April Themes

April Fool’s Day • Earth Day • Shadows • Rain • Rainbows Eggs & Bunnies

April Fool’s Day

Brownies Anyone? April Fools 😉 Brown E’s Brownies anyone? Make that Brown “E’s”! In our preschool classroom the first week of April is “crazy” week! I know it’s not PC but for lack of a more descriptive term we call it crazy. We have Mismatched Day, Backwards Day, Crazy Hair Day, and Yes Day!

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Earth Day Young children might not know the name of our planet or that there are other planets. So teach them! Children are very interested in maps and most 3’s can get the “we are here” concept.

Earth Earth Painting Earth 2 Earth

Earth Dance by Joanne Ryder
Introduce keeping the planet clean and help the understanding by taking the children outside to clean up the earth. With young children you’ll want teachers to carry trash bags. Monitor what the children pick up – no glass, cigarette butts…children should ask teachers to pick up these items.

Space

Telescope Fun Telescope Telescope We know they’re not going to see anything, it’s the process not the product! Just be sure they don’t point it at the sun! I hang a poster of the planets, we point our telescope at that and ask the kids if they can find Saturn or Neptune.

This great telescopes is truly designed just for young children. For use in preschool classrooms, fancy expensive telescopes aren’t necessary. This one includes a journal and cool science experiences. This telescope is decorated with moons, stars, and planets. The moon scope, with 18x to 90x magnification, comes with moon filter and tripod. Kids will love this!

Rocketships! Roll const. paper around paper towel tube Add buttons or colored macaroni glue around top edge of tubes Add painted cone cups to top of tubes Blast Off

More Rocketships! Shape Rockets! These shape rockets start out as name puzzles and quickly become rocketships! Start with construction paper squares programed with each child’s name. Children glue them down in order. Add a triangle to the top and one on either side. A flame of glitter at the base and its Blast off! Oh add some foil stars too!

Shadows You can do this with any large bright flashlight or even a lamp with the shade off. Just darken the room and have the children stand about 3-4 ft from a plain wall with the light behind them. What fun!

shadow Shadows image

BY ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me,
And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.
He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head;
And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.
The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow—
Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow;
For he sometimes shoots up taller like an india-rubber ball,
And he sometimes gets so little that there’s none of him at all.
He hasn’t got a notion of how children ought to play,
And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way.
He stays so close beside me, he’s a coward you can see;
I’d think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me!
One morning, very early, before the sun was up,
I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup;
But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head,
Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed.
Source: The Golden Book of Poetry (1947)

Rainbows

We Can Make A Rainbow This is all you need Mosaic Rainbow rainbow of tissue paper
Start with a template of 6 colors. Cut squares of tissue or construction paper. And glue, glue, glue!
Turn On The Sun And Bring On The Rain…

Eggs & Bunnies Colorful Eggs
Plastic eggs dipped in matching paint Tissue paper & vinegar on lg egg
Dye Eggs Tissue & Vinegar

Eggs In The Sensory Table Hide Eggs in Plain Sight
Eggs In Sensory Table Hide Eggs In Plain Sight

Colorful Bunnies
Rabbit Ears
Beautiful glowing eggs. Not so much. Glow Stick Easter Eggs (Fail) nMy first mistake was not checking to see if the bracelet glow sticks would fit in the eggs. The smaller eggs had to be taped shut. The second problem was the eggs were too opaque. A few eggs we had on hand were transparent enough but it wasn’t very impressive
Colored Eggs
Shaving Cream & Food Color Roll eggs in and let stand for 3-4 minutes

…and then this happened
Pinterest Glowing Eggs