Early Childhood Resources

Colleen Kelley, Director of Education has compiled some wonder-FULL resources she has found online and some that she has been using to teach children for many years. Explore these resources to help strengthen your Early Childhood teaching toolkit.

Value of Wonder

This first link is a great article, The Gift of Wonder, put out by Community Playthings blog. It is a great reminder of the value of Wonder!!

Moving Outdoors

Sometimes simple is the best! Good old chalk drawing and hopscotch — making it a little more fun like this person has is great!!!

Backyard Critters

• Butterfly Feeders As the sun begins to warmth the earth enough for flower buds to open- soon our pollinators will follow! You might want to try making these fun butterfly feeders for your backyard or windowsill!
• Hoola hoop safari Take a hula hoop outside. After your child’s done swirling, toss it on the grass. “Go on safari” inside the hula hoop, Have your child report on what they find in the circle. If you don’t have a hula hoop, use a jump rope or string, or even some sticks.
• Small World Explorations Let’s explore the forest floor to find what life lives there!

Rainy Day Activities

• Rain Gauge I love this rain gauge activity and it is followed by a list of other rainy day activities!! Spring rain is always fun…
• Rain Boots On Put on your rain boots (or “puddle ponkers”) and have some fun!

Backyard Learning

• Shadows Sidewalk chalk art. Draw the entire family, including the pets. Trace shadows throughout the day to see how they move. Write greetings to people who might walk by later!!
• Weighing Scale I came across this wonderful little scale to make at home to use in the back yard. Kids love to weigh things and with all the available loose parts (acorns, rocks, sticks…) this would be great fun and good math connection.
• Math with Sticks Kids love playing with sticks but here is a creative and fun way to add math to the play!
• Sensory Scavenger Hunt This scavenger hunt is a great template to use while using your five senses outdoors!
• Painting the Sky Listening to this book may inspire an outdoor painting project and a new way to look at the sky!
• Making words with natural parts If spelling had been this fun when I was learning in school I might be better at it today! This is great addition to your outdoor walks.
• Learning Letters in Nature This is such a simple way to learn your forest alphabet!
• Writing stories from nature Children love to read and write if they are inspired! Nature has many stories waiting to be told.
• Forest Math Making collections and then sorting them is so engaging when outdoors. Not to mention all the math skills being taught. Learning numbers is more fun when your are counting interesting things!!
• How to Start a Nature Journal with Kids There are so many ways to record observations outside. This article offers lists of fun ways for young children to collect their findings and create a nature journal to share with others.
• Growing Gardens with Children There are lots of ways to create a garden even if you don’t have a yard. It can be anything from a potted flower to a larger vegetable garden — kids will love the planning and the growing and there is so much to learn!
• Take It Outdoors Bingo Challenge Here is a fun outdoor bingo challenge that will get your whole family moving and observing and you can win a prize!!