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535 preschool activity ideas. I read every one before it went in, and any of them is yours to take. When you want one written up into a full lesson plan, built around your age group and framework, tap Plan this one. Planella writes it up, ready to customize, in about a minute.
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Dramatic Play
School for the stuffed animals
Names called off a class list, animals gathered to the rug, a book read from the pictures, then lining up.
Plan this one →Bus with stops around the room
Chairs in rows, tickets to take, stops the children name themselves, and jobs swapped at each one.
Plan this one →Science lab with labeled potions
Goggles on, droppers and cups of baking soda, vinegar and liquid watercolor, and every potion named on a card.
Plan this one →Lemonade stand with real lemons
Lemon halves squeezed on a juicer, sugar stirred in, tasted from your own cup, then sold from a cash box.
Plan this one →Bakery that molds its own cupcakes
Playdough pressed into silicone cupcake molds, turned out on trays, and set in the window to sell.
Plan this one →Package sorting center with a delivery route
Sealed boxes with big labels sorted into bins, wheeled to the doors down the hall, and somebody signs for it.
Plan this one →Coffee shop with a pickup counter
Paper cups, a chalkboard menu, and a name written on each cup so it can be called out when the drink is ready.
Plan this one →Drive-thru with an order speaker
Orders said into a paper towel tube and repeated back, a window to reach through, and ride-on cars waiting behind.
Plan this one →Animal shelter on adoption day
Stuffed animals in box kennels, a card for each saying what it likes and what scares it, and an application.
Plan this one →Grocery store with a checkout
Shopping lists, a basket, empty cereal boxes and cans to restock, and somebody at the register.
Plan this one →Construction crew with paperwork
Hard hats, orange vests, clipboards and work orders filled in at the office before anyone goes to the block area.
Plan this one →Fire station with boots and a hose
The bell rings, boots and coats go on in order, the hose unrolls, and a stuffed cat comes down off the shelf.
Plan this one →Flower shop taking orders
Silk flowers sorted by color, wrapped into bouquets, and a vase for each order.
Plan this one →House painters using buckets of water
Wide brushes and a roller on a pole, paint chip cards to pick a color, and water marks that fade as they dry.
Plan this one →Restaurant with a kitchen window
Orders on a ticket clipped up at the window, a bell when the food is ready, and a plate to run out.
Plan this one →Ranger station with a trail map
A hand-drawn trail map of the playground, numbered cards to find along the way, and a tally of what got seen.
Plan this one →Shoe shop that measures your foot
A shoe-size chart taped to the floor, boxes stacked by size, and somebody kneeling to fit the shoe.
Plan this one →Backyard barbecue with a box grill
Tissue-paper coals under a cooling rack, pool noodle hot dogs flipped with real tongs, and a table to set.
Plan this one →Library with a checkout desk
Real books borrowed, stamped, returned and shelved, with a story time run by whoever is working.
Plan this one →Hotel with numbered room keys
A bell on the desk, a guest book to sign, a key to the cubby with your number, and a cart of folded towels.
Plan this one →Post office with a real mailbox
Envelopes to stamp and sort, a counter to work behind, and a mailbox to drop them into.
Plan this one →Hair salon with real brushes
A doll styling head, real brushes, clips and a mirror, and an appointment book that fills up fast.
Plan this one →Campground with a felt fire
A small tent, cotton-ball marshmallows on craft sticks, backpacks, and a map with an X on it.
Plan this one →Birthday party for the class bear
Blocks wrapped in paper and taped, unlit candles in a playdough cake, then unwrapped and wrapped again.
Plan this one →Rescue center for wild animals
Stuffed animals with bandages on, a box for each one, and pictures of the woods, the pond and the tree.
Plan this one →Plant shop with real plants
Soil scooped into small pots, a plant tucked in and watered, and a care tag with a sun drawn on it.
Plan this one →Airport with a security line
Boarding passes, small backpacks and purses through a cardboard scanner, trays for shoes, and a line to wait in.
Plan this one →Ice cream counter with a scoop
Pom-poms or playdough scooped onto paper cones, one flavor at a time, however many the customer asks for.
Plan this one →Vet clinic for the stuffed animals
Bandages, a clipboard and appointment times, and x-rays held up to the window to figure out what is wrong.
Plan this one →Laundromat with a clothesline
Doll clothes sorted, washed in a dish tub, clipped to the clothesline, then folded and delivered.
Plan this one →Repair shop for broken toys
A truck with a wheel off, a radio with a loose knob, real screwdrivers, and a look at what went wrong.
Plan this one →Dinosaur dig with soft brushes
Plastic bones buried in sand inside a taped grid, brushed out slowly, washed, then matched to a dinosaur poster.
Plan this one →Taco truck
Felt circles for tortillas, yellow yarn for cheese, an order built down the line, then the truck moves.
Plan this one →Radio station with an on-air sign
A microphone behind a curtain, headphones, an on-air sign to flip, and a recording played back.
Plan this one →Grooming salon with brushes and bows
Brushes, a tub, towels and a check-in book, and stuffed animals brushed out with a bow on.
Plan this one →Farm with morning chores
Buckets of oats, a wheelbarrow, plastic eggs gathered into a carton, and a water-filled glove to milk into a pail.
Plan this one →Car wash for the ride-on toys
Soapy sponges, towels and a line of ride-on cars waiting their turn to be scrubbed and dried.
Plan this one →Band putting on a concert
Bucket drums, a microphone on a stand, a set list of three songs, and scarves for the crowd to wave.
Plan this one →Gas station for the trikes
A cardboard pump with a nozzle to unhook, a paper-plate dial that turns as it fills, tires checked, hose hung up.
Plan this one →Recycling center with a sorting line
Clean yogurt cups, cereal boxes and milk jugs sorted into labeled bins, stomped flat, then weighed.
Plan this one →Lost and found desk
A desk with a bell, a board to draw what is lost on, and a bin of one mitten and a stuffed rabbit missing an ear.
Plan this one →Florists filling an order for a party
Real carnations and greenery in jars, one for each table, loaded in a wagon and set out before the guests come.
Plan this one →Rocket made of boxes
A cardboard control panel with bottle caps and stickers glued on for buttons, and a countdown to join.
Plan this one →Pizza place with a phone that rings
Felt circles, felt pepperoni and mushrooms, an order pad and deliveries, and a phone with somebody left on hold.
Plan this one →Weather station with a camera
A map, sun and cloud and rain cutouts to stick on it, a microphone, a box camera, and a forecast for the class.
Plan this one →Shadow puppets on a sheet
A sheet taped to the table edge, a flashlight behind it, and paper puppets worked a turn each while others guess.
Plan this one →Baby room for the dolls
Bottles, tiny clothes, a blanket to swaddle with, and a rocking chair for the baby who will not settle.
Plan this one →Smoothie bar that invents flavors
Felt fruit dropped into a play blender, and drinks named after whoever ordered them.
Plan this one →Doctor's office for the dolls
Bandages, a stethoscope and a waiting room, and a doll who needs a checkup before it goes home.
Plan this one →Office with a date stamp
A phone to answer, a sign-in sheet, a date stamp everybody wants a turn with, and a note to carry next door.
Plan this one →Astronaut training course with oven mitts
A tunnel to crawl, a taped line to walk with a backpack of books, and pom-poms to pick up in oven mitts.
Plan this one →Farmers market with a scale
Plastic fruits and vegetables in baskets, weighed and bagged, with sellers and shoppers trading places.
Plan this one →News station with a field reporter
A microphone carried to the block area to ask what happened, then the story told out loud at the news desk.
Plan this one →Mechanic shop with a cardboard car
A scooter board to lie back on and roll under the car, a tire pump, and the customer makes the clunking noise.
Plan this one →Moving day with real boxes
Toys wrapped in newspaper, boxed, taped shut, labeled with a drawing of the room, then wheeled over on a wagon.
Plan this one →Math, Sorting & Counting
Paper flowers onto matching stems
Paper flowers with three, four or five petals, and numbered stems laid flat on the table so each flower settles at the top of its own stem.
Plan this one →Ducks in and out of the pond
The foam die rolls, that many rubber ducks swim into the water tub, and then the same number get scooped back out with a net.
Plan this one →Standing on the side that matches
A line of tape down the middle of the hard floor, everybody stands on the side that matches their answer, and both sides get counted.
Plan this one →Geoboards and stretchy hair ties
A hair tie hooks over three pegs on the geoboard for a triangle, then over four pegs, and the triangle turns into a square.
Plan this one →Foam shapes sorted a new way
A tub of foam shapes in every color and size, sorted by color one day, by size the next, and then by the shape itself.
Plan this one →Quilt square on the felt board
A big square of dark felt lies on the felt board, and triangles and squares cut to fit it go on one at a time.
Plan this one →Three ways to measure one table
The table gets measured in blocks, then in books, then in paper towel tubes, and all three counts come out different every time.
Plan this one →Every strip has a partner
Paper strips cut in pairs, one long, one short and a few in between, spread across the table to find the two that match.
Plan this one →Rainbow rulers for measuring the room
A paper strip striped in rainbow colors travels around the room, laid against a book, a shoe and a lunchbox to count the stripes.
Plan this one →Bear caves cut from shoeboxes
Shoeboxes lie on their sides with a doorway the teacher cut, and the roll of the die tells how many bear counters go in to sleep.
Plan this one →Tracing the number in the sand tray
The teacher draws a big number in a tray of sand, a finger runs along it until it fades, and that many shells line up underneath.
