Showing posts with label teaching ideas. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 6, 2023

Best Ever Hanukkah Songs for Children

Hanukkah begins before Christmas on December 7th. Get in the holiday spirit as children and caregivers sing these simple Hanukkah songs. Let the children learn that holidays are a special time for singing together.

The Menorah and its Candles

Today Jewish families celebrate the miracle by lighting one candle for each of the eight days of Hanukkah. A special candlestick called the menorah is used.

Hanukkah Candles (Tune: "Six Little Ducks")

Nine little candles in my Hanukkah light,

Burning brightly throughout the night.

But one little candle is taller than the rest,

We call that candle the Shamash.

We light the candles one by one,

We play with dreidels and have some fun.

We dance the hora and tell the story,

Of Judah Maddabbee and his glory.

Potato Pancakes, known as Latkes

During the celebration of Hanukkah, a characteristic food called latkes, or potato pancakes is served. These pancakes are fried in oil, to represent the holy oil used in the Temple.

Little Latkes (Tune: "I'm a Little Teapot")

I'm a little latke, round and brown,

Here is my upside, here is my down.

When I am all ready, take a bite,

And eat me up on Hanukkah night.

The Dreidel

A nonreligious symbol of Hanukkah is the dreidel. Children find this toy top a fun game to play during this holiday.

Spin the Dreidel (Tune: "Row, Row, Row Your Boat")

Spin, spin, spin the dreidel,

Spin it round and round.

Wait to see what letter comes up,

And the prize which you have found.

Even children who are not Jewish can begin to appreciate other cultures and faiths, by sharing this Hanukkah story and singing these fun songs. Children learn at an early age that singing is another way to use their voice. These easy piggyback songs kids can sing enhances learning with verse that young children can understand.

NOTE: Authors Unknown for all songs.

Photo courtesy of Flickr

Friday, October 7, 2022

Fun Halloween Crafts for Kids

Get ready, as Halloween is coming on the 31st of October. What a wonderful family holiday; a perfect time for parents and children to spend time together carving pumpkins, designing costumes and planning trick-or-treat activities. Kids can lose themselves in fun without having to worry about normal, proper behavior. They can act out their fantasies, dreams and imaginations, it's OK because it's Halloween. Spend good days together making these fun Halloween crafts for children.

Make a Bat with Hands
Make use of a child's hands to make this fun Halloween bat. Trace each hand onto black poster board, heavy construction paper or fun foam. Then cut out a headpiece with pointed ears. Assemble the pieces with glue or tape. The handprints are the bat's wings. Decorate the head with googly eyes (or paper ones), a pompom nose, and a freaky mouth cut from white paper. Add a yarn or ribbon loop at the top to hang this bat decoration around the house.

Halloween Tic-Tac-Toe
Take the traditional tic-tac-toe game and give it a Halloween flair. Cut a large pumpkin from a sheet of orange poster board. Draw the game grid with a black marker. Cut game markers (in Halloween shapes) from construction paper. Another good tip is to use your computer and find clip art that would serve as markers, you need at least five markers of two different shapes. Preserve your game board and pieces covering them with clear plastic adhesive paper if you wish. Enjoy playing this game with the children and think about how this game can be made for other holidays too.

Photos courtesy of Tania Cowling, all rights reserved

Use the month of October to make crafts and decorate the home or classroom. Have fun bonding with your children and give them big hugs!

Tania

Monday, July 12, 2021

Fish-Themed Activities For Children

It's summer and many families spend these days fishing, boating, at the beach and maybe visiting an aquarium. Here are ways to help children develop knowledge about the creatures that live under the sea.

Fish Stories

Cut out fish shapes from construction paper. From old magazines, cut out interesting pictures and glue these onto the fish. Place all fish into a box. Invite the children to pick a "fish" from the box. Look at the picture and try to incorporate it into a fish story they make up. This is a fun game for a group of children or with the family.

Pick Up Fish (A fine motor game)

Remember the game of pick-up-sticks? Here is a fish version. You will need two containers, one empty and the other filled with fish shaped crackers. Invite the children to use tweezers to move the crackers from one container to the other.

Fish Dramatic Play

Have the children pretend to be fish swimming in the water. Ask, "What type of fish do you want to be?" Tell them to lie on their stomach with their arms close to their side. Now, have them wiggle their body and try to move. Ask, "How would you rest when you are tired? How would you eat? Where would you hide if there were danger?" Have the children describe what they imagine in their underwater world. Act out the following verse.

