I spy bottles -Garden themed

Got this idea from counting coconuts        I used small milk bottles the kids got in happy meals. I bought some buttons from Micheal's that are garden themed and also added some paper flowers. Im going to use this for a couple of my classes one is an infant/toddler class so these are perfect for sensory and then I'll adapt them for preschool age by making it a game. I took pictures of each item in the bottle and Im going to make a little book of the items. They will have to find each item from the pictures in their bottle. The pictures will also have the word so they can do some word association. All add pictures of the book I make when I finish it.
Materials:
Clear plastic bottles
rice (plain and/or colored)
small themed objects (whatever theme you want) I found buttons are perfect because you can find them in almost any theme.
Dont forget to hot glue the cap!

Easter!

Heres a fun math game to add to your math area. Children will match the number on the top half of the egg to the correct amount of dots on the bottom half of the egg. This gives them skills to recognize and match numbers. One-to-one correspondence and also matching colors.

Tornato in a bottle! (another extention on our weather unit)

This is one to add to the science area. I'd prefer to use two clear bottles but this is what I had to work with. I filled them 3/4s way with water and then added blue food color and some glitter. I'd recommend an actual drill to make your whole and lots of super glue! I used a pocket knife to make a 1/2' whole. A drill would have been SOO much nicer.. Tornato in a bottle tutoral..

Time-out does it work?

Heres a free webinar about time-outs and how unhealthy they are. Recently T has started coming home telling me they put him in the corner at school. Nothing boils my blood more... unless they were using a ruler or something. It just seems like torture to me. I should send a link to the school principle asking him to change his discipline tactics, seriously!
If your interested in what early childhood professionals are saying heres the link.
http://www.earlychildhoodwebinars.org/presentations/time-out-for-exclusionary-tactics-in-ece-settings-leading-with-heads-and-hearts/ 

Let me know your thoughts on time-outs and other forms of discipline.

SLIME!

We made slime for the boys birthday party! They are having a ghost busters themed birthday party so we decided that slime would be a wonderful thing to give to the kids coming to it. Plus I get to take the left overs to the classroom! Heres a great recipe to make it at home with your kiddos or in your classroom.. for a more slimy version we used clear gel Elmer's glue instead of white glue. Have fun!

My Little Gems: Making GLURCH (Creative Play for Kids)

A great rewards system!

Looking for a great rewards system? Try this! We use a clear jar and fill it up with beans. Every time your child or children meet a goal let them scoop a tablespoon of beans (rice, marbles, rock marbles) into the jar. Once the jar is full then reward them with something fun! At home my boys get a scoop for doing chores, having a good day at school etc. In the classroom we use the jar for classroom participation, helping clean etc. At home my boys got to choose their reward (T chose a DSi game and E chose to get a 4 year old version of a DSi) In the classroom when our jar is filled we get an icecream party!   (Its a great math project too!) Make sure to use a clear jar so they can track their progress.