Assortment of leaves

Pieces of clay

White glue

Waxed paper

Ribbon or yarn

Rolling pins

 

Invite each child to select a leaf and a piece of clay. Ask each child to roll out the piece of clay until it is larger than the leaf. Help each child place the leaf on the clay, vein side down. Give each child a piece of waxed paper. Ask children to place the waxed paper over the leaf and clay and roll the rolling pin lightly over the waxed paper until the leaf sinks into the clay. Help each child carefully remove the waxed paper, pull the leaf by its stem away from the clay, and make a small hole in the clay. Place the clay leaf prints in a sunny window to dry. Help each child thread a piece of yarn or ribbon into the hole and hang the leaf prints your room.

 

Empty cereal box

White Con-Tact paper

Colored tape

Pencil

Craft knife

Felt scrap

Stapler

 

 

First, remove the waxed paper lining from the cereal box and close the box top. Cover the outside of the box with white Con-Tact paper, as you would if you were wrapping a gift box.  Apply long strips of dark-colored tape around the center of the box to create a roadway. Then use short pieces of yellow tape to create a dotted centerline. Use more colored tape to fashion decorative road signs to stick on the rest of the box. Next, set the box, back side down, on a flat surface and pencil on a large rectangle. Use the craft knife to score the top line of the rectangle (a parent’s job), but do not cut all the way through the cardboard. Now, cut along the remaining three pencil lines, this time cutting through the cardboard, to create an opening flap.  To make the box easy to open, staple the piece of felt to the lower edge of the flap, and the box is ready to use.

 

Edit:  I have made two of these, and personally, I think they suck.  The flap that you create to get INTO the box doesn’t stay flat, even if you attach a stiff handle to try and brace it up.  It sinks in, makes it unsuitable as a driving surface, and stuff falls out constantly

It’s Halloween!

 

It’s Halloween! It’s Halloween!

The moon is full and bright

And we shall see what can’t be seen

On any other night.

 

Skeletons and ghosts and ghouls,

Grinning goblins fighting duels,

Werewolves rising from their tombs,

Witches on their magic brooms.

 

In masks and gowns

we haunt the street

And knock on doors

for trick or treat.

 

Tonight we are

the king and queen,

For oh tonight

it’s Halloween!

 

~Jack Prelutsky~

 

Three Little Witches

 

(can be sung to the tune of Three Little Indians)

 

One little, two little, three little witches,

Fly over haystacks, fly over ditches,

Slide down moon beams without any hitches,

Hey ho Hallowe’en’s here!

Horned owl’s hooting, it’s time to go riding,

Deep in the shadows are black cats hiding,

With gay little goblins, sliding, gliding,

Hey ho Hallowe’en’s here!

Stand on your head with a lopsided wiggle,

Tickle your little black cats till they giggle,

Swish through clouds with a higgedy, piggle,

Hey ho Hallowe’en’s here!

 

 

Halloween is Coming Soon

 

(can be sung to the tune of London Bridge)

 

Halloween is coming soon, coming soon, coming soon,

Halloween is coming soon,

Oh, what fun!

Black cats sitting on a fence, on a fence, on a fence,

Black cats sitting on a fence,

Meow! Meow! Meow!

Owl’s a-hooting in the trees, in the trees, in the trees,

Owl’s a-hooting in the trees,

Whoo! Whoo! Whoo!

Witches flying on their brooms, on their brooms, on their brooms,

Witches flying on their brooms,

Eee! Eee! Eee!

Jack o’lanterns grin at you, grin at you, grin at you,

Jack o’lanterns grin at you,

Oh! Oh! Oh!

Halloween is coming soon, coming soon, coming soon,

Halloween is coming soon,

Oh, what fun!

Owl

An owl sat watching in a tree,

Just as wise as he could be,

Watching tricksters from door to door run,

Trick or treating and having fun.

After he had watched the whole scene,

He said, “Whoo, it’s Owl-o-ween!”

 

 

Skeleton Parade

 

The skeletons are out tonight,

They march about the street,

With bony bodies, bony heads,

And bony hands and feet.

Bony bony bony bones

with nothing in between,

Up and down and all around

They march on Hallowe’en.

 Black Cat! 

Black cat, black cat

Looking for a witch.

All around the

Night is dark as pitch.

You can see because

Your eyes are greee.

Black cat, Black cat

This is Hallowe’en!

 

 

 

Halloween Sounds

 

This is the way the witches fly, witches fly, witches fly,

This is the way the witches fly,

Swish, swish, swish.