Plan this one →A balance scale and a bag of rocks
Rocks from the yard go onto a balance scale one at a time, and the pans tip and swing while everybody watches which side drops.
Plan this one →Number parking lot
Parking spaces with numbers written along a strip of cardboard, and toy cars with matching number stickers on the roof drive into their own spot.
Plan this one →Counting cars from the window
A dot goes on the chart for every red car and every blue car, and then a block tower goes up for each color so the graph stands up.
Plan this one →Swat the matching dots
Dot cards taped down across the table, a number card turns over, and the fly swatter comes down on the card with that many dots.
Plan this one →Guess which cutter made this print
One child presses shape cutters into a slab of playdough while the others look away, and then everybody matches each print back to its cutter.
Plan this one →Chalk numbers and a giant die
The teacher chalks numbers all over the sidewalk, the big foam die rolls, and everybody runs to stand on the number that came up.
Plan this one →Measuring the room in cubes
A train of snap cubes gets built to any length, and then the hunt is on for whatever in the room turns out to be just that long.
Plan this one →Shape wands on a room hunt
Foam shapes taped to craft sticks, and each wand travels around the room getting held up against everything that turns out to match.
Plan this one →Paper snakes measured end to end
Long paper snakes taped along the floor, and the same tub of corks laid end to end down each one to settle which snake is longest.
Plan this one →How many are hiding under the cup
Five bears sit on a tray, everybody closes their eyes, two go under the cup, and the guessing starts from the ones still showing.
Plan this one →Make one like the picture card
A picture card each, a bowl of hair ties in the middle, and every geoboard ends up looking something like the card in front of it.
Plan this one →Graph what everybody picked
One question for the whole group, a sticky note from each child pressed into a column, and the tallest column sits there to be counted.
Plan this one →A pattern path taped across the floor
Paper circles and squares taped down the classroom floor in a repeating run, with more shapes and tape nearby so the path keeps growing all morning.
Plan this one →Counting towers built to the number card
A number card turns over, blocks stack up to match it, and then the towers stand side by side to see which number made the taller one.
Plan this one →Pattern blocks filling a picture
A paper butterfly outline each and one shared tub of pattern blocks in the middle, so the shapes get traded back and forth as the pictures fill.
Plan this one →Pepperoni counted onto paper pizzas
Paper plate pizzas, a tub of red felt circles, and a number card at each place saying how many pepperoni that pizza gets.
Plan this one →The yes and no graph by the door
One question on the board, a photo card for every child stuck under yes or no, and both columns counted out loud at the end.
Plan this one →Sort them by your own rule
A tub of lids and buttons, muffin tins to sort into, and no rule given except the one they come up with themselves.
Plan this one →Fish the shapes out of the rice
Foam shapes sit buried in a bin of rice, and each one that turns up drops into the bowl with the same shape taped on the front.
Plan this one →Playdough cookies onto numbered plates
A slab of playdough, round cutters, and paper plates the teacher numbered one to five, each one waiting for that many cookies.
Plan this one →Pattern flat, then pattern tall
A red and blue block pattern runs flat along the table, and then the same pattern gets built again standing up so it runs tall.
Plan this one →Who is here this morning
Photo cards move from the home pocket to the school pocket as each child arrives, and then both pockets get counted to see which holds more.
Plan this one →Ribbons shortest to longest
A tangle of cut ribbons gets laid out with every end lined up at the edge of the table, then put in order from shortest to longest.
Plan this one →Cookies shared out when the doorbell rings
Eight paper cookies get dealt onto two plates, then the doorbell rings, two more friends sit down, and all eight get dealt out onto four.
Plan this one →Roll the die, fill a leaf
A big leaf drawn on shared paper with room for twelve pom poms, and the die goes around the table until the last space fills.
Plan this one →Which container holds the most
Three clear containers of different shapes, a tub of large pom poms and one small scoop, filled to the top and counted out loud.
Plan this one →Shape hunt through the catalogs
Old store catalogs, safety scissors and three labeled trays, and every circle, square and rectangle they spot gets cut out and dropped in its tray.
Plan this one →Reach in and mark it down
A bag of red and blue bears, and each child pulls one without looking, makes a tally mark in that color's column, and drops it back in.
Plan this one →Which one is heavier
A balance scale, a shoe and a wooden block from around the room, everybody's guess out loud first, and then the scale settles it.
Plan this one →Nature shape hunt and display table
Outside hunting for circles, spirals and straight lines in pinecones, feathers and bark, and everything found comes back to a table for the whole class.
Plan this one →Shape stamps in kinetic sand
Wooden shape blocks press into a tray of kinetic sand, and the sides and corners of every print get counted out loud.
Plan this one →Bean bags tossed onto taped floor shapes
Shape outlines taped on the hard floor, a shape card turned over from the pile, and a bean bag sails toward the outline that matches it.
Plan this one →Feeding the hungry monkey box
A tissue box with a painted monkey mouth sits in the middle of the table, and every roll feeds that many paper bananas through the slot.
Plan this one →Spotting numbers out on a walk
House numbers, bus numbers and prices in the shop windows, spotted along the sidewalk and read out loud by the teacher as they go.
Plan this one →Block prints carrying on a pattern
Scrap blocks and sponges load up with paint, and the first few prints are already down and dry, so each strip has a pattern to carry on.
Plan this one →Make a new shape from two
Pattern blocks push together on the table to find how many green triangles fill the yellow hexagon, and what two triangles make on their own.
Plan this one →Sorting the animals into farm and jungle
A green cloth for the farm and a tray of leaves and bark for the jungle, and a jumbled basket of animals carried home one at a time.
Plan this one →Watermelon seeds by the roll
A pink playdough slice, a roll of the die, and that many black pom pom seeds get pressed into the slice.
Plan this one →Chalk shapes to jump into
Big chalk shapes cover the sidewalk, the teacher calls out circle or triangle, and everybody jumps into the shape that matches.
Plan this one →Find a number, fill a cup
Number cards hide around the room, and whoever finds one counts that many blocks into a cup before heading off to look for another.
Plan this one →Same box, different weight
Four identical boxes packed with rice, cotton, pebbles and beans pass hand to hand to find which ones feel heavy and which feel light.
Plan this one →Big pile, little pile, and the middles
A basket of pinecones splits into big ones and little ones, until a pinecone turns up that will not go in either pile.
Plan this one →Books & Story Time
A pizza built on the board, topping by topping
The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza on the rug, a big felt crust on the board, and a child adding each felt topping the moment the hen puts it on.
Plan this one →Read the rain book out in the rain
The group takes any weather book outside under the overhang and reads it while the real weather carries on around them.
Plan this one →Change one thing, then retell it
The group picks a different animal or a different place, and the whole story gets told again with the swap inside it.
Plan this one →One small window over the picture
A paper cover with one hole in it over each felt animal, and the guessing goes on that sliver of color before the cover comes off.
Plan this one →Roll the die, build the character
Each side of the big foam die is one part of the creature from this morning's book, and a piece they already have means roll again.
Plan this one →Stick masks the group makes, then keeps using
Character faces cut out by the teacher ahead of time, four or five children gluing one to a paper plate and a paint stick, and the masks live in the book corner.
Plan this one →Story bingo during the read-aloud
Everyone holds a card of pictures from the book and covers each one the moment it turns up in the reading.
Plan this one →The same story told three ways
The book straight through on Monday, the felt board on Wednesday, puppets on Friday, and which telling they liked best.
Plan this one →The party from the last pages, held for real
Bear Snores On read through, then simple costumes for the animals, the same food the animals bring set out, and the cave party thrown.
Plan this one →Guess who takes the next bite
Felt apples stacked on the board, each with a bigger bite cut out of it, peeled off one at a time, and the guessing is which animal did it.
Plan this one →A bandage for every bump in the story
A cloth doll and real bandages, one stuck on at every place something goes wrong, and the retelling read straight off the doll.
Plan this one →Torn white shapes on a blue board
It Looked Like Spilt Milk told with one torn white shape at a time against the blue felt, and every guess said out loud before the next goes up.
Plan this one →Crates up on the board with flaps to lift
Dear Zoo rebuilt as paper crates with a flap on each, an animal hidden inside, and the guessing goes by size and shape before anybody peeks.
Plan this one →Real mittens in the middle of the circle
Three Little Kittens with a pile of real mittens in the middle, three children playing the kittens who lost theirs, and everybody else chanting the rhyme.
Plan this one →The picture that builds as the story goes
The teacher adds one more line to the big whiteboard at every turn of the story, and nobody knows what the picture is until the last line goes on.
Plan this one →Every child holds one piece of the story
A felt piece handed out to each child before the telling starts, and they come up to put theirs on the felt board when their part arrives.
Plan this one →Be what the book was about
The read-aloud finishes and the group turns into it for the rest of the morning, so a book about sailors makes the rug a boat and snack happens on deck.
Plan this one →Two tellings of the same wordless book
Good Dog, Carl or Pancakes for Breakfast, told once by one child and again by another, and how far apart the two land.
Plan this one →The story buried in a plate of soil
The pieces of the story tucked down into a paper plate of bagged potting soil, pulled out one at a time as the group retells The Tiny Seed.
Plan this one →One box in the middle of the rug
One plain cardboard box in the middle of the rug once Not a Box is finished, and each child takes a turn showing what it has become.
Plan this one →Whose tail is this
Photographs of real animal tails up one at a time with the guessing out loud, and then What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? opened to check.
Plan this one →The character we made up gets a book
A character the group invents and names, one page drawn each, and the teacher writing down what each child says underneath.
