Raina Kennedy
Inspire, Enrich, Create
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Created this Fun Indian Village to teach the kids about the Indian's and how they helped us when we arrived to the Americas. Here are the activities we did and the props I made for this theme.  The Canoe is an Expedit Shelf. The kids love sitting in their cube while they pretend to row along the river. I used blue painter's tape to create water lines on the floor (not seen here).  Created the oars with PVC piping, cardboard, duck tape and corn. I filled the pipes with corn so that they made sounds when rowing. Also hung yarn and jingle bells along the window. This was a big hit and super easy to construct. My 11 month old loved it too.
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Start with having them blow the feather on the ground. Then have them blow the feather with a straw. For older ones, it can be a feather race game. Finally, bring out the big blowing guns (hair dryers). Have them blow the feathers across the room. We used dryers with a cool setting.    Hung feathers from the ceiling and had the kids blow them with straws. As an extended activity, I had them tape several straws together to form a big straw. While laying on the floor, they had to blow their feathers with their long straws.
 Music note collage art. Just pre-cut a music sheet and let the kids paste it to a colored sheet. We also used music stickers.
 Soft music and spatula painting. Bug Week
The kids swatting flies with fly swatters. A great ceiling activity!
We made some black playdough and had the kids make spiders for art today. Here's George and mom acting scared. This spider was George's creation!
 Taped paper to the floor and had her paint with dot paints. They're not as messy. She got excited about this one. Check out the deal you get with Oriental Trading. for .51 more you get 4 trays instead of 1. Even better the 4 trays are color suited, as a second function you them for color sorting activities. Oriental has the better buy
 Turkey trot and Turkey yoga. The kids have a blast going fast, slow, hopping, running in place like a turkey
 This took 15 minutes to make. It's the Ikea Expedit Shelving unit turned into a Race Car. Just cut up some construction paper and tape to the sides.  Can't wait to see what other fun transportation themes we can come up with now the idea is born! Looking for ideas on Birthday decor. This decal took 20 minutes to make. I covered it in clear contact paper so it could last several play sessions. Still need to add his jet pack but love the way it's coming out. My boys are totally into Turbo Snails right now.  Turbo!  An Indian Canoe for Fall Theme
Also a good lesson for preschool age children  Sleep Tight theme this week. I covered our hallway entrance with long black fabric. Here we did shadow shows and played with all sorts of fun light up toys.
Teaching sounds can be fun with these vienna sausage cans.  Only .50 cents each Remove Sausages, label, rinse and let dry .
No wonder Pinatas are such a hit at parties. Kids love whacking things. Here's a safer alternative to that dreaded stick used on pinatas. Use Paper towel dowels instead. We duck tape ours with fun colors. Best part is you can hang what ever you want to match the theme of your party/lesson/play date. Use duck tape to suspend all strings from ceiling. It holds up best.
 One of my favorite spring time activities. Print out fly images, cover in clear shelving liner, tie a string and hang from the ceiling. The kids swat the flies with fly swatters.  Here's the image I used for our flies Here's a great recipe for making your own bubbles at home.  6 cups water, 1 cup Karo Syrup, 2 cups Joy dish soap. 
Created these flower magnets for our spring program. They really brightened up the room and the kids love them! They also act as a learning tool to teach about colors and textures.  Here's what you'll need to make them
 Metal can from soup or vegetables 12-14 OZ. Remove the lid with one of those openers that doesn't leave rough edges. Use the lid as your base to hold magnets on one side and flower on other side. Deconstruct the flower and glue each piece back together with hot glue gun. Glue back section first to the lid and rebuild your flower piece by piece from there using the glue. Adhere the magnets to the back using the mounting tape. Cut the tape around the magnet to form the shape of magnet.
Our 20ft long ABC run. This is a great activity to learn ABC's and get out lot's of energy. You can sing the ABC song slow or real fast. You can also have the kids land on certain letters. This is a simple DIY project: yellow craft paper, abc print outs and clear shelving liner.   Get a big pumpkin, several little pumpkins, tie string to a magnet and then tie to a wooden dowel. And let the pumpkin fishing begin!
 Our season buckets. Here the kids learn about the items associated with each season.
 3 cups flour, 1.5 cups salt, 3 cups water, 2tb veg oil, 1 tb cream of tatrtar and any food coloring you have. Cook over low until dough spreads away from the pan. It comes out so soft and lasts for years! As a science activity- we used glass jars to teach children about fire and how it needs oxygen. Here we illustrate how fire burns without the lid and how it blows out once the lid covers the jar.  Here the kids watch closely as the fire goes out once the lid is placed. 
This is a fun and cheap way to inspire the topic of weather and how we dress for it. Found the boy and his clothes at Learning Palace.  I covered all in clear plastic shelf lining and added rings to hold the string.
I made the clouds out of cardboard and painted them white. The weather signs are from printouts off the internet and placed them in these cute little frames. We use this everyday! In a grand effort to give my kids the best foot forward, I have been introducing education fundamentals through play. After reviewing tons of eduction sites, I came up with a weekly curriculum that is used in pricey preschools and day care facilities . Now my munchkins can have quality mommy time and a great education without breaking the bank. It's so rewarding to see the light go on and be there to experience it with them. The effort and time to create these activities is minimal compared to the rewards! Give one a try!  Here are three of our favorite activities where the kids learn to sort colors, letters and numbers with spring related items. This is a fun one inspired by the Fall Season. 1 bundle of hay will go a long way. Just place the hay in several containers and let the kids have fun exploring the texture of the hay
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