ART: Shaving Cream Fire

Shaving cream fire

This art activity creates a realistic fire texture. It's fun to create and beautiful to look at... The only concern about this project is that the food coloring will stain, so I suggest wearing gloves.

Here is the effect, each one is so different, but beautiful.

I have done this art project different every year. I have place a fire truck in front as well as have the children stamp our FIRE somewhere on their fire flames.
 

I love preschool, anything can be turned into a learning experience. 

Follow me to be notified on my post :)

Fire Safety

What a fun theme for preschoolers...ya know, having the opportunity to practice calling 9-1-1, putting out fires, paying fire fighters, the whole shabang. 





This week the children will mostly be learning through role play. I love to teach this theme! The importance of being familiar with what to do in case of an emergency is an imperative subject to learn at a very young age. 

Song

We chant a song each day, it's one I made up a few years ago. It goes a little something like this:

Place a flame with tape on a child's back and begin by singing:

F-I-R-E fire, fire 

F-I-R-E _________ is on fire

Teacher: Oh no, _____ is on fire.  what do you do?

STOP

DROP

& ROLL

They roll while covering their face until the "flame is off"


Then I have them crawl under the "smoke", so they don't choke

 

 

We then looked for a way to escape. The door is their favorite choice.

 

He thought it was funny that I kept saying Ouch, the door's hot lol

 

 Teacher: Touch the door. Is it hot? Depending on their answer I would reply

Option 1:

Kid: Yes!

 

Teacher: Ouch, okay don't open the door, that means that there are flames on the other side. If we open the door the flames will burst in. Okay lets find a phone so we can call for help.

 

Kid: Found it.

Teacher: Okay who should we call for help?

 

Kid: 9-1-1... * ring, ring, ring

Then I pretend to be the operator

 

Operator: 9-1-1, what's your emergency?

Kid: there's a fire in my house

Operator, Are you hurt?

Kid: no

Operator: Can you get out of the house safely?

Kid: yes

Operator: Okay I need you to get out and stay out, and don't go back in. We will be right there.


**Each child response differently, but this is just a sample. Have fun and later they will be playing this outside and reenacting the scenario. It's quit fascinating to watch them learn through play :)

 

I add a little more to our skit.

 

The following day we talk about what we would do if there was a fire in a house.  I take this time to discuss what an escape route is and what they would do if their was a fire in their house. We also discuss escape plans (door and window) and introduce how to tell if a door is safe to open. Here is a short clip of a video I took during role play.

COMING SOON!

Other than dialing on a paper phone and a plastic phone we practiced on a cell phone. These days most people have smart phones and  although most children already know how to operate a cell phone after reading this post on www.littlebitfunky.com. I thought I would implement it in my class this year.

ART



Fire Flames with a Fork

We also made a fire engine and reviewed our shapes, as well as our colors in Spanish! This activity was much more than making a fire engine. It was about practicing and understanding positional phrases and following directions in a small group. 



 

 

 

These came out SO precious. My parents were happy with this craft and many STILL have it :) I found this template on Makinglearningfun.com. If you click on the link it will take you directly to the FREE download.

Heads up, this requires a lot of coloring and cutting. Over the years I have realized that this activity takes a few days, also I have outlined and lightly colored my master, so when I make copies they don't feel overwhelmed by how much they need to color. Unfortunately my kids are still too young this early in the year to cut around detailed lines like these.

Science

 

I wish I were able to do a science experiment that I saw on pinterest, but my school has there are rules, and regulations :( Here it is for those of you who would love to teach and show your little ones that a fire needs fuel. air, and heat in order to ignite and how when we take away any of those, it will diminish. 
 Fire-Safety-Experiment

Since my kids aren't able to do this experiment in class, I had them watch this video which  goes over everything, in a fun way. Depending on their age, you may want to be selective on the scenes, it can feel a bit lengthy. 

Math

 I found a really cute FREE fire fighter lap folder for preschoolers on Home School Creations

I personally don't always set mine up like lap folders, I  try to separate the activities into centers, that way they can revisit, or do them independently.

Find the objects corresponding shadow

 

Finish the pattern

 

Their favorite  activity from the lap folder was counting the Dalmatian spots. They counted and found the correlating number to match the spots. 

