Spots on the Cows!

Moo!
Our cows looked a little plain, so we needed to put some spots on them. We also practiced some fine motor skills by using our little muscles in our fingers to rip some paper.

Targets:
Vocabulary- cow
Colors- black
Fine Motor- ripping
Hand-Eye Coordination

First, we gathered our materials-

photocopies of cows, black paper cut into squares, glue

The students requested their cow (I want a cow) and we talked about how we needed some black spots to put on them.
Next, the students requested their black paper for the cows' black spots (I want black paper). We showed the students how to use just their finger tips to rip up the black paper into smaller pieces. Some students needed more help than others, as they tried to rip using all of their fingers.

Then, we squeezed a little bit of glue onto each black spot and the students used their fingers to put them onto their cow. This was also a chance to practice hand-eye coordination, as there were already places to put the spots; they could aim the spots for those blank spots!

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Raining on our Rainbows

This is a fun (and pretty) activity I borrowed from Deborah's blog. It was too cool to pass up! I figured it was a perfect activity to do during our spring theme while talking about rainbows and rain!

Targets
Fine motor--coloring with correct grasp; squeezing
Vocabulary-rainbow, rain

We gathered our materials-

paper towels, markers, spray bottle with water, tape

First, the students requested their towels (I want a paper towel) and their markers
They colored their paper towels any way they wanted, but were encouraged to draw spring time items, like rainbows, bugs, etc.

When they were done, we went outside to enjoy the beautiful springtime weather and taped the towels onto the wall

They took turns requesting the squirt bottle (I want water/I want rain) and let it rain on their paper towel.

Then they put away their pretend umbrellas and came inside!
I really love how pretty they came out!!

I love your comments, so please leave one and let me know what you think!!

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Valentine's Day Cutting Practice!

Using scissors is a skill that preschoolers need to get a grasp on (pun intended!).
Some of my students are able to just grab some scissors and cut objects out on the line. Hooray for them!
Others may grasp correctly, but only snip the paper. Others grab the scissors with 2 hands and try to cut like hedge clippers.
Valentine's Day was a great time to practice our scissors skills!

Targets
Vocabulary-Card
Scissors/cutting practice
Requesting

We gathered our Valentine's Day cards (Spiderman was a big hit!) and our scissors.

The students had to request each one ("I want a card," "I want scissors") before they could have them.

Then, we got to cutting!
First, we made sure they had the correct grasp.
Next, if they were only snipping, we encouraged them to cut across the card. It got pretty messy!
We also had some Valentine's Day heart coloring pages to cut if they really went to town on thier cards!

An added bonus to cutting--we got to practice the sentence "he is cutting!" (many of my students leave off the word "is"). Lots of great modeling and practicing!

Happy cutting!

Winter Fun--Throwing Snowballs!

Ok, so we don't get snow in places other than in the mountains here in Southern California, and I'm not sure any of my students have even seen real snow. But, we've had a lot of pretend snow!
In the first week of our Winter theme, we dressed up in hats, scarves and mittens and threw snowball balloons. That was great for teaching the concept of turn taking as they threw the snowballs back and forth to each other. Turn taking is a basic conversational skill.

Last week, we threw cotton ball snowballs!

Targets

Language concepts- wet/dry, up high/down low
Turn taking
Articulation- /s/ blends
Fine motor- using finger tips to rip cotton balls
Hand-eye coordination- aiming for the paper

Before we got started, we gathered what we needed--just some regular cotton balls and we filled a pan full of water. (it was also funny because it was raining one of the days and when the rain had emptied out, we re-filled the pan with rain water :)). We also taped up some paper onto the wall for them to aim at.

The students took turns requesting cotton balls ("I want snow"), using their good /s/ sound in the word SSSnow to practice their sound.
They then worked on their fine motor skills by ripping the cotton into smaller pieces. (We originally left that step out, but my trusty occupational therapist who monitors my classroom suggested it).
We talked about how the "snow" felt dry.
Next, they dipped the cotton into the water pan

and talked about how wet it was

and finally,  they threw the snow onto the wall!

They continued to take turns, use their words to request and aim up high or down low onto the paper!

 

 Of course, after the activity was over, I realized we should've drawn a snowman onto the paper to help reinforce another vocabulary word and the use of the /s/ in snowman! But, the kids had a blast. Not only did they get a chance to be active and throw snowballs, but they had plenty of opportunities to use their words, take turns and work on their speech sounds!

Happy playing!