January Programming

Required Materials: - Large marshmallows - Small chocolate chips - Dried mango - Black licorice - White LEGOS - Using the materials provided above, have the children construct a snowman. Create a story for the children about why they need to construct a home for the snowman and provide them with a basket of white LEGOS to construct the home

Required Materials: - Cardboard box - Assorted colors of craft sticks - Box cutter - Cut multiple slots on the top of the cardboard box and stick the craft sticks into the slots - Have the children take the craft sticks out of the slots, name the color and place the craft sticks back into the slots

Required Materials: - Clay - Brown paper bags - Markers - Have the children draw different drawings of animals, shapes, objects, etc. and use the clay to mold into the drawings correctly so that it fits and matches the outline

Pencils border

Required Materials: - White paper roll - Markers - Different Size Bandages - Tape the large white paper onto a hard surface and draw sections to separate one side to half the different sized bandages and the other side with its matching pair - Demonstrate to the children how to peel the bandages off and find the matching pair. Guide and help them along the way

Required Materials: - Jack &amp; Jill nursery rhyme pictures - Laminating pouches - Tagboard - Scissors - Draw or cut out several pictures from the nursery rhyme Jack and Jill and mount on a tagboard. - Cut out the pictures and place into laminating pouches. Help the children with matching the nursery rhyme puzzle pieces

Required Materials: - No materials required - Say or sing the following nursery rhyme to help the children practice rote counting: 1, 2 buckle my shoe, 3, 4 shut the door, 5, 6 pick up sticks, 7, 8 lay them straight, 9, 10 a big fat hen

Required Materials: - 16 ounce mason jar with lid and ring - White vinegar - Fresh egg - Gently place the egg into the mason jar and fill with vinegar, leaving 1/2" space at the top. Loosely cover the jar with the lid and ring and let the egg sit for approximately 2 days. After that time, show the children how the egg shell has completely disappeared

Required Materials: - Film canisters - Alka Seltzer tablets - Water based paint - Watercolor paper - Start with adding paint to a film canister and add half of an Alka Seltzer tablet. Put the lid on the canister and shake it well - Place the paint bomb onto the paper with the lid facing down. Have the children wait for it to explode as the Alka Seltzer will mix with the paint and build pressure inside the bottle until it releases

Required Materials: - Magnet set - Paper clips and assorted objects that can be picked up with a magnetic wand - Ice cube trays - Place the items such as paper clips, pipe cleaner pieces, magnetic discs, balls, screws, etc. into the ice cube trays - Fill the ice cube trays with water and freeze. When frozen, empty the cubes onto a tray or a baking dish. Have the children use the magnetic items to attract the ice

Required Materials: - Blocks - Spatula - Cupcake tin - Dump out a bunch of blocks in front of the children, add a spatula and a cupcake tin. Demonstrate to the children how to use the spatula to transfer the blocks into the muffin tin - If the children cannot use the spatula, simply have them use their hands to transfer the blocks to the muffin tin

Required Materials: - Plastic toy eggs - Plastic tongs - Cardboard box - Cut a large enough slot into the cardboard box to fit the toy eggs into. Demonstrate to the children how to use the tongs to pick up the toy eggs and drop them into the box - If the children cannot use the tongs, have them use their hands to transfer the eggs into the box

Required Materials: - Storage bin - Washable paint - Shredded paper - Squirt containers - Add a couple of squirts of paint to each squirt bottle and add water to the paint and fill the squirt bottle - Fill the sensory bin with shredded paper and guide the children how to use the squirt bottles to paint the shredded paper - If they cannot use the squirt bottles, let them use a paintbrush

Required Materials: - Small jar - 2 bendy straws - Balloon - Tape/glue - Water - Red food coloring - Fill the jar or glass halfway with water and add some red food coloring. Take the balloon and cut the neck of it off. Take that top part, stretch it out a bit, and put it over the top of the jar. - Take a sharp toothpick and poke a hole in the top of the balloon once towards one side of the jar. Make a 2nd hole about an inch away from the first - Take the straws and push one through each hole with the bendy part sticking out the top. Take the neck of the balloon and use to cover the opening of one straw sticking out of the cup - Demonstrate to the children that pushing up and down the balloon between the 2 straws will get the "blood" (red food coloring) pumping and then let them do it on their own

Required Materials: - Paper towel tube - Funnels - Tape - Markers, stickers, paint (optional) - Take one funnel and place the narrow end into the paper towel tube until it is flush with the end of the tube. Tape it into place all around where the funnel and the tube touch - Take the other funnel and place it in the other end of the paper towel tube and tape it in place. Have the children decorate the stethoscope after - Have the children find a partner to place one end of the stethoscope over the heart of another child to hear their heartbeat

Required Materials: - Pencil - Clear mason jar - Water - Fill a clear mason jar with water and hold the tip of the pencil while inserting it into the water. Have the children look through the side of the jar to see if the pencil bended. Explain to them how their eyes are being tricked into thinking the pencil bended when it really didn't

