Superheroes - Masks

For our superhero week, we of course had to make superhero masks!  I cut these simple masks out of sparkly felt I had in my stash.  I used hot glue to attach some elastic I measured for each kiddo's head. 

They are sooo dang cute on the preschoolers!  So fun!  And they really complete the superhero look!

Superheroes - Super Suckers

Today we made superhero suckers.  Ha ha.

The cape is craft foam.  We punched a hole in the top of the cape and cut a slit so the sucker would fit right in.

I have each kiddo two suckers, one to munch on while cutting and decorating their cape and the other to wear the cape home.

I got this idea from a valentine I saw on pinterest.  Here is the link.

Superhero Week - Capes

Part of the kiddo's Christmas gift from me were these hero capes with their initial on the back.

I made the capes from donated fabric and the emblem on the back with felt.

When I decided to do a superhero week, it was perfect to have the kiddos wear their capes they got from Christmas.

I followed a simple pattern for the capes from Family Fun.

Here is a link to my post on the Christmas gifts I put together for the kiddos.

Superhero Week - Control Panel

In searching for ideas for Superhero week, I came across this fabulous idea on this blog.

 Such a great idea.  I tweeked it a bit and made own version.  Here's what I did:

Duct tape, straw and a jello or pudding box.  I taped the straw on the back, making sure the bendy part of the straw was up top.

 

 Like this below.  Then I used craft foam to create the face of the control panels and a bobble on the top of the straw.

 

Then I pulled out scraps of this and that to let the kiddos decorate their control panels.

I did this with my fours today and they LOVED it!  Each and every button, arrow and star had a very specific purpose in their fight against crime.


I thought this was a blast too!  I've got to get some more jello boxes, and when I do I'm going to make a few extra control panels to keep in our dress up box when the week is over.

A note: an added bonus of the duct tape:  makes the box hardier!

Superhero Week - Hero Cuffs

Hero cuffs are a must for any superhero costume!  I found this idea at this blog.
I love any craft that uses tp rolls and turns out cute!  Ha ha!  This is one of those!

Here's the prep:
I cut and painted all the tp rolls over the weekend so they would be ready for the kiddos this morning.

 

I found that as the tp rolls were drying they began to open up wider and wider.  So I clipped each roll like this and let them finish drying this way.  That kept them closed nicely (like above).




After Christmas I found a bucket of foam star stickers from Hanukkah on clearance.  This is what the kiddos used to decorate their hero cuffs with. 

The stars also worked great as super power rings.  (below left)

 

Superhero Week - Cityscape

This week we are studying Superheroes.

We are learning that Superheroes help people therefore, each of us can be a superhero.  At the end of the week we will also talk about community helpers who are superheroes.

To start off the week, I wanted to create a cityscape that the kiddos could play in/on all week long.

I have been having the kiddos bring in empty cereal boxes for months now.  So I wrapped several of them to be buildings in our city and then the kiddos helped glue on windows.

 

My fours were soooo excited to help create the city!  They were gluing those windows on faster than I could cut them!  They were also excited to learn that our city buildings were made from the very cereal boxes they have been bringing in!  They wanted to know what each box was, ha, so they could know which buildings were theirs.  Ha ha.

For the back drop I just pulled a large sheet out of my cupboard and cut a sun and a couple of clouds from scrap felt and pinned them on.  

Now the kiddos can fly through the air above their city and watch for anyone who may need help.  Soon all the stuffed animals from the cozy corner became the bad guys and the kiddos were off!  Protecting their city!

I asked them what we should name our city.  They told me, "SuperHero City.  Because SuperHeroes live there!"  Sound great to me! 

I got the original idea for our cityscape from this blog. 

Learning Station - Car Count

Today we did a car count for our learning station.

First the kiddos picked a number card.  Then they counted the items on the card.  And finally they counted out cars to match the card.

 Great counting with one to one counting correspondence.

The kiddos, my fours,  did great.  I only needed to have them "retry" a count a time or two.

Learning Station - Magnetic geo tiles

 These fabulous magnetic geo tiles were recently donated to me by a friend.  They became one of our learning stations this week.  The kiddos enjoyed making pictures and creations.  In the photo below, the four year old made a sunshine and snow at the bottom of the frame.  He told me that the snow is melting and going away because of the sun.  Yeppers!  The other creation in the bottom left corner was created by another four.  He said it was a house with wings.  Ha.  Then i think it turned into a bug.

Recycling old office stamps

One of the favorite centers in my preschool room includes these stamps.  They are just a bunch of old office stamps that were donated to me, but they're fabulous and the kiddos LOVE them!

Tickets

The kiddos (and I) LOVE these yellow tickets.  I bought this roll at the local party store.

