safe distance. Be sure to have the discussion that stoves and frying pans are HOT, and we DO NOT touch them! 

After flipping the cakes over, let them cool on a plate for a few minutes before serving.  The result is a slightly-thicker-than-pancakes cake that tastes like a blueberry muffin. And a pinch of powdered sugar makes them even yummier!

Ingredients   
Blue corn tortilla chips
Shredded cheddar cheese (or the cheese of your choice)

Cookie sheet
Aluminum foil

Directions     
Line the cookie sheet with a sheet of foil for easy clean-up.  Preheat oven or toaster oven to 350°.  Spread a layer of blue corn tortilla chips on the cookie sheet.  Sprinkle with shredded cheese.  The amount of cheese is a personal preference, but the chips should be mostly covered.  Put the cookie sheet in the oven for about 4 minutes.  If the cheese is melted, pull out the nachos and let them cool a minute before serving.  If the cheese hasn’t quite melted, give it another minute, but keep an eye on it!

This is a great recipe to make with your child because they can do all the steps, and it’s fast!  Enjoy!