Required Materials: - Mini muffin tin - Food coloring - Toothpick - Large cutting board - Toy hammers - Using a couple of muffin tins, fill the tins with water and then add 1 or 2 drops of food coloring to each sections. Use a toothpick to mix the colors - Once the ice cubes are frozen, run warm water over them so they can easily pop out. Place the colored ice cubes on a large cutting board and place in front of the children. - Have the children start lining up the ice cubes and smashing them with their hammers

Required Materials: - Flour - Toy cars and trucks - Container - Using a large container, add a cup of flower, and toy cars/trucks. Have the children drive their cars through the snow (flour) and explore the texture of the flour as well

Required Materials: - Flour - Tray - Cocoa powder - Start with spreading some flour over a tray and spoon some baking cocoa powder over top of it. Have the children use a large paintbrush to mix the flour and cocoa together or they can practice writing in the mixture

Required Materials: - See through cups - Water - Food coloring - Bleach - Pipettes - Fill up 4 cups halfway with water. Add one drop of food coloring to each cup and show the children how the water changes colors - Then, fill up a small cup of bleach and use a pipette to add drops of bleach to the water cups. Keep adding drops of bleach and have the children watch as the colors slowly disappear

Required Materials: - Sandwich bag - 2 tablespoons of baking soda - 1/2 cup of vinegar - 1/2 cup of warm water - Tissue - Food coloring (optional) - Add 1/2 cup of warm water and 1/2 cup of vinegar in the sandwich bag. Food coloring can be added but it is optional - Lay a tissue flat on the table and add 2-3 tablespoons of baking soda in the center. Wrap up the baking soda inside the tissue by folding the tissue into a little square with the baking soda in the middle - Go outside and open the bag to insert the baking soda packet. Hold the packet above the liquid while the bag is zipped up. Once the bag is sealed, drop the baking soda in the liquid and shake it a few times. - Gently place the bag on the ground and have the children observe as the bag gets bigger and wait for it pop

Required Materials: - Baking soda - Snow - White vinegar - Dish soap - Food coloring - Small thin tubes or bottles - Start with piling snow into a volcano shape and secure a small tube or bottle in the center of it. Fill the tube with a drop of dish soap, baking soda, and a few drops of food coloring - Take a bottle of white vinegar and squirt it into the tube filled with baking soda. As the vinegar reacts with the baking soda, the volcano will erupt. Have the children observe all the different colors with the eruption

Required Materials: - White paper roll - Counting bears - Jumbo dice - Markers - Attach a piece of construction paper onto each side of the jumbo dice. Write the 5 baseball terms on the dice: Single (1), Double (2), Triple (3), Homerun (HR), Out, Foul - Next, create a baseball game board with paper and markers. To the bottom right and left of the paper, mark the game with 2 dugouts with team colors - Have the children roll the dice and use the counting bears to follow each baseball term correctly

Required Materials: - Kraft paper - Painter's tape - Duplo's - Start with placing the Kraft paper on the tabletop and add the painter's tape in the format of Tic Tac Toe - Add 2 different colored Duplo's and have the children play the game

Required Materials: - Painter's tape - Pairs of matching socks - Start with finding 8 matching pairs of socks and place the socks in four rows of four - Next, outline the socks with painter's tape and draw a giant X for the pairs to land. Have the children find the matching pairs for the socks

Required Materials: - White paper - Markers - Dot stickers - Start with drawing 8 sets of mittens on the large sheet of white paper and place the dot stickers in front of the children - Guide the children step by step how to place the dot stickers on the mittens to create different patterns - Have the children try on their own to place the stickers onto the mittens, if they are unable to, help them along the way

Required Materials: - Paper tubes - Painter's tape - Counting bears - Large foam dice - Start with taping paper rolls together and hang them on the wall where the children can easily reach and see - Then, place a container of the counting bears under the tube and add the foam dice as well. Count aloud to the children for how many dots are on the dice and guide them to dropping the same amount of the counting bears down the tube

Required Materials: - White paper roll - Watercolors - Different size paintbrushes - Start with drawing the following shapes onto the large white paper roll. - Circle - Square - Triangle - Rhombus - Hexagon - Trapezoid - Say the shapes out loud and have the children start painting the shapes. Each time they paint a new shape, say the shapes name

Required Materials: - Scissors - Markers - White tag board - Trace and cut 30 squares out of white tag board. Section each square into 4 spaces, draw different winter objects or stick winter stickers on. The children can match the pictures by playing dominoes

Required Materials: - Tagboard - Cut out various sized circles from tagboard to represent wheels. The children can sequence the wheels from largest to smallest

Required Materials: - Laminating pouches - Building pictures - Watercolor markers - Cut out a variety of building pictures with varying numbers of windows and place them into the laminating pouches. Have the children count the number of windows of each building and print the corresponding numeral on the building

