Blog – Page 3 – Creative Learning Preschool, Inc.

Introducing Kids To Gardening

Posted on July 24, 2018 by Creative Learning

Gardening with children has many benefits including developing fine motor skills, learning valuable life skills, and building confidence. However, if you are a first time gardener, introducing you children to the world of gardening may seem like a daunting task. Fear not, we have some tips for you that will help make the process a little easier and more fun! Gardening with children doesn’t actually have to start in the garden. An important step to gardening is teaching your little ones about what they will be growing and how different fruits and vegetables form. Thanks to Mama’s Happy Hive we have a few activities that will get your little ones interested in what you will be growing in your garden!

Matching Game
A great way to introduce your little ones to gardening is to start with learning what will go into your garden! Make your own flashcards with pictures of whatever fruits, vegetables, and plants will go into your garden. Then, have your little ones match the real life fruit and veggies to the cards! If you have older children that are interested in gardening you can write out what different gardening tools are used for and have them match the use with the object!

Exploring the Seeds
A fun way for your little ones to learn more about how fruits and vegetables grow is to let them dig right in! Start with small and squishy fruits like tomatoes. Your little ones can easily get into the middle of a tomato and look at the seeds. This is a fun and interactive way for your little ones to learn more about how things grow.

Seed Matching
Another matching activity to help your little gardeners identify seeds! Take some seed packets and empty their contents into different cups. Show your children which seeds are associated with each fruit or vegetable. Then use the packets of the seeds and the pictures you have from the first activity and let your children match the seeds to the picture of what they will become and to their seed packet!

We hope you decide to give these activities a try with your aspiring gardeners! Even if you aren’t planning to garden with your little ones, they might still enjoy tearing into a tomato and finding the seeds! Let us know in the comments if your family enjoys gardening together! Remember to click the share button to share these tips with your friends and family!

Picnic Party

Posted on June 18, 2018 by Creative Learning

Today is National Picnic Day! So in honor of the holiday we’ve created a list inspired by the Funaatticof a few different ways you can make your picnic more exciting! Whether your family has never been on a picnic before or it is a regular summer tradition, we have some fun ideas for you!

Have a picnic in your back yard!A great place for your first picnic is in your back yard! You won’t have to lug a ton of food to a park just to realize you forgot forks! Starting in the backyard is a great way to practice your picnicking skills!
Have a picnic on the water! Whether it’s on a boat or a dock, picnicking out on the water will be a beautiful family outing. Have a picnic lunch and then go for a swim out on the water!
Let you’re your little ones plan the food!Have your children help you plan the meal for the picnic. Your older ones can help you make some of the food and your little ones can help pack the basket. Getting everyone involved can make a family gathering so much more special!
Create a food rainbow!Get some fresh fruits and veggies to create some delicious and nutritious food rainbows! Play a game with your little ones to see how many different colors they can find in their food!
Start a campfire!You don’t need to go camping to have an excuse to start a fire! Bring all the ingredients for smore’s and even bake a potato or heat up some warm picnic food over the fire! It’s perfect for dinnertime picnics.
Make some funny food faces!Making faces in your food is a way to make picnic food more fun for your little ones. Whether it’s with veggie slices or cut into bread, food smileys are a way to make your little ones smile.
Make it a treasure hunt!Hide little toys and notes in the wrapping and containers of your picnic! It’ll be a fun surprise for everyone to find a special something throughout their meal.
Enjoy the day!Make sure to enjoy the meal! Eat slowly and soak in the family time. Picnics are a great way to enjoy a meal together outside of your dinner table.

We hope you enjoy some of these ideas and decide to make picnics a summer tradition in your family! Tell us in the comments about how your family enjoys a picnic! As always, click the share button on the side of the blog to give your friends and family some picnic inspiration!

Summer Yoga Poses

Posted on June 15, 2018 by Creative Learning

If any of your little ones are aspiring yogis, we have some perfect poses for them to practice this summer! These are great poses to get in touch with summer whether it’s on the beach, by the lake, or outside in the backyard. Help your little ones tap into their summer flow thanks to Kidsyogastories and their full guide to summer yoga and meditation!

Triangle Pose – Sailboat Pose

Start in Mountain Pose. Then step one foot to the side and face it slightly outward. Extend your arms out, parallel to the ground.

Then bend at the waist, lifting one arm into the air and bringing the other down your shin.

Have your little one pretend to be a sailboat floating along the water.

Plank Pose – Surfboard Pose

From the Triangle pose, slide your hand that was on your shin on the ground in front of you as you lower your other arm to place both hands on the ground in front of you.

Make sure your hands are placed as though you are about to do a push-up. Step or jump both feet back so that you are poised to do a push up. Rise up on your toes and make sure to keep your palms and back flat.

Have your little ones pretend to be a surfboard swaying on the surface of the ocean.

