Pumpkin Fun for Class

I am always trying to find new things to do each year.  This year it was pumpkins.  What could I do that I had not yet tried?!  I decided upon painting a pumpkin with chalkboard paint.  I think I did not buy the best chalkboard paint.  However, I went for it.  I loved how into the pumpkin they got.  Each day last week tons of kids were into drawing on this black pumpkin.  It turned out to be lots of fun and it was an activity the class waited in line for!  So I say try it if you just need one more fun thing with pumpkins like I did.   

My old stand by favorite activity with pumpkins is to hammer gold tees into it.  I love watching how excited the kids get with this.  We had 2 different types of hammers.  I had some made of dowels that my husband made, and then I had the yellow plastic ones from Lakeshore.  The youngest kids in my class began singing the tune from Bob the builder and it was adorable!  One little guy would say, "Can we fix it?"   And the whole class sang back, "YES... We can!"  It was cute.  I  hope the pumpkins last through the week.  They were very into this and it kept 4 kids very busy.  If you have never tried this before...head out and get a few golf tees from the sporting isle at Target and get this station going.  Kids love this!  It is great fine motor!

Pizza Math

 This summer we did a pizza project.  I incorporated listening skills with color and number concepts.  We also worked on basic writing skills with the children who were ready to copy letters and write simple words.  The pictures above are of the activity.  I gave instructions and watched to see if each child could follow simple instructions.  We also worked on number recognition and listened to hear each child count out loud as they put pepperoni bingo marks on their pizza.  We had a lot of fun filling up the pizzas!  We had plans to actually have pizza and count real pepperoni but we never got to that.  I plan to next time I try this activity.  It was good learning for all levels.  Can't wait to do it again!

Magna-doodle fun for preschoolers!

We were playing in our living room this summer when my four year old came up with this great activity that combined 2 of my favorite classroom toys.  She was using her dress up doll made by Melissa and Doug.  She also had out our family Magna-doodle.  

This is the doll.  They are wooden and the outfits are magnetic on the back.  My daughter added the dresses to the Magna-doodle and then made her own paper doll in the dress.  GENIUS!  She made several of these and had a blast trying all of the outfits.  I am going to try this out in my classroom soon.  I think it is perfect for practicing drawing people.  She loved trying all of the dresses.  

Oh, and if you do not have this Melissa and Doug doll, grab one for sure.  I see them all the time at stores like T.J. Maxx,  but online I have searched them and they are only like $10!  It is a great investment.  I have a really old one and the kids in my class love it.  They have a boy version too!  There are several to choose from too.