Plan this one →The check-up bag unpacked one piece at a time
Any doctor book first, then the toy check-up bag opened, thermometer and stethoscope and cuff named as they come out, and the visit run on a bear.
Plan this one →The puppet who tells it wrong
A puppet retelling yesterday's book keeps getting the order backwards, and the children set him straight.
Plan this one →A pile of shapes on the rug
Mouse Shapes told with a square and a triangle pushed together into a house, then the whole pile of shapes out for them to build their own.
Plan this one →Read the story, then read the facts
The Very Hungry Caterpillar one day and a nonfiction book full of caterpillar photos the next, and what the group says was different.
Plan this one →Stop before the ending and change it
The book closed one page early, everybody's ending heard out loud first, and then the last page read to see what the author did.
Plan this one →Painted spoons stand up when they speak
Three children each holding a painted wooden spoon and standing up when their goat talks, while the teacher tells The Three Billy Goats Gruff from memory.
Plan this one →The x-ray on the rug
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly told over a big x-ray drawn on the rug, and the fly and the spider and the bird laid down on it one at a time.
Plan this one →Story pages posted around the yard
The pages of one book taped up along a path outside, a movement card at each stop, and the group walking it page by page.
Plan this one →The sock with no match, and a real laundry basket
A laundry basket of clean socks dumped out on the rug after A Pair of Socks, and the odd one gets a story while the matching goes on around it.
Plan this one →A basket of hats, a story each
Each child pulls out a hat, puts it on, and the group makes up together who that person is and where they are heading.
Plan this one →Find the piece with your eyes closed
Felt pieces from the story go in a box, and a child reaches in with eyes shut to feel out which one comes next on the board.
Plan this one →A small world tray for the story
Toy figures and a tray set up as the place the book happened, and they play the whole thing through again.
Plan this one →Every character gets its own sound
Before the reading, each small group picks a noise for one character, and they make it every time that character turns up on the page.
Plan this one →Which face fits this page
A row of drawn feeling faces beside Llama Llama Red Pajama, and at each page turn a child picks the one that fits the llama and says what on the page shows it.
Plan this one →One scarf plays every part
A single scarf becomes the river, then the wind, then the blanket as the story is told, with a different child holding it each time.
Plan this one →One line each, all the way around the table
Five or six at the table, the teacher giving the first line, and the story going around with each child adding what happens next.
Plan this one →Three things from the bag, one story
A whisk, a rain boot and a flashlight pulled out of a bag onto the rug, and one story out loud that has to use all three.
Plan this one →Sponge shoe prints marching down the paper
Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes, then a shoe shape cut from a sponge and a long strip of paper, stamped in a new color every time Pete steps in something.
Plan this one →What happened the morning after the rhyme
Humpty Dumpty and the king's men up on the felt board, and the group makes up out loud what they all did the next morning.
Plan this one →A quilt that grows through the story
A fabric patch up on the felt board for every new helper who turns up, a different child adding it each round.
Plan this one →Mix up a silly sentence
Three stacks for who, what and where, one card pulled from each, and they read the sentence out however it lands.
Plan this one →A story where the weather keeps changing
A stack of weather cards face down, and every time a child flips one the storyteller has to bend the story to fit the sun or the snow.
Plan this one →A shell pressed into dough, then lifted away
Fossils Tell of Long Ago first, then a shell or a toy dinosaur foot pressed hard into a flat round of dough, and the print left behind.
Plan this one →The bear hunt walked across the room
We're Going on a Bear Hunt, then a ribbon river, a cloth cave under the table, and the grass and the mud from whatever is around, and the group walks the whole hunt.
Plan this one →Our own version, made from what's in the room
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? rebuilt with things off the shelves, so what the group chants all week is red truck, red truck, what do you see?
Plan this one →The mouse walks from one puddle into the other
Mouse Paint and then a tray with two small puddles of paint on it, and a toy mouse whose feet carry the first color into the second.
Plan this one →The book that lost a page
A blank sheet slipped into the middle of a familiar book, and the group wonders out loud what was on the missing page before anyone shows them.
Plan this one →Act the character, we guess
One child moves silently like someone from the book just read while everyone else calls out who it is.
Plan this one →Story stones pulled out of a bag
A bag of stones with a picture already on each one, pulled out one at a time, and a story that comes out different every time.
Plan this one →Outdoor & Gross Motor
Bug safari under the logs and rocks
A magnifying glass each, and the slow work of turning over logs and rocks to find the bugs underneath.
Plan this one →Washing day for the whole playground
Buckets, scrub brushes, squeegees and spray bottles, and the fence, the tables and the trikes all getting done.
Plan this one →Painting both sides of a clear shower curtain
A clear shower curtain clipped tight to the fence top and bottom, and two children painting toward each other.
Plan this one →Water painting with a big brush
Wide house-painting brushes and a bucket of water, and the dark marks on the fence that fade as they dry.
Plan this one →Turtle outline on sticky contact paper
Contact paper taped sticky side out on the fence, a turtle drawn on, and bark and leaves pressed on for its shell.
Plan this one →Listening for birds with books and binoculars
Sitting still in the grass to hear which birds are out, with bird books to look through and binoculars to share.
Plan this one →Sponges carried between two buckets
A full bucket at one end, an empty one at the other, and the group filling it one soaked sponge at a time.
Plan this one →Exercise ball outdoor bowling
Boxes taped shut and stood in a row, and a giant exercise ball rolled with both hands to knock them over.
Plan this one →Wet sponges thrown at a chalk target
A big target chalked on the pavement, a bucket of soaking sponges, and a wet splat that shows where it landed.
Plan this one →Mud soup from a written recipe
A recipe card read out at the mud kitchen table, and three cups of dirt and two of water into the pot.
Plan this one →Color hunt in a muffin tin
A circle of colored paper glued in each cup of a muffin tin, and the yard hunted for something to match.
Plan this one →Bird watching with tube binoculars
Two cardboard tubes taped all the way around into one pair, then carried out to find what is moving in the trees.
Plan this one →Chalk targets and spray bottles
Circles and shapes chalked heavy on the wall, and spray bottles of water aimed until they run and vanish.
Plan this one →Sidewalk chalk obstacle course
Footprints, arrows and shapes chalked into a winding path, with a hop, a spin or a balance at each one.
Plan this one →Nature scavenger hunt with paint chips
Paint chip cards carried around the yard, and every leaf and petal laid on the color it matches.
Plan this one →Puddle jumping with chalk splash marks
One child jumps in the puddle and a partner chalks the farthest drop, and the ring grows with every jump.
Plan this one →Water wall of pool noodles
Pool noodles zip-tied down the fence at different angles, a funnel in the top of each, and water poured in.
Plan this one →Stick ladder laid out on the ground
Long sticks set out in a row like ladder rungs, and hands and knees crawling up through the gaps between them.
Plan this one →Stencils sprayed with water on the sidewalk
Cardboard shapes held flat on the pavement, spray bottles worked around the edges, and a dark shape that fades.
Plan this one →Mail deliveries by trike
Envelopes and small boxes in a bag over the handlebars, a chalked route, and somebody waiting at every stop.
Plan this one →Nature wash station for rocks and sticks
Old toothbrushes, dish brushes and a tub of water, and the colors that show up on a rock once the dirt is off.
Plan this one →Hot Wheels car wash in three bins
Three bins lined up, dirt then shaving cream then clean water, and a Hot Wheels car run through all three.
Plan this one →Penguin moving company across the yard
Beanbags balanced on the tops of the feet or squeezed between the knees, and waddled across the yard.
Plan this one →Obstacle course with tunnels and hula hoops
A pop-up tunnel, hoops to jump through, cones to weave and blocks to step up, then the whole course rearranged.
Plan this one →Bug hotel packed into a shoebox
A shoebox turned on its side and packed with bark, twigs, pine cones and dry leaves, then left out by the fence.
Plan this one →Laundry baskets pushed through a course
Cones and rocks loaded into laundry baskets, pushed through a course in the grass, heavy enough to lean into.
Plan this one →Painted rocks pressed into a dirt mosaic
Rocks painted one day and dry by the next, then pressed into the dirt together in a pattern that keeps growing.
Plan this one →Bark rubbings on the playground trees
Copy paper taped around the trunk and rubbed with the side of a peeled crayon until the bark shows through.
Plan this one →Painting with mud in three thicknesses
Bowls of mud mixed thin, thick and almost dry, big brushes, and a length of butcher paper to try all three on.
Plan this one →Dinosaur shadows traced on butcher paper
A line of dinosaurs standing on long paper in the sun, and a marker run around each shadow before it moves.
Plan this one →Painter's tape lines peeled off the cardboard
Tape stuck across big cardboard with the ends folded into tabs, painted right over, then pulled up by the tab.
Plan this one →Mud kitchen with picture recipe cards
Laminated photo recipes clipped up by the pots, and mud pies measured out, mixed and served to order.
Plan this one →Water wall on the fence
Funnels, gutters and clear tubing fastened up the fence, and water poured in the top to find where it comes out.
Plan this one →Crayon rubbing on a sun-warm rock
Peeled crayons rubbed on their side across a rock that has sat in the sun, and the wax goes soft and thick.
Plan this one →Cloud watching, then cotton on dark paper
Lying on a blanket naming shapes in the clouds, then cotton balls pulled into those same shapes on dark paper.
Plan this one →Chalk outlines filled with magnetic tiles
A big rectangle chalked on the pavement and divided into tile-sized squares, then filled in tile by tile.
Plan this one →Pool noodle chunks stacked with shaving cream
Noodles cut into fat chunks, shaving cream squirted in the hole and on top, and a wobbly tower going up.