Boat Pose – Boat on the Water Pose

From the Plank pose, step your feet forward and sit on your bottom. Lift your legs to a 45 or 60-degree angel. Keep your arms parallel to the ground. Make sure your legs, arms, and back are all straight!

This pose may be a little harder to hold but don’t give up and make sure to breathe!

Once you’re little ones are steady in this position, rock back and forth like a boat on the water!

We hope your little yogis are excited for these summer yoga poses! If there are any yoga poses your little ones love let us know in the comments. Click share on the side of the blog to let your family and friends try these awesome poses.

Homework Helpers

Posted on May 28, 2018 by Creative Learning

With the end of the school year about a month away and all of the excitement of summer coming, your little ones may be starting to struggle with focusing on homework. We know that it can be hard to get your children to sit down and practice math problems when the sun is out and the swing set is calling. So we’ve got a list of 5 ways to help make homework time a little easier!

Work Together– While you don’t want to help too much with your child’s homework, it can be nice to work alongside of them. During homework time, bring out your own laptop and respond to emails, pay bills, or plan your next meeting. Doing work with your children will be a great bonding activity and will allow you to be around to help with homework problems without feeling the need to micromanage.

Make it Fun– There are a lot of ways to make homework a fun activity! If your child has a list of math problems in front of them, let them use a marker or chalkboard to do their work on. If they have to remember things for a test, make it into a song! Allow your children to experiment with creative means to help them get their work done.

Let Them Teach– Whether it’s to their younger siblings or a crowd of stuffed animals, letting your child teach the materials they are learning to someone else will not only let them have fun but is also a great way to reiterate the information they are learning.

Track Progress– Use a large chalk, marker, or bulletin board to keep track of everyone’s assignments. Have a list of ongoing assignments as well as, reading, spelling, and fast facts logs to keep track of everyone’s progress. This will allow them to see, and be proud of, their own progress. If you want, have small rewards for when your child reaches a certain amount of time spent practicing or a certain number of books read!

Snack time– Healthy snacks help your brain to work harder so serving them during homework time can help grow little minds! Having some snacks on the table might also help encourage your little ones to stay seated at the table instead of wandering away before finishing their homework!

If you enjoyed these homework helpers, click share on the side of the blog to show them to your friends and family. If you have any exciting ways that help your children get homework done comment them down below!

Unique Spring Activities

Posted on May 24, 2018 by Creative Learning

Spring is here and summer is quickly approaching! Your days are probably starting to fill with bike rides, walks to the park, and trips to the beach. But if you’re looking for a little variety in your warm weather activities and want your little ones to learn some more about nature and the world around them, we have the perfect activities for you! Thanks to aokyouth.orgwe have some unique, and thought provoking spring and summer activities!

Create a scavenger hunt! A fun way to help little ones learn about all of the amazing changes that happen from winter to spring to summer is to create a scavenger hunt. Come up with different things they should look out for in nature and then make your own scavenger hunt sheet!
Do a floral science experiment! Fill a few mason jars with water. Put a few drops of different food coloring into each jar. Then get some white flowers and place them, petals first into the jars. Your children can watch as the petals absorb the colors, then afterwards, you have a fun flower arrangement to display!
Recycle Playdoh lids! If you have lots of lids without containers lying around use hot glue or cut a hole into the lid to hang a string from it. Then, coat the lid in peanut butter and roll it in birdseed. It’s a great way to repurpose some plastic and bring more birds into your yard for your little ones to watch and learn about!
Growing beans! A super cool experiment that will let your children see how things grow, is growing beans in a glass jar with moist cotton balls. The beginning stages of the beans’ growth can be seen without the obstruction of soil which really allows your children to see how a bean sprouts! You can click hereto see a full explanation of the experiment.
Create a small garden! Take a corner of your yard or a windowsill if you have less space, and create a small garden! Plant low maintenance flowers, fruits, and vegetables if you are first time gardeners. Get your little ones involved in planting and watering so they can learn how plants grow!

If you liked these activity ideas check out the full article for more ideas just like these! As always leave us some comments and click share on the side of the blog to show your friends and family these fun ideas!

Make Every Day Earth Day

Posted on April 26, 2018 by Creative Learning

One day a year we take the time to celebrate the Earth and teach our children the importance of treating our planet right so that we can preserve it and keep it healthy for many years to come. But why do we only do this one day a year? We live on this earth 365 days a year so why do we not do more to protect the Earth and teach our children how to take care of it. If you’re looking for some ways to celebrate Earth day with your children even after all of the Earth day celebrations we have a few ideas for you thanks to Natural Child Magazine!

