Exploration Art

Ahh.. the weather is warming... everyone is getting a little excited for summer.. including the teacher. This is our last week of preschool. Can it be? My little preschoolers have grown so much!

There are so many things I love about Funshine Express preschool curriculum. It is such a well thought out program. But one of the items I personally loved- was the art projects that were just exploratory.

Today we did a fun, simple painting project. Funshine Express calls it Crease and Paint.

Our little guys folded paper in different ways. (There is no wrong or right way to do this.) Then they open up their paper and paint in the creases.

 

It is simple, yet keeps their attention and imagination inspired. I know if I just tossed out paint and brushes this last year, the children would be stuck in a rut. They would have gotten bored with painting. Because Funshine Express have provided different ideas each month- my preschool kids love painting! They can't wait to see what we are going to do each time I pull out the paints.

And it might just be me... but I love art work by children.
The free expression makes me happy.

I gave every child a paper plate with the colors red, yellow and blue. Some kids like to mix the colors , some don't.

The kids who mixed the colors- wanted to take their paper plates home too. I don't blame them.
If you are looking for other unconventional art, here.

Gardens and Seeds

Every month Funshine Express includes a cute book that relates to the theme.
Today we talked about seeds and planting gardens.
Today I read:
 Little Seeds  by Charles Ghigna (Funshine provided)
Round the Garden by Omri Glaser
One Bean by Anne Rockwell
In the Garden with Van Gogh by Julie Merberg
Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney


Then we made these cute little garden models.  Seeds are planted first. (represented by the first row.)
Then green plants spring up (second row.)

The last row of mature plants is represented by flowers.

 

We put real seeds in wet paper towels.

Next week we will check them sprouting and then plant them in dirt.

Funshine Express has such a well rounded curriculum!

Mother's Day Card

I don't know if I told you or not-

I threw my back out- during spring break and I am still in a lot of pain.

I found out I have scoliosis in my lower back and it is making walking and bending, lifting and moving in general difficult.

I am working with a physical therapist and chiropractor and recovery has been s-l-o-w.

 

The reason I tell you this?

Life happens

The unexpected HAPPENS

I feel like this year I have been thrown so many zingers

Unpredictable ailments.

 

Yet

Preschool must go on!

 

I planned and expected to modify and add so many fun activities this year of preschool.

I really wasn't planning on depending on my Funshine Express monthly curriculum kit like a life-line.

 

 

 

Yet a life line- it has been!

Funshine Express has so many cute activities leading up to mother's day.

Here are pictures of one.

 

 

The kids had fun personalizing these mother's day cards. Today in circle time- everyone got to share what they did- to celebrate mother's day. The kids were so excited to share.

Painting Petals

I am daily amazed by my little preschoolers.
They are so smart.
They are so creative!
They are so fresh and authentic.

I love this age group.
They help me see the joy in the small - every day things.


Today we had a fun painting activity provided by Funshine Express.

In my monthly curriculum kit- Funshine Express provided the paper and petal sponges.
I provided the paint. This young artist- always creates amazing things.

He painted both of these. The one of the right is a magnified view inside a flower.
So cool!
I just adore children's art- and always look forward to seeing what Funshine Express has planned.

Literacy Connection Activity

Okay... Okay.. you know how much I like my Funshine Express Monthly Curriculum kit. (If you don't know... I like it a lot!)

This is my last month of preschool.
I opened my box... fully expecting to see the monthly regulars.
(My numbers and letters for the month, my calendar pieces, an adorable book about the theme.)

I opened my Curriculum guide book... expecting to see familiar activities too. (Not exact same activities familiar ideas with a twist that will fit this months theme... I mean, who would blame them? It's hard to be creative 12 months out of the year, providing unique/creative ideas 5 days a week... )

I browsed through the plans this month... and fell in love with Funshine Express all over again!
I loved one of the ideas they had planned later this month- that we did it today. (We might do it every day this month- the kids loved it so much!)

Funshine Express calls it, "Evolving Picture Story".
My kids called it- "we draw the pictures- story"

Funshine Express provides a simple story.
I wrote each sentence on a sheet of paper. (I had to shorten the story because I had so many kids absent today.)

