Children's Festival

Hemel House volunteers were at the Lethbridge Exhibition Children's Festival in April 2012. Our focus for our activities was sensory experiences and science using materials from around the home.

Our activities were set up at the children's level to be more inviting and easily accessible to children passing by with space to move about.

A variety of sensory materials were offered to explore. Sensory bottles including water, oil, food coloring, marbles, rice, hidden small items, soap were included. Peek-A-Boo bags were available to be explored as well. These sensory tables were frequented by children two years and under. Older children and even adults often took a moment to look as well!

Moon sand (or cloud dough) was offered to explore.

Many parents asked about this dough and were amazing at how simple it was and how much their children loved to explore. Flour and baby oil, that is it. Mix until desired consistency is reached.

Our science area also included an experiment utilizing vinegar and baking soda. Trays were available with baking soda sprinkled in the bottom.

Beside them were small cups containing different colors of vinegar and eye droppers.

Children were encouraged to develop their fine motor skills in manipulating the eye droppers to suck up the vinegar and drop onto the baking soda.

This experiment provided opportunities for the children to learn about reactions of two items being mixed together and also provided color mixing lessons.

It was very popular for all ages!

We also had available scrap fun foam, yarn, pipe cleaners and other items for gluing and lacing. We always enjoy meeting families at the Children's Festival and look forward to planning something new for next year!

Make it topic: Pigs

June 2012 - Center Ideas

Imaginative:

• Place out card board boxes (pig pens) add pigs for taking care of
• Set up a farm with pigs
• Place out large pillows and pigs for pet pot belly pigs
• Make the houses of the three little pigs to play

Language:

• Read “If you give a pig a pancake”
• Have a flannel board for 5 little pigs

Five little pigs rolled in the mud
Squish, squash, squish, it sure felt good.
The farmer took a pig out, and cleaned him up nice. Four little pigs rolled in the mud
Squish, squash, squish, it sure felt good.
The farmer took a pig out, and cleaned him up nice. Three little pigs rolled in the mud
Squish, squash, squish, it sure felt good.
The farmer took a pig out, and cleaned him up nice. Two little pigs rolled in the mud
Squish, squash, squish, it sure felt good.
The farmer took a pig out, and cleaned him up nice. One little pigs rolled in the mud
Squish, squash, squish, it sure felt good.
The farmer took a pig out, and cleaned him up nice.
No little pigs rolled in the mud,
they all looked nice and clean.
The farmer turned his back and what do you know!
All those little pigs jumped back in the mud!

• Read the story “The three little pigs”

Art:

• Make pig noses using egg cartons
• Place out a pig shape with brown paint to make muddy pigs
• Make piggy banks using milk containers, paint and shapes for the face, use a pink pipe cleaner for the tail
• Make pink paint, let the children paint a pig
• Make paper plate pigs
• Use paper bags or socks to make pig puppets

Water/Sand

• Place pigs and sponges for a pig washing station in the water
• Place tractors, pigs and shovels into the sand table
• Place different houses and a wolf in the sand table
• Place water in the sand and pigs for muddy pigs

Gross Motor

• Roll on the ground like pigs make noise
• Do a pig race
• Give each child a pink ribbon to dance around with
• Place out pink balloons for the children to chase around (as developmentally appropriate)

Science/Curiosity

• Place out different food that a pig would eat (fruit, veggies, oats)
• Show the children different items we get from pigs (footballs, ham)

Blocks

• Place out a barn and pigs
• Use brown material for mud to build with
• Place out straw, bricks, and sticks for building

Conceptual/Table top/Fine motor

• Place different color pigs with corresponding colored clothes pins, encourage the children to put the legs onto the pigs
• Pig sequencing large to small
• Pig lacing
• Place out numbers and plastic pigs, encourage the children to count them
• Place out a pig game, have pigs and mud puddles, roll a dice to see how many puddles the pig jumps in to get to the water

Music

• ‘This little piggy goes to market’ poem

Quiet

• Make pigs and a barn for a flannel board in the quiet area
• 3 Little Pigs flannel pieces

Cooking

• Make pigs in a blanket

Ham cut in strips, Pillsbury croissant rolls, cheese, place the ham strips and cheese in the middle of the croissant roll and bake, serve with ketchup

• Make pig in mud, chocolate pudding with pink marshmallows for pigs
• Make slop using granola and dried berries, mix and serve with yogurt

Field trip

• Take a trip to a farm
• Arrange for a pot belly pig visit

Make-It Topic: Superheroes

Imaginative

• Set up a hero home base include computers, maps, boxes for cars and other things that may be found 
• Set up a police/fire station, place out hoses and pictures of fires 
• Place out capes, masks, tools for the children to be superhero’s