Plain ole' fun



Playing "fire fighters" and practicing calling 9-1-1




Fine motor skills: help the fire fighter put out the fire and  practice their pencil grip.

I set up a table with 5-6 books about fire fighter and fire safety for the kids to "read". It's quit interesting if you get to hear some of their read out loud stores.



Field Trip

Our preschool does not permit outings, so visiting a fire station and seeing a fire engine is out of the question, but we were very fortunate to have a firefighter come visit our classroom and review some fire safety tips.    

Fire Safety Youtube Books and Songs

This is a fun fire truck song/book that the children will enjoy.

Learn to SPELL FIRE

I have always done my chant and well this year I decided that I wanted to put it to a recognizable tune and I DID! I am so excited and I hope you like it too.

If you use it please let me know :)

SONG

Sung to the tune of "Row your boat"

F-I-R-E, fire, fire, fire
F-i-r-e-  students name is on fire.

What do you do if you're on fire, fire, fire, fire
You stop, drop and you roll, if you catch on fire.

What do you do if you see lots and lots of smoke?
You get low and you crawl so you don't choke.



TO BE CONTINUED...

That's all I made up this morning :)


YOU LIKE IT?

DIY: Step by step Little Mermaid Skirt tutorial

Ariel The Little Mermaid How to Tutorial 

Materials:

1. Thread
2. Green Stretchy sequence fabric
3. Any color stretchy lining, I got one that was on sale  (OPTIONAL)
4. Tulle of your choosing preferable a lighter or brighter green that matches your fabric

Depending on your size you will need less or more fabric. Here is what I bought, also remember that I had plenty of left over, I was able to make 2 skirts:

How much I bought ( My size: I typically wear a size 3, height 5'0", weight 117lbs)

• 1 yard of stretchy green sequences 
• 1 yard of stretchy fabric for lining ( the lining is optional, I bought it for 2 reasons, 1st the sequence fabric was too see-through and 2nd the fabric I bought was not a bit itchy. 
• 4-5 yards of tulle, depends how full you want the skirt

Cost breakdown:

Sequenced fabric- ONE SALE

Lining- ON SALE

Thread-

Tulle- ON SALE 75 cents a yard

I am a beginner and I am certain that there are other, better ways, so feel free to skip some steps or just look at the pictures for a guideline. This is just how I did it, I made the tutorial for beginners like me. Hope it helps :)

I started with the lining since no one sees this I figured I could alter it and do a little trial and error to make a template for the outer skirt.
If you are not making a lining do the same steps with your nice fabric. 

Step 1: Take your measurements or simple wrap the fabric around your waist and pin it. I took my hip measurements as well as the length I wanted. I started at my hip and measured to my knee. Afterwards I folded the fabric in half (hamburger style, its the preschool teacher in me :) and then mark your measurements. 

**make sure that it is folded right side to right side, which means the nice sides touching

The folded line will be your front, and where you cut will be the back of your skirt. I cut 17 inches starting at the crease (left to right, this is your waist line) and then cut the length that I wanted.

After you cut, hopefully it looks like a rectangle. Hand sew or use your sewing machine and sew right down the back.

**make sure not to sew with the pretty sides showing. The nice sides should be facing each other.

This is just to make a simple pencil skirt, later you will be pinning it to make it more fitted. 

Step 2: Now that you've sewing down the back and made it into a pencil skirt, put the skirt on and place 2 dots. 

Make 1 dot with a fabric marker or whatever else you have on your hip or the highest point you want and a dot on the lowest point you want it to go in the front, this once cut will make a V shape around your waist.

Now Fold the skirt in half with the seam line in the back. Take a ruler and draw a line about 1/2 inch above your dot and cut. 

Step 3: Try the skirt on and pin it from the back so that it is the shape you like, or you can free hand draw it to the shape a little at a time until it's perfect.

**make sure to use a stretch stitch, this is what it looks on the sewing machine I used

This step can be tricky without a 2nd person. As you can see in my picture there is my 1st straight stitch down the back, then I measured right below my knee to see if it fit well and it was still looser than I'd like, but my tooshy fit fine, so I just hand drew a nice curve and lucky me it fit just right. 

