Flower Graphing *reusable

For this *reusable* graphing activity you will need:

• A simple, blank graph (like this one)
• A laminator + laminating sheets (or a sheet protectors)
• wet erase markers
• dry erase markers
• Spinner (I made mine, but there are some rainbow ones here or blank ones here)

First, print as many graphs as you have kids/students. Laminate those graphs or put them in a sheet protector to make it reusable.

Next, with wet erase markers draw one flower at the bottom of each column. I used the 6 colors in the rainbow, to go with my spinner.

Then, get a spinner with rainbow colors. [I made mine, using the back of a spinner from a board game we have, a circle rainbow sticker (printed on sticker paper and cut out), then pulled the arrow spinner off the board and to put it on the back.]  Or you can google spinner printables and use a paper clip!

Last, play the game! *take turns spinning if you are playing with a group.

• Spin the arrow to see which color you get.
• Find that color flower, mark it on the graph with a dry erase marker (we drew F’s because it was during our letter F week)
• Repeat, until one column is filled up.

When one column is filled, then you can ask questions about the graph:

• Which color flower had the most spins?
• Which color flower had the least?
• Which two flowers had the same amount?
• How many MORE red flowers are there than blue?
• How many orange and green flowers are there together?
• etc….

**You can use this graphing activity for ALL KINDS of
different themes (umbrellas, dogs, ants, kites, etc!!)

There are more flower activities HERE on the blog and you can watch more F week ideas HERE on Instagram.

B is for Buttons

• Button sorting
1. With a bunch of colorful buttons of different sizes, put them in a sensory bin (bin filled with uncooked rice, beans, oatmeal, sand, etc) for the preschoolers to play with and find. Use tweezers to pick them out!
2. After they have been sorted by color, sort by size.

• Stinging buttons
1. With the same buttons used above and a pipe cleaner, string the buttons! They can string them:
• randomly
• patterns
• by color
• by size
• etc.

• Make a button tree
1. Gather your supplies. We used:
• empty toilet paper roll (filled with newsprint) and a base of cardboard glued to the bottom
• sticks from outside
• hot glue gun and extra glue
• BUTTONS!
2. Arrange the sticks and add dots of glue to the branches, applying a button to each one before it dries.
3. Another option is to glue the branches to a piece of paper so it is flat instead of 3D.

**Find more BUTTON inspired preschool activities HERE**

Back-to-School preschool

• Back-to-School Treasure Hunt
        We love doing “treasure hunts” at our house. So for this back to preschool activity, I set up a treasure hunt, with sticky note clues and lots of back-to-school related books and items that she found along the way.

1. Sticky notes (are the easiest) or paper with clues – as simple as “look under your pillow” and/or draw a picture of a bed with a pillow.
2. Stick the clue to a book or back-to-school item and have them collect them along the way
   
• Tip: the first item my preschooler found was her backpack, so she could then fill it up with all the books and items as she went along.
3. After the hunt, get a snack and sit down to read all the books they found! (see the next few ideas for more activities to go along with some of the books)

• Practice writing their name
1. Read David Goes to School by David Shannon
   
• All throughout the book it uses the writing paper. Point out to your preschooler how the book uses the writing paper with the words. Have your preschool look for letters in their name on the pages.
• Practice using writing paper, write their name (draw solid or dotted letters for them to trace if they need help with their names).
  
  
  
2. Explore different ways to write their name
   We used:
• Pencil/Crayons/Markers/Colored Pencils
• Sidewalk Chalk
• Lettered Beads
• Stamp Letters
• ABC Stickers, Magnents, Stencils
• etc…

• Crayons in Rice sensory bin

1. With the crayons they used to write their name (or from their treasure hunt), bury them in a rice/bean/wheat bin for sensory fun.
• use Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, Pink, Black, and Brown for a coloring project below.
2. As they dig up each crayon, have your preschooler use it to color the correct items and words on this page.

• Read If You Take a Mouse to School by Laura Numeroff

1. Collect a few items from around the house that are talked about in the book.
   Ideas are:
• Lunchbox
• Notebook and pencils
• Backpack
• Science Experiment (pictured below is THIS one)
• Soap/paper towels
• Building blocks/legos
• Clay/playdoh
• Notebook paper
• Soccer ball/Basketball/Skateboard
• Snack
2. Read the book again, and as you read, have your preschooler find the item you are reading about in the book. Put in order of sequence.
3. Play “What’s Missing”
• Lay all the items you are using for this book out on the floor or table.
• Have your preschooler close their eyes and remove an object (hide it so they dont know what you took)
• Have them open their eyes and figure out what’s missing.
• Then give them a turn to pick and item and you guess what’s missing.

