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Materials

Several boxes of blue raspberry Jell-o (4-5 large boxes)
Large Plastic tuO
Plastic cups, scoops, spoons

Directions

Make several boxes of Jell-O according to the directions on the box. Refrigerate until firm.  Place Jell-O in a large plastic tub and invite your child to explore with his hands, scoops, pour into cups, etc. You child will love the cool, gushiness of the Jell-O.

Materials

Several balloons
Variety of materials to fill the balloons (e.g. sand, rice, beans, water)
Funnel
Small scoop or spoon

Directions

Using a funnel, invite your child to help fill balloons the balloons using a small scoop or spoon. Make two each. Tie the balloon closed and place in a large basket or bowl. Instruct your child to try and match the balloons according to what’s inside of them. Find the two balloons that are filled with water, beans, rice, etc. Ask your child if she remembers what’s inside each of the balloons.

Materials

3 Small clear cups or bowls
Eye dropper or pipette
Baking Soda
Vinegar
Yellow Food Coloring
Spoon

Directions

Fill a small cup or bowl with baking soda.  In another cup or bowl, pour about 1/4 cup vinegar.  Add several drops of yellow food coloring to the vinegar.  Set out a spoon, pipette, and another empty cup or bowl and invitie your child to experiment placing a spoonful of baking soda into the empty bowl and adding a few drops of the colored vinegar by using a pipette.  Observe what happens.

Lesson Extensions

Provide three clear bowls for colored baking soda (yellow, blue, red)  To color the baking soda, add a few drops of food coloring and mix.  Provide 3 more clear bowls or cups with colored vinegar (yellow, blue, red).  Using an egg carton, place a spoonful of one color of baking soda into an empty egg section.  Using a pipette, place a drop of a different color vinegar mixture on top of the baking soda.  What new color did you make?

Materials

Small Paint rollers
Tempera Paint
Large Paper to cover table top
Masking Tape
Tray for paint

Directions

Cover table top with butcher paper or large paper.  Secure with tape.  Place 1-2 rollers in tempera paint that has been poured onto a tray. Invite your child to roll the paint roller through the paint and then onto the paper. If two primary colors are chosen, it’s a fun way to teach secondary colors.  Use fall colors and glue a nature collection onto the painted mural. 

Materials

8-10 different-sized leaves
12″x18″ construction paper
Glue

Directions

Take a nature hike with your child at a local park or in your backyard and gather a variety of leaves that are different in size and shape.  Once home, spread the leaves around your work table.  Point out different sizes and shapes.  Invite your child to put leaves in piles of small, medium, and large.   Using the construction paper as a work mat, ask your child to choose 4-5 leaves to put in order from smallest to largest, working from left to right.  Once the leaves are in the right order according to their size, ask your child to put small drops of glue on the backs of the leaves and glue them down onto the paper in the same order from smallest to largest.  Allow time for the glue to dry before displaying.

Materials

Bucket or bag

Directions

Take a nature hike with your cihild at a local park or in your backyard and gather a variety of leaves, acorns, nuts, etc. that are different in size and shape. Once home, spread the collection around on your work table. Point out different sizes and shapes. Invite your child to put things in piles – acorns, leaves, sticks, etc. Talk about the different characteristics.

Lesson Extensions

• Count each pile.  What is the largest collection?  What was the least amount collected?
• Make patterns with the nature materials
• Make a nature collage once you’re done exploring all the nature items

Materials

White construction paper
Yellow tempera paint
Shower scrunchie
Googlie eyes
Elmer’s Glue
Black Sharpie marker
Small orange piece of construction paper or carft foam to make a beak
Paper plate

Directions

Place 9×12 white construction paper onto the table surface. Pour yellow paint onto the paper plate. Invite your child to dip the shower scrunchie into the yellow paint and dab onto the center of the onstruction paper. Ask yoour child to choose two googly eyes to glue onto the yellow paint and a small orange triangle for the beak. With a Sharpie marker, draw two legs.

Dry completely before hanging.

Ingredients

1 box of Banana Nut Muffin Mix
2 ripe bananas
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
oil 
eggs

Directions

Follow the recipe on the muffin mix as directed.  Invite child to mash 2 ripe bananas and add them to the muffin mix.  Stir with a spoon.  Stir in 1/2 – 3/4 cup of mini chocolate chips.  Drop by small spoonfuls into the muffin tin.  Bake 8-10 minutes or until done in the middle.

The children loved helping to make the muffins, cracking the eggs, pouring the oil, stirring and mixing, pouring in the chocolate chips, then spooning the batter into the muffin tins.  They also loved eating them!  The recipe made 48 mini muffins.

Materials

Mini clothes pins
Basket of plastic cup

Directions

Place mini clothes pins in a basket or plastic cup.  Invite your child to pinch the clothes pins and fasten them onto the edge of the basket or cup.

Extensions

Add colored tape to the clothes pins and around the basket.  Encourage your child to match the colors.  Colored dots can also work.

Write letters of numerals on the clothes pins and on sticky dots around the basket. Child matches letter to letter or upper case letter to lower case letter, or numeral to numeral 

Place simple pictures around the basket and child clips the letter on the picture that begins with the letter sound.