Saturday, February 22, 2014

I is for Ice: Preschool Printables and Activities


Here's another fun preschool packet made with PicMonkey...
I is for ice!  There are so many directions I could have taken this unit.  There's ice cream, ice skating, ice cubes, icy weather...
We covered a lot of different things all related to ice!

Writing Readiness
Print this page off, so the kids can trace the uppercase I and lowercase i with their finger.  Then have them use this page as a guide to practice writing the letter I on individual dry erase boards or chalkboards.  Model the sound that I makes and work together to make a list of words that start with this letter.

Letter Guide

Here is another opportunity to practice writing the letter of the week.
Practice Page for the Letter I

Reading
The library is filled with fantastic books that could fit the theme.  I'm sure your shelves at home have some great options too.
Here were a few of our favorites for the week...
Tacky and the Winter Games written by Hellen Lester and illustrated by Lynn Munsinger
Angelina Ice Skates written by Katharine Holabird and illustrated by Helen Craig
Should I Share My Ice Cream? written and illustrated by Mo Willems

Movie
I'll admit it!  We found a link and watched Frozen online since it hasn't come out on DVD yet.  It's just so cute, and it fit our theme perfectly.

Art
We painted with watercolor ice.  Here's how:
1. Pour water into an ice tray.
2. Use a paintbrush and watercolors to add watercolor paint to each compartment of the ice tray.  Just repeatedly dip the paintbrush into the paint and then into the water.  Use a different color for each section.  (Tip: Add plenty of paint to make the colors bold and rich.)
3. Put the ice tray in the freezer after adding color to each compartment.
4. Once the water has frozen, pull the tray out.
5. Place the watercolor ice cubes on paper plates with a paper towel to absorb extra water as the cubes begin to melt.  Let the kids pick up the watercolor cubes and paint with them on watercolor paper.

Fine Motor
Tracing is a great way for kids to improve fine motor, concentration, and early writing skills.

Creative Movement
Call out things for the kids to pretend to be:
*An ice skater gliding along the ice
*A snowman melting on a warm day (Thanks, Olaf!)
*A bear slipping and sliding on the ice
*A penguin swimming in icy waters

Opposites
Opposites

Sensory
Ice play!

Preschool Science
My daughter loves science, so I try to incorporate fun and simple ways for her to pursue this interest.  We used a penguin ice tray to make little ice penguins to experiment with.  The kids loved playing with them in the water and making observations about what was happening and why.

Counting
Have the kids glue pom poms, circle punches, or buttons to the page to serve as ice cream scoops.
Counting Ice Cream Scoops

Fun with Food
Make homemade ice cream!  We had a little kit that the kids' Aunt Carol had bought them, but there are recipes floating all over the web for doing this.  Sprinkles made a perfect topping!
Happy learning and playing!
Image Map

No comments:

Post a Comment

Each and every one of your comments means so much to me. I love to hear from friends both old and new. Thanks for taking the time to stop by my little corner of the world and thanks for taking the time to let me know you were here.