Required Materials: - Counting bears - Muffin tin - Painter's tape - Scissors - Start with placing one bear in each section of the muffin tin and then put painters tape in each direction to lock the bears inside - Come up with a creative story to tell the children why the bears are trapped and that they need to free them. Have the children cut through the tape to remove the bears

Required Materials: - White paper roll - Small cubes - Wooden colored blocks - Roll out the white paper roll and draw a large X on the sheet for each child. The goal of this activity is to build with the blocks but, the structure must remain on the X

Required Materials: - 12" x 24" stretched canvas - Permanent marker - Washable paint - Using a black sharpie, draw different patterns of light lines. Have each child take turns finger painting the lights. This activity is great for New Years decorations

Required Materials: - Lemons - Baking Soda - Food coloring - Dish soap - Plate, tray, or bowl - Craft sticks - Start with placing half of a lemon into a bowl or plate that will catch the mess when it erupts. Next, take the craft stick and poke holes in various sections of the lemon - Place drops of food coloring around the different sections on the top of the lemon. Pour dish soap all over the lemon as well. - Then, sprinkle baking soda on the top of the lemon and use a craft stick to press some of the baking soda down into the different sections of the lemon. Have the children observe as the lemon erupts into different colors

Required Materials: - Toy Penguins - Bowl - Water - Dropper - Small bowls - Food coloring - Salt - Start with freezing the toy penguins in a bowl of water. Once frozen, remove the block of ice from the bowl and place it on a tray - In 2 small bowls, add warm water and food coloring. In another small bowl, add rock salt. Place the droppers in front of the children and have them use it to collect the warm water to drop onto the frozen ice block to free the penguins

Required Materials: - Stove - Pot - Spoon - Whisk - Gelatin packets (3) - Water - Food coloring - Silicone molds - Add 75mL of water and 3 gelatin packets to the pot. If desired, add 2 or 3 drops of food coloring. Whisk together over medium low heat until completely mixed - Once the mixture starts to steam and thicken, remove it from the heat. Use the spoon to gently scrape the foamy layer off and discard. - Pour the solution onto a container lid and leave it for about 45 minutes. After 45 minutes it will have developed a rubbery consistency material. It can be cut with cookie cutters. It will take approximately 2 days to cure completely and give a hard plastic form - Have the children observe the shapes of the bioplastic once it has fully formed

Required Materials: - White paper roll - Markers - Spoons - First, tape down the white paper and gather a collection of small, medium, and large spoons - Next, place the spoons on the white paper and begin to draw rectangles around each one - Start by place one of each spoon at the top of the paper. Identify each as a small spoon, medium, and large. Have the children take a spoon and find the correct matching size

Required Materials: - Stickers - White paper roll - Markers - Start with taping the white paper to a hard surface. Then, draw on boxes to separate the stickers to one side and their matching pair to the other side. Have the children find the correct matching pair of the stickers

Required Materials: - Magnetic shape tiles - White paper roll - Markers - Tape the paper to a had surface and draw different colored X's that match the colors of the magnetic shape tiles - Have the children match the correct magnetic tile to the color of X that matches the shape

Required Materials: - Liquid starch - Cornstarch - Food coloring (optional) - Sensory bin - Start with 2 cups of cornstarch and add 8 ounces of liquid starch. Keep mixing the liquid starch to the cornstarch until the goop is smooth and silky - Then, transfer the goop into a large sensory bin for the children to easily play with. Food coloring can be added if desired

Required Materials: - Large storage bags - Clear hair gel - Star shaped confetti - Black poster board - Glow in the dark constellation cards - Start with putting the clear hair gel into a large storage bag. Shake in the star confetti and squeeze out as much air after sealing the bag - Then, tape the bag down to a piece of black poster board and out to the size of the storage bag - Place the glow in the dark constellation cards under the bag and have the children start exploring

Required Materials: - Marshmallows - Coconut or vegetable oil - Cornstarch - Food coloring - Put 1 cup of marshmallows into a bowl and add 1 teaspoon of coconut oil. Then, microwave for 30 seconds - Add 3 tablespoons of cornstarch and food coloring. Start mixing and let the playdough cool. After it has cooled, place in front of the children and have them start exploring

Required Materials: - Tapioca pearls - Food coloring (colors of the rainbow) - Boiled Water - Straws, water, cups, spoons, etc. - Start with boiling the tapioca pearls for 5 minutes in each color of the rainbow. Once it has cooled down and absorbed the colors, set up a pretend bubble tea station - The children can practice transferring the tapioca on a spoon, pouring water from a pitcher to a cup, color theory, etc.

Required Materials: - Black beans - Clough dough - Play dough - Rice - Water beads - Add all the contents into the balloons and when it starts to reach the top, blow the balloon a little and then let the air out - Squish all the play dough together at the bottom of the balloons and tie it off. Place in front of the children and have them start exploring the different textures

Required Materials: - Tray - Baking soda - Toy hammer - Start with spreading a large amount of baking soda onto a tray and have the children use their toy hammers to crush the chunks in the baking soda