This is the way the ghosts go by, ghosts go by, ghosts go by,

This is the way the ghosts go by,

Oooh, oooh , oooh.

This is the way the black cats howl, black cats howl, black cats howl,

This is the way the black cats howl,

Meow! Meow! Meow!

This is the way the pumpkins laugh, pumpkins laugh, pumpkins laugh,

This is the way the pumpkins laugh,

Hee! Hee! Hee!

This the way the night owls cry, night owls cry, night owls cry,

This is the way the night owls cry,

Hoo, hoo, hoo.

 

Trick or Treat

 

Witches, ghosts, and goblins.

Stealing down the street,

Knock on every door way,

Trick or treat!

When your door is opened,

This is what you meet,

Scary creatures shouting,

Trick or treat!

 

 

Halloween Parade

 

Five white ghosts and seven goblins,

Go parading down the street,

Boys and girls with funny faces,

Asking for a treat.

If a goblin rings my doorbell,

I will say “I’m not afraid!”

I will light my jack-o’lantern,

For the Halloween parade.

I will give these scary people,

Apples, candy, cakes to eat;

Then I’ll wave goodbye and watch them

As they march off down the street.

 

In My Garden

 

(can be sung to the tune of The Muffin Man)

 

Do you know how pumpkins grow,

Pumpkins grow, pumpkins grow,

Do you know how pumpkins grow?

In my garden?

First I plant some pumpkin seeds,

some pumpkin seeds, some pumpkins seeds,

First I plant some pumpkin seeds

In my garden.

Then the vines and leaves will grow,

leaves will grow, leaves will grow,

Then the vines and leaves will grow,

In my garden.

Then the buds will turn to blossoms,

turn to blossoms, turn to blossoms,

Then the buds will turn to blossoms,

In my garden.

Then green pumpkins will grow,

will grow, will grow,

Then green pumpkins will grow,

In my garden.

At last the pumpkins turn to orange,

turn to orange, turn to orange,

At last the pumpkins turn to orange,

In my garden.

Now I’ll have some jack-o-lanterns,

jack-o-lanterns, jack-o-lanterns,

Now I’ll have some jack-o-lanterns,

In my garden.

 

 

Five Little Pumpkins

 

Five little pumpkins

Sitting on a gate.

The first one said,

“Oh, my it’s getting late!”

The second one said,

“There are witches in the air!”

The third one said,

“Well, I don’t care!”

The fourth one said,

“Let’s run and run and run!”

The fifth one said,

“I’m ready for some fun!”

Ooooo went the wind

And out went the lights

And the five little pumpkins

Rolled out of sight.

 

 

 

Pumpkin Head

 

We bought a pumpkin big and round

that lived the summer through

without an eye to look at things…

and now it looks through two.

It used to be all dark inside

when growing on the vine,

but now it has a toothy smile

and face that’s full of shine.

Aileen Fisher

Out in the fields where the cornstalks lie,

Some pumpkins are sleeping, but by and by

We’ll pick them and bring them one by one

Into the house for Halloween fun.

We’ll scoop out the middle and cut a hat,

Make 2 eyes and a nose, what do you think of that?

Put in a candle to shine right through,

Now they’re Jack-o-lanterns, BOO!

 

 

Pumpkin

 

We bought a fat orange pumpkin

The plumpest sort they sell.

We neatly scooped the inside out

And only left the shell.

We carved a funny funny-face

Of silly shape and size,

A pointy nose, a jagged mouth

And two enormous eyes.

We set it in a window

And we put a candle in,

Then lit it up for all to see

Our jack-o’lantern grin.

 

Pumpkins

 

Pumpkins by the barn.

Pumpkins by the house.

Pumpkins by the wagon.

Pumpkins by the mouse.

Pumpkins by the fence.

Pumpkins by the cat.

Pumpkins by the scarecrow.

Pumpkins by the hat.

Pumpkins by the table.

Pumpkins by the chair.

Pumpkins by the door.

Pumpkins everywhere!

 

 

What a funny seed I found,

I wondered what would grow?

So I planted it in the ground,

And now I know!

Little leaves were first to sprout,

Growing in a line,

Then golden blossoms opened out

Along the vine.

And then something grew-and grew and grew!

The biggest ever seen!

And now I have a pumpkin-

Just in time for HALLOWEEN!

 

 

I had a little pumpkin,

I gave it two big eyes.

I cut a round and tiny nose

and a great big mouth that smiles.

Now I hide behind a bush and

wait until it’s dark.

Then when someone comes along

UP I JUMP!

BOO I SHOUT!

What a surprise!”