Language

• Place out the book “The Children’s book of heroes” discuss what makes a hero and how they can be their own hero
• Read “Betty butterfly to the rescue”
• Make a large card  allow the children to say why they thank our local heroes write it down, deliver it to our heroes 
• Read “Search and rescue dogs” 
• Read “Super Sister” 
• Make word bubbles 
• Place out super hero pictures for creating stories with

Art

• Make a giant super hero, place a cut out of a shadow of a child, allow them to color, glue, paint their super hero 
• Place out mask shapes, allow the children to decorate them
• Place out materials, have the children design a cape (newspaper works well)
• Make badges, using cardboard covered with foil, allow the children to decorate it 
• Place out different colors of paper and a mac-tac person, allow the children to make a collage

Water/Sand

• Put floating rings into the water with cups and people
• Place boats into the water table with sharks
• Place plastic dogs, and boxes with different size holes in them for sifting 
• Place emergency vehicles in the sand table
• Place small pylons into the sand with vehicles

Gross Motor

• Play a game of pin (double sided tape) the cape on the hero 
• Set up an obstacle course for the children to follow 
• Go on a scavenger hunt for super heroes 
• Villain bowling; have the children bowl seeing how many they can knock over 
• Play a game of hero, hero  villain
• Place out a parachute, place a ball in the middle, see if the children can keep the bubble from hitting the ground

Science/Curiosity

• Place out a flashlight with different symbols, allow the children to explore the symbol (bat symbol)
• Place out spiders for the children to view 
• Set out strings for making webs, have pictures out
• Make slime 
• Cornstarch and water 

• Make silly putty 
• Equal parts liquid starch and glue (to sticky add more starch to stringy more glue) add glow paint for even more fun

Blocks

• Place out red emergency lights and pylons for building with
• Place out large trucks houses and heroes

Conceptual/Table top/Fine motor

• Place out play dough and little people 
• Copy pictures of super heroes make a memory game 
• Take pictures of the children, enlarge them, place out die cut masks, dry erase markers; allow the children to create themselves as heroes 
• Place out Dalmatian dogs with different number of dots count the dots and place the number by them
• Lace up capes
• Place out boots and have the children lace them 
• Charge devise sorting; place out  a container of pom- poms and tweezers have the children pick out different colors for sorting 
• Make puzzles for the children to make

Music

• Sing the song “I’m a super hero”
• I'm a superhero! I'm a superhero! Super, superhero!
  I can jump I can run I can hide I can cook I'm a superhero!
  I'm a superhero! Super, superhero!
  I can stretch I can climb I can swim I can fly I'm a superhero!
  I'm a superhero! Super, superhero!

Quiet

• Place out pictures of heroes on a magnetic board allow the children to make stories

Cooking

• Make a hero sandwich
• Bread, tomato, ham, cheese, pickles, lettuce mayo mustard. Place the items on the table give each child two slices of bread allow them to make their hero sandwich

Field trip

• Take a trip to the police station 
• Take a trip to the local fire hall

Make-It Topic Boots

Imaginative

• Make a boot store have the children place out boots, have money and a cash register, place out shoe boxes

Language

• Place out boots and read the poem
• I have two boots, how about you, I have two boots, how about you, I have two boots, how about you, Stomp with your boots like I do. Note: Two boots can be replaced with 'Tennis shoes', 'big shoes', 'old shoes', 'new shoes' 'blue shoes', etc.) 

•  Read “Puss in Boots”
• Read “Boots for Beth”

       Art 

• Place boots upside down on a rack and have paper and crayons do sole rubbings
• Use the boots to dip in paint and make prints on the paper 
• Place out a shape of a boot in mac-tack have different shapes and items for the children to make a boot
• Use the laces to paint with
• Get some cheap rubber boots allow the children to decorate with stickers and markers

Water/Sand

• Have a boot washing station
• Add boots to the sand table with spoons place holes in the bottom of some for strainers

Gross Motor

• Do a boot search hide a boot and have the children find them
• Place a bunch of boots in a pile and have the children find the matching boot 
• Put on boots and have the children make tracks in the snow if none is out place out flour on a large sheet of paper and walk

Science/Curiosity

• Place out measuring tapes allow the children to measure the boots
• Grow a garden in an old boot 
• Place out the different materials such as rubber, fur, hide, laces and have the children explore materials boots are made of

Blocks 

• Place out different work boots and large blocks for building with

Conceptual/Table top/Fine motor 

• Place out pictures of situations such as winter rain and work and different boots allow the children to place the boots to that situation
• Place out outlines of boots ranging in size allow the children to place in orders small to large 
• Match boots in colors and designs
• Have the children lace up boots

