Sesame Place

We are excitedly planning our trip to Langhorne, PA this upcoming weekend for Opening Day of Sesame Place. My family was given the opportunity through Mom Bloggers Club to attend Tweet Up at Sesame Place this Saturday, May 1st. I had wanted to bring my older girls here when they were younger, but we never did. Now we are going with 4 little ones, ages 9, 7, 3, and almost 2 years old. The older girls were not thrilled about going to a "baby" park, but after lchecking out their website, they are very excited now. We are planning on leaving Rochester (NY) and driving to Langhorne, PA on Friday. We are hoping to visit some sites in nearby Philadelphia and then turn in somewhat early so we are well rested for Saturday's fun. I am hoping for warm enough weather that we will also get to check out some of the water fun at the park, but if it is not warm enough, I am sure we will have plenty of fun on the "dry" rides and with the parade and shows. After our day of fun, we will return to our hotel to get ready for the next day. On Sunday, we plan to drive up to New York City and visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Then we will head home. I will be sure to post a review(s) here for all the places we go that are appropriate for the preschool age group.

Spring

Art and Creativity
- Use egg cartons to create a caterpillar. Cut the bottom of the egg carton in half. If the carton is paper, paint it green and let dry. Glue on google eyes and pipe cleaner antennae. Use pipe cleaners for feet.

- Turn the kids into a garden, or single potted plants. Take a picture of each child and cut out just the face. Draw, or have the child draw, a flower shape with the center being big enough for the cut out photo. You can then either cut out the center of the flower and glue the photo in from the back (this looks best) or you can glue the picture in the center of the flower. Tape or glue a green popsicle stick (bought that way, painted or even colored with marker) to the bottom, back of the flower. You can also add a piece of paper the same shape as the flower on top of the popsicle stick to "sandwich" it in. Add on some paper leaves. Meanwhile, get a small terra cotta planter, large enough to hold the number of "flowers" you are planting. You can paint it if you choose. Add a block of florist's foam into the bottom of the planter. Poke the bottom of the popsicle stick into the foam and then cover the foam with sphygum moss or even green Easter grass.

Music
- Sing the chorus to Mary Poppin's "Let's Go Fly a Kite"

Let's go fly a kite
Up to the highest height!
Let's go fly a kite and send it soaring
Up through the atmosphere
Up where the air is clear
Oh, let's go fly a kite!

Stories
- It's Spring by Linda Glaser

-Spring is Here! A Fisher-Price Little People Lift the Flap Book

Language
- Focus on springtime sounds such as peep, buzz, wind, and raindrops

Math
- Use a divided plate (3 sections), to teach beginning addition. Put 2 green buttons in one section and 1 red button (or whatever manipulatives you have on hand). Ask how many you buttons you have and then move the two green buttons into the third section, counting as you do, and then repeat with the red button, continuing to count. "So 2 green buttons plus 1 red button equals 3 buttons."

Science
- Use egg cartons to practice sorting plant seeds
- Plant grass seeds in small pots or cups for the kids to observe the growth process

Outdoor Fun
Spring outdoor fun can get messy so be prepared
- This is a great time to visit local playgrounds
- Play in the rain and/or the puddles

Snacks
- This is a great time to learn about seeds so why not snack on some. You can get sunflower and pumpkin seeds in most stores year round.
- You can make flowers out of cut up veggies, using celery for the stem, broccoli for leaves, a carrot for the center and grape tomatoes for petals.

The Color White and a new format

After posting the lesson on snow last week, I decided to work on the color white this week. Also, I am trying a new format for my preschool units and would love to hear your feedback about it.

Art and Creativity
- Stretch apart some cotton balls and use white glue to stick them on paper to make clouds.
- Make a collage of all things white. Do it on black paper to show the contrast.
- For the older age spectrum, you can show how adding white to colored paint makes the color lighter.

Music
- Sing Little White Duck: (there are more verses to this song that would be good for other color units, too)
There’s a little white duck (quack)
Sitting in the water.
A little white duck (quack)
Doing what he oughter.
He took a bite of a lily pad,
Flapped his wings and he said,
"I’m glad I’m a little white duck
Sitting in the water."
Quack, Quack, Quack.

Stories
- Read Winter in White: A Mini Pop-up Treat by Robert Sabuda
- Read White (Colors) by Patricia Stockland

Language
- During the first day of the white lesson, have the kids list all the white things they can think of.

Math
- Have the kids count cotton balls or marshmallows

Science
- Show pictures of polar bears and discuss where they live.
- Show pictures of sheep and let children touch freshly shorn wool (may need to wait until spring to get fresh wool)

Outdoor Fun
- As I said last week, this is a great time to play in the snow.
- If the weather is nicer and the ground is dry, you can also watch the clouds.

Snacks
- milk
- cauliflower
- mashed potatoes
- marshmallows
- vanilla yogurt
- unbuttered popcorn

Sensory
- cold= snow
- soft= cotton or white feathers
- sweet= sugar
- salty= salt