You can also give your child pipe cleaners, beads, google eyes, small straws, rubber bands, and any craft supplies to go with play dough… they don’t have to make bugs out of these things, see what they make!

My last example, I used stamp pads and my fingers to make my own kind of bug… look they’re saying hi to you!

When my grandchildren were “distance” visiting this weekend and in need of a quiet break in the action, (as were their parents!), they got a kick out of this activity. The only real requirement is lots of puffy white clouds in the sky.

Hint: My grandchildren were super excited when I told them the ice cream they had been clamoring for was going to be delivered after we played the game.

So, grab some beach towels or a beach blanket and some sunglasses and tell everyone to get comfortable, relax, and look up to the clouds. You can read the poem below for some creative inspiration or simply ask the children what they see and think. My grandson Jacob, age six, quickly declared that he was planning to build an elaborate “basketball world” up in his cloud. His three year old sister, Abby, readily offered up a plan for a “rainbow castle.”

Be sure to have paper and pencil ready to capture their ideas, and crayons for them to draw pictures if they like. Treat yourself to a mind/body break and snuggle up beside your kids and get your head in the clouds.

Cloud Fun

By Marlene

Lie down in the grass and gaze up at the sky,
What do the clouds look like floating by?
Could they be dinosaurs or a huge ice cream cone?
Maybe you can make some clouds of your own!

Now Imagine you are sitting on a cloud in the sky,
How would you feel on your perch up so high?
What would you see as you looked down below?
What would you want your friends to know?

Preschoolers love to paint! In the Purple Room, we are fortunate to have lots of various types and sizes of paint brushes. Most mornings when you arrive, you can see some sort of painting or gluing activity set up at the big wall easel. It’s exciting to explore this interest area of the classroom.

Albert Einstein maintained that creative imagination was “more important than knowledge,” and alternatively, that “creativity is intelligence having fun.” A child’s imagination is liberated with a brush and colors! It is safe to say painting liberates children.

Painting not only fosters creativity for young children through different mediums, it enhances the world around them. Various combinations of brushes, paper type and size all teach children their internal ideas. They can then bring these ideas to life. Painting increases motor and visual skills. Sometimes we use egg cartons or similar recycled containers to hold the paint at a table or easel activity. You could try this at home. Sometimes using white paint with just one other color but in different shades is fun for the children to explore and mix up on their own. Preschoolers also like to talk about RAINBOWS! It’s interesting when you can offer all the colors of the rainbow for children to choose from.

Picasso believed every child is born an artist. Have some fun and set your Purple Room Artists free!

We all know how much the children LOVE bandaids. Tell them this is a chance to design their own bandaids and get to use some real ones as well! Explain how hard all of the doctor “helpers” are working to help everyone stay healthy and strong. Suggest that they make a very special thank you picture to give to a “Helper” they know or put in the window to show their appreciation. Here’s all you need to get started:

MATERIALS

A piece of paper and white paper strips cut to look like different sized and shaped bandaids. If you happen to have white label stickers these work great too. Glue, glue stick or tape. Crayons, markers, craypas or any drawing implements you have on hand, A few real bandaids to start with. The children will clamor for more. You can always suggest that after they have filled their paper with colors and designed at least one of their own bandaids, you could find a few more real ones for them to use!

ACTIVITIES

Now let your child loose to create a unique thank you picture for a “Helper or Helpers” in their life. Encourage them to use all of the materials you provide and to fill their paper with colors and designs When their picture is finished, ask them what they would like to say to the doctor’s, nurses etc. and add their words of thanks to their picture.

This is a Blue Room favorite. Cue up some of your family’s favorite songs (or check out the links below) and have a short dance break. The best part is you can do these throughout the day