top of page

Pom Pom Play Mats

 

 

Pom pom mats are a fun and enjoyable way to practice colour and number recognition and work on fine motor skills with very young kids. The kids in our group love playing with our new pom pom mats from Busy Little Bugs. Some of them even started naming the colours in English while playing in pairs.

 

We use tweezers and scoopers that I bought from Amazon a while ago. The scoopers are a great way to practice pre-cutting skills and holding scissors properly. You can read more about these in an older article.

 

 

 

The Perfect Play Dough Recipe

 

I’ve been searching for the best recipe for play dough and I’ve finally found it! I won an amazing giveaway from the Artful Parent and I received Jean Van’t Hul’s book. There it was: the best recipe so far.

 

I used a bit more flour than it says there, but I think it depends on the food colouring.

What you’ll need:

2 ½ cups of flour

1 cup of salt

2 tbsp of cream of tartar

2 tbsp of oil

Food colouring (I bought Wilton Icing Colors from Amazon)

2 cups of boiling water

 

Mix the dry ingredients, then add some oil and food colouring. Pour the water and knead. Let it cool first, so the kneading process is easier. That’s it! Our kids love playing with their new dough. We’ll be making more next week.

Scoopers and Tweezers

 

I’ve just bought these handy scoopers and tweezers for kids and I couldn’t wait to use them :)

 

They are great fine motor and pre-writing skills. The kids get to practice using their muscles to pick up small objects (pompoms, flashcards, pieces of dough, craft eggs, etc.).

 

However, I found the tweezers to be quite stiff for very young kids. Maybe they are a bit more suitable for preschoolers or older kids. However, they are versatile – you can use them for different games and activities (vocabulary games, different races, math games, etc.)

 

The scoopers are also great for working those hand muscles and also for developing scissors skills (how to hold scissors properly). They are great to use with our sensory table – while the kids play with water, soap, slime, flour, rice, etc.

Here are some colour and number recognition games you can play with them. You can download the number flashcards here.

 

 

 

Salt Tray

 

So…I finally had some free time on my hands and I decided to make another salt tray, one with less salt, but with coloured paper underneath it. I used a plastic tray, some construction paper, salt, tape and…that’s it! Make sure to use tape to stick the sheets to one another, so that the salt doesn’t get in between. Also, I put some double sided tape to glue the paper to the tray.

 

We are focusing on shapes this whole month, so we used the tray to draw triangles, circles, hearts, and squares. Some kids chose to use their fingers, while some preferred a barbeque stick. The kids really enjoyed it.

 

 

Name Recognition Craft

 

 

Materials: construction paper, marker (if you don’t want to print the names), scissors, confetti (made out of construction paper with a hole punch), glue.

 

Instructions: The children apply glue on the letters in their name and then stick the confetti. This activity might be a bit too difficult for 3-4 year-olds. If you are planning to make the name tags with kids under 4, you can use larger scraps of paper instead of confetti.

 

You can use the name tags to personalize their things or to help children learn where their place at the table is.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Musical Hearts - movement game

 

 

Materials: print out and laminate some hearts with funny instructions on them - see below (roll like a log, oink like a pig, close your eyes and spin etc.)

 

Instructions: The children dance and have fun while the music is playing. When the music stops, everyone has to run and stand on a heart. Then the teacher reads the instructions on the hearts, one by one. The child standing on the heart has to do what it says.

 

The kids had a lot of fun playing this new game. It is great, especially for those days when it’s too cold or rainy to go outside.

 

The hearts that I prepared can be downloaded here:

 

 

 

I hope your kids will enjoy the game!

 

Play Dough Balloons

 

Materials: 2 or more balloons, permanent markers, play dough

 

Age: any, depending on the activities you use them for

 

Instructions: Shove as much play dough as you can in the balloon. Ask the kids to help you, they will enjoy it! When you have enough play dough inside, tie a knot and draw a silly/hape/angry face on the balloon. You can use them to teach colours, shapes, feelings and play different types of games.

 

Game ideas: We have two square rugs of the same size in the classroom. Two kids had to walk on the margins of the rugs, while balancing the balloons on their heads. For the older pupils we had a more difficult task, balancing the balloons on their faces and on the back of their hands. The game can be played either individually, or in teams.

bottom of page