Today they were using the tickets for their airplane they created out of the classroom chairs.  I pulled out the stamps so they could stamp each ticket.  So much fun!



Also, as I give each kiddo tickets, they have to count them out.  (Below) It's great practice as they usually want at least 20.  Ha.

Peanut and grape exploration

In keeping with our study of "Peanut Butter Rhino", the kiddos did some exploring with peanuts and grapes.

Many of the kiddos had never seen a whole peanut.  They happily opened them up and discovered the treasure inside.

Some of the kiddos liked the peanut, others did not.  We talked about how peanut butter is made, perhaps we'll make some next time.



Then I gave each kiddo a grape.  I asked them how they thought jam was made.  They decided it was made also by squishing.  So they squished the grapes and ate them.  One kiddos skipped the squishing part and just popped his in his mouth.  He told me he was squishing his grape with his teeth.  Ha.  Clever.

Delicious Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

To help celebrate National Peanut Butter Day - January 23.

This is my favorite PB recipe, I got it from my sister and it is so dang yummy I've usually eaten half the dough before I'm done baking the cookies.  Ha.  Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

 Cream together:
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup peanut butter (I use creamy)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

Mix in:
1 1/4 cups flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Stir in:
1/2 12 oz. bag of semi sweet chocolate chips

Taste the dough...Mmmm so dang tasty.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes.  My oven runs hot, so I do 350 degrees F for 8 - 9 mins. 

Recipe makes about 2 1/2 dozen.  That's why I usually double it!  Hips beware!

Sensory Play - Bean Bin

When I was setting up my preschool, I knew I wanted to have some sort of sensory bin.  When trying to decide what to fill it with, I went with dried pinto beans.  Not very expensive, large enough to clean up easily (unlike rice), and the beans feel nice when you run your hands through them. 

The kiddos love the beans.  Today they enjoyed pouring and stirring and digging in them again.

Learning Station - ABC Bubble Wrap

One of our learning stations this week involves bubble wrap*.  So much fun!

For the threes, I put all the letters in order and for the fours, I scrambled them.

 

 Here is one of my threes smooshing her popped bubble flat.

*I have my preschool parents save and bring in any bubble wrap they end up with.  (Thanks parents!)

Peanut Butter Rhino

This Wednesday is National Peanut Butter Day (January 23), so in honor of that, I thought we could learn from one of the kiddo's favorite books, "Peanut Butter Rhino".

 It's a really cute story.  Rhino is going to meet his friend Elephant for lunch.  On the way there, Rhino decides to check his lunch box to make sure he has everything.  He unknowingly sits on his peanut butter sandwich and it sticks to his bum (the kiddos LOVE that part) and he can't find it anywhere.
 

During circle time we acted out the story.  The kiddos got to check the lunch box:

Then they took turns being the Rhino and getting the sandwich stuck on their bums!  So cute!

Later they got to make their own paper peanut butter sandwich to take home so they can share the story with their family.

Sparkly Play Dough

To close out our two weeks studying snow and snowmen, I made the kiddos sparkly play dough.  The kiddos had a blast, as always. 

Here is the simple recipe, I just added tons of glitter the last few moments I was stirring the mixture in the pan.

I love the creativity that comes from playing with play dough.

 

 Above right:  The kiddo who created this sculpture told me how she did it, she said, "All you have to do is make a big ball and put your fingerprints all around it."

The kiddos played for quite a while with the dough.






They always enjoy pressing various items from around the preschool into the dough to make impressions.  Pictured just below, the kiddo told me his dough now looked like "football lights."

Stacking Cups

A favorite activity of my fours is stacking cups.  They love this!

I keep this package of plastic cups only for stacking.

The very first time we did this I showed them how to stack cups and we talked about working carefully.

When their tower falls we shout "Drat!" or "Oh No!" and quickly gather the cups back up to begin again.

The kiddos have also discovered that if they work together they can create a tower even taller.  So great team work skills too.

Letter Search - Name Practice

 

While cleaning out my scrapbook stuff over Christmas break, I found these 8x8 papers with letters all over them.  I thought they would be great for a letter search for the kiddos.  (My fours)  Today I had them find the letters of their name, in order.

I think next time I'll have them search for various letters.  Maybe have them pull a letter from a bag and then search for it.

Tp Snowmen

The kiddos painted the Tp rolls last class.

I cut out the face pieces and  then had the kiddos glue them on.

I thought they turned out super cute!

They were also fun to stack!

Name Practice - Clothes Pins

For name practice with my threes today, I wrote each of the letters of their names on clothes pins.

Then I had the kiddos clip them on a cloth in order.

I put capitol letters on one side of the pin and lowercase letters on the other.

Pinching the pins and getting them on the cloth was great for fine motor practice.