Pipe Cleaner Earthworms

Last week I ran my annual preschool nature camp. Every summer for one week I run a small, morning only camp for 3 to 5 years at a local historical site. The beautiful grounds, gardens, and natural water sources give us lots of opportunities to explore nature. Unfortunately, the weather last week stumped me a little as there were several rainy mornings. However, one rainy morning lead us to the fun of exploring Earthworms!

Despite the rain, we got outside and looked through the gardens and mulch to find several different worms. And when we got back inside? We created these adorable pipecleaner earthworms. We also paired the experience and craft with several books about earthworms, which meant kids also learned several interesting facts about worms.

Tissue Paper Forsythia Bush

Nothing is making us happier than the fact that spring has officially arrived here in our part of New England. One of my favorite parts of early spring is seeing the bright yellow flowers of the forsythia bushes. I've pointed them out so often as we drive around town now the boys are eager to spot them too.

Unfortunately, we don't have a forsythia bush in our own yard so we decided to create our own tissue paper forsythia bushes.

Five Simple Crafts for Celebrating Chinese New Year

Yesterday we wound up with an unexpected day home, which gave us a whole afternoon to learn about and decorate for Chinese New Year.

Several years ago I was one of a handful of teachers from across our state who traveled in a grant funded program to China. For two weeks we traveled across the country; participating in home stays, sampling local foods, and seeing a variety of sights. As I traveled I collected many different resources for teaching children about China, and added to that collection to develop a unit I taught for several years. This week, as Big Brother's preschool class learned about Chinese New Year we pulled the unit box out at home and explored many of the items inside. As we looked for something fun to do on Friday afternoon we decided to decorate and celebrate for Chinese New Year.

All of our crafts were quick and simple, and extended from either the materials we'd been looking at or a great young-child friendly book, My First Chinese New Year by Karen Katz.