Merry Christmas! We're on Break!

Happy Winter Break and Merry Christmas from Harmony's House!  :)  We'll see you back here in January!

5 Christmas Math Ideas for Preschool

1.  Spatial awareness- Use cookie cutters to explore size and shape.  *Bonus* The child can count the number of "cookies" made in the dough!

2.  Shapes, size, and counting- Use different shaped Christmas boxes and tins to fill and dump with bows, cotton balls (snow balls), and jingle bells.  How many bows fit in the square box?  Will the biggest jingle bell fit in the biggest box?

3. Number recognition and sequencing- Cut "light bulbs" from craft foam and use a permanent marker to write numbers on each one.  Challenge the children to toss the "light bulbs" and then organize them back in the correct order.

4.  Sorting and matching- Find the matching ornaments and Christmas ducks.  Sort matching objects into groups.

5.  Find the number- Invite the child to look under ornaments on this Christmas tree to find the correct number.  Locate where smaller numbers are on the tree, and where larger numbers are on the tree.  Count up from one to twenty-four.

Most of all, have FUN!  Preschool math rocks, and is super easy to bring into your classroom!

PERFECT No Cook Play-doh

After making sugar cookies on Monday, reading about Gingerbread boys, and practicing with cookie cutters, we were ready for a fresh batch of play-doh so the school friends could "make cookies" and tell stories all on their own.

This is not a new recipe, but it is hands down, the BEST and EASIEST play-doh to make in minutes. It's soft, easily moldable, and cheap.

Recipe and Instructions:

• Put 2 cups of water in the microwave for 4-5 minutes.  Get it boiling.
• Put 2 cups of flour in a bowl.
• Add 1 cup of salt.
• Add 2 tbsp of Cream of Tarter and mix all the dry ingredients.
• Form a well in the flour mixture.
• Drop 2 tbsp of oil into the well, along with any desired food color or glitter.
• Add boiling water and stir all ingredients.
• Let sit for a few minutes and continue to knead until you have a well formed ball.
• When the temperature has come down a bit, PLAY!

During Work Time, the school friends continued to explore with cookie cutters, rolling pins, cut up straw pieces, pipe cleaners and more.  Irresistible, sensory fun!

Tis the Season to be Jolly

We welcomed December with festive new work in the Explore Table and House Area.  In addition to singing "Jingle Bells" on repeat, this new table filler encouraged lots of conversation about shapes, sizes, textures, materials, colors, quantities, and sounds.

We have one unsolved mystery as of now.  Not one jingle bell could be found that would fit in the smallest circle Christmas box.  We are on a mission to find a bell small enough to fit inside with the lid on tight.  :)

We also filled the boxes and pretended to exchange Christmas gifts, and it was SO hard to wait to open them up!  We would shake the boxes and listen to see if we could figure out what was inside!  Super exciting!  ;)

We had a cookie party today with the new Christmas cookies!  Snuffy even got in on the action.  We "fed" him so many cookies he got a tummy ache!

Poor Snuffy.  He had to lay down and take some medicine.  That's what happens when you eat too many cookies at Christmas!