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