Once the lining is perfect, use it as your template and do it all over again with your sequenced fabric. Then place the lining inside the outer skirt (right side to right side)

DO NOT sew the waist just yet. IF you would like the hip fins like I have in my picture. If you would rather have sew them on once you skirt is completed. then go for it and sew it. Another option is to add some elastic in the back if you'd like. 

Option 1: Place the gathered tulle in between the 

 Option 2: Sew the waist and then do tulle after the skirt is completed 

Then measure your tulle, use a stitch that is far apart. make sure to do 2 rows leaving extra thread thread in the beginning and the end. 

IN PROGRESS...

to be continued...

Homemade Clay Leaves

I found this recipe on pinterest and decided to make it in class. Honestly, you could use less than 4 cups of flour. I have 12 kids in my class and we had tons of left over flour. 

All you need: Flour, Salt, and water

Mix it and make into balls. I had the kids help me make the balls and roll them flat. 

 

 

I did not buy silk leaves like the directions stated, and I was a little sorry I didn't. The veins were not showing, so I ended up using a toothpick to make the imprint a little more noticeable.

 

Also make sure the knead it very well or it will have a crackle look.

Here is the finish look. I ended up flipping the leaves over because the bottom was still doughy, and unfortunately it caused some of them to bubble up :(

 

I let the kids play with the extra dough. They made leaf print and we talked about the vines, stem and blade. 

Over all, it turned out to be a great activity! 

Autumn is HERE!

Each week I set learning objectives as a way to monitor what my kids are learning and what areas need more improvement on my part. During my All About Autumn week I focus on having the children learn and explore the different seasons and the weather changes that come with each one. We also spend a great deal discovering why leaves change colors, what happens when they fall. 

I teach my kids Autumn first, just because that is the season that I introduce this theme. 

We read Leaf Man by Lois Elhert and go on a leaf/nature hunt. I give each child a lunch paper bag and they print their name on it. If they are still not able to print their name  I have them "follow the yellow lines" and write their name with a highlighter. 

I asked the kids what they were going to make with their leaves and documented it for a later activity. 

On our walk we chanted " We're going on a leaf hunt, leaf hunt leaf  hunt" 

Here are some pictures of the things we found. I placed them out with a few magnifying glasses so they could explore the colors, and textures of the different leaves.

Here are a couple of the different things the kids made. 

 

Leaf Man book craft:

Although I did not do this activity, I thought this was a fantastic way to modify the art project for  children who are younger. Click here to read Playingwithwords365.com take on the Leaf Man Art Project

SNACK:

One of my parents made these fun acorn doughnut holes. 

OUTSIDE FREE PLAY

After collecting their leaves, we had some free play. They loved piling up the leaves, grabbing them and throwing them in the air. 

Math:

In small groups I had the children come to the table and pour out the many leaves and nature things they found and picked up. we sorted them by color first and counted. After carefully graphing them, as a group they took a few leaves placed them n order by size, smallest to largest. 

For Math I used this worksheet that I found on learningandteachingwithpreschoolers. The worksheet is FREE. I had the children roll a dice to determine how many leaves would go in their basket/barrel. We reviewed how to read a math equation and proceeded by adding up all the leaves. For the children that needed modification, we rolled a dice and just focused on counting and number recognition. 

SCIENCE

For science we briefly explored the different seasons and the changes a tree experiences.  We also learned about the different parts of a tree. I had the same tree on each page and had them color the correct location for: roots, trunk, branches, and leaves. 

Another Art/Science activity the children enjoy doing is leaf rubbing. Its a great way to explore and see the vines of a leaf and various shapes leaves come in. 

TRICK: I tape the leaf to the table so that it doesn't move so much when they are trying to do a leaf rub. 

 

Art:

The children had the opportunity to make their own Autumn tree. All you need is toilet paper rolls, or paper towel rolls cut in half, construction paper, paint and scissors. I had them cut their own "bush" for the top of their trees and paint it with either Q-tips, fingers or puffy ball rings I bought from oriental trading. 

During this activity we reviewed the four season and the changes Autumn brings. 

This is a simple art activity. I had them place as many leaves as they wanted and paint over them with fall colors.