G is for Gumball

 

G is for Gumball is always a hit with my preschool kids. Supplies you will need for this day:

• Gumballs - big, small and any you can find in between!  

• Gumball Machine (I have THIS one from amazon, or there are other fun machines on amazon.) You can sometimes find little ones at the Dollar Store.  

•  Pennies!! (if you have the gumball machine I have). 

•  Food safe marker (or a sharpie, but make sure they don't eat the gumballs) 

•  Butcher paper (or newsprint or a large piece of paper) 

•  Colorful paper circles  (big)

•  Circle stickers (these are so fun and colorful) 

•  Print the last three pictures in this post

Gumball letter match

A fun interactive, lots of movement activity is matching paper gumballs to the giant paper gumball machine. If you have butcher paper or newsprint (find it at your local newspaper office), draw a big gumball machine and add uppercase and lower case G's all over inside. 

Cut paper circles of all different colors and write uppercase and lowercase G's on those. Lay the "gumballs" out on the floor and tell your preschooler/s to fill the gumball machine by matching the G and g's. (You could also mix this up and write all the letters of the alphabet in the machine and make gumballs to match).

When they're done, you should have a very colorful, filled gumball machine!!

Print these pages! 

1. Inside the gumball machine page, write uppercase G's and lowercase g's, similar to the giant gumball machine. Using the circle stickers, write G's and g's to match the amount in the gumball machine. Your preschooler will match uppercase G "gumballs" (stickers) to the G in the machine, and same with lowercase g's. (instead of G's, you could write the alphabet to match).

2. Write a-z and numbers 1-10 on gumballs, with a food safe marker, or a sharpie if you aren't planning on eating them. Use the actual gumball machine. After each gumball comes out, find it on the page and color it in (the color you use can match the color of the actual gumball!). 

3. Everyone LOVES putting pennies in the gumball machine and seeing what color comes out. Use it to your hearts content, but after each one comes out, mark it on the chart. Graph the colors that come out, or just mark each circle.

B is for Bear {Goldilocks and the 3 Bears}

• Read “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” … this is one of my very favorite versions. I love Caralyn & Mark Buehner’s books. The details in the pictures are a lot of fun too.

• Gummy Bears & Sizes
  1. Print out this Goldilocks & the Three Bears size page.
  2. Grab a handful of gummy bears or teddy grahams (nine to be exact).
  3. As you read the story and the bears come back home, place a gummy bear on each item they observe:
     • the big, medium & small bowls of porridge
     • the big, medium & small chairs
     • the big, medium & small beds

 

• Find Goldilocks
  1. Just for fun, dress up like a bear. VERY SIMPLE. My 3-year-old has been eyeing the Halloween face paint, so we painted her nose black. Add a couple of brown paper ears to a headband and you have a bear
  2. Hide Goldilocks somewhere in the room.
     • I printed out a picture from the book, laminated it & attached a popsicle stick.
     • You could also hide a doll or print and cut out a cute Goldilocks clipart here.
  3. Have your little “bear” look for Goldilocks.

• Sorting Circles Sizes … sort circles, then use them for the next activity!
  1. Using different shades of brown, cut out the following circles.
     • 1 large dark brown circle
     • 1 medium dark brown circle, 1 medium medium-dark brown circle
     • 6 small dark brown circles, 1 medium-dark brown circle
     • 3 extra small black circles, 9 light brown circles
     • TIP: I used a plate, bowl, cup and glue cap to trace around the different circle sizes.
  2. Help the kids sort the circles into similar sizes.
  3. Use words like big, biggest, large, medium, small, smallest, etc.

• Build a Bear
  1. Using the sorted circles and a glue stick, help the kids put together their own brown bear.
  2. I showed my preschooler a picture of a finished bear to look at while we worked.
  3. She used the glue stick on her own to add the circles.
  4. Write a large letter B on his tummy. We practiced write ‘B’ a few times with several different crayons.