 

 

Jack -O’lantern

 

The jack -o’lantern chuckled

Then winked his funny eye,

“I would rather be a pumpkin-face

Than be inside a pie!”

Jolly wolly pumpkin face

You’re happy tell us why.

I’d rather be a pumpkin face

And not a pumpkin pie!

 

Scribbles and silly songs are so valuable to your little one’s learning.

 

Visual arts: Between 18 and 36 months, most little ones have magic marker mania, because kids are driven to make images. Give your toddler plenty of markers or crayons and paper and let him scribble away. Let him do it his way. Allow him to turn the scribble into whatever. Don’t mess with it, impose structure on it, or repeatedly ask what it is. All these intrusions run the risk of teaching him he is supposed to be doing something other than what he is attempting to do. His ideas are better than yours precisely because they are his, not yours.

 

It’s an important development stage. Here, the physical process of tuning fine-motor skills becomes a learning experience about texture, shapes, color, etc. This starts a process which eventually involves symbolic use and manipulation of images. It just looks like mud wrestling.

 

As they paint, scribble, and knead clay or work with other materials, children chat, improve eye-hand coordination, and may become involved in group efforts. Make sure your child helps you clean up after he is through. That’s a good lesson in shared work, accomplishment, and restoring order.

 

Music and dance: Children have an innate appetite for music. In the musical world, feelings come together with play, movement, and memory in a way that is not ultimately dependent on language. And that is precisely why it is so indispensable to young children of every culture and class.

 

All young children, even those with only minimal hearing, have a powerful, almost riveting affinity for music. Research has shown that the fetus responds to musical cues from the middle trimester onward and never stops attending to it afterward, and infants are the same. By toddlerhood, play with music is so complex and rich, it probably teaches more economically than any formal kind of instruction. The neurobiological processes underlying the appreciation of music-related play and interaction involve the brain pathways for:

• Memory
• Hearing
• Balance
• Motor control
• Hormonal secretion
• Cognition
• Emotion

 

Talk about a big bang for the buck! What else in our world can stir such a response across generations and cultures? I can’t think of a thing.

 

A wonderful way to play with and teach your child is to bring her into your world. Toys are great, but they are no substitute for real contributions to the grown-up world. It’s in this grown-up world that children come to see themselves as players, not bench-warmers. And when they contribute what they can to that world, self-esteem gets a big boost. Children love to do “grown-up” things, and to imitate others. When you let them work and play alongside you, they get the best of both worlds.

 

 

Bring your child into the household routine. There are countless safe ways for a young child to “help” with meals, laundry, shopping, cleaning, and washing the car. He will learn skills and know that he is integral to the household’s functioning. Yes, the chores will take longer as he learns the ropes, makes mistakes and works at a snail’s pace, but the value to his learning and his self-regard are more than worth the extra time.

 

 

Involve your child in your work. One thing sacrificed in today’s work world is children’s participation in the family business. A generation or two ago, far more children stacked cans at Mom and Pop’s grocery or sorted materials at the family tailor shop. Self-esteem was less of a problem for those kids. They knew the family business, in some small way, depended on them too. Many of today’s kids are not involved at all in family work, and may not even know or understand what their parents do for a living. “Work” is some shadowy thing that happens when Mom and Dad aren’t at home, or is even something that keeps parents from being home.

 

 

Share your interests. It’s important to keep up with your own passions. You need “a life,” and you won’t have one if you lose yourself totally in your child’s world. Continue with piano, chess, painting, hiking, whatever. Teach your child about your avocations. Let her be a part of what you love. This is one of the most intriguing, emotionally rich forms of learning children get. And you are building a common bond that will last for years.

All About Apples

 

You probably have several apples in your house right now. What follows are easy ideas for apple fun and learning.

Use a cool apple tool. The right equipment can make all the difference when cooking with your kids. The Peel Away from Back to Basics is a big hit with children. The machine allows you to peel, core, and slice apples in one fast and easy operation. It is safe and easy to use with parental supervision (Peel Away Apple Peeler A505, $25 at applesource.com).

Compare apples with the five senses. Invite your child to observe and compare red, yellow, and green apples. How are they similar? How are they different? Encourage your child to use his senses to explore. First, sight: Ask him to express what he sees as different about the apples (besides the color). Then move on to touch, smell, and taste. The five senses is an important science topic that is traditionally taught in the beginning of the preschool and kindergarten years. This focus also teaches your child about himself and how his body works.

Take a made-from-apples taste test. Children are often surprised to find out about the different things that are made from apples. Look through your cabinets and refrigerator for a variety of apple products for your child to taste. Try such products as apple jelly, dried apples, applesauce, apple vinegar, and apple juice or cider. Which does he like the best? Which doesn’t he like?