Plan this one →Scavenger hunt you tally on a clipboard
A picture list on a clipboard, and a mark made next to the pine cone every time another one turns up.
Plan this one →Flowers ground into paint in a mortar
Deep-colored petals ground in a mortar with a splash of water, and the color that comes out brushed onto paper.
Plan this one →Moving the mountain across the playground
A heap of big foam shapes, large and small blocks and boxes of every size, moved to the far end armful by armful.
Plan this one →Watering and weeding the garden bed
Real trowels, a watering can and a bed or a big pot, and the digging, watering and weeding it needs today.
Plan this one →Floor is lava between the mats
Mats and spot markers set a step apart across the grass, and no feet allowed to touch the ground in between.
Plan this one →Sheet carry across the playground
Everybody holding an edge of a bedsheet, a playground ball riding in the middle, and a slow walk to the fence.
Plan this one →Nest big enough to sit in
Long grass, sticks, fabric and carpet squares gathered into a ring on the ground, wide enough to curl up inside.
Plan this one →Ball ramps from rain gutters
Rain gutters propped on crates at two heights, and tennis balls, playground balls and a beach ball sent down.
Plan this one →Portrait of a friend through the easel
Two children either side of a clear plexiglass easel, one painting the face they can see through it.
Plan this one →Fine Motor & Table Toys
Clothespin beaks and pipe cleaner worms
Cut pipe cleaners bent into curls on a carpet square, a clothespin for a beak, and the worms go in the basket.
Plan this one →Threading a pipe cleaner through a curly straw
A curly straw and a pipe cleaner, and getting it to come out the far end takes some real figuring out.
Plan this one →Snapping lids over things that just fit
Bead boxes with compartments of every size, a few already holding something, and objects that fit under only some.
Plan this one →Pom poms puffed with a turkey baster
A turkey baster squeezed at a pom pom sends it skidding across the table, and they chase it into a cup.
Plan this one →Ice cube tray filled with a turkey baster
A tub of colored water, a turkey baster, and an ice cube tray, and each well gets filled one squeeze at a time.
Plan this one →Sewing through sponge, paper plate and foam plate
A blunt plastic needle, yarn, and a sponge, a paper plate and a foam plate that grip, tear and crack.
Plan this one →Ribbon woven both ways through a cooling rack
Ribbon woven over and under one way, then a second color crossed through it in the other direction.
Plan this one →Plastic bugs caught in a stretchy web
Stretchy fake spider web pulled apart into strands on a tray, and plastic bugs wound and stuck fast inside it.
Plan this one →Button snake through felt
A big button sewn to one end of a short ribbon, and felt squares with slits pushed over it one at a time.
Plan this one →Punching the holes for a lacing card
A hole punch squeezed around the rim of a cardstock shape, then a shoelace threaded through every hole.
Plan this one →Fishing for letters with tweezers
Plastic alphabet letters spread over a drawn blue sea, and tweezers to lift each one into a waiting container.
Plan this one →Screws into a machine drawn on foam
Big foam blocks with a machine drawn on them by the teacher, and screws driven in wherever it needs a bolt.
Plan this one →Tongs through a taped web over water
Painter's tape crisscrossed over a bin of water with toys floating under it, and tongs reaching through the gaps.
Plan this one →Bead track bent from pipe cleaners
Pipe cleaners the children bend into loops and hills, stood upright, and beads pushed around every curve.
Plan this one →Pipe cleaners through a colander
An upside down colander and a handful of pipe cleaners, threaded down through one hole and back up out another.
Plan this one →Cutting up a bucket of yard clippings
Weeds, long grass and thin flower stems an adult gathered into a bucket, and safety scissors to cut it all small.
Plan this one →Matching and gluing pom poms onto dots
Butcher paper covered in dot marker circles, and every pom pom glued down on the color that matches it.
Plan this one →Pipe cleaner fishing pond
Pipe cleaner fish looped at the top, floating in tinted water, and a pole with a short string and a bent paper clip.
Plan this one →Hammering nails into a tree stump
An old tree stump and a coffee can of nails, pounded in until the top of it bristles.
Plan this one →Sewing yarn through burlap in a hoop
Burlap stretched in a hoop, a blunt needle threaded with a short piece of yarn, and every stitch pulled through.
Plan this one →Mixing new colors with droppers
Cups of red, yellow and blue water, droppers, and a paint palette where new colors appear a drop at a time.
Plan this one →Beaded pipe cleaners bent into any shape
Beads slid onto a pipe cleaner until it is full, then bent into a ring, a letter, an animal, whatever they decide.
Plan this one →Droppers over a baking soda tray
Baking soda spread across a tray, cups of colored vinegar, and droppers to squeeze it out drop by drop.
Plan this one →Pom poms dropped through tubes on the wall
Cardboard tubes taped up a wall near vertical, pom poms fed in the top, and a tub at the bottom catching them.
Plan this one →Stickers back into the holes they left
The leftover backing sheet mounted on bright cardstock, and each peeled sticker put back into its own hole.
Plan this one →Button tree on a branch
A bare branch wedged upright in a jar, and big buttons threaded down twigs where some slide on and some stop short.
Plan this one →Screwing cabinet knobs into a board
A board of drilled holes, a pile of cabinet knobs and their screws, turned in until each one is tight enough to pull.
Plan this one →Tweezers in a bowl of floating beads
Small beads floating in a bowl, and every reach with the tweezers sends the water moving and the beads drifting.
Plan this one →Nuts and bolts on a drilled board
Nuts, bolts and washers next to a board of drilled holes, and they twist until everything is threaded on.
Plan this one →Snipping straws and threading the pieces
A pile of paper straws and scissors, and the confetti of pieces gets threaded onto shoelaces afterward.
Plan this one →Locks and keys on a tray
A basket of padlocks and a ring of loose keys, and they figure out which key turns which lock.
Plan this one →Letter clothespins clipped around a box
Letters on dot stickers around a sturdy box and the same letters on clothespins, and each pin finds its match.
Plan this one →Sticky contact paper collage board
Contact paper taped sticky side up on the table, and beads, buttons and stickers that stay wherever they land.
Plan this one →Hammering golf tees into a cardboard box
A cardboard box packed full and weighted down, a small hammer and a jar of golf tees to drive in from the top.
Plan this one →Snipping paper strips into a collage
Long strips of colored paper and scissors, and they snip across until there is a heap of chips to glue down.
Plan this one →Gems hidden in playdough for the next child
Gems and little animals pressed deep into a slab of dough, then handed over for somebody else to dig out.
Plan this one →Craft stick puzzles they draw themselves
Craft sticks taped in a row, a picture drawn straight across, then untaped and jumbled for somebody else.
Plan this one →Spaghetti tower in playdough
Dry spaghetti standing upright in lumps of playdough, and penne threaded down each stalk without snapping it.
Plan this one →Block tower built with tongs
Two children, one pair of tongs, and a tower that wobbles higher until the next block brings it down.
Plan this one →Dot stickers on the line
Sheets of dot stickers and paper ruled with long lines, and peeling every sticker off to land it on a line.
Plan this one →Opening the lids and latches bag
A zip bag of capped bottles, screw top jars, flip lids and a zipper, and the job is opening every single one.
Plan this one →Cutting and gluing recycled boxes
Clean recycling pulled apart into pieces, with scissors, masking tape and glue to build whatever they decide it is.
Plan this one →Golf tee geoboard in a foam pumpkin or other shape
Golf tees hammered around a craft foam pumpkin or ball, and rubber bands wrapped over and around the curve.
Plan this one →Golf tees hammered into a tub of playdough
Playdough pressed flat into a rigid tub, tees hammered in as deep as they like, then pulled out and reformed.
Plan this one →Cooking & Food
Recipe the class made up
The children say how many scoops of oats, mashed banana and milk go in, take turns stirring, and eat what comes out of the oven.
Plan this one →Smoothie blended at the table
Bowls of cut fruit to pick from, everybody's pieces go into the blender with yogurt and ice, and the teacher blends it.
Plan this one →Bread dough rising under a towel
Dough left under a towel, up over the rim of the bowl an hour later, punched down flat, and baked into rolls to pull apart.
Plan this one →Pasta dough cranked through the machine
Flour mounded with a dip in the middle, an egg cracked in, one child cranks, another catches spaghetti long enough to hang.
Plan this one →Chocolate-covered bananas
Cold banana halves on sticks, melted chocolate spooned over, then coconut or crushed nuts, and the shell goes hard in a minute.
Plan this one →Trail mix everybody scoops
Raisins, pretzels, oats and dried cranberries scooped into one big bowl, stirred together, and then a cup each.
Plan this one →Bagel pizzas with a toppings tray
Bagel halves, a spoon of sauce to push around, a tray of toppings, and the cheese melting over all of it in the toaster oven.
Plan this one →Overnight oats in a jar
A scoop of rolled oats and a scoop of milk in each jar, fruit on top, lids on, and by morning the milk is gone.
Plan this one →Stone soup day
Stone Soup read first, a big scrubbed stone into the pot before anything else, and everybody adds one vegetable they washed.
Plan this one →Banana pops rolled in toppings
Half a banana on a stick, dipped in yogurt, rolled through crushed cereal or coconut, and into the freezer until afternoon.
Plan this one →Frozen yogurt bark on a baking sheet
Yogurt spread thin on a parchment-lined baking sheet, berries pressed in all over, and it snaps into pieces the next day.
Plan this one →Apple ladybugs
Red apple halves skin side up, a dab of cream cheese under each raisin, and the spots go on wherever they want them.
