Past Activities
Here you will find all our past activities and resources. It offers past information that is resourceful and that can make the learning process that little bit easier. You will be able to keep sharing with your child all these activities that they enjoyed!
Toddler - Gardens: From Caterpillar to Butterfly - May 18th - May 22th
Children will discover the life cycle of a butterfly.
Spanish Conversation
Que hace la oruga? La oruga ________ (sube, etc.)
What does the caterpillar do? The caterpillar ________ (climbs, etc.)
Que hace la mariposa? La mariposa _____.
What does the butterfly do? The butterfly________.
Vocabulary:
jardín (garden)
rouge (catepillar)
mariposa (butterfly)
huevo (egg)
- Introduce letter O.
Math
- Color: Orange. Observe the color of a monarch butterfly. Fold a cut out of a butterfly in half. Place red paint on one side and yellow on the other. Then, fold and press down mixing the 2 colors to make orange.
- Create a simple 2 piece butterfly puzzle. Help identify the two wings that are the same.
- Diagram the life cycle of the butterfly. On a paper plate, divide into four sections, place one leaf in each section. Paste rice in the 1st to represent eggs. Glue rotini pasta in the 2nd to represent the caterpillar. In the 3rd section, glue shell pasta to symbolize the chrysalis. Finally, a bowtie pasta to represent the butterfly.
Science, Sensory, Art
- Explain the life cycle of a butterfly using pictures.
- Create a butterfly using celery stick for the body, cream cheese on the celery, and attach 2 pretzel knots for the weeks. 2 raisins for the eyes, & 2 pretzel sticks for the antennae.
Fine / Gross Motor
- Use thumb dipped into orange to decorate the wings of a butterfly.
-Create a thumbprint caterpillars.
-Folding: paper, blankets, clothes, scarves.
- Folding paper to create butterflies.
- Peel a small piece of a mandarin or cutie orange peel, allow your child to peel the remaining, assisting when needed.
-Create clothespin and paper butterflies.
Songs
Check out our Downloads & Music page for fun songs & videos for the Gardens including
"Things to Grow"!
Ven Mariposa
ABC Butterfly
A B C D E - I found a butterfly on me!
F G H I J - She started out in a very small way.
K L M N O - An egg smaller than my toe!
P Q R S T - Next to a caterpillar she will be.
U V W X Y - In a chrysalis is where she’d lie.
May 11th - May 15th
Things that Crawl, Jump & Fly
Children will learn about insects that crawl, jump & fly in gardens and describe them using numbers and colors.
Spanish Conversation
Qué ves?
What do you see?
Yeo veo un/una _______.
I see a _______.
For example: Yo veo dos abejas amarillas.
Vocabulary:
abeja (bee)
Mariquita (ladybug)
Hormiga (ant)
Gusano (worm)
Grillo (grasshopper)
Have fun creating descriptive sentences about insects. Use picture cards.
Math
- Count & Compare using more and less.
- Count the spots on a lady bug, stripes on a bee, antennae or legs on an insect, etc.
- Encourage your child to say which has more or less.
Science, Sensory, Art
- Talk about where insects live.
- Observe insects using a magnifying glass.
-Make a “Dirt & Worms” dessert cup using gummy worms and, Oreo crumbles & chocolate pudding.
-Pretend the jump rope is a worm, wiggling it and jumping over the wiggling rope…trying not to touch it.
- Create other insects using various supplies around the home.
Fine / Gross Motor
- Practice fingerpainting using the index finger.- Fingerprint an ant using prints to create the body and draw 6 legs.
-Tracing curved lines to draw worms.
- Practice tearing small pieces and sticking them to art paper with glue.
Garden Themed Fine motor skill activities:
April 14th - April 18th
What Do You See?
April 20th - April 24th
Smell & Taste
Develop the senses of taste and smell by experiencing different flavors and aromas, expressing our likes and dislikes. Learn the names of fruits while exploring taste, smell, texture & color.
Spanish Conversation
A qué huele? Huele ______.
What does it smell like?
It smells ______.
A qué sabe? Sabe ______.
What does it taste like?
It tastes like ______.
Vocabulary:
fresa (strawberry) limón (lime) mandarina (mandarin) dulce (sweet) salado (salty) acido (sour) manzana (apple)
Math
- Review shape recognition: Example: Triangle - cut food into triangular pieces to enjoy looking at, smelling and tasting.
- Classify tastes and smells. Using only smell, make groups of same and different smells. Make a group of ones you like and ones you dislike.
