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Materials

Bin or large container
Dried beans (pinto, navy, or lima)
Striped objects
Cups, spoons, bowls

Directions

Hide a variety of striped objects in the beans. Encourage your child to find all the striped objects.  For additional fun, you can take a picture of each object using an iPad or camera phone.  Invite your child to find the object that matches the picture.  Once all the objects have been found, count the ojbects.

Materials

Canvas Art Boar
Acrylic paints
Painter’s Tape
Old credit cards or gift cards

Directions 

Prepare art board by placing painter’s tape vertically, diagonally, or horizontally across the art board. Spoon or pour a small glob of acrylic paint on the board and invite your child to use a credit card or gift card to spread the paint across the canvas.  Continue spreading different colors of paint across the board until the surface is covered with paint.  Allow paint to dry.  Then invite your child to carefully pull the paint off the canvas to see the lovely striped design.

Materials

Pattern of a snake drawn with permanent marker onto a 12×18 piece of construction paper
Googly eyes
Tempera paint
Small, clean household sponges cut in half
Glue
Newspaper to cover work space
Paper plate 

Directions

Cover work space with newspaper. Pour a small amount of tempera paint onto a paper plate. Invite your child to paint stripes on the snake by dipping the edge of the sponge into paint and gently pressing it onto the paper.  You may choose to demonstrate how to make stripes or point out some stripes on fabric. Allow paint to dry, then cut out snake.  Preschoolers can be encouraged to cut out their own snakes.  Glue the snake onto a piece of construction paper.  Add googly eyes and display.

Materials

Orange and black construction paper
Glue
Picture or book about tigers

Directions

Spend some time looking at pictures of tigers with your child. Notice the beautiful black stripes that they have. Invite your child tear long strips of black construction paper and glue the strips onto orange construction paper to look like tiger stripes. Display the tiger stripes.

Extension activity;

• Read a book together about a tiger (The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr; Winnie the Pooh by AA Milne)
• Talk about where tigers live

Tearing paper is a great fine motor activity for toddlers and preschoolers.

Materials

A variety of puzzles

Observe your child as she works a puzzle.  Your child is practicing problem solving, improving her visual spacial awareness and eye and hand coordination, refining her fine motor skills, and when puzzles are worked on together they promote cooperative play.

Working puzzles is a very important part of a child’s early learning.

Materials
Large plastic tub
Metallic Foil Shred Filler

Directions
Empty metallic shred filler into a large tub.  Encourage your child to explore it – pull it apart, Hide small objects in the filler and invite your child to find them. 

For preschoolers, hide pairs of magnetic letters and invite your child to find the pairs – matching upper case letters; pairing lower case letters with their upper case letters; try to create simple words, etc.

 

Ingredients
Puff Pastry
Ripe banana
Peanut butter
1 egg, well beaten

Directions

Cut puff pastry into 3 inch squares. Invite your child to help peel the banana, place the banana in a small bowl, and then mash it with a fork. Place a small amount of peanut butter in a bowl. Using a butter knife, invite your child to spread some peanut butter onto the puff pastry square. Top the peanut butter with mashed bananas. Help your child fold the puff pastry in half so that it makes a triangle.  With a fork, press the edges together.  Place on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Using a pastry brush, paint the tops of the turnovers with egg.  Bake as instructed on the puff pastry box.  Allow to cool and enjoy as a special snack!

Materials
Variety of plastic colored straws with different thicknesses and cut into various lengths 
Large empty Parmesan cheese container

Directions
Cut plastic straws into various sizes ranging from 2-4 inches in length.  They can be all one color if you’re wanting to reinforce a specific color, or they can be a variety of colors, which can help with color recognition.  Invite your child to drop the various straws into the holes of a clean Parmesan cheese container.  You can encourage your child to find all the orange straws, then all of the purple straws, etc.  Your child may want to count the straws as he drops them into the container.

In addition to practicing fine motor control, this activity also helps develop eye/hand coordination.

Materials

Variety of blue and gold materials for gluing (feathers, gold paper, tissue paper, confetti, etc.)
Paint brushes
Elmer’s School Glue
Large piece of construction paper
Containers to hold materials
Paper plate or container for glue

Directions

Place gathered materials on a tray or basket. Pour glue into a small container. Invite your child to add glue to the large construction paper and carefully place a few materials at a time to cover the glue and make a collage. Dry complete before hanging.

Materials
1-2 colors of tempera paint
2 paper plates
2 clean sponge dish wands
Large piece of construction paper

Directions

Cover work space with newspaper. Pour a different color of tempera paint onto each paper plate. Using a sponge dish wand, invite your child to dip the wand into the paint and then dab it on the large piece of construction paper.  What happens when one color of paint mixes with the other color of paint. Once dry, display.