Measure with apples. Apples make a great unit of measure. Ask your child to estimate how many apples long the table or counter is. Then line them up to check and see! Try measuring big and little things. It is important for your child to see how anything can be used to measure. This prepares him for learning how to measure with feet and inches. Invite him to estimate “how many” before measuring. You will be helping him learn how to approximate linear measurements.

Print with apples. Did you know that when you cut an apple in half horizontally you find a star inside? The apple halves work well for making apple-print pictures or wrapping paper. Stick a fork in the uncut side of each apple half so it is easier for your child to hold without getting messy. Have him place the cut end in a small dish of washable paint and then press on paper or tissue paper.

Make an apple-head puppet. Weathered-looking apple-head dolls are a traditional early American craft. You can make them at home with your preschooler, though be aware that the drying period can take several weeks. Peel an apple and show your child how to carefully use the end of a peeler, or other blunt tool, to carve out a mouth and two eyes. Have your child place a small scrap of fabric or a napkin over the dull point of a pencil. Then you can press the point into the bottom of the apple to create the puppet stick. Place the apple in a sunny place to weather and dry. When the apple is brown and dry, your child can add yarn for hair or fabric as a scarf. Have a puppet show!

Play hot apple. Play a hot-potato-style game with the family by passing an apple around as you all chant the word apple over and over. When the leader shouts, “Hot Apple!” whoever is holding the apple is it. That person gets to be the leader and calls “Hot Apple” in the next game.

Balance an apple. How far can your child walk with an apple balanced on a large spoon? Try it!

Read apple books. Take a trip to your library to find some apple books for storytime. Here are few to look for:

• The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall
• Ten Apples Up On Top by Dr. Seuss
• How Do Apples Grow by Betsy Maestro
• Rain Makes Applesauce by Julian Scheer
• Applesauce by Shirley Kurtz
• A Tree Is Nice by Janice May Udry

Cook with apples. Write out your favorite apple recipes on cards and ask your child to illustrate. Give these as gifts with delicious samples! Two kid-friendly cookbooks that are devoted to apples are The Big Fat Red Juicy Apple Cookbook by Judith Bosley, and The Apple Cookbook by Owen Woodier. Or try these ideas:

Apple Dippers
Arrange apple slices on a plate and serve with a variety of dipping sauces. Which flavor does the family like best? Fill small bowls with:

• flavored, softened cream-cheese spreads
• vanilla or fruit yogurt
• honey
• melted chocolate

Quick Applesauce

• 6 apples, cored, peeled, and sliced
• 1/3 cup water
• ¼ cup sugar
• ½ tsp. cinnamon

1. Place all ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl and stir.
2. Loosely cover the bowl with a plastic lid or wax paper and microwave on high for 4 minutes.
3. Remove from microwave and stir carefully.
4. Return to microwave for an additional 7-8 minutes, until the mixture is soft.
5. Remove from microwave, and mash with a potato masher or in a blender.

No-Bake Apple Oatmeal Drop Cookies

• ¼ cup butter
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup apples, peeled and grated
• ¼ tsp. salt

Melt butter and combine with sugar, apples and salt. Boil for 1 minute and remove from heat.

Add:

• 1½ cups quick-cooking oatmeal
• ¼ cup raisins or chocolate chips (optional)

Mix well and drop by teaspoonful onto waxed paper or nonstick pan. Cool for 30 minutes and eat!

Baked Apples

• 4 apples
• 2 tsp. butter
• 2 tsp. honey
• raisins and/or chopped dates
• cinnamon

1. Core 4 apples (leave the very bottom of the apple uncored so the goodies don’t fall out!).
2. Peel the top third of each apple.
3. Add 1/2 tsp. of butter and 1/2 tsp. of honey to each apple.
4. Fill each apple with raisins and/or chopped dates. Sprinkle with cinnamon if desired.
5. Place apples in an uncovered pan filled with 1/8 inch of water, and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. In a hurry? Put apples in a microwave-safe dish and microwave on high for 7 minutes.

Candy Apples

• butter for greasing cookie sheet
• 12 small apples
• 12 popsicle sticks
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup corn syrup
• vegetable dye (optional)

1. Butter a cookie sheet large enough to hold all 12 apples.
2. Put sticks into stem ends of apples.
3. Boil sugar and corn syrup together, stirring only until the sugar melts. When a few drops added to cold water become brittle, it has been boiled enough. Turn off the heat.
4. Dip the apples into the syrup, one at a time, holding them by their sticks. Place each apple on the cookie sheet, with its stick in the air. If the syrup hardens, heat it for a minute before you dip the next apple.

