Do you have any ideas for my toddler classroom?

Question

It's almost September and time to start planning the first month of school! I have a class full of young toddlers - aged 18 months to 2 years 3 months. I have a few activities planned, but i was wondering if anyone had any new and fun ideas that I may have overlooked. Our theme for the month is family/apples/school. Thanks so much!

Answer 1

Cut apples out of foam board, or buy if you want, and tape on wall at child's height. Have at least 5  apples per student.Pretend to pick apples.  Give each child a small brown bag to put their apples in.

Use apples cut out of thin red paper.  Let the students tear up the apples and glue them on plain white paper plates.  Spread a thin layer of glue and let them sprinkle cinnamon (can buy at Dollar Store or Big Lots) over all.  Tell them they are making an apple pie.

I use this song to the tune of "Clementine"

Picking apples, picking apples, picking apples,

off the tree

First we wash them, then we cut them and make a pie for you and me.

My two year old love this and want to pretend pick apples each day.  We use the same ones over and over.

A cute idea for snack is to use sliced apples and place in zip-loc bag with instant Jello.  Shake bag and it coats apples.  Use more than one flavor to make tye dyed apples.  I use sugar free instant gelatin mix.

For family ; each child brings one or two  pictures of their family.  I put these in a protector sheet with their name on a sheet of paper.  It is then displayed where all children can see.  They love to recognize each other's pictures and is also teaching them to recognize their names.  (For this age I haven't noticed the children questioning why some children do not have daddys, mommys,siblings,  or grandparents in the pictures, so if it is a blended family it still works.)

Also since Grandparent's day is in Sept, you may want to invite the grandparents in for snack time one day.

You can also have the children play house and dress up like mommy and daddy.

Here are some other family ideas:

http://www.preschoolexpress.com/theme_st...

Apple ideas:

http://www.preschoolexpress.com/theme_st...

Answer 2

Apple prints...cut apples in half and dip into paint, press them on the paper

Class photo album or bulletin board

Class family photo album

Answer 3

*  Toddlers love "peek-a-boo" displays.  To make it theme related...send a note home to each family asking for them to bring a family pic the first day of school...be sure to tell them they may not be getting it back.  Cover each picture with contact paper/laminate.  Then place on a wall.  Cover the picture with an apple shape (red, yellow, green for color recognition) and write the child's name on the apple (for name recognition).  Tape it at the top so the children can lift of the apple and see who is underneath.  If you have a digital camera...you can do something similar with taking their picture with whoever brings them to school.  

* foam apples and sieves and/or slotted spoons in the water table.  Provide 3 different colors and 3 different containers for sorting practice.

* Way Up High in the Apple Tree is a very popular song for this age.

* Cut a large apple out of contact paper and tape it sticky side up onto a wall. Add the green leaf and brown stem yourself.  Have red paper for ripping.  They rip the paper and then stick it onto the apple.

* Fingerpainting...there are so many different recipes for fingerpainting...so many different types of texture you can add.  I find that it's great to provide a large paper for fingerpainting, at this age and then cut out a theme related shape after it's dry.  They can help you cut it out 1:1 at this age.

*Apple Toss!:  Adhere a length of masking tape to the floor a few feet from a bushel basket.  Challenge the children to toss the apples (red, yellow, green beanbags) into the basket.  

* Exploring apples discovery area.  Have real apples, pretend apples, a scale if you can.  Different colors of apples.  Cut some apart and put into a clear container or for the seeds, I like to just put them on some clear packing tape.  Makes a nice number display... 1 apple seed, 2 apple seeds, etc.  They can feel the "bumps" of the seeds and that tactile learning might help something "click".

*Use felt apples or another visual for the following songs/chants.

Ten Little Apples

Tune:  Ten Little Indians

One little, two little….

Ten apples in the tree.

Pick one, pick two, ….

Pick ten off the tree.

Peel, them, slice them, stir them, bake them,

Let’s make apple crisp.

10 Red Apples Grow On a Tree

Ten red apples grow on a tree

Five for you and five for me

Let us shake the tree just so...

And ten red apples will fall below.

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10

* The Apple Tree:  Have the children stand in a circle around a pretend apple tree while you sing and act out the following song.  You may wish to find a real apple tree with apples you can pick to circle around.  May wish to pick a leader (tree) for everyone to circle around.

Tune:  The Mulberry Bush

Here we go ‘round the apple tree,

Apple tree, apple tree.

Here we go ‘round the apple tree.

On a bright fall morning.

Let’s all reach up and pick an apple,

Pick an apple, pick an apple.

Let’s all reach up and pick an apple,

On a bright fall morning.

Sue Schleicker

A variation to the above song:  contact paper a tree onto the floor...or draw a chalk one on the pavement outside.  Then sing the 1st verse and use different actions...walking, running, galloping, jumping, etc.

* Make apple crowns...this age needs "gluing" practice.  Provide paper strips for crowns and paper apples for them to glue on.  With your older ones you can introduce patterning.

*Where is the Apple?

Cut eight trees and mount them on paper, along with the following sentences (one per page, two on the last page).

The apple is over the tree.

The apple is under the tree.

The apple is in front of the tree.

The apple is behind the tree.

The apple is in the tree.

the apple is beside the tree.

The apple is in between the trees.

You can make the books in one or two ways:

1. Glue the apples into position on the page before laminating the book.

2. Laminate the pages with just the trees, then tape the laminated apple to a piece of yarn and tape the yarn to the back of the book, so the kids canmove the apples themselves.

You can make a variation of Where is the Apple? by using worms and apples.

* Apple Faces Book:

Here is apple happy. (Draw happy face.)

Here is apple sad. (Draw sad face.)

Here is apple sleepy. (Draw sad face.)

Here is apple mad. (Draw mad face.)

Here is apple small. (Draw small apple.)

But in a pie he’s best of all! (Draw pie.)

We're doing apples for our first theme as well.  :-)  Good luck!