Spring is a marvelous season. The birds are chirping, flowers are blooming, and the air is crisp with renewal and hope. Daycare providers can enhance their curriculum with story-time books and activities that celebrate the spring season.

Spring Art Activity
Eggshell Tulips*
You will need: Eggshells, pipe cleaners, tempura paint, markers, and glue

Clean and dry eggshell halves. Let children decorate the eggshells using tempura paint and let them dry overnight. The next day, children can add details to the tulips using markers. Shape the end of a green pipe cleaner into a small spiral shape and glue the spiral part of the eggshell.

Spring Cognitive Activity
Duck Sorting Activity

Duck sorting teaches young children both classification and counting. For this activity you will need to cut both large and small ducks out of yellow construction paper. You can use a template or draw them freehand. You will also need two containers. Ask the children to sort ducks into large and small, placing the small ducks in one container and large ducks in another. Next, ask the children to count the total number of small ducks and the total number of large ducks. Ask them which number is larger. (more…)

St Patrick’s Day is a holiday during which many parts of the world celebrate St Patrick, the Patron Saint of Ireland, with a large feast.  St Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17.

Introduce children to St. Patrick. Discuss the significance St. Patrick’s Day’s popular symbols: the four leaf clover, leprechauns, blarney stone, rainbows, and the pot of gold.

St. Patrick’s Day is a great time for daycare providers to enhance their curriculum with story-time books and activities that celebrate Irish history.

Consider the following reading lists and resources for free St. Patrick’s Day worksheets, coloring pages, and handwriting practice sheets for your child care center:

Reading List

St Patrick’s Day Board and Picture Books

St. Patrick’s Day Countdown by Salina Yoon [Price Stern Sloan, 2006] (more…)

Experts agree that introducing children to foreign languages should begin as early as possible. The earlier, the better!

Teaching young children foreign languages a huge topic and one that many daycare providers or those that own childcare centers debate.  In our interview with Myelita Melton, CEO of SpeakEasy Communications, Inc, and author of the SpeakEasy Spanish™ series, Melton explains the importance of teaching foreign language to young children.

OwnADaycare: What is an appropriate age to begin learning foreign languages?

Melton: Experts agree that introducing children to second and third languages as early as possible is best. The earlier a child is exposed to another language the greater the likelihood that the child will become truly proficient in the language. Some suggest that waiting until age 10 or later is too late to develop true fluency.
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Random Acts of Kindness Week is February 15-21.  Random Acts of Kindness week month is promoted by the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation in order to incorporate kindness into schools and communities. Recognize Random acts of Kindness week in your daycare center by reading age appropriate stories that focus on kindness, charity, courtesy, friendship, appreciation and gratitude.

Consider the following reading lists and resources for free worksheets, coloring pages, and handwriting practice sheets related to kindness and charity for your child care center:

Reading List

Random Acts of Kindness Board and Picture Books (Baby-Age 3)

How Hatie Hated Kindness by Margot Sunderland and Nicky Armstrong [Speechmark Publishing, 2003]

The Giving Chair by Yoshiko Kouyama, Kozo Kakimoto and Mia Lynn Perry [RIC Publications, 2006]

Be Polite and Kind by Cheri J. Meiners and Meredith Johnson [Free Spirit Publishing, 2003]

Let’s be Kind by Janine Amos and Annabel Spenceley [Alphabet Soup, 2010]

Being Helpful by Cassie Mayer [Heinemann, 2008]

Carrying by Gwenyth Swain [Lerner Classroom, 1999] (more…)

February is Children’s Dental health month which is sponsored by the American Dental Association in order to promote awareness of dental health. Recognize Children’s Dental Health Month in your daycare center by reading age appropriate stories that focus on dental health and implementing related activities.

Consider the following reading lists and resources for free dental health worksheets, coloring pages, and handwriting practice sheets for your child care center:

Reading List

Dental Health Board and Picture Books (Baby-Age 3)

The Berenstain Bears Visit the Dentist by Stan Berenstain and Jan Berenstain [Random House, 1981]

Brush Your Teeth Please Pop-Up Book by Reader’s Digest [Reader’s Digest, 1993]

Little Bear Brushes his Teeth by Jutta Langreuter [Milbrook Press, 1997]

Dear Tooth Fairy by Kath Melletin and Fran Thatcher [Little Simon, 1997]

Pony Brushes his Teeth by Michael Dahl and Oriol Vadal [Picture Window Books, 2010] (more…)

Preschool teachers and daycare providers can help children learn to recognize and write the letter V through fun activities that support clear learning objectives.

Learning Objectives

• The students will identify the letter V.
• The students make and recognize the V sound.
• The students will learn to trace and write upper and lower case V’s.
• The students will identify objects that begin with the letter V.
• The students will make a Valentine’s Day wreath.
• The students will make a letter V vase.
• The students will learn about volcanoes and create an erupting volcano.
• The students will listen to books that feature the letter V.