     Music 

• Add boots and wooden dowels for boot drums and dances

     Quiet 

• Place out boots and characters on a flannel board allow the children to make their stories

     Cooking 

• Make shoe potato cookies 
•  1 pkg butterscotch chips, 6 oz peanuts,1 3/4 can shoe string potatoes Melt the chips over low heat. Add remaining ingredients Drop onto wax paper chill 

• Make a hiking trail mix for snack

      Field trip 

• Go to a boot store
• Take a walk in boots
• Go puddle jumping

Make-it Topic - Hibernation

Imaginative

• Use a box and pillows place out costumes have the children be hibernating animals tents can be used also
• Have paper berries attached to a wall, let the children pick berries for winter 
• Place out pillows, blankets and flashlights, allow the children to pretend to be outside hibernating

Language

• Read the poem time for sleeping use flannel boards to help tell the poem 
• Now, it’s time for sleeping
  The bears go in their caves
  It keeps them warm and cozy
  Time for lazy days
  When the snow is gone & the sun comes out to play
  The bears will wake up from their sleep and then go on to play. 

• Read “What’s Hibernation”
• Read “Wake me in the spring” discuss what favourite things the children do in the winter 
• Read “Bear snores on” 
• Make flannel board animals for a story of the Mitten by Jan Brett

Art

• Place out leaves, branches, a small box or cup allow the children to make a den
• Make pom-pom creatures 
• Place a picture of a bear allow the children to paint it
• Place out a half of Styrofoam ball for a porcupine allow the children to stick toothpicks in and glue on eyes place out paint if desired 
• Place out different magazine pictures of animals, have the children make a collage
• Place an animal sticker on a paper, allow the children to paint, color, glue sprinkle to help it hibernate
• Make snow pictures using cotton balls

Water/Sand

• Add small animals, cups and boxes to the sand table 
• Place a small amount of fish, gravel or sand in the bottom of the water add snails, snakes, lizards for hibernating in use spoons and sifts
• Add leaves to the table with bugs and ladles

Gross Motor

• Hibernating animal hunt, hide plastic animals around, show the children photos of the animals to find
• Musical hibernation, place out different color mats, play music, have the children dance as different animals when the music stops they “hibernate” on a mat 
• Go on a bear hunt singing the song 
• Place out different size boxes and baskets have the children try to fit in each one 
• Have a hibernation day have the children wear their pyjamas, make forts out of pillows and blankets eat berries and bears for snack

Science/Curiosity

• Place out different mittens have the children see what feels warmer
• Place a piece of ice in the open and another in a cloth see which melts faster, this can be done with an ice in a baggy and one in Lard 
• Place out fir for the children to feel and discuss why the animal stays warm
• If possible place out a nest of a bird and bee with magnifier glasses allow the children explore it 
• Bring a box outside, have the children sit in the box, is it warmer or colder in the box
• Place out different dried berries with photos of non-dried fruit

Blocks

• Place out little boxes and animals
• Use different size sticks for building with
•  If possible, suspend a dark color sheet or piece of fabric over the block area to make it a bit dark. Add small stuffed or other toy animals, snakes, frogs and bees in the block area and encourage the children to make winter homes for them to sleep in
• Use the straws and connectors for the children to build their own caves

Conceptual/Table top/Fine motor

• Place out pictures of caves, frozen water, trees,  mud and a house have pictures of animals and people, encourage the children to place the animals where they hibernate
• Place out tweezers, foam cups with  pom-poms and a bin of  plastic leaves encourage the children to pick up the pom-poms using tweezers and place in the cups for the “bugs” to sleep 
• Play a memory game of animals
• Place out play dough and animals to create with
• Use animal counters and different size containers, allow the children to count how many animals fit in one container
• Cut photos of animals in different ways, have the children place them back together

Music

• Sing the song Little bear do the actions 
• Are you sleeping
  Are you sleeping
  Little bear
  Little Bear
  You will sleep all winter
  Through the cold, cold winter,
  Little bear
  Are you sleeping
  Are you sleeping
  Little bear
  You will wake in springtime
  In the warm, warm springtime,
  Little bear
  Little bear

Quiet

• Place out a blanket between chairs add some pillows and books add a flannel board with animals 
• Use a small child pool fill with string confetti and books

Cooking

• Use a metal bear shaped cookie cutter to make fun shaped Jell-O, sandwiches, or cookies 
• Make a trail mix for the hibernating children

Field trip

• Helen Schuler nature center
• Local pet store
• Invite a conservation officer to talk 
• Birds of prey center