It's Playtime: A Bit of Science

Halloween may be over but these It's Playtime science activities are good all year around...

Science Sparks shared their post about Making an Eerie Sound Device.  This simple activity can be spooky or just plain silly.  I love the video she posted demonstrating the device!

 Whole Child Creative Curriculum posted this Science Experiment for Preschoolers.  Don't have a rubber glove laying around the house (or school)?  Try using a balloon for a similar effect.

If you were featured this week, don't forget to grab your special "featured button."

<a href="http://messypreschoolers.blogspot.com/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeEYKQj4S7oHoLKfsA3PoeXgaNMJ5dxkdUxIphbmwXOlbFg78Gwl73-rT8AdMTgmqYmIJZrkJRYOqOEItkCbR_exui4YhZqLlwZaBHXhC5slGyqPScnxvq-zrQezw9-MdIUiecgW3fxKg/s1600/featured-messykids.jpg" width="150/" /></a>

Now, on to this weeks play date! 

It's Playtime is a community and Thursday link-up hosted by:

* Rachele : Messy Kids (That's me!)
* Anna : The Imagination Tree
* Rachel : Quirky Momma
* Jamie : hands on : as we grow
* Jenny : Let the Children Play

How to Play :

* Link up a post about a playful learning experience enjoyed by kids.

* Give us love and pop a button into your post/blog. Invite your readers to the weekly play date!

<a href="http://messypreschoolers.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VWLA7lm_Fqc/TaNHGpGSuVI/AAAAAAAAEX0/DGSvqIT7fyU/s320/RED-itplaytime.jpg" width="150" /></a>

* Stop by one of our blogs every Thursday and add your link about play. Your link will show up on each of the blogs in the It's Playtime community.

* Each week the playtime hosts will choose favorite posts to feature. (By linking you are giving us permission to use an image and link to you, if featured.)

* Be sure to visit some of the links that catch your eye. Commenting on posts that you find interesting or inspiring is a wonderful way to develop your own playful community.

Halloween Math

Aside from some pre-measuring and cooking activities, I haven't done too many math activities with my son.  With the possibility that he will begin Kindergarten next year (he'll be eligible but barley 5, so I may hold onto him one more year) I figured it was time we start.  Of course, as an advocate for play, I wanted it to be somewhat open ended, but I wanted a bit of structure as well.  

 I started with a chart sectioned into 4 distinct areas.  I'd purchased some Halloween foam stickers from the $0.99 store for such an occasion.  I placed one sticker in each section, then separated matching stickers into muffin tins.

I wasn't concerned with colors (although, I was secretly hoping for some sort of pattern!), simply shapes.  I told him he could peel the stickers and place them into the matching section, as many as he wanted, then we'd count them.   

 Peeling foam stickers is excellent fine motor practice!  

 Michael is extremely active with a short attention span.  He did match his shapes, but would only place 1 sticker in each column, so, I went with it.  After all, it's his first time and I did want this to be play-like and fun.

Once he placed his stickers, we counted how many he placed in each column.  I reminded him what a "1" looked like and let him write the number on his own.  

For some more Halloween math ideas check out:

Little Lucky: Halloween Activities (this site is in Romanian but she has Google Translate)

3 Jewels in my Crown: Pumpkin Seed Math

It's Playtime: Back to School with Fun Things to Do

I know many of you teachers, homeschoolers, and unschoolers out there are back to school already.  You've been preparing for months but you still want some ideas stored away for a rainy day, or maybe just some newer ideas to add to your usual lesson plans.  So here you go!  This week on It's Playtime I bring you some great learning ideas posted during last weeks play date.  Enjoy, share, and add your own!  We are so glad you came to play.  

 I Heart Crafty Things put together this great lesson plan revolving around the book, Red Light, Green Light by Anastasia Suen.  She includes color sorting, math, language, and fine motor skills.    Perfect for boys and girls alike!  

Simple and beautiful, this fine motor skill activity from Share & Remember involves small suction cup bath mats and jewels.  Preschoolers will enjoy creating patterns and designs with an underwater theme.   

  Keeping Life Creative shared a DIY Recycled Crayon post, melting similar colored crayons together in cupcake papers, creating new, peanut butter cup shaped crayons.  While over at Slightly Nerdy. Sometimes Cool. they used Recycled Crayons to create their own rainbow crayons.  

Over at Tinker Lab, Rachelle's been working hard on her DIY Light Table and adding a different element to the learning experience...salt!  I love the prints and patterns that adding salt to the table creates.  

While on the discussion of Discovering Light, Beansprouts Preschool Blog took a boring, old sensory table full of cornstarch and shells and added some beautiful colored lights, creating a whole new sensory experience!

If you were featured this week, don't forget to grab your special "featured button."

<a href="http://messypreschoolers.blogspot.com/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeEYKQj4S7oHoLKfsA3PoeXgaNMJ5dxkdUxIphbmwXOlbFg78Gwl73-rT8AdMTgmqYmIJZrkJRYOqOEItkCbR_exui4YhZqLlwZaBHXhC5slGyqPScnxvq-zrQezw9-MdIUiecgW3fxKg/s1600/featured-messykids.jpg" width="150/" /></a>

Now, on to this weeks play date! 

It's Playtime is a community and Thursday link-up hosted by:

* Rachele : Messy Kids (That's me!)
* Anna : The Imagination Tree
* Rachel : Quirky Momma
* Jamie : hands on : as we grow
* Jenny : Let the Children Play

How to Play :

* Link up a post about a playful learning experience enjoyed by kids.
* Give us love and pop a button into your post/blog. Invite your readers to the weekly play date!

<a href="http://messypreschoolers.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VWLA7lm_Fqc/TaNHGpGSuVI/AAAAAAAAEX0/DGSvqIT7fyU/s320/RED-itplaytime.jpg" width="150" /></a>

* Stop by one of our blogs every Thursday and add your link about play. Your link will show up on each of the blogs in the It's Playtime community.

* Each week the playtime hosts will choose favorite posts to feature. (By linking you are giving us permission to use an image and link to you, if featured.)

* Be sure to visit some of the links that catch your eye. Commenting on posts that you find interesting or inspiring is a wonderful way to develop your own playful community.