Plan this one →Guacamole mashed in one bowl
Ripe avocados halved by the teacher, a squeeze of lime, and one bowl and one fork around the table until the lumps are gone.
Plan this one →Family cooking day
Whoever does the cooking at a child's house comes in to make something from home, and the children do the measuring and mixing.
Plan this one →Eating through The Very Hungry Caterpillar
The Very Hungry Caterpillar, read again, and the apple, pears, plums and strawberries eaten in order down the table.
Plan this one →Banana chips in the air fryer
Banana slices cut as thin as they can with a child-safe knife, and they come out of the air fryer small, brown and curled.
Plan this one →Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
A dull knife each, peanut butter or sunflower butter on one slice, jelly on the other, and the slices pressed together.
Plan this one →Squeezing lemons for lemonade
Lemon halves and a hand juicer passed around, the juice tasted plain first, then a vote on how many spoons of sugar go in.
Plan this one →Popsicles they blend in the morning
Whatever fruit they picked blended with yogurt or juice, poured into molds, and out of the freezer after nap.
Plan this one →Rice paper rolls dipped in warm water
A stiff round of rice paper dipped in warm water for a few seconds comes out floppy, and it rolls up around cucumber sticks.
Plan this one →Yogurt pops in paper cups
Thick yogurt spooned into small paper cups, a stick standing up in each one, and the cup peels off in the afternoon.
Plan this one →Pudding thickened with a rotary beater
Cold milk and pudding mix in a bowl, the beater going around the table, and the crank gets harder to turn as it thickens.
Plan this one →No-bake oat balls
Rolled oats, peanut or sunflower butter and honey, squeezed into balls between their hands, and into the fridge to firm up.
Plan this one →Sweet, salty, sour, bitter
A pretzel, a lemon wedge, a cookie and a square of dark chocolate go around the table, and faces do most of the talking.
Plan this one →Apple taste test, four ways
A slice, a spoon of sauce, a cup of juice and a dried ring, tasted down the row, and every one of them is apple.
Plan this one →Butter in a jar
Half a jar of heavy cream, a pinch of salt, a tight lid, and it goes around the table until the sloshing turns to a thud.
Plan this one →Avocado toast they mash themselves
Half a ripe avocado each, opened by the teacher, mashed with a fork and a squeeze of lemon, then spread on toast.
Plan this one →English muffin pizzas
Sauce pushed into the little holes, cheese and toppings on top, and the edges go crisp in the toaster oven.
Plan this one →Salad out of the class garden
Outer lettuce leaves off the bed or the pot by the door, washed in a bowl of water, spun dry, and torn up for lunch.
Plan this one →Fruit kabobs in a pattern
Bowls of melon cubes, strawberries and banana chunks, a dull skewer each, and the fruit goes on in a pattern.
Plan this one →Ice cream shaken in a bag
Half-and-half and sugar in one sealed bag, ice and rock salt in a bigger one, wrapped in a towel and shaken until it thickens.
Plan this one →Bread dough squished in a bag
Everybody gets a bag of flour, yeast and warm water, squeezed from outside until it stops being sticky and starts pushing back.
Plan this one →Mashed potatoes with the butter they made
Warm cooked potatoes cut up with dull knives, then a masher around the table, and their own butter stirred in.
Plan this one →Dumplings folded around the table
A wrapper each, a spoon of cooked filling, a wet finger around the edge and a pinch, with a family showing the fold first.
Plan this one →Tortillas pressed at the table
A family brings masa and a press, each ball flattened between two pieces of plastic, and they puff up on the adults' griddle.
Plan this one →Yogurt parfaits in a clear cup
Yogurt, granola and cut fruit in bowls, a spoon each, and every layer shows through the side of the cup.
Plan this one →Art
Spin art in a salad spinner
A paper circle in the basket, drops of paint over it, the lid down, and cranking until the color races to the edges.
Plan this one →Spin art with a top
Paint dropped on paper in a tray, a pull-string top spinning through it, trailing circles and arcs until it stops.
Plan this one →Burst prints from a paper towel roll
A paper towel roll cut into strips at one end, fanned open and pressed into a tray of paint, printing spokes.
Plan this one →Bleeding tissue paper painting
Squares of bleeding tissue paper on card stock, brushed with plain water, and peeling them off once the color runs.
Plan this one →Pounding flowers into cloth
Pansies and marigolds laid on cotton, the cloth folded over, and hammering until the color prints through.
Plan this one →Leaf prints pressed into air-dry clay
Air-dry clay patted flat, ferns and pine needles pressed in and lifted away, and prints that harden overnight.
Plan this one →Fly swatter painting
A swatter loaded with paint, brought down hard on butcher paper taped to the fence, and the grid it leaves.
Plan this one →Raised salt painting
Glue squeezed into lines on card stock, salt poured over, and liquid watercolor touched on to creep along every line.
Plan this one →Drawing a live snail up close
Magnifiers, paper and pencils around one live snail in a clear tub, and it keeps crawling away.
Plan this one →Tie-dye sun catchers
Coffee filter twisted tight, colored with washable markers, spritzed with water, and opened flat in the window.
Plan this one →Q-tip painting
A cotton swab for each color, dots pressed side by side, and every dot keeping its own color.
Plan this one →Tube sculptures on a cardboard base
Cardboard tubes and paper strips glued at both ends so they arch up off a cardboard base, painted the next day.
Plan this one →Crushed chalk poured over glue lines
Sidewalk chalk ground to powder, shaken over wet glue swirls on card stock, then tipped off to see what stuck.
Plan this one →Toy cars with markers taped on
A marker taped to a car so the tip touches, butcher paper to drive it across, and the road it leaves behind.
Plan this one →Salt sprinkled on wet watercolor
Coarse salt shaken over liquid watercolor on card stock while it is still wet, and pale starbursts at every grain.
Plan this one →Painting on aluminum foil
Paint that sits on top of the foil, ridges up under a finger, and lets the silver shine through.
Plan this one →Ice cube painting with frozen paint
Liquid watercolor frozen in ice cube trays, a craft stick pushed in once it is slushy, color trailing out as it melts.
Plan this one →Squeegee painting in one pull
Wide and narrow squeegees, each child's own colors in lines across the top, then one pull drags them all down.
Plan this one →Rolling pin texture painting
Lace, mesh and string wrapped around a rolling pin, rolled over a paint-soaked sponge, then down the paper.
Plan this one →String pull painting
Yarn soaked in paint, laid inside a folded sheet, held flat by a partner's hands, and tugged out to see what it left.
Plan this one →Cardboard loom weaving
Notched cardboard and a basket of ribbon, torn fabric and yarn with a taped tip, woven over and under, row after row.
Plan this one →Scrape painting with cardboard and combs
An old gift card, a torn strip of cardboard or a notched comb pulled through wet paint, each leaving its own edge.
Plan this one →Citrus fruit stamping
Lemons, limes, oranges and grapefruit cut into circles and wedges, dried overnight, and printed for the texture.
Plan this one →Golf ball painting in a jar
Paper curled inside a plastic jar, a painted golf ball dropped in, the lid taped on, and as much shaking as it takes.
Plan this one →Easel painting on a texture board
Bubble wrap, craft sticks, string and sandpaper glued to cardboard, painted so the brush catches on every bump.
Plan this one →Painting with nature paintbrushes
Grasses, ferns, flowers and twigs bundled onto sticks with rubber bands, dipped in paint for scratchy, splayed lines.
Plan this one →Tape resist painting
Painter's tape in lines on card stock, a folded tab on each end, painted over, and white paths where it peels up.
Plan this one →Fizzy baking soda and vinegar painting
Baking soda spread across a sheet pan, vinegar and liquid watercolor in a spray bottle, and fizzing wherever it lands.
Plan this one →Giant group mural on butcher paper
Butcher paper taped down across the floor, several children painting at once, crossing into each other's work.
Plan this one →Coiling real clay into snakes and nests
A fist of real clay each, a bowl of water for smoothing, and long coils wound flat, stacked or pressed together.
Plan this one →Craft feather painting
Craft feathers dipped in the tempera that matches, dragged flat for soft streaks and flicked for thin spatters.
Plan this one →Mosaic from foam and paper shapes
Foam shapes and paper squares pressed into white glue on card stock, edge to edge, until the collage covers it.
Plan this one →Spray bottle painting on big paper outside
Liquid watercolor in spray bottles, butcher paper pinned to the fence, and both hands squeezing to reach the top.
Plan this one →Bubble wrap stomp painting
Bubble wrap taped down bubble side up, painted, paper laid on top, and stomping or pressing to lift the pattern.
Plan this one →Color mixing with eyedroppers
Eyedroppers, liquid watercolor and coffee filters, and watching where two colors meet and turn into a third.
Plan this one →Blocks & Building
Marshmallow and toothpick towers
Mini marshmallows for the corners and toothpicks for the sides, joined into squares, triangles and towers.
Plan this one →Fix the broken road with a detour
A section of the tape road pulled up overnight, and bridges, detours and cones built to get the cars through.
Plan this one →Build with only one block shape
The other shapes put away, only the long ones or the small squares left, and the whole build made from those.
Plan this one →Big block fort you can sit inside
Hollow blocks or big cardboard ones stacked into walls, with a gap for a door, until a child fits inside.
Plan this one →Stack the tree slices and branches
Wood slices and chunks of branch beside the blocks, bark still on, every one a different size and a little bit wobbly.
Plan this one →Coffee cans and yogurt cups for building
A bin of clean coffee cans, yogurt cups and boxes beside the blocks, stacked and balanced until they slide.
