Scrapbooking

By Stephanie Boyle



Scrapbooking is a great activity for children, it allows them to be creative and tell their side of the story as they remember it. Mind you, scrapbooking is not an activity for the very young children out there as there is many things they need to be able to do or have an adult do for them. Either way scrapbooking is a great activity for many ages.



To get started get the child to look through photos, let them pick out the ones they would like to use. Give them a choice as this is their scrapbook, not yours. They will want to tell a story in their eyes and that may be important to them. Make sure you have all the materials out such as scissors, paper, any embellishments you may want to use and of course, lots and lots of stickers available for them. If you have never done srapbooking before and wanted to know how to get started or what is needed, I go into it in a lot more detail in another post Scrapbooking tips & Information, so you can look into that if you have any other questions.



It's amazing what they can do if you let them go at it and don't restrict any of their ideas. I'll show you a few examples of what a couple children have done. One child is 4 years old and the other is 8. They did some great work, and mainly the help I offered to them was just cutting. It was a great experience sitting there watching them do it, they had so much fun and were so proud of the work they had done.

Halloween - Witches' Brew

By Stephanie Boyle

Here is a fun Halloween recipe that children will enjoy making as well as drinking. It is easy to make so even the youngest children can assist in making this. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 Gallon of cranberry juice
1 gallon of apple cider
12 oz of orange juice concentrate
ice cubes (optional)
paper cups
stirring utensils

Instructions:

This is very easy to make. Get all the children together, and gather all the ingredients. Pour all ingredients into punch bowl and stir. Add ice cubes and chill if desired.

Thanksgiving Day Poem

By Stephanie Boyle

Get your students in a lone and give them all a letter to hold up as they are saying their lines. once all the children are done the letters they are holding up spells Thanksgiving.

T is for turkey on Thanksgiving Day
H is for hurry we're hungry we say
A is for Auntie she works and she mends
N is for our Native American friends
K is for Kitchen the oven's on low
S is for silverware sat in a row
G is for Grandma the one we love most
I is for inside where we're warm as toast
V is for vegetables, eat them we try
I is for ice cream on top of the pie
N is for never do we have enough dressing
G is for Grandpa who gives thanks for our blessings.

Happy Thanksgiving Day!!!

Lullabies - Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

By Stephanie Boyle

This is a fun some, really brings you back to your childhood when you sing it, and the children enjoy it. Add some actions with the song to make it more interactive.

Twinkle twinkle little star

How I wonder what you are

Up above the world so high

Like a diamond in the sky

Twinkle twinkle little star

How I wonder what you are

When the blazing sun is gone.

When he nothing shines upon.

Then you show your little light.

Twinkle twinkle all the night.

Chorus:

Then the traveler in the dark

Thanks you for your little spark.

He could not see which way to go

If you did not twinkle so.

Chorus:

In the dark blue sky you keep

And often through curtains peep.

For you never close your eye

Til the sun is in the sky.

Chorus:

Music - Lullabies

By Stephanie Boyle



If anyone has a new baby brother or sister, we could teach these in the music center so they will learn new songs to sing to their little baby brother or sister.



1. Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star



2. Hush Little Baby



3. Golden Slumbers



4. Bye Baby Bunting



There are so many others as well, any ideas?

Blocks Centre - Ideas

By Stephanie Boyle



For the block centre, arrange theme days. Change some blocks, add new blocks, this pushes them in a direction, vbut lets their minds go free from there. Some examples include but are not limited to Farm Day, Transportation Day, Zoo Day, Camping Trip of Blocks and a Circus made of blocks.



Farm Day

• Various Farm Animals


• Trailers


• Trucks


• People


• Tractors

Procedure: Have the toys out for the children but not set up. Let the children set it up in the way they see it in their minds.

Transportation Day

• Trucks


• Boats


• Planes


• Cars


• Blocks


• Bikes

Procedure: Have the children set these up as they see fit. Its all about the childs point of view.

Zoo Day

• Animals


• Blocks


• People


• Trees

Procedure: The children can make a zoo, again do not set up anyuthing and let their imaginations go. They can put animals in and around the zoo that they would normally see there. Teach each child the names of each animal. They can make pathways around the animals, people walking around the cages and trees all around.

Camping Trip With Blocks

• People


• Animals


• Trees


• Cars


• Lots of blocks

Procedure: Have this theme on a camp day. The children can build a cabin for the people out of blocks, one that they would like and dream of. They can make a place that they would like to be. Let them tell stories later on about previous camping trips.

A Circus Made Of Blocks

• Animals


• People


• Clowns


• Blocks

Procedure: Start setting up some of the center as a circus. have the beginning made as a circus ring. Then watch the child's imagination work as they see various ways they can change it and set it up.

Winter Activity - Winter Picnic

By Stephanie Boyle

This is a fun activity that children will love and you can do it anytime of year. Just remember if switching the seasons switch the type of foods you will be giving to the children for a season appropriate activity.



Needs;

• Blankets



• Warm foods



• Warm clothes

This is an activity you can do anytime of the year. You can do it in the summer with cool foods instead of warm foods. If you decide on doing this in the winter, try not to pick a cold day. Listen to the weather and try to do this on a nice day. Get the children dressed warmly and set off on your picnic. It can be in your backyard, the playground or even a park.

** Remember, a childcare worker must dress in warm clothes like the children.