Nature Soup

“If we want children to flourish, to become truly empowered, then let us allow them to love the earth before we ask them to save it.”    -David Sobel, Beyond Ecophobia

This is a simple but rich activity for your child.  Simply head outside, offer a bucket or cooking pot filled with water, and suggest that he make some soup.  If your child is old enough, a pair of scissors can be helpful for cutting plants.  A spoon or ladle and some small bowls for serving will add to the dramatic play.  

When I have done this with my son, he becomes very inward and focused.  I try not to interfere in his process other than to make occasional observations.  "I see some clover over there.  I wonder if that would be good in the soup," or "Wow, you found four different types of grass seed."  Mostly, though, he just wants me to delight in the exquisite taste of his masterpiece when it is finished.  

Variations
Work with your child to create a recipe.  On a large sheet of paper, glue one of each of the items that your child puts in the soup.  Write the number of the quantity your child decides the soup needs next to each item.  

Or, as Childhood 101 suggests, offer scavenger hunt challenges: 
Can you find something small and yellow?  Something prickly?  etc.

What are we learning?
Connection with Nature, Dramatic Play, Language and Literacy (names of nature items, recipe writing), Early Math (recipe writing), Problem Solving (scavenger hunt), Fine Motor Skills (using scissors, serving with a ladle)

Muffin Tin Prints

I originally saw this idea on The Imagination Tree, and it's become one of my favorites!  Teo was about 2 when we tried it, and he was instantly focused on the fine motor task of painting the tin.  I've also done this with kids up to age 5. 

To set it up, lay out a large sheet of paper on a tarp.  Offer some paint, a brush, and a muffin tin turned upside down.  After your child paints the bottom circles, you can demonstrate how to turn it over to make a print.  Then your child can try doing it herself (or maybe she will find another way to explore). 

Variations

An older child might be interested in using a finger or the end of the paint brush to draw letters or symbols in the paint circles before printing.  I'm tempted to do this project myself and write L  O  V  E on the circles and use the finished piece as wrapping paper. 

Once you've tried printing with a muffin tin, let your imagination run wild and try other objects for printing.  Here are a few suggestions.

- a potato cut in half and carved with a shape / letter / etc (an easy way to do this is to press a metal cookie cutter into the potato and use a knife to cut away the extra)

- a child sized rolling pin or a toilet paper tube with cardboard or foam glued on

- wooden blocks with a raised letter  OR  legos

- nature items like pine cones, leaves, stones, etc.

- kitchen utensils (potato masher, fork, the rim of a cup, cookie cutters)

- other household items (clothes pin, fly swatter)

- toy animal / doll foot prints

- body parts (hands, feet, elbows, noses)

As you can see, the possibilities are endless. 

What are we learning?

Fine Motor Skills, Creative Expression, Early Math (possibly patterning, counting), Sensory, Language / Literacy (if letters are involved, or if you talk about shape names, etc)

Colored Ice Cups with Marbles

My son, Mateo (2 1/2), basically invented this activity, and I have to say, it is truly awesome.  He started by sorting all the marbles from a Chinese Checkers game into some paper cups.  He poured water into them, and then used a paint brush to transfer water color paint to each cup.  He then suggested putting ice into the cups as well.  

We went from that to sticking the cups in the freezer for a couple of hours.  When they were frozen, we ran a bit of warm water over the cups so the ice would come out and we put them on a sheet pan.  They slid and spun and slowly melted, which was great, but the real fun came when I offered Teo a wooden hammer to smash the ice and release all the balls.  When he was done, he immediately suggested we make more, so we did. 

When the second set was done,  Teo got into the bath, and I set up a bath table by turning over a plastic tote and setting it in the tub.  Teo used a toy tea pot to pour warm bath water over the ice to melt them.  He pondered whether they would sink or float and tried that as well.  He was delighted to see the paint making color swirls in his bath water.  

Variations

I am so excited to try freezing other small objects or toys in ice.  I've seen people freeze big blocks of ice with things inside, too.  What fun!

What are we learning?

Physical Science (freezing / melting, floating / sinking, how objects move - sliding, spinning), Problem Solving,  Fine and Gross Motor and Eye-Hand Coordination (hammering, pouring), Sensory, and Color Matching / Sorting / Mixing.  

Paint Sample Color Match

Stop by the local hardware store and pick up some free paint samples.  These can be used in so many ways!  Sort yarn “pasta” to the same color “plate,” or matchbox cars to the same color parking spot.  Your child can carry around one of the samples and search for objects that are the same color.  In pairs, they can be used as a memory game. 

What are we learning?
Color matching and names.  Sorting. 

Toothpick Grape Construction

Here is a fun (and yummy) building project.  Offering two colors of grapes allows for patterning.  


Variations: 
If your child likes this, he might also enjoy making fruit kebabs - another great fine motor and patterning activity.


What are we learning?
Early math (patterning).  Fine motor skills.  Problem solving.  Food activity.

Calling All Mail Carriers!

To make a little post office, draw a rectangle for each mail slot on a cardboard box.  Cut the sides and bottom of the rectangles with a utility knife to make little doors.  Cut rectangles of different colored paper for each door, and affix with tape.  Write names on the doors (this could be names of family members, friends, or story / cartoon characters).  

Next, poke a hole in each door with the tip of your scissors, and thread through a piece of yarn to tie in a loop (this will make the doors easier to open).  Cut out rectangles for mail from each color.  Your child may enjoy writing / drawing / placing stickers on the mail. 

You may want to put the mail in a basket or bag for your little mail carrier.  Show her how the mail matches up to the mail boxes.  


Variations: 
If your child is beyond color matching, you can make each door the same color and your child can match by name (in this case, write the name of who the mail is for on each piece of mail as well).  Or, you can use single letters, shapes or numbers.

What are we learning?
Early Math (matching).  Fine motor skills (slipping the mail through the slots).  Dramatic play.  This activity also supports literacy learning in a meaningful context.   Even if your child is matching by color, she will probably begin to notice the letters on the mailboxes, and you can point them out as well:  "Oh, I see that Katie and Kerry both have names that start with K."  "Jo has a very short name.  It is only 2 letters."