Plan this one →Build the shops and houses in your neighborhood
Photos of the shops and houses near school taped up by the blocks, and the doors, windows and signs built in.
Plan this one →Put a mirror behind the tower
A plastic mirror propped behind the blocks or laid flat under them, and a tower that doubles as it goes up.
Plan this one →Magnetic tiles on the light table
Translucent tiles clicked into towers and boxes on the light table, and the color that spills out around them.
Plan this one →Egg carton blocks the children paint
Egg cartons cut into sections so the bumps nest together, painted by the children, and stacking by the next day.
Plan this one →Photo people for the block area
Head-to-toe photos of each child cut out and taped to a toilet paper tube, standing up among the buildings.
Plan this one →Animal walks between the bin and the tower
Blocks in a bin across the room, and an animal called out each trip, so they hop or stomp over and carry one back.
Plan this one →Pool noodle car ramps at different heights
A pool noodle cut in half the long way, taped to a tower of blocks, and the same car run from higher and lower.
Plan this one →Tape roads across the floor
Painter's tape laid out in streets and intersections, and the block city that grows up along them.
Plan this one →Load the tower with animals until it tips
Toy animals set on a block tower one at a time, and the tower rebuilt after every crash to hold one more.
Plan this one →Paper bridge loaded with pennies
A strip of paper laid across a gap between blocks, pennies added one at a time, then the strip folded and tried again.
Plan this one →Bridge between two block towers
A rain gutter or a long strip of cardboard laid from one block tower to the other, and cars sent across.
Plan this one →Build from a photo of a real building
A photo of a real building propped up by the shelf, and the arches, windows and roof that turn up in the build.
Plan this one →Build the place from the book
The house, the bridge or the woods from the story, built in blocks on the rug while the book is still open.
Plan this one →Chalkboard blocks drawn on and wiped off
Wood scraps painted with chalkboard paint ahead of time, and a window, a door or a sign chalked onto each one.
Plan this one →One child describes, the other builds
One child says what goes on next and where, the partner sets it down, and they trade when the building is done.
Plan this one →Match blocks to their traced outlines
Unit blocks traced onto big paper at full size, and each block found and set back down on its own outline.
Plan this one →Velcro blocks that grab each other
Velcro dots stuck onto foam blocks at nap time, and a tower that holds together when you lift it.
Plan this one →Stamp and print with blocks
Foam or plastic blocks pressed onto a paint-soaked sponge, then stamped on paper, and the shape each one leaves behind.
Plan this one →Cardboard boxes as giant blocks
Shipping boxes stuffed with newspaper and taped shut, stacked into walls and towers as tall as the children.
Plan this one →Block zoo with a pen for each animal
Blocks built into pens for the zoo or farm animals, a gate on each one, and which animals go in together.
Plan this one →Blocks wrapped in tape, sticky side out
Masking tape wrapped around each block sticky side out, so the blocks stick where they touch and a tower can lean.
Plan this one →Put a roof across two walls
Two walls with a gap between, and a long flat block laid across the top for a roof, with a room underneath.
Plan this one →Bowling with blocks for pins
Blocks stood on end in a triangle, a playground ball rolled from a taped line, and a count of how many fall.
Plan this one →Block shadows on the wall
A lamp on the floor pointing at the blocks, and a shadow on the wall that changes shape every time a block moves.
Plan this one →Music & Movement
Sound investigation behind the easel
One sound made behind the easel, and the children holding the same bells, pots and paper as the teacher.
Plan this one →Storybook yoga
A story everybody knows read again as poses, one for each character and each place it goes.
Plan this one →Songs that lose a word each round
A song everybody knows, and each time through the singing, one more word turns into a silent motion.
Plan this one →Song bag of props
A toy spider, a bus, a star and more, all in a bag nobody can see into, and whoever pulls one out picks the song.
Plan this one →Freeze dance
Music playing, everybody dancing, and the whole room stopping in place the second the music cuts out.
Plan this one →Parade past the other classrooms
An instrument or a scarf each, and the parade goes down the hall to the rooms that are expecting it.
Plan this one →Sound signals for stop and go
A drum for walking, a shaker for tiptoeing and a bell for freezing, and everybody listening before they move.
Plan this one →Movement dice
A big foam die with a different way to move on each side, and everybody does whatever it lands on.
Plan this one →Sound hunt with recordings from the yard
Sounds from the yard recorded in the morning, then a walk out listening for what made each one.
Plan this one →Beanbag balance walk
A beanbag balanced on a head, then a shoulder, then the back of a hand, and carried across the room each time.
Plan this one →Dance party on a taped-out floor
Tape and colored paper squares laid down into a dance floor, streamers hung, and the music on.
Plan this one →Our own classroom song
A tune everybody knows, new words about things in the room, and something off the shelf to hold up for the singing.
Plan this one →Drum beat painting with dot markers
A long strip of paper each, one dot for every hit of the drum, and the dots closer together as it speeds up.
Plan this one →Marching band around the room
Instruments for everyone, a route around the room, and a new leader at the front every time the music stops.
Plan this one →Music wall on the fence
Pots, lids and bells hung on short loops along the fence, and anybody who walks by can stop and play them.
Plan this one →Loud and soft painting
A fat brush each, the music going loud and soft, and the marks get big or small right along with it.
Plan this one →Simon says with the blocks
A block in every turn, hopping with a long one or holding two up high, and the whole group does each one.
Plan this one →Animal parade around the room
An animal picked each, and the whole line stomping, slithering and gliding the way that animal moves.
Plan this one →Parachute popcorn
Foam balls tennis-ball-sized or bigger bounced on the parachute, and everybody shaking together to keep them on.
Plan this one →Pots and pans drumming
Pots, lids and wooden spoons laid out, a short beat tapped once, and a turn each to send the same one back.
Plan this one →Stretchy band to a slow and fast drum
A big elastic loop the whole circle holds, pulled wide and let back in, high and low, as the drum changes speed.
Plan this one →Shadow dancing behind a sheet
An LED light low on the floor behind a white sheet, and shadows that grow huge as you walk back toward it.
Plan this one →Visiting musician and a real instrument
A visitor with a guitar or a trumpet plays it up close, and everybody gets a turn to touch.
Plan this one →Mystery sound containers
Containers and tubes filled with rice, pennies or bells, lids taped on, and shaken to figure out what is inside.
Plan this one →Instruments made from the recycling bin
Drums from oatmeal tubs, tambourines from paper plates, and a bin of clean recycling to invent the rest.
Plan this one →Ribbon and yarn painting to music
A foot of ribbon or yarn clipped into a clothespin, dipped in paint and swept across big paper to the music.
Plan this one →Obstacle course at the speed of the drum
Cones, a tunnel and a balance beam to get through, and a drum that speeds up and slows down as they go.
Plan this one →Scarves and ribbons drawing in the air
Scarves and ribbon wands swirled overhead, down low and across the body, drawing big loops to the music.
Plan this one →Rhythm restaurant
A picture menu of claps, stomps and drum beats, and the kitchen plays back whatever somebody orders.
Plan this one →Sensory Bins, Sand & Water
Muddy farm animals and a tub of warm water
Plastic animals pressed into a tub of wet mud, then warm water and a scrub brush, then back in the mud.
Plan this one →Buttons dug out of firm gelatin
A pan of gelatin set overnight with double the powder, and tongs to work each button out and sort it.
Plan this one →Baking soda bin with droppers
Colored water just wets the powder and spreads, colored vinegar fizzes it up, and hands go in after both.
Plan this one →Barefoot walk on texture boards
Sandpaper, felt and bubble wrap on boards taped down in a row, walked with shoes off and again eyes shut.
Plan this one →Bakery in a bin of dry oats
Muffin tins, measuring cups and a bin of dry oats, filled to the top, leveled off flat and tipped back out.
Plan this one →Cloud dough that packs and crumbles
Eight parts flour to one of oil, packed into a shape that falls back to powder the moment a finger lands.
Plan this one →Oobleck poured down a rain gutter
Cornstarch and water stirred thick, poured down a rain gutter, and going hard under any hand in its way.
Plan this one →Crispy and fresh leaves in the water table
Crispy leaves go dark and limp in a minute, the green ones stay slick, and strainers lift both back out.
Plan this one →Garden planted in green split peas
Bright green peas poured into paper cups, small trowels, and flower stems pushed in to stand up crooked.
Plan this one →Which sponge holds the most water
A bowl of water, and a car sponge, a dish sponge and a scrubber each wrung out into its own clear cup.
Plan this one →Smell jars matched into pairs
Cinnamon, coffee and mint in jars nobody can see into, paired by nose, with a dot underneath to check.
Plan this one →Pom-poms on a sticky tape X
Duct tape run sticky side up in an X over a cookie tin, and pom-poms of every color and size to press on.
Plan this one →Insect bin with grass and pebbles
Sand, pebbles and shredded green paper, with wood blocks and craft sticks the plastic bugs hide under.
Plan this one →Sand foam with shells and crabs
Shaving cream whipped into play sand until it packs light and soft, with shells and plastic crabs in it.
Plan this one →Ocean oobleck with shells and sand
Blue cornstarch and water with sand stirred in last, running gritty and cold off the shells and whales.
Plan this one →Chia seed pond for the frogs
Chia seeds soaked overnight into a cold slippery gel, poured into a tray with plastic frogs down in it.
Plan this one →Cutting into a tray of kinetic sand
Kinetic sand packed into molds and sliced through with a plastic knife, then flattened under a toy truck.