Handwriting and Alphabet Recognition

Introduce the children to the letter V along with simple objects that begin with the letter V. Create a colorful letter V poster board or bulletin board that presents both the upper and lower case V. Include pictures of objects cut from magazines that begin with the letter V. For example: valentine, violin, vulture, volcano, vegetables, van, vase, vine, vacuum, vest, volleyball, and vampire.

Write both the upper and lowercase V on a whiteboard or chalkboard. Demonstrate the V sound and ask the children to make (repeat) the V sound. Next ask the children to think of words (names, objects, or places) that might begin with the letter V.

Allow the children to practice tracing the letter V in both upper and lower case using a letter V worksheet. A good example of such a worksheet is available on the Kid’s Learning Station website. Children can also practice writing and tracing the letter V on blank sheets of paper using pencils, colored pencils, or crayon. (more…)

Valentine’s Day or Saint Valentine’s Day, which is celebrated on February 14, is the traditional day on which people express their love for each other through Valentine’s cards, gifts and other acts of thoughtfulness. Celebrate Valentine’s Day in your daycare center by reading age appropriate stories that focus on the symbols of Valentine’s Day and by implementing Valentine’s Day-themed activities.

Consider the following reading lists and resources for free Valentine’s Day worksheets, coloring pages, and handwriting practice sheets for your child care center:

Reading List

Valentine’s Day Board and Picture Books Baby-Age 3

Elmo’s Valentine (A Chunky Book) by Stephanie St. Pierre and David Prebenna [RandomHouse, 1997]

Be My Valentine by Beatrix Potter [Warne, 2002]

It’s Valentine’s Day!: A Rosie Rabbit Book by Harriet Ziefert and Laura Rader [Sterling, 2005]

Be Mine, Be Mine, Sweet Valentine by Sarah Weeks and Fumi Kosaka [HarperFestival, 2005]

Valentine’s: A Book to Touch and Feel by Sugar Pixie [Little Simon, 2003]

Princess Valentine by Megan E. Bryant and Nancy Gale Carlson [Worthwhile Books, 2010] (more…)

Selecting infant daycare is a task not to be taken lightly. When you are selecting a daycare center in your area, it is important to understand the pros and cons of infant daycare and to know important questions to ask daycare providers. Our interview with Ashley Murphree, the owner of Carpe Diem Private Preschools, details the important aspects of selecting daycare for infants.

OwnADaycare: What options do parents have for infant daycare?

Murphree: Parents have the following options:

A family member, such as a grandmother

A nanny in their own home

Care in a child care provider’s home

Group care in a day care program/school

OwnADaycare: What is the earliest age that a parent should put his/her infant in daycare?

Murphree: 10-12 weeks

OwnADaycare: What are some important questions that parents should ask when selecting an infant care provider? (more…)

In part two of our interview with Jan Z. Olsen, Olsen discusses how learning through play leads to real life learning in physical and cognitive development and offers examples of activities that a daycare provider can easily implement.

OwnADaycare: How does play lead to real life learning in the area of physical development? What are some examples of play activities preschool teachers can offer in this area?

Olsen: It is important that children practice gross and fine motor skills, and coordination.  Dance with your children, give them a ball to kick around and help them at the playground to better encourage gross motor skills and coordination.  To encourage the fine motor skills needed for handwriting and keyboarding, sing songs that use their fingers, like the “Itsy Bitsy Spider”, and “The Crayon Song” on the Get Set for School™ Sing-Along CD.  To further encourage proper fine motor skills for handwriting, give young drawers broken pieces of chalk or crayons to use.  The small size encourages correct grips. You can offer children, even ones as young as 9 months, to pick up tiny pieces of food, like Cheerios, with their fingers, and older children can do crafts involving small, age-appropriate objects, to develop writing muscles and good coordination.

OwnADaycare: How does play lead to real life learning in the area of cognitive development? What are some examples of play activities preschool teachers can offer in this area? (more…)

Children learn through both direct and indirect play. Child day care providers can take advantage of opportunities for social and emotional learning through play activities.

In our interview with expert Jan Z. Olsen, OTR, co-creator of The Get Set for School™ readiness program and founder and creator of Handwriting Without Tears^®, explains the importance of learning through play.

OwnADaycare: What is the importance of learning through play?

Olsen: Children are naturally curious, active, and eager to learn and try new things.  To keep them that way, preschoolers need a readiness curriculum that encourages “playful learning.”   A strong preschool curriculum builds learning opportunities directly into  play so that learning keeps pace with the growing child.

• Singing, with movement: Develops memory and language, social participation and imitation, rhythm, rhyme and body awareness
• Playing  encourages social skills, such as cooperation, taking turns and following instructions
• Hands on Letter Play: Builds pre-writing skill. The teacher shows how to make letters with dough, wood pieces, or magnetic stamps. They learn letters (and numbers) in multi-sensory active play.
• Coloring  and Drawing : Small crayons  help children develop a good pencil grip and developmentally appropriate pages make for easy coloring and drawing. Building people and simple shapes with wood pieces leads naturally to drawing success. .

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