Then I gave one page to each student- to illustrate.

They l-o-v-e-d this! This fella made the grass super tall in his picture.

Then during our story time- I put all the pages together and read it to them.
I kinda wish we had done this every month.
We would have quite a collection of stories by now.

They all agreed that they wanted to keep the pictures together at preschool, so next preschool day we can read it to the preschool friends who were sick. They are sooooo proud of this story they illustrated!

Goose who laid golden eggs- craft

This month we have been learning about OVALS.

Funshine Express provided these cardboard tubes for this activity.

I squished the tube- to make them the shape of ovals- instead of circles.

Kids dipped the cardboard tubes in glue...

Then we sprinkled gold glitter on the fresh glue. (The Glitter was extra/ left over glitter from a previous Funshine Express curriculum kit.)

I told the story of the Goose who laid Golden Eggs, while the kids created their pictures.

I highly recommend having some kind of tub- when using glitter. It contains the mess nicely- AND it is easy to funnel back into the glitter baggy- to be used again in a future project!

Glitter is magical.
Glitter makes the ordinary into extraordinary.
THEY LOVED these gold ovals!

There are lots of cute books involving eggs.
Are you my mother?
It's time to fly
Just to name a few.

April Showers...

Today was officially "crazy weather". It was blustery and SNOWING! I don't mind- I will gladly take a few freak snow storms, if I can have a few days of spring sprinkled here and there.

Today we did a fun craft- supplied in my Funshine Express curriculum monthly kit. Funshine Express suggested dipping coffee filters in water/food coloring. I gave the kids a choice. (I didn't think food color in water would be as fun as just painting with watercolors.) The kids were unanimous- they wanted to experiment with the food coloring/water!

They love the unconventional art projects that Funshine Express provides.
The coffee filters are going to be the tops of "umbrellas".

Half the kids worked on the coffee filters while the other half- decorated their paper with finger print "raindrops".

We let everything dry while we did our rotations and stations. Then after snack, everything was dry- so we were able to put them together.

We read a cute book at story time, called Rain drop Plop!

Creative Arts

This week we are enjoying Spring Break- so no preschool. But I thought I would share some of my favorite elements contained in  Funshine Express Monthly curriculum . Every month my Funshine Express curriculum guide suggests a handful of unconventional creative art projects.

I don't know why I love it so much.
I guess because I am creative.
I guess I love the endless possibilities.

This particular art project- Funshine supplied foil.
Most of the kids created abstract pictures and used the foil sporadically. One little guy in my class was very thoughtful! He used the foil for his dragons eye and teeth!
So cool!

tip-toe through the tulips

Today we were talking about the color yellow.
I usually try to make play-dough the week I introduce the new color.
I dye the play-dough the new color for the month. We can play with it for a few days..

Funshine Express always has a cute color page to go along with the color of the month.

Today's worksheet instructed the kids to color the tulips and chick a different shade of yellow.

The craft kit I selected to use today- was actually one I didn't use back in September.

It was a craft to make a card for your grandparents.
The yellow "cups" are from  a previous kit. They were suppose to be "pots of gold" at the end of rainbows... but the kids didn't use them.

So I decided to combine the two- so the kids could make collages.

Combining the yellow flower and cup- makes a pretty cute tulip!
I truly love how versatile the Funshine Express curriculum and craft kits are. I especially love how- I don't have to run around town- collecting supplies for cute crafts and projects!

Penguin Pun

 

(Sorry for the pun on fun/pun- couldn't help myself.)

 

This is a fun game/station provided in Funshine Express monthly curriculum kit.
It's a counting- math manipulative game.
I love that Funshine Express includes a few of these each month that fit our themes.

Little ones need so much practice counting, adding, subtracting, etc.. yet get bored if it is the same every day... day-to-day, month-to month. They are excited to see what the new math station holds as it relates to our new themes.

Here are some of the crafts/projects that we made during the week of our Penguin theme.

 

Penguin puppets

(I love how unique each turned out!)

 

 

These are Rock Hopper penguins.

One of our books had pictures of different kinds of penguins around the world.