Plan this one →Hayride bin with cracked corn
Cracked corn from the feed store, a mini straw bale that comes apart, and tractors hauling the animals.
Plan this one →Scented playdough made at the table
Flour, salt and oil in a bowl each, a different drink mix in the warm water, and no two smelling alike.
Plan this one →Pumpkin guts pulled out by the handful
Two pumpkins cut in half by the teacher, and both hands down into the cold strings, pulling out seeds.
Plan this one →Pumpkin spice cafe
Dry cake mix and cinnamon scooped into paper coffee cups, and the room smells like a bakery by ten.
Plan this one →Moon sand with astronauts and a shuttle
Flour and oil mixed heavy enough to pack into craters that hold, and astronauts landing in them.
Plan this one →Mystery socks the children fill for each other
A hairbrush, a lemon and a plastic dinosaur to start, one to a sock, guessed by hand before anyone looks.
Plan this one →Animal rescue in the sensory bin
Safari and farm animals wound in pipe cleaners, some barely on and some wrapped tight, down in the bin.
Plan this one →Feely bag with two of everything
A seashell, a whisk and a spiky hair roller in the bag, and their twins out on the table, matched by hand.
Plan this one →Pool noodle rings in the water table
Fat rings and skinny rings that shove apart in the water and stack only once they come out wet.
Plan this one →Brown oobleck swamp for the dinosaurs
Cornstarch and water gone muddy brown, with trees and dinosaurs that sink in slow and fight on the way out.
Plan this one →Grinding spices with a mortar and pestle
Dried bay leaves, cloves and orange peel, the pestle passed around, and the smell coming up as they crush.
Plan this one →Flowers frozen into a pan of ice
Flowers and leaves frozen in a shallow pan, and warm water in droppers and salt to melt them loose.
Plan this one →Classroom Jobs & Real Work
Planting the tomato seedlings
A hole dug for each one, the seedling eased out of its little pot, dirt packed around the stem, then water.
Plan this one →Puzzle hospital
Every puzzle piece is there, and the bent, split and peeling ones get taped and glued flat again.
Plan this one →Fixing the room's broken toys
A truck with a wheel off, a game box split at the corner, and a repair bench with screwdrivers, tape and wood glue.
Plan this one →Sanding and oiling the blocks
Sandpaper on a wood scrap, the rough blocks rubbed smooth, then mineral oil and a night to soak in.
Plan this one →Flowers in a jar for every table
Thin-stemmed flowers like nasturtiums or pansies, cut with safety scissors into jars of water, one for each table.
Plan this one →Making paper from the scrap bin
Scraps torn and soaked, pulp from an adult's blender, poured onto a mesh frame, days of drying to make paper.
Plan this one →Deep cleaning the block shelf
Every block off onto the rug, the empty shelf wiped down, and then working out which size goes back where.
Plan this one →Mixing and refilling the easel paint
Old paint out, cups and brushes washed, liquid tempera poured through funnels, one jar a color of their own.
Plan this one →Weeding where nothing is planted
One weed pulled up whole to look at its root, then the fence line and the garden edges cleared into a bucket.
Plan this one →Book hospital
A bin of torn books, clear packing tape and glue, and every one that gets fixed goes back on the shelf.
Plan this one →Recycling sorting station
A week of containers, rinsed as they came in, dumped on a tarp and sorted into paper, plastic and cans to recycle.
Plan this one →Doll laundry and a drying rack
A tub of soapy water and a washboard, every doll dress wrung out by hand, and clothespins along the rack.
Plan this one →Planting the garden bed
Shallow rows scraped with trowels, bean and radish seeds dropped in and covered, then checked every morning after.
Plan this one →Block washing day
Tubs of soapy water out on the grass, scrubbing every plastic and hollow block, and a row drying in the sun.
Plan this one →Testing every marker in the bin
Every washable marker tested on scrap paper, the ones that dried out go tip-down in water to make watercolor.
Plan this one →Feeding the worm bin, then digging it out
Shredded newspaper for bedding, snack scraps buried in it all year, and the compost sifted out for the garden bed.
Plan this one →Slicing bananas for the whole class
Bananas split the long way first, plastic child-safe knives, and every slice comes out a half-moon for snack.
Plan this one →Window washing crew
Spray bottles of water, squeegees and rags, cleaning the low windows and the sliding glass door clear of handprints.
Plan this one →Fish tank water change
Turkey basters, a bucket for the old water, the glass wiped down, and fresh water measured back in for the class pet.
Plan this one →Setting the table for lunch
Placemats with a cup and a napkin traced on by the teacher, then counting out one for every chair.
Plan this one →Getting the room ready for a visitor
A family coming Friday, a list of what the room needs, and the classroom jobs split up before the door opens.
Plan this one →Take-apart table with real screwdrivers
An old phone, keyboard and motherboard to take apart, precision screwdrivers with fat handles, coin battery out first.
Plan this one →Raising the parsley caterpillars into butterflies
Black swallowtail caterpillars, more parsley than one pot grows, and a mesh butterfly cage for when they wander.
Plan this one →Herb pots on the windowsill
Basil and mint planted in pots on the windowsill, labels colored in, watering all month and snipping for snack.
Plan this one →Melting broken crayons into new ones
Wrappers peeled, crayons snapped short, stubs in a silicone mold that never holds food again, an adult bakes it.
Plan this one →Picking up litter on the playground
An adult walks the yard first, then gloves and buckets, and the whole haul gets sorted into trash and recycling.
Plan this one →Washing the dishes from the play kitchen
The sensory table filled with warm soapy water, every cup, plate and pot washed, rinsed and stacked to dry.
Plan this one →Clearing the garden bed for planting
Bare hands and buckets over the bed, pulling out every rock, stick and old root until the dirt is ready to plant.
Plan this one →Science & Nature
Rain gauge marked after every rain
A clear jar left out in the open, a line marked at the water's edge after each rain, then emptied for the next one.
Plan this one →Sound eggs matched by ear
Plastic eggs all one color, filled in pairs with rice, beans and pennies, taped shut and shaken to find the twins.
Plan this one →X-rays taped up on the window
Hand, arm, knee and foot x-rays taped on the glass, and a real hand or knee pressed flat against the matching one.
Plan this one →Bean plant maze in a shoebox
A cardboard wall taped inside a shoebox, one hole cut at the far end, and a sprouted bean bending around to it.
Plan this one →Water cycle in a bag on the window
Blue water sealed in a bag taped to a sunny window, and by the afternoon droplets are running back down inside.
Plan this one →Same ramp, three different surfaces
Felt, sandpaper and foil taped in three lanes down a board on blocks, and three cars let go from the top together.
Plan this one →Bird beaks and a tray of food
Tweezers, tongs, spoons and a dropper tried on seeds, yarn worms and a dish of water.
Plan this one →Four bags of yeast, four different foods
Yeast and warm water in four bags, fed sugar, flour, salt and nothing, flattened and sealed, and only some puff up.
Plan this one →Which ice cube lasts the longest
Ice cubes the same size, one in the sun, one in the shade and one wrapped in foil, checked until only one is left.
Plan this one →Sun prints of leaves and keys
Sun print paper in the shade, leaves and keys on top, carried into the sun, and the picture turns up after rinsing.
Plan this one →Shadow traced in chalk through the day
A chair or anything big, chalked around the base so it stays put, and its shadow outlined again every hour or two.
Plan this one →Frozen arctic animal rescue
Plastic animals frozen in a shallow pan of ice, with droppers of warm water and salt to free them.
Plan this one →Rock sorting with a magnifying glass
Rocks from home and the yard on a tray, a magnifying glass each, and the piles the children name themselves.
Plan this one →Worm hotel you can see into
Worms in a clear jar of layered soil and sand, kept covered, tunnels down the side, then back outside.
Plan this one →Chalk line around the shrinking puddle
A chalk line around a puddle or a marker line on a jar of water, redrawn each morning as the edge creeps in.
Plan this one →Opening a soaked lima bean
Lima beans soaked overnight, skins slipped off, halves opened with a thumb, and the tiny plant curled up inside.
Plan this one →Color mixing predictions with pipettes
Red, yellow and blue water in three cups, a guess said out loud, and then two of them dropped into an empty cup.
Plan this one →Bean seeds in a clear cup of soil
Beans pressed against the side of a clear cup of soil, roots showing down the plastic and a stem pushing up.
Plan this one →Bugs and snails in a magnifying jar
Roly polies and snails in a magnifying jar, a long look at how they move, then back where they came from.
Plan this one →Which apple slice turns brown first
Three slices off the same apple, one brushed with lemon juice, one with water, one with nothing, left out all day.
Plan this one →Sink or float with a prediction mat
A mat with a sink side and a float side, and everything gets set on a guess before it goes in the tub.
Plan this one →Color changing flowers and celery
White carnations and celery in water with plenty of food coloring, and the color turning up in the petals and leaves.
Plan this one →Four different seeds, four cups
Bean, radish, sunflower and grass seeds in four cups, watered every day to see which one breaks the soil first.
Plan this one →Bean roots in a bag on the window
Beans on a damp paper towel, sealed in a bag taped to the window, and white roots out before there is any leaf.
Plan this one →Colors stacked on the light table
Color paddles overlapped on the light table or held up to a sunny window, and a new color where two of them cross.
Plan this one →Two things dropped at the same time
A crayon and a coffee filter dropped together, then a flat piece of paper and a matching one crumpled up.
Plan this one →Moon craters in a bin of flour
Flour deep in a bin, cocoa dusted over it, and small and medium rocks dropped in to make craters with pale rims.