• Read Albert Starts School by Eleanor May

1. Talk about the days of the week, show them on a calendar
• The Dollar store sometimes has days of the week items, or something like these, or make your own, or just write it out!
2. With your preschooler, decide (or tell them) what specific things are planned for each day of the week, just like in the book with Albert and school.
• ie: Mondays is Library day, Tuesdays is Art, etc.
• Leave the schedule up where they will look every day so your preschooler can plan and anticipate what is happening each day of the week.

C is for Colors

There are so many fun COLOR books and activities. We did several books alternating with an activity. Do them all or pick and choose which ones work for you! We get most of our books from our local library.

• Read “Colors for Zena” by Monica Wellington … available here.
  1. A fun book about a girl named Zena. She goes for a walk to find all of the colors that seem to be missing.

• Do ‘C’ journal page … we used a fun multi-color pen from the dollar store to write our letters. 
  1. Write ‘Cc’ on the next blank page.
  2. Write ‘COLORS’. I write this for my 2-year-old. My 4-year-old copies the word from the front of our book!
  3. Practice writing big C’s and little c’s.
  4. Draw a simple rainbow on your journal page.
  5. Add colorful stickers to the rainbow. Available here .

• Read “Animal Colors” by Beth Fielding … available here. 
  1. A very bright and colorful book! There are lots of interesting pictures. We really enjoyed this one.

 

• Make paint chip colors book … I keep this little book in my purse and pull it out when my 2-year-old needs an easy activity while we’re out. He will pick a color and we’ll look for things that match that color.
  1. Collect several paint chips from a local hardware store.
  2. Print the color names on sticker labels.
     • TIP: You could also just write the color names on sticker labels with markers. If you have time, your preschooler could also help write the words!
  3. Hole punch each of the paint chips and clip together with a circle fastener.
  4. Have your preschooler choose a paint chip color and stick the matching color name to it.
  5. When you’re finished, “read” the book together!

• Read “The Rainbow Book” by Kate Ohrt … available here. 
  1. This is a fun, bright book. Each page has a cutout that overlaps the next page, making it very colorful and fun to read.

• Color Hunt … I have used these color circles since my 10-year-old was about two. The kids never get tired of this  
  1. Cut out circles in several different colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, white, black, brown, grey)
  2. Write (or print) the color name on each circle.
  3. Laminate. I use this laminator.
  4. Have your preschooler choose a circle.
  5. Hunt around the house for things that match their color!
  6. We also have these colored-letter clothespins that we matched to the colored circles. Not necessary, but it was fun (I found them at Michaels).
     • TIP: You could also simply write letters on clothespins with different colored markers.

• Read “A Color of His Own” by Leo Lionni … available here. 
  1. This is a classic story about a chameleon who is not very happy that he blends in with everything, until he meets someone just like him!
  2. Ask your preschooler to find the word “color”. Hint: it’s the word that starts with a ‘C’!
  3. What colors do they see on the front cover?

• Colorful Painter’s Tape Art
  1. PREP: Use painter’s tape (available at a hardware store) to make the first initial of your preschooler’s name on white cardstock.
  2. Pour a small blob of several colors of paint on a plate. We use Crayola washable paints.
  3. Let your preschooler use their hands to cover the entire paper with color!
  4. Let dry, then remove the painter’s tape!

• Read “Red, Stop! Green, Go!” by P. D. Eastman … available here.
  1. This is a simplified version of “Go, Dog, Go!”
  2. There are several interactive pages (wheels to turn, tabs to pull)
  3. I love the page that changes the yellow dog to a green dog when it dives into the blue water (transparent film). Pretty creative!

• Play “Extreme Red Light, Green Light” … I’m sure we’re not the only family that plays this traditional game a little differently
  1. Use the same color circles from the activities above.
  2. Have your preschoolers stand at one end of the room (or outside!)
  3. Stand at the opposite side of the room, holding the colored circles.
  4. When you hold up the GREEN circle, the kids walk toward you.
  5. When you hold up the RED circle, the kids stop!
  6. If they continue to move, you can send them back to the starting line again.
  7. EXTREME: Add a few more colors, one at a time Have the kids help decide what they should be:
     • ORANGE: crawl
     • YELLOW: slow-motion
     • BLUE: hop!
     • PURPLE: walk backwards
     • BLACK: giant jumps!

• Have a COLORFUL snack! … this was a fun and favorite lunch
  1. Make a snack together with all the colors in the rainbow.
  2. We used red pepperoni and strawberries, oranges, a banana, green kiwi and blueberries. Mmmm!