Tag Archives: outdoor activities

What To Do When the Weather Outside is Frightful

Welcome to the first official day of winter. Mother Nature didn’t disappoint folks here in the Upper Midwest.  Those who feared we wouldn’t enjoy a white Christmas are likely hitting themselves right now… with snow shovels. We got dumped on overnight; severely smashed by a massive winter storm that came in like an angry warlock. In fact, the conditions were so poor late yesterday children were told to remain indoors.  For parents, cabin fever is no fun to deal with this close to Christmas.  Fortunately, there are ways to keep kids from killing one another when they are forced to … Continue reading →

Homemade Fun: Blowing Bubbles

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We were in our local parade today as part of our preschool. One of the hits with the preschooler set in the crowd was the bubbles. Since my daughter and I play in a band that goes to parades all summer, I’ve decided that I need to get an automatic bubble-blower hat for my head that will make bubbles while I play and march. Off to check Ebay…. Creating big bubbles, tiny bubbles, and lots and lots of bubbles is one of my daughter’s favorite summertime activities. If you also have a child who adores bubbles, you don’t need to … Continue reading →

Homemade Fun: Sidewalk Chalk

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Are you creating a toolkit for outdoor adventures this spring? Sidewalk chalk is one of our favorite things. Your preschooler can make tremendous murals on the sidewalk or indoors on a wall painted with chalkboard paint. While sidewalk chalk is inexpensive to buy, it is also very fun to make. Always run out of green? Want to look pretty in more (and more and more) pink sidewalk chalk? Create a batch of chalk with your preschooler. To create your own chalk, you will need a tub of Plaster of Paris, a jug of water, and something to make the chalk … Continue reading →

Discovering Patterns in Nature and the Home

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Part of basic math is discovering the patterns that exist in nature, in our homes, and all around us. After your preschooler can recognize shapes, she will begin to realize that shapes come in collections – patterns of circles, lines, and swirls. Identifying patterns will help children with geometry later in life. It is also an important pre-reading skill, since recognizing sight words is all about recognizing the patterns of the letters that you have seen together again and again. How can you and your preschooler discover patterns in and around your home? Use different sorts of dry noodles to … Continue reading →

Recognizing Shapes in the Environment

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I’m not an artist, and I’m sorry to say that I’ve modeled this inappropriate behavior to my daughter. While I should have been sitting paintbrush in hand in my jaunty beret, I’ve been doing the laundry or reading instead. Woe is us, to lack in artistic endeavors. Of course, my daughter does exercise her creativity in many ways. For a while she was deeply into making sculptures with found objects and tape. The key was the tape. I’m sure that she could have sold them for some large sums of money at a gallery, actually. Anyway, one of the areas … Continue reading →

Natural Plant Dyes, Preschool-Style

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I work at a nature center, and every summer we have day camps. In and of itself this is not gripping, but let me tell you, smashing berries and leaves into fabric? A gripping thing indeed. You can do this activity with your preschooler too, and it’s a great way to create a summer beach bag, decorate a white hat, or make a funky bandanna. Now to many people, natural plant dyes bring up ideas of hippie camp leaders sitting around with a group of children for hours upon hours. It is true that you can create dyes that take … Continue reading →

Creating a Forest Kindergarten

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It’s been a busy week at our house. Last week, our preschool teacher let me know about a former colleague who was interested in starting a forest kindergarten. A forest kindergarten or Waldkinder is a concept that comes from Europe and is becoming increasingly popular in North America. Basically, children head outdoors in the morning and don’t come back until afternoon. They bring equipment to investigate natural places, they build forts, they even help build fires and cook over them. It’s a different sort of way to spend your kindergarten year, far from the pressures of the academic classroom. The … Continue reading →

Retro Fun: Make a Chia Pet

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You remember Chia Pets, don’t you? Wait, you say – what is a Chia Pet? It’s a loveable little terracotta animal that sprouts fur from its back, head, and all over. These little guys were the delight of the eighties, and for today’s parents they are a fun and funky blast from the past. Pining for the eighties once again? Never fear. You too can make a chia pet with your child. You don’t need to buy the kits either. How can you create a chia pet? Gather some permeable material that contains fine holes. This might be as fine … Continue reading →

The Treehouse

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Yesterday we spent the entire day building a playhouse for my daughter. We is my dad, mostly. My daughter was distinctly uninterested in the process, much to my dismay. She is four and would prefer that the house be presented in its completed state. Given my general state of soreness today, I can attest that it is now completed. If you (I mean your preschooler) are dreaming about treehouses, here are some tree and playhouses to tickle your imagination. On second thought, it might be a good idea to hide these from your preschooler. If she’s anything like mine, she’ll … Continue reading →

Of Sunflowers and Squash

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It’s getting close to summer, and minds are turning to the garden if they aren’t there already. Your child has likely been picking dandelions for weeks if not months. The spring flowers like tulips are fading, but other warm weather plants are heating up. Here are some crops that are particularly fun to grow with preschoolers. If you haven’t tried radishes yet, it may be a little late. However, if you have a cool and shady place in the garden you may still be able to grow them. Radishes are very simple to grow in pots and are easy for … Continue reading →