Science, Sensory, Art
- Taste, identify and describe sweet, sour and salty foods.
- Use your senses to explore food cut into triangular shapes.
- With eyes closed, explore tastes of foods - foods tasting the same, foods sweet, salty & sour.
- Make a scented paint: Mix glue, paint and sugarless drink mix in assorted flavors.
Fine / Gross Motor
- Peel fruits - small oranges are perfect - start with a peeled edge & then allow your child to peel the rest!
- Paint using fingertips & circular motions to the left using scented paint.
- Tongue movements: move our tongues up, down, left, right and around.
- Put something sweet and sticky around your child's mouth to enjoy licking off with the tongue.
April 27th - May 1st
The Senses: Touch
Children will explore using their sense of touch. They will review name and vowel recognition through touching different textured letters.
Spanish Conversation
Toco mi cara.
I touch my face.
Partes d la cara.
Parts of the face.
Vocabulary:
ojos (eyes)
frente (forehead)
boca (mouth)
nariz (nose)
orejas (ears)
mejillas (cheeks)
Math
- Make a numer 3 on sand paper.
Cut it and glue it onto construction paper.
- Guide your child's index finger over the number. Say "three", while touching the number.
- Guide the finger over triangle. Talk about differences between smooth lines and the pointy tip.
Science, Sensory, Art
- Modeling play dough
- make tortillas, pointing out the circle shape.
- Review warm & cold. While washing hands talk about temperature.
Fine / Gross Motor
- Prepare face cut outs, using different types of paper or material.
Children can glue onto their circle.
Save them, compare their improvement.
May 4th - May 8th
Gardens: Things that Grow
Children will experience planting a seed, caring for it, and observing how it grows.
Spanish Conversation
Siembro la semilla.
I plant the seed.
Riego la semilla / planta.
I water the seed/plant.
La plant crece.
The plant grows.
Vocabulary:
Semilla (seed)
Planta (plant)
Flor (flower)
Tierra (soil)
Agua (water)
- Introduce vowel and vowel sound: i
- Rhyme simple words.
Math
- Vertical lines: Using green yarn, play with making lines that could be the stems of plants. Use soil to learn the color brown.
-Practice counting to 5 by placing 5 numbered flowers in a pot in numerical order.
-Create a chart by gluing the correct amount of seeds under the number.
Sequencing the growth of a plant.
1 - seed in soil being watered and receiving the sunlight.
2 - small plant, with growing leaves.
3 - grown plant with flower.
Science, Sensory, Art
- Plant a fast-growing seed such as lentil or bean in soil or container. Place in a sunny area.
- Fill a container with seeds & hide small objects in them inviting your child to find them.
- Leaf painting: Use rosemary branches to paint.
- Use a magnifier to examine seeds, leaves, etc.
- Examine & discuss fruits and vegetables in your home.
Fine / Gross Motor
- Use index finger and thumb to place seeds in a pot.
- Trace vertical lines, from top to bottom. - Trace letter i. Decorate by gluing seeds.
- Using scissors. **Scissor cutting is an important fine motor developed ability. Must have complete guidance and supervision! Placing thumb and middle finger correctly, support your child’s hand and open and close together with them.
-Cut green paper to make grass for the garden.
Explore your home using your sight. Understand eyes are for seeing and identifying everything around us. Using books to observe all the colors, shapes and letters there are in books.
Spanish Conversation
Que ves? What do you see?
Yo veo un _____. I see a ______.
Vocabulary:
Azul (blue) anaranjado (orange) blanco (white) amarillo (yellow) verde (green) negro (black) rosa (pink) café (brown)
Math
- Review colors - yellow, red, blue, orange, green & white. Walk around your home and name colors.
- Shape recognition - Ex. Triangle - say the name and count the sides
- Review open / close using your eyes, doors, lids, etc.
- Dark / light - cover your eyes, peek into a dark room, etc.
Science, Sensory, Art
- Play peek a boo!
- Hide a happy face under different colored cards - then guess which card the face is under
- Looking at things from different view points: front and back
- Make binoculars using toilet paper rolls with string so it can be worn around the neck & explore.
- Magic picture: Draw on a white paper using a white crayon then paint over to magically appear.
Fine / Gross Motor
- Turning pages of a book. Choose bright colored books and show how to carefully and correctly turn the pages of a book. Using fingertips, one by one.
- Circular movement practice - making circular movements starting at the top and moving to the left.
