Blog

Materials

Muffin pan
Cupcake Foam Stickers

Directions

Provide cupcake foam stickers. For younger children, you may want to limit the stickers to two different kinds. For older preschool age children, provide a variety of stickers to encourage more interesting and challening patterns.  To introduce the idea of a pattern to your child, start with just two different stickers and place them in the muffin pan using an ABAB pattern. Invite your child to copy the same pattern in the row underneath. Once your child has mastered copying a pattern, ask him to extend your pattern by asking what comes next in the pattern.  This will help you determine if you child understands that a pattern repeats.  The last step is generating his own patterns and learning how to make more complex patterns using 3, 4, or more different objects. 

Understanding the concept of patterns help children see patterns in numbers, literacy, music, and all around them!

Ingredients

Pancake Mix
Raisins
Stawberries
Bananas

Directions

Make pancakes as directed. Cut a strawberry in half from top to bottom and place at the top of the cooked pancake.  Add raisins for eyes and a banana button for the nose.  Place two more raisins on the banana to complete the snout.  Enjoy as a special breakfast or morning snack.

Ingredients

White glue
Plain shaving cream
Brown Tempera paint
Spoon
Bowl
Paper plate
Brown paper
Circle paper punch

Directions

Put 3/4 cup of shaving cream and 1/4 cup of white glue into a bowl and mix. Add in some brown paint and mix well. Glop it on the paper plate, taking your time to feel it in all it’s goopiness. While your child is playing/painting the plate cut out some “chocolate chips” from the paper. Add them to the cookie. Dry completely.

Materials

Handkerchief

How to Play

1. Place the handkerchief over the baby’s head and pretend you cannot find him.
2. Say, “Where’s (baby’s name)?”
   When the baby takes off the handkerchief, get excited and say, “Oh, there’s (baby’s name)!”
3. Encourage the baby to put the handkerchief on his head all by himself.

Delicious!!

Ingredients

1 Can Pillsbury Grands
Vegetable Oil
Cinnamon Sugar

Small Round Cookie Cutter

Directions

Click here for recipe.

Materials

Cardstock in tan or brown (really any color can work)
Chocolate chips
Sharpie Marker
Scissors
Circular object for tracing

Directions

Trace and cut out 10 or more large circles from cardstock.  Write numerals 1-10 or larger if your child is working on recognizing numerals past 10. Invite your child to identify the numerals and place the right number of chocolate chips on top of the cookie shape.  For toddlers, use dot stickers to place on cookies.  Invite your toddler to place one chocolate chip on each dot sticker.  Practice counting with your toddler and point out the numeral. Younger children may want to begin with just 2-3 cookies. of course, it’s always fun to eat the chocolate chips when they are done with the lesson.

Lesson Adaptions and Extensions

1. For toddlers and young preschoolers, draw with a marker or place colored dot stickers that are the same colors as M&M’s on each cookie cutout.  Invite your child to place M&M’s on matching dots. Count the M&M’s.
2. Encourage your preschooler to line up the cookies in numerical order and then add the chocolate chips.

Materials

Brown construction paper
Black construction paper or black dot stickers
1 piece of cardstock cut into a large circle
Glue stick
1 piece of construction paper for mounting
Scissors

Directions

Using the large circle cut out of cardstock, invite your child to cut or tear brown construction paper pieces and glue them onto the circular shape. Encourage him, but don force him to cover the whole “cookie shape”. Once the cookie is covered with brown paper, invite your child to glue some black dots cut out of construction paper, or use black sticker dots to add to the cookie to make it look like a chocolate chip cookie. Once the mosaic is dry, mount it onto a piece of construction paper for displaying. 

Reread If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff

Ingredients

1 Cake Mix (any flavor)
Eggs
Oil
Mini cupcake papers
Mini cupcake pan
Melon baller
Can of Frosting (any flavor)
Sprinkles

Directions

Follow the directions on the box of the cake mix. While you’re mixing, invite your child to place one cupcake paper in each cupcake holder. This is task provides great fine motor practice, especially using the pincer grasp. Once the batter is mixed, help your child use a melon baller to scoop the batter into the mini cupcake tins. Bake as directed.  Once cool, frost and invite your child to add the sprinkles.  Serve as a special treat!

Materials

Brown Construction Paper
1 piece of cardstock
Simple Muffin Shape template
Brown Tempera Paint
Paint Brush
Scissors

Directions

Draw a simple muffin shape on cardstock to use as a template.  Using brown construction paper, trace around the muffin shape and cut it out. Pour brown tempera paint in a small bowl or cup.  Invite your child to paint the muffin.  Reread: If You Give a Moose a Muffin by Laura Numeroff.

Materials

Paper Plate
Pink Tempera Paint
Large Googly Eyes
Pink Construction Paper
Paint Brush
Black Sharpie Marker
Glue

Directions

Pour pink tempera paint in a small bowl or cup. Invite your child to paint the paper plate pink. While the paint is drying, cut out two pink trianges for the ears and one pink circle for the nose from pink construction paper.  Help your child draw two circles as nostrils on the pink circle. Once the pink paint has dried, encourage you child to glue the two triangles toward the top for the ears, two googly eyes on the paper plate, and the pink construction paper nose on the center of the plate. Tape a large craft stick to the bottom of the plate. Have fun using the pig puppet as you reread the book, If You Give a Pig a Pancake by Laura Numeroff.