Category: Preschool

Basic Shapes Learning Sheet for Developing Creativity and Fine Motor Skills

4/23/2014

Hello everyone. You may have noticed that I have not blogged in a couple of weeks. Life has thrown me for a loop. However, I am back. I may have to change things around a little and prioritize the use of my time a little more. Yet, I will tell you more, as I know more.
     I am applying for some teaching positions in the lower grades. One is for a preschool teaching position. So, I thought that it would be fun to include some preschool and kindergarten learning pages.
     Today, I am sharing an activity page on basic shapes. I think there is so much that you can do with basic shapes. Here is an activity page that makes a car from basic shapes. Children can color the page. They can count the number of various shapes. Also, it may be fun to give children some shapes and see if he or she can copy the design with the given shapes. If you want to get more creative, give children shapes and have them design their own cars with the shapes.
This is a great way to teach shapes, creativity, and fine motor skills. I know I used to enjoy creating things with shapes. Well, sometimes I still enjoy creating things with shapes. LOL! Enjoy!
Please, check out more of the activity/learning sheets at DUO Education on the "Sample Educational Activity Sheets" page.

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Fun & Friendly Dinosaur Assignment

1/15/2014

4 Comments

Hello everyone! When I was thinking about today's blog topic, I had thoughts of my kindergarten teaching days. Of course, that gave me a wonderful idea for a blog post.
When I was teaching kindergarten, I did a unit on dinosaurs. All of us kindergarten teachers in the school did the same units at the same time, but sometimes put our own spin on it. The students enjoyed this unit. I don't know if I have ever seen a kindergarten student who didn't like the dinosaur unit. LOL!
I don't remember, but I think we did this unit at about the same time that "Earth Day" came about. So, we also talked about recycling and re-using things. Anyway, as a culminating activity to the unit, the students would be asked to create a dinosaur out of regular household items and/or craft trinkets; such as pompoms, pipe cleaners, and the like. They weren't to spend very much, if anything, to create the dinosaur.
It was okay for parents to spend some quality time with their children and help with this project. It was even encouraged, as long as they were helping and not doing it all.
Children had to create a dinosaur, name it, write about it…what it did, what it ate, where it lived, etc. Also, in class, we had a big show and tell, where students told about their dinosaurs. It was fun! Then, we put them on display for teachers, students, and parents to admire.

Okay… here is your "Fun & Friendly Assignment," if you so choose to use it. Give a child the activity as described above. Have him or her create a dinosaur using things commonly found around the house… food, containers, tidbits of craft supplies, etc. This can be a formal assignment at school or homeschool, as well as a fun activity to do at home. It is also great for daycares and preschools. You can help, but please don't do it. Let the child use his or her imagination, not yours. When you are finished, take a photo of the child's masterpiece, and email it to [email protected] as an attachment. In the subject line, put the title of this post. (I will not spell it out here, but you will find it at the top of the page.) Emailing the photo gives me permission to post it on my website. If you want a name or age posted with the picture, please include that as well. Usually, I like to use like first name, age, and maybe the state where the child is from. But… nothing revealing. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me.
Have fun with this!

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Basic Shapes Learning Sheet for Developing Creativity and Fine Motor Skills

Fun & Friendly Dinosaur Assignment

Jodi Desautels

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