Preschool Mini Golf

After set up, this program was very low key. Families putted together. I just went around and did minor maintenance (and snapped some pics).

The children like to rearrange the obstacles.

The favorite hole by far were the hills.

New games were invented, like Golf Bag Ball,
where you use the golf bag to launch the ball at the hole.

Mini Golf or Putt Putt Library Set Up

Preschool Mini Golf at the Library

This post is the set up phase. It took an hour to set everything up the first day. I did it two days in a row and set up everything by myself. I purchased 4 sets of clubs, balls and a "bag" from Meijer during a clearance of summer items.

Hole 1: World Book sets and pool noodles. 

Legos for the "holes".

Large picture books for tunnels.

Book ends for obstacles.

The book basket obstacles were a favorite.

I saw this obstacle at a Teen Putt Putt. Not suitable for preschoolers!

Hats as obstacles.

Pool noodles for water traps.

Scarves and hula hoops for sand traps.

My favorite: Hills using mats from our "tree house".

If your library does this program, please leave a link in the comments. I tried to use what I had to keep this program below budget.

Messy Learning Lab: Just Add Water

Is water really messy? I planned all these activities with water and the answer is decidedly, "YES!"

Luckily, my wonderful, amazing, fantastic co-worker, John, had the foresight to put a tarp down, or the hard wood floors may have taken a hit. I filled two under-the-bed storage totes with water. I added some toys to one and floating things to the second.

We used spray bottles at both craft tables. Possibly a favorite activity involved children spraying EVERYTHING. Spraying really works those motor skills! One table had relief painting with liquid watercolors.

The other table used the tried and true method of staining regular paper with tissue paper.

I recently purchased egg shakers to use in storytimes, so these homemade sand shakers got a new life. I poked holes in the bottoms, so the kids could shake, shake, shake the sand into some water. I just love the feeling of wet sand.

No water program is complete without water beads! You can see my hand turning the small tote so both boys could reach at the same time. I really needed a bigger tote for this activity. I just didn't have many beads left after the last event. I paired the beads with sand toys. They enjoyed fitting as many beads as they could into each shape.

Another simple activity made new by adding water. Cover a chalkboard, or sidewalk, with chalk markings, then use water to paint. Draw and repeat.

This mat is a chalkboard banner! I've used it several times since this event and I love it, but the first time it was super stiff even after ironing. I added water to cornstarch and food coloring to make chalk paint. It dries with a cool texture.

I saved the favorite for last. The Ooey Gooey Lady had an obstacle course set up for a conference on Facebook recently. This is my take on it. I taped bubble wrap to the floor and added blue balls to the parachute (water and umbrella).

Adding water is easy, cost effective and so fun. Have you added water to any activities? Leave me a comment with some links! I'd love to see what you've been up to this summer.

Letter G is for Gambit

The two superheroes we focused on for the letter G were Gambit and Green Lantern. Bobo chose to paint this week, instead of coloring.

Green Lantern painting, Bobo age 4

He also worked on his DC sticker activity book.

Green Lantern shadow matching

In addition to working on letters each week, Bobo has also been asking for numbers. He can write 1 through 10 and loves practicing on anything he can get his hands on!

From top to bottom and left to right: Blue letter G painting, Thomas number activity, Gambit, Leprechaun craft, Pot of gold craft, Number writing, Chick craft and Green Lantern painting

His Aunt T gave him some wonderful Thomas the Train stickers and activity book for Christmas. So, I made a simple activity of placing the amount of stickers on the number square (1 to 5). We also attended a library Spring craft event with Miss Meredith. I love his little chick coming out of the egg.

Are your kids into mazes? Bobo can't get enough of mazes right now. I think he's done every one in each coloring book he has. He worked on helping Scooby-Doo catch some ghosts and ghouls in this one.

We watched a wonderful video for the big letter G. Little g is still a challenge for writing. Any ideas, tips or tricks you've used to teach it?

Sharing at Homeschool Creations.

Letter F is for Flash

Letter F is also for Ferb! Our learning board got a lot of Phineas and Ferb love. (1+1+1=1)

Flash coloring... lots of coloring.

I love the dot sheets for learning the shapes of letters, but Bobo doesn't like to use the dot painters very much. He used yellow and red finger paints this week to make a Flash inspired letter set.

Markers are another favorite medium. Look at that crazy hair! The best part of homeschool is getting to wear costumes and NOT brushing your hair.

Epsom salt tray for letter practice. I put all the letter activities we do each week in a fire box. We are still loving the tag system for learning phonics.

Letter F review. We didn't watch any youtube videos this week, but did enjoy some Phineas and Ferb episodes on Netflix.

Shared with Tuesday Tots.

Preschool Trays: A little bit of Valentine love

Bobo is really ready for Easter, but I assured him Valentine's Day comes first.

Puzzles are quickly becoming a favorite past time. The transportation puzzle by Melissa and Doug have chunky pieces great for imaginative play as well.

The wooden horse puzzle is a challenge at 24 pieces with similar looking horses.

Zombie Lab experiment making zombie skin. Mix and 10 minutes in the fridge make a delicious treat.

My little joker loves this Valentine joke cards. Lift the flap to find the answers.

Hand-print craft kit makes a lovely Valentine's gift for mommy.

Sparkly hearts for decorating.

We have more Valentine activities planned for this week. Bobo also loves exploring his red sensory bin.
Sharing on Montessori Monday.

Preschool Trays

(Age Four)

The trays this week are based off of mommy's reading and discovery time for Basic Montessori: Learning Activities for Under-Fives by David Gettman. I try to read at least one non-fiction book a month in addition to my reading for fun, work and review.

I learned about the five areas of work in the Montessori method, Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Mathematics and Geography & Cultural Studies. Gettman offers explanation and examples of each area.

We are still working our way through Bobo's science kit by Learning Resources. I'm not sure what area it fits in with Montessori. We talked about which items he thought would float and tried it out.

The block puzzles from allourdays works on math.

This vintage set of dominoes came in our early learning bag from the state college this month. You can work on math with them. We also had fun stacking them and knocking them down, creating patterns, making shapes and learning about cause and effect.

Wooden duck puzzle. Again, not sure where it fits in with Montessori, but I'm still learning. I've read many preschool and homeschool books which have all suggested a puzzle and building area. Bobo loves puzzles.

The pouring lentils tray is directly from the Basic Montessori book. It works on the practical skill of pouring.

Colorful scented candles work for a sensorial tray. Identify the scent by sniffing, the answers are on the bottom.

I'll be incorporating more Montessori ideas in our weekly trays. We are working on language skills with the Superhero ABCs each week as well. I'm sharing with Finished Friday and Montessori Monday.