Caterpillar Color Bingo

Prepare a supply of caterpillar bingo mats by cutting out different color circles and forming a caterpillar out of them.  Make color cards using the same circle cut outs.  Have children flip the color cards over and identify the color.  Once the color has been identified have the children find and place a matching color pom poms on that color circle.  Once the caterpillar has all its pom poms game is over.  If your children need to work on fine motor skills have them pick up the pom poms with tweezers or tongs.

Nuts, Bolts and Washers

I love that my husband is a Contractor!  It gives me an endless supply of items to bring into the classroom.  Especially when these items are real, the children seem to enjoy them that much more.  Have you ever noticed that when you bring something out that the children have seen an adult use it keeps their attention longer?    The nuts, bolts and washers that I found so freely in my husbands garage have turned into the best learning tool.

We place them on activity trays and the children have to place the right washer and nut onto the bolt.  It is a great way to build on fine motor skills, and size serration skill.  You will find that when you bring out these trays you will have to drag the boys away form it.

We also use these nuts, bolts and washer for weighing activities.

Warning

Supervision is needed when using small items like these.

Teacing with Socks

Sock Match

Socks make for a fun sensory matching game.  Children can match and group socks into different categories.  (striped, polka dotted, solid, and fuzzy)  

When they are done matching and sorting into groups they can use them with clothes pin and hang them out to dry.  This is a great activity to build on those fine motor skills children won’t even know that they are preparing themselves for writing.

Encourage them to hang them up by pairs.

So go ahead clean out all those sock drawers and bring them to school on Monday and watch the fun begin.

Lacing Stockings

The children are getting ready for the arrival of Santa Claus.  They have been lacing there very own stockings to hang around the classroom and then take home with all of their goodies that Santa will bring when he visits our classroom.

We prepared all the stockings and yarn in advance.  We knotted one end of the yarn and placed tape on the other end of the yarn for easy lacing.

The children laced and decorated their stocking with cotton balls and glitter.