• Finger Paint a Brown Bear
  1. Print out this great bear outline at Twisty Noodle. I love that you can customize the text on the page.
  2. Trace the letters.
  3. Use brown paint to finger paint the bear!

• Make Porridge for Lunch … if you look closely in the Buehner’s book, you’ll see a canister of oatmeal (porridge) on the counter
  1. Make a batch of oatmeal. My 3-year-old helped measure and add the water and oatmeal.
  2. Add your favorite toppings. We sprinkled brown sugar and blueberries on top.
  3. We also used a Papa-sized, Mama-sized, and Wee-Bear-sized bowls.

G is for Gumballs

The best thing about preschool at home with my kids is that we can do whatever we want! So we did a G is for Gumballs day! So fun.

• Read “The Bubble Gum Kid” by Stu Smith

• Preschool Journal G Page
  1. Practice writing Gg and “Gumball”
  2. Draw a gumball  
  3. Put gumball stickers all over page. I couldn’t find any, so I just printed this gumball image on sticker paper. Amazon does have some cute ones here .

• Sticky Bubblegum Song
  1. This is a cute little song that will have the kids laughing.
  2. Let the kids choose where their hands will stick! 

• Gumball Sticker Machine
  1. Print this terrific gumball machine from Motherhood on a Dime here
  2. Use dot stickers (in the office supply section) to fill up the gumball machine with colorful gumballs.
  3. OPTIONAL:
     • You could write A-Z or 1-10 all over the gumball machine.
     • Have the kids put a gumball sticker over each one as they count 1-10 or A-Z.
  4. OPTIONAL:
     • Laminate your gumball machine printable.
     • Use playdoh (or my new favorite, model magic). Roll into balls and fill your gumball machine with gumballs .
     • Thanks for the fun idea Deborah at Teach Preschool.

 

• Gumball Machine Fun
  1. I found these great little gumball machines at the Dollar Tree! There are also several to choose from here. 
  2. Let the kids have fun filling the machine with colorful gumballs.
  3. Let them dispense the gumballs.
  4. Sort the gumballs into colored bowls.
  5. OR … Have them put one gumball in each section of a Mini Ice Cube Tray and treat the ice cube tray like a graph. I found these at Bed, Bath & Beyond for $2.99 for a set of two.
• Blowing Bubblegum
  1. Have the kids decorate a large circle to look just like themselves.
  2. Or take a picture of the kids with their cheeks puffed out & print a large copy.
  3. Blow up a small pink balloon and tie.
  4. Poke a small hole where the mouth is and insert the tied end of the balloon bubble.
  5. It will look just like they’re blowing a bubblegum bubble!

• Gumball Obstacle Course … inspiration here.
  1. Set up a simple obstacle course.
  2. Have the kids place one gumball on a spoon.
  3. Maneuver through the gumball obstacle course.
  4. If the gumball falls, grab it, run back to the beginning and try again.

A Grinchy Preschool Day

Tonight is movie night.

We are watching “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and having grinchy treats. The kids are excited about it. I decided to have a Grinchy preschool today before we watch the movie.

• Read “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” by Dr. Seuss … a holiday classic.

• Little Rhyming Books
  1. Point out several rhyming words in the book.
  2. Read a sentence or two and have the kids guess what the rhyming word could be.
  3. Staple several small papers together, making the bottom piece longer than the rest.
  4. Write a word chunk on the last piece of paper (so you can see it as you read the whole book.) We used –at and –un.
  5. Have the kids help you think of rhyming words and name the beginning letter sound. Write that letter on one flap.
  6. Continue until the whole rhyming flap book is complete.
  7. Help the kids read their rhyming book.

• Grinch Coloring … we used this for part of our next game below.
  1. Print a copy of the Grinch. We used the page here.
  2. Color the Grinch and cut it out.
  3. Cut out a simple Grinch body and legs from green paper.
  4. Glue the Grinch’s head to the body.

