Low Stress Guide to an Animal Themed Kids Party

When I first had kids my plans were to limit the number of large kid parties we threw. Then life got rolling and by the time my second child's sixth birthday came around last month, the only question was what kind of party she wanted to throw for her entire class. 

Lovely Valentine Experiment for Kindergarten

This is simple science experiment that will dress up your Valentine cards.

My kindergartner and I had the best time experimenting with these home made Valentines. We made some beautiful designs, and got just a little messy. This would be a great way to spend time with your favorite kids.

Bead Snowflake Addition and Subtraction Practice

The dishes were piled high, creating a mess that matched the rest of the house, and I needed to eat the lunch I had missed with the rest of the family, but some how I found myself offering to pull out the math craft I'd been promising my daughter.

I explained that we needed to make four snowflakes, and her eyes lit up. "You make two and I'll make two." So we did.

Adding Doubles Christmas Tree Math Puzzle for Kindergarten

As my first fall in the classroom drew to a close, it dawned on me that I wasn't going to make it through my curriculum.  With mandated exit tests looming (as in, fail the test, and you don't graduate), I knew I needed to at least get the planned content in front of my students.  I also knew that they expected to have a party the last day before Christmas break. In a move of desperation, I wrote an entire unit's worth of material into a Christmas theme and taught the whole thing the last day before break.  They moaned and groaned, but most of them decided to play along, and when we reviewed months later they remembered our reindeer games!

The Pony Artist's Ice Melting Experiment

"Mommy, pouring water on ice melts it."

What do you think? True or false?

The Pony Artist had spent some time working with snow on winter days here in the Southern US. The temperature was always well above thirty-two Farenheit (0 C). We decided this was a good opportunity for a science experiment . The Pony Artist did a great job of designing a procedure to test her hypothesis.

She knew immediately that our set up included an ice cube,with water added. I reminded her that we also needed an ice cube alone in a second container to be sure that the water was what made the ice melt.

I suggested that we actually make two of each set up and conduct it twice, once on the counter and once on the refrigerator. Looking back, I short circuited the  learning process slightly. It would have been better to do the experiment her way, let her see that the ice melted both ways, then perform the next experiment.

We measured the mass of each container in case we had confusion about where ice had gone later.

In the end, that was not necessary, but it was good counting and measuring practice.  

The Pony Artist checked her a set up periodically.  Eventually, she ended up with this.

She concluded that ice melts when it is warm and (liquid) water freezes when it is cold. 

Not bad for a pre-schooler! My husband's co-worker observed an adult trying to melt ice on his wind shield by throwing water on it.  

If you are interested in trying this experiment,  you can click here to download a free printable via my TPT page.

What question should the Pony Artist answer next?

Pre-school developed counting practice

Not only is this activity great fine motor and counting practice, it's a sure winnner with my pre-schooler. How do I know?  She came up with it! Try it with your preschooler, and see if he doesn't like it just as much!