Plant a tree! Plant a tree in your backyard or see if you can plant one at your local park! Not only is planting a tree and watching it grow a great experience for a child, but trees provide a home to wild life and reduce greenhouse gas emissions!
Craft with nature! There are a lot of fun ways to incorporate nature or recycling into your arts and craft time! Whether it’s making a bird feeder out of pinecones or using recycled plastic and paper into a collage, you can help the environment by making art with your little ones!
Start a garden! Planting a garden with your children is not only beneficial to the environment but beneficial to their development as well. Whether it’s a full vegetable garden in your backyard or a few plants on your window sill, growing a garden will be great for you, your little ones, and the Earth!
Go natural! There are a lot of recipes out there for all natural household cleaners! Not only will you help the environment by reducing the use of plastic containers and harsh chemicals, but you won’t have to worry about your children helping you clean! Let your little ones have fun spraying the windows and tables without worrying about their health or the impact on the environment!
Take a hike! A great activity to do with older children is to go for a hike! If you have younger ones try going for a walk around a park or visiting a local nature preserve!
Clean up! Whether it is at your local beach, park, or school, pick up litter! Next time you go to the park with your children bring a plastic bag and together you can pick up any trash you see along the way!
Earth Day party! This is fun to do on Earth Day or even randomly throughout the year, have a barbecue or dinner that is all natural! Do your best to use all organic food and no paper or Styrofoam!
Go camping! A great way to get in touch with nature is to camp! If you have children that are too young to camp overnight in the woods, camping in your backyard can still be just as fun!
Unplug! Try to spend as much of the day as possible without using any electricity! Use candles when it gets late and try not to use any electronic devices. Spend time with your children unplugged by playing board games, reading books, or playing outside!
Cherish the Earth everyday! Make an effort to do one good thing for the earth every single day!

Let us know if you plan on trying any of these ideas or if you and your family have any ways that you help keep our Earth clean throughout the year! Click the share button on the side of the blog to remind your friends and family about how they can help keep our home clean and happy!

Kids in the Kitchen

Posted on April 17, 2018 by Creative Learning

During peak developmental ages, children learn by using all of their senses. Through tasting, touching, smelling, feeling, and hearing, children are able to learn more about the world around them. Cooking is a great activity for children because it engages all of the senses. Cooking with your children can happen at any age. The older your children are the more involved they can be with helping you actually cook and prepare the food. Younger children can have a lot of fun measuring and weighing out ingredients!

There are a lot of different components to cooking such as reading and following directions, weighing, and measuring. This is why cooking is so beneficial for children. Activities such as weighing and measuring are great ways for your young ones to develop their fine motor skills and hand eye coordination. Your older children can use cooking as a way to understand practical applications of math and science. Adding fractions and understanding how heat affects different substances are a few of the things your children can learn at home, in the kitchen!

Learning the basics of cooking is beneficial not just in terms of sensory development, but in terms of basic life skills. Cooking with your children while they are young will help instill basic cooking skills and a love for cooking and food. These will be important qualities to have when they grow up, but are sometimes harder to develop as adults. So getting them involved in the kitchen at a young age will give them important building blocks for their future.

Cooking is also a great way to help your children develop confidence and creativity. Allowing a child to be creative in the kitchen and have the whole family enjoy the outcome of their hard work is a great way to help your children develop a sense of confidence and pride in their work. The benefits of getting your children involved in cooking are endless!

If your little ones love getting involved in the kitchen let us know in the comments some of their favorite recipes and what they love to help with! You can view the original article on Nourish Interactive!

Unique Art Projects

Posted on March 15, 2018 by Creative Learning

Creating art is very beneficial for children of all ages. Arts and crafts help little ones develop fine motor skills and help older children develop their creativity and confidence. Creating art doesn’t just have to happen at a desk or the kitchen table. FirefliesAndMudPies.com created a list of unique indoor and outdoor art projects for you to do with your little ones! We’ve chosen four of our favorite super-fun activities, but be sure to check out the full list for more great ideas!

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Read Across America

Posted on March 2, 2018 by Creative Learning

Every year the National Education Association hosts Read across America Day on March 2^nd to celebrate Dr. Seuss’ Birthday. Schools all across the United States participate in an effort to promote the importance of reading and the importance of providing accessible resources to young minds across the country. Creative Learning is proud to announce that we will once again be participating in Read Across America Day! If you’re interested in getting involved at home or are wondering how the NEA supports libraries across the country, we’ve got some information for you! Continue reading “Read Across America”

Mini Meditation

Posted on February 26, 2018 by Creative Learning

Meditation is a great tool for adults and children in finding a sense of calm and relaxing the mind and body. Meditation can often be very helpful for children that are feeling stress that they do not yet know how to process. Meditation can also be helpful when your little ones are having trouble falling asleep or sitting still. The best way to practice meditation with your children is through guided exercises. This means you will walk them through each step verbally. The Chopra Center compiled a short list of guided exercises for child-friendly meditation. We’ve listed two of them below but you can click the link to view the full article. Both of the guided practices below can be practiced with children of any age!

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