• Grinch’s Heart Game
  1. In the book, the Grinch’s heart grows three sizes on Christmas.
  2. Cut out several red hearts.
  3. Talk with the kids about why the Grinch’s heart grew and how it made him feel.
  4. Explain to the kids that the Spirit of Christmas makes our hearts feel good and “grow” inside. Today, every time they do something kind for someone else (make their bed, do a job for them, put their lunch dishes away…) they can leave a heart for that person. When they find a heart, they get to glue it to the Grinch.
  5. Don’t forget to remind the kids and ask them how they feel when they do something nice for someone else. (Don’t forget to do several small acts of service yourself!)

 

• Grinch Bead Bracelet
  1. Give the kids a length of elastic.
  2. Set out a bowl of green beads.
  3. Tape one end of the elastic to the table.
  4. Let the kids string green Grinch beads to make a bracelet.
  5. Tie and wear!

Grinch Movie Night

• Watch the classic “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”

• Enjoy Grinchy Treats
  1. Grinchy Popcorn … original recipe here. Sweet and salty. This got thumbs up all around  
     • Pop popcorn and remove the seeds.
     • Melt green candy melts in the microwave according to the directions.
     • Pour all over the popcorn and stir well.
     • Spread the popcorn over a sheet of parchment and let cool.
  2. Grinchy Milkshake
     • Blend green mint ice cream and milk in a blender.
     • Pour into glasses and serve.
     • Another Grinch drink with lime sherbet and 7up here.
  3. Grinchy Snacks
     • green grapes
     • cucumber slices, broccoli and dip
     • green M&Ms

Halloween {Ghost} Day

  

• Read “Ghosts in the House!” by Kazuno Kohara
  1. Love this book! This is one of my new favorite Halloween books. Most ghost books are a little creepy, but this one is fun and cute. My kids and I loved the artwork.
  2. A little girl (who is not just a girl, but a witch!) moves into a new house. There are ghosts living there, but she knows just what to do. She simply catches the ghosts, washes them, hangs them on the clothesline to dry and uses them for curtains and blankets and a tablecloth.
• Read “Bedtime for Boo” by Mickie Matheis
  1. Another cute (not creepy) Halloween ghost book. We enjoyed this one.
  2. Little Boo goes out for his first night of haunting and comes home not sleepy one bit. His Mama ghost tells him to listen to the sounds all around until he falls asleep. Cute.

• Cotton Ball Ghost Puppets … I handed these to the kids to play with as we read our stories. They lasted for a little while
  1. Simply poke a wooden skewer into a cotton ball (and fluff up a bit).
  2. Add sticky googly eyes.

• Preschool Journal Page
  1. Practice writing Gg and “Ghost” … my 4-year-old wasn’t in the mood for writing which is fine. I encourage it, but don’t push it. He enjoyed the stickers.
  2. Draw a ghost!
  3. Put ghost stickers all over page

• Invisible Ghost Painting
  1. Use a white crayon to draw Gg and ghosts all over white cardstock.
  2. Use a Do-A-Dot marker to “catch” the ghosts and Gs. 
  3. My kids never get tired of doing these.

 

• Ghost art and narration … I love doing these! They always turn out so cute.
  1. Have the kids retell the story “Ghosts in the House” in their own words.
  2. Type their story word for word and print it out on orange paper.
  3. Have the kids draw a black Halloween scene on the orange paper.
  4. Cut a ghost shape out of vellum. Glue on top of your Halloween scene to look just like the artwork in the book

 

• Make ghost windsocks
  1. Cut out two black circle eyes and an black oval mouth.
  2. Glue to a piece of white cardstock.
  3. Slip the page into a clear page protector.
  4. Cut a white garbage bag into strips.
  5. Tape to the bottom of the ghost face.
  6. Roll into a tube and hang!

• Oreo ghost treats … we’re using our imaginations on these … they were sure yummy! 
  1. Melt white candy melts.
  2. Dip Oreos in the candy melts
  3. Add candy eyes (or two chocolate chip eyes!)
  4. Let dry on wax paper.