Plan this one →Letters & Writing
Chasing foam letters in the water tub
Children chase floating foam letters with a slotted spoon and drop each catch into their own cup.
Plan this one →Drawing in a salt tray
Children draw with a fingertip in a shallow tray of colored salt, then shake it flat and start over.
Plan this one →Fizzing letters in baking soda paint
Children squirt vinegar at letters painted on the sidewalk in baking soda paint, and they foam over.
Plan this one →Secret marks in wax resist
Children brush watercolor across a page until whatever was drawn in candle wax rises up out of it.
Plan this one →Building letters from loose parts
Children lay buttons, beans, sticks and pebbles along the shape of whichever big letter card they picked.
Plan this one →Chicka Chicka Boom Boom coconut tree
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, then children climb magnetic letters up a paper palm tree until it tips.
Plan this one →Homemade sandpaper letters
Children brush glue over big paper letters, shake colored sand on top, tracing the rough shapes once dry.
Plan this one →Melting letters out of a tray of ice
Children drip warm water and shake salt over foam letters frozen in a cake pan until each one floats free.
Plan this one →Rhyming objects in a basket
Children match a sock to a rock and a cat to a hat, then swap them on purpose into silly rhyming pairs.
Plan this one →Stringing alphabet bead bracelets
Children dig alphabet beads out of a tub and thread whichever letters they like onto a pipe cleaner.
Plan this one →Message pad by the play phone
The play phone rings, and whoever answers writes the message down in their own way before delivering it.
Plan this one →Stamping the alphabet into playdough
Children press alphabet stamps into a flat slab of playdough, then squash it and start over.
Plan this one →Word wall that comes apart
Children pull a friend's name card off the Velcro wall, carry it to the writing table, and stick it back.
Plan this one →Shaving cream spread across the table
Children spread shaving cream over the tabletop and swirl, draw and wipe it smooth with their hands.
Plan this one →Cubby mailbox for classroom notes
Children drop drawings and dictated notes into named cubbies, and the day's mail helper delivers them.
Plan this one →Story dictation and acting it out
A child tells a story, the teacher writes it word for word, and the group acts it out at circle.
Plan this one →Wiggling on the W
Children fill in a sidewalk alphabet the teacher chalked, then jump on the J and wiggle on the W as it is called.
Plan this one →Environmental print from cereal boxes
Children match labels cut from cereal boxes and food packets to cards, reading the ones they know.
Plan this one →Parking the alphabet cars
Children drive letter cars around a cardboard lot until each one finds the space with its own letter.
Plan this one →Photo storybooks with small figures
Children pose small figures scene by scene, then tell the story that goes under each printed photo.
Plan this one →Hammering golf tees along a letter
Children pound golf tees into foam board along a big marker letter until the whole shape is outlined.
Plan this one →Alphabet stamping in kinetic sand
Children press alphabet cookie cutters into a tray of kinetic sand and smooth it flat to stamp again.
Plan this one →Sorting magnetic letters by shape
Children dump magnetic letters onto mats and sort them into the curvy ones and the straight ones.
Plan this one →Shopping lists for the play kitchen
Children fill a mini clipboard with a line or a picture for everything they need before anyone shops.
Plan this one →Spotting letters out on a walk
Children walk the yard and the parking lot pointing out every place letters turn up, on signs, cars and doors.
Plan this one →Feelings & Friendship
Passing the drawing around the table
Everyone starts their own drawing, and the papers slide one seat over at every bell until each one comes home.
Plan this one →Showing a new puppet around the room
A new puppet arrives with a suitcase, and the children walk it to the cubbies, the sink and the rug.
Plan this one →Rescue team with a blanket stretcher
A blanket held at the corners, a pile of stuffed animals loaded on, and everyone lifting at once.
Plan this one →Friendship web in a small group
A ball of yarn rolled along the floor, each child naming a game they played, and everyone holding a strand.
Plan this one →Friendship soup in a real pot
Each child names something a good friend does and stirs their own paper carrot, noodle or bean into the pot.
Plan this one →Problem jar with photos from this room
Photos of things that really happen here, two hands on one truck, pulled out one at a time and acted out.
Plan this one →Feelings charades
A moment whispered to one child, the tower fell over, then acted out with a face and a body for the group.
Plan this one →Two puppets with a problem
Two puppets both want the same truck, and whatever the children tell them to try, the puppets try it out.
Plan this one →Partner treasure hunt with photo clues
Photo clues of spots around the room, one card between partners, and a hidden bear at the end.
Plan this one →Obstacle course with a scarf between partners
A scarf held by one end each, then cones, a tunnel and a low balance beam, worked through together.
Plan this one →Partners building a path across the room
Tape, blocks and carpet squares turned into one long path, and the two who built it walking across.
Plan this one →Picnic the children plan together
A blanket, a basket of play food, and the group working out who sits where and how it all gets shared.
Plan this one →Class puzzle with one piece each
Big cardboard puzzle pieces, one for each child to color, then the whole set fitted back together.
Plan this one →Two builders sharing one bin of blocks
One bin of blocks between partners, deciding what it will be and then building the whole thing together.
Plan this one →What could you say?
Being bumped, being left out, being helped: each one acted out, and the group tries the words that fit.
Plan this one →Cozy corner the children set up
Cushions, board books and soft animals, arranged by the children into the spot to go when the room gets loud.
Plan this one →Kindness cards delivered to the cubbies
A card drawn for whoever's photo comes out of the basket, then walked over to that child's cubby.
Plan this one →Restaurant with a waiter, a cook and a bell
A notepad, the play kitchen and a bell, and every order traveling from the table to the cook and back.
Plan this one →Two friends, one big paper
One long sheet taped down with a child at each end, drawing toward each other until the two pictures meet.
Plan this one →Puppet who lost a favorite toy
A puppet comes to circle looking for her lost bear, and the children ask what happened and what to try.
Plan this one →Calm-down basket the class fills
Squishy balls, bubble wrap and lavender bags, tried out to find what helps when everything feels too big.
Plan this one →Bridge building from both sides
Two builders with a gap between them, stacking their own sides until a long block will reach across.
Plan this one →Mixing a color for every feeling
Red, blue and yellow paint, and a new color mixed up for mad, for excited, and for however today feels.
Plan this one →Playdough bakery with one batch to share
One bowl of dough between two bakers, rolling pins, cookie cutters and orders coming in from the table.
Plan this one →Family & Community
Family photo wall hung by children
Families send in photos from home, and children decide where each printed copy goes at their own height.
Plan this one →Dancing to a song from every family
Every family sends in a song from home, and whoever's song is playing gets to start the dance.
Plan this one →Neighborhood scavenger hunt bags
The children make the list of what to look for, and paper bags go down the block for whatever they can pick up.
Plan this one →Kitchen tools from every family
Each family sends in one kitchen tool, and they get passed around for guesses before the family shows what it does.
Plan this one →Family dish and the story with it
A family sends in a dish that matters at their house and comes in to say when they eat it and why.
Plan this one →Family celebration day
A family brings in a celebration from home, the food they cook for it, the music, and what they wear.
Plan this one →Grandparent story hour
A grandparent or older neighbor visiting with something from when they were little, and the story it comes with.
Plan this one →Community helpers on a real map
A printed map of the blocks around school, and photos of the firehouse and the post office matched onto their spots.
Plan this one →Class book about the field trip
The day after a walk or a trip, children dictate what they saw and the pages get bound into a book for the shelf.
Plan this one →Cameras on the neighborhood walk
Two cameras passed down the line on a block walk, and the group stops wherever a child wants a picture.
Plan this one →Family photo story box
Photos families sent in live in a box by the books, and a child pulls one out to tell the group about it.
Plan this one →Collection drive for the animal shelter
Families send in blankets, towels and pet food, and the children sort it into bags for the shelter to pick up.
Plan this one →Town map cut into a puzzle
A satellite picture of their own town, laminated and cut into eight big pieces to fit back together on the table.
Plan this one →Tools from the work our families do
Each family sends in a tool from their work, a tape measure, a whisk, a paint roller, and it stays in the centers.
Plan this one →Voting on which building we build
A class election with picture ballots decides which building the group builds, and the votes get lined up to count.
Plan this one →Family celebration the children set up
A family describes a celebration from home, and the children set it up in the room with cloth, chairs and props.
Plan this one →Mailing a letter home
Real envelopes and stamps at the writing table, a letter dictated to somebody at home, and a walk to the mailbox.
Plan this one →Predicting the neighborhood walk
The group says what they think is on the block, a teacher writes the list, and the walk checks every guess.
Plan this one →Visiting the library for a stack of books
The class walks to the public library, one book off the shelf each, and the whole stack goes out on one card.
Plan this one →Hiding a puppet with a room map
One child hides the puppet and marks the spot on a room map with the shelves drawn in, and two others go find it.
Plan this one →Interviewing the custodian
The group decides what to ask and a teacher writes it down, then each child asks the custodian one out loud.
Plan this one →Class quilt of family squares
One fabric square each for whatever says home, taped flat, and all of them joined into one quilt for the wall.
Plan this one →Crossing guard and a chalk crosswalk
Chalk stripes across the yard, a paper stop sign on a stick, and the trikes have to wait for the walkers.
Plan this one →The bins keep growing
New ideas go in all the time. If your class loves an activity that isn't in a bin yet, send it my way. I read every idea that comes in, and the ones that fit join the library.
These ideas come from the real world of preschool. I read each one and chose what went in, one at a time. No idea here was invented by AI. Newest ideas added September 2026.