Why are the candy apples you buy at fairs and circuses red? Vegetable dye was probably added to the syrup. You could try it. For a change, why not try to make the apples blue?

 

Your children’s task is to create a method for moving 2 items from Start Line A across Finish Line B, using provided materials.

 

On the floor are a taped Start Line A and a Finish Line B. The objects to be moved will be behind the Start Line. On a table are materials that are available to create the method for moving the objects.

 

1 paper tube

4 index cards

6 adhesive labels

1 balloon

2 rubber bands

1 cup

scissors (may not be part of the solution)

Objects to be moved (may not be altered): washer & golf ball (or other small object like a gumdrop, cotton balls, or empty soup can)

Infants were once thought of as passive and unknowing. It was commonly believed that until they mastered language, young children were incapable of thinking or forming complex ideas. Today, we know otherwise. From the very start, young children are aware of their surroundings and interested in exploring them. Scientists from several fields have shown that from the first weeks of life, babies are active learners. They are busy gathering and organizing knowledge about their world. These milestones highlight young children’s progress in developing perceptual and thinking skills.

 

Newborns begin right away to use and integrate their senses to explore their world. Most infants can:

 

• See clearly within 13 inches

• Focus on and follow moving objects, including human faces

• See all colors and distinguish hue and brightness

• Distinguish the pitch and volume of sound

• Discriminate sweet, sour, bitter, and salty tastes

• Respond with facial expressions to strong stimuli (like odors)

• Prefer high contrast items and geometric shapes

• Begin to anticipate events (for example, sucking at the sight of a nipple)

 

 

At 3 – 6 months, babies perceptual abilities improve rapidly. At this age, they are able to:

 

• Recognize faces

• Differentiate between different people based on the way they look, sound, or feel

• React to and imitate the facial expressions of others

• Respond to familiar sounds

 

Using ingenious research methods, scientists have found that babies from 6 to 9 months, begin very early to have glimmers of how the world works. Even very young babies have been found to:

 

• Stare longer at “impossible” events (like ordinary objects suspended in midair)

• Distinguish between inanimate and animate objects, and understand that inanimate objects must be propelled into motion by an external force

• Distinguish among pictures that show different numbers of items

• Use the relative size of objects as a clue to how close or how far away they are

 

From 9 to 12 months, children continue to explore how the world works and build on the conceptual leaps described above. At this age, most babies can:

 

• Understand that an object still exists even when it’s not in view

• Respond to simple directions and questions with gestures, sounds, and perhaps words

• Imitate gestures and actions

• Experiment purposefully with the physical properties of objects, for example, by seeing how objects fit into a container or what happens if the container is turned over

• Enjoy looking at picture books

 

 

Children at 1 to 2 years spend much of their time intently observing and imitating the actions of adults. Most can:

 

• Imitate adults’ actions and language

• Understand words and commands and respond appropriately

• Begin to match similar objects

• Recognize and identify familiar objects in storybooks with adult assistance

• Distinguish between “you” and “me”

 

 

From 2 to 3 years, z lot of learning is done through a child’s own exploration, and this really takes off at this age. Most children can:

 

• Respond to simple directions

• Choose picture books, name pictured objects, and identify several objects within one picture

• Group objects by category

• Stack rings on peg in order of size

• Identify themselves in the mirror, saying “baby” or their own name

• Relate what they are doing to others

• Observe and imitate more complex adult actions (for example, housekeeping play)

 

  

At 3 to 4 years, as children have more experiences in the world, their analytic powers grow. For some time, they have been observing and mentally “sorting” objects according to their physical properties. Now most children can:

 

• Understand concepts like grouping and matching (for example, recognizing and matching colors)

• Organize materials on their own, for example by stacking blocks or rings in order of size

• Identify parts of a whole, like a slice of pie

• Draw, name, and briefly explain somewhat recognizable pictures that are meaningful to them

• Actively seek information through why and how questions

• Tell you their full name and age

• Attend to an activity for a longer stretch of time (between 5 and 15 minutes)

• Learn both by observing and listening to adults’ explanations

• Show awareness of past and present

 

 

From 4 to 5 years, children actively seek information and new experiences from the people in their environment. Most can:

 

• Play with words, mimicking and creating sounds, and make rhymes

• Point to and name many colors

• Understand order and process

• Draw a person with detail

• Draw, name, and describe pictures

• Count to 5

• Tell you their street and town