There is so much activity beneath the sea.

The crab crawls, the eel wiggles,

The octopus swims, the jellyfish jiggles.

Dramatize the creature you want to be!

Fish Net Mobile

Save one of those net bags that oranges or potatoes are sold in. Hang this in a favorite spot. Invite the children to make colorful paper fish cut from construction paper and decorated with art materials. Punch a hole at the top of each fish. Attach the fish to the net with hooks made by opening paper clips.

Going Fishing (Snack)

Give each child two paper cups. One with fish shaped crackers and the other with peanut butter. Give the children a carrot stick and tell them to dip the end of the veggie stick (fishing pole) into the peanut butter and then go fishing into the crackers. The peanut butter makes the crackers stick to the carrot stick. Kids love to see how many fish they can catch!

Children love fish themes and you can enhance these ideas with books, songs and even movies like the movie Finding Dory. There is a mysterious and beautiful world down under the sea, so as you are having fun with fish activities, children are learning through play.

Photo courtesy of Flickr

Saturday, July 9, 2016

Plan a Trip to the Zoo: Little Trips Educate

Nice weather, family outings and the zoo go hand-in-hand for a day of fun. Millions of people visit zoos annually, making it one of the most popular attractions to view and usually more economical than theme parks these days. What better way to spend a special time together than at the zoo? Here are a few ideas to get the kids pumped up with enhancement activities before, during and after the trip. You will be teaching the kids many valuable concepts that will enrich their visit.

Before the zoo, choose a date but don't tell the kids until a week before the outing. Young children have a hard time anticipating an excursion for a long time. Put a picture of a zoo animal on your calendar and let the children mark off the days as they pass. Or, make a loop chain from construction paper and allow the kids to remove one link each day until the chain is gone; this is your special event day!

During this waiting time, take your children to the library and look up zoo animal books to check out and read. As you look through these books, learn the names of the animals and brainstorm to raise questions about them to discuss and answer on the trip. Write down a list of these questions, so the kids won't forget them on the big day. If you have some old magazines, let young children cut out pictures of zoo animals and glue these onto index cards. Take these homemade flashcards along with you and try to find the real animals.

On the way to the zoo, try changing the words and make sounds to this traditional song. As you sing, "Old McDonald Had a Zoo", this will get the children ready for the menagerie of animals they will see. As you stroll around the premises, talk about the names of the animals, how they live, the sounds they make, how they smell, what they eat and what they look like (sizes, colors, fur and faces). Take out your list of questions from home and see if together you can answer them. Let your children ask the zookeepers any questions you can't answer. And of course, take loads of pictures of your children's favorite animals and of your excursion together.

At the zoo, make sure to visit the zoo's petting area and let the kids pet and feed the animals. By afternoon, animals pretty much have a full belly and shouldn't be too aggressive. However, it's best to check with the zoo staff before allowing your children to enter this area.

If your zoo has a train, monorail or bus, take a ride around the premises to relax before you drive home. This experience is fun and the kids can rediscover the experiences of the day.

After the zoo, use some fun zoo play extenders at home to remind the little ones of their recent visit. Bring out the stuffed animals and boxes and invite the kids to play zookeeper. Pretend to feed, clean and care for the animals in your play zoo. Put the animals into groups of various sizes; this teaches pre-math concepts. Let the children rename their animals using alphabet letters that go with the animal's type. For example, you may have Ellie Elephant or Kristin Kangaroo at your home.

When your photos have been downloaded, make copies for the children to create zoo booklets. They can glue pictures on sheets of construction paper and dictate or write a little story about each animal.

Friday, December 7, 2012

December Holiday Fun

Wow, I'm about a week late in posting and Hanukkah is beginning. There is quite a span between this December holiday and Christmas, but I want to give all the teachers, parents, caregivers and homeschooling parents lots of options for holiday activities, crafts, songs and more. So, please check out these links and bring in the holiday spirit with your little ones.

I've just started a new channel on Suite101.com that is chock full of holiday stuff. The front page at the moment has December holiday materials, but check back often as this is the hub for all things holidays for young children. I'd also love if you leave comments and your ideas with each project article. We all learn by sharing. Click on... to visit Holiday Projects for Preschoolers.

Next are individual articles that contain a variety of activities for December holidays: