Children are born explorers, adventurers, climbers and builders. Because sitting still doesn’t come naturally, award-winning Gryphon House authors developed innovative music and movement activities for all ages. Children learn math through counting rhythms, art through pleasant melodies, and science through investigative play with percussion instruments. Explore the activities below to get started on building music lesson plans for toddlers, infants or preschoolers.
In this activity, children will learn more about Kwanza and make their own symbolic corn out of paper. The name for the holiday of Kwanzaa is derived from the Swahili phrase “matunda ya kwanza” which means “first fruits." Munhundi means corn. The corn represents the children of a family (one ear of corn for each child). The corn symbolizes the parents' wish for the child to grow up strong and happy!
printable Art Seasonal Learning: Winter Large GroupIn this holiday art activity, children will create their own bright and fun garland decoration to drape over a window or mantel, hang on a Christmas tree, or drape around an entire clasroom! Like all the activities featured in MaryAnn's Khol's book, Art with Anything: 52 Weeks of Fun Using Everyday Stuff, this activity stresses the "process of art" rather than the end product.
Art Seasonal Learning: WinterArt with toddlers and two-year-olds is about the process, not the product! The art process allows toddlers and twos to explore, discover, and manipulate their worlds. Sometimes the process can be sensory, such as feeling slippery cool paint on bare fingers. Other times it is a mysterious surprise as colors blend unexpectedly or a blob of playdough takes form. Art process can be a way to “get the wiggles out” or to smash a ball of clay instead of another child. The adult’s job is simply to allow this process to happen! Check out the process art activities below from the book First Art for Toddlers and Twos: Open-Ended Art Experiences by MaryAnn Khol. In these activities, the adult simply provides interesting materials, and then sits back to watch closely but unobtrusively as children explore the endless possibilities of creating art.
ArtIn this activity from The GIANT Encyclopedia of Kindergarten Activities, Kindergarteners will help make frozen hot chocolate or "snowman soup", and then measure the temperature of their soup. Kindergarteners will not only enjoy a delicious frozen drink, but will also be introduced to science concepts as they learn about the freezing point of water. Dive into this frozen fun with the instructions below!
printable Events Science Large GroupWith colder weather taking over, it's only a matter of time before snowflakes begin falling from the sky! In this activity from Everything for Winter: A Complete Activity Book for Teachers of Young Children, children will use fine-motor skills to cut patterns in paper to create their own unique snowflakes. Take the learning experience even further by talking about how snowflakes form from tiny ice crystals in the clouds or by discussing how each snowflake is completely unique & special, just like people. Allow the children to tape their snowflake creations to the windows to enjoy the beauty of their own work throughout the winter season!
Art Seasonal Learning: WinterDramatic play experiences contribute to infant's and toddler's vocabulary development, and to their comprehension of the real world. In this hand puppets activity from Making Toys for Infants and Toddlers, young children will gain social-emotional skills as they act out dramatic scenarios with the puppets, or as you narrate the puppets for them! The beauty of hand-made toys is that they are novel and interesting to young children without costing much money, and can be discarded when they get worn out. Get the book for tons of ideas for creating unique, exciting toys and props to help young children learn in appropriate ways!
Children are always fascinated by their shadows! In this activity brought to you by The GIANT Encyclopedia of Science Activities for Children 3 to 6, young children will trace shadows, including their own, as they learn more about how light & shadow work. This activity is also a great way to get outside with children in the winter months as they explore science concepts outside the classroom that they can carry with them back into the classroom.
printable Science Seasonal Learning: Winter Large GroupWhen first learning measurement, students typically use nonstandard measures, such as yarn or paper clips. Loose parts are so perfect to use for learning measurement! Telling time is also one of the components of this standard. Students can use personal-sized clocks to manipulate and discover how the hands of the clock move to tell us the time. With this activity, children can build their own clock with loose parts, manipulate the hour and minute hands, and learn to tell time through the use of their own loose-parts clocks! Get the book—Loose Parts Learning in K-3 Classrooms—for more on implementing the loose-parts mindset as well as loose-parts activities in each of the STREAM disciplines.
Math Technology
Mindfulness and early childhood expert, Dr. Elizabeth Erwin, shares easy and approachable ways children and adults can practice mindfulness together with these stress relieving breathing exercises.
Program Administration Social EmotionalThanksgiving is fast approaching, which means it’s time for food, family, and fall fun! What better way to kick off this holiday than with some exciting craft activities that encourage children to express creativity while having some festive fun? From cornucopias to everyone’s favorite foods, Thanksgiving is full of symbols that children can create using simple art materials while they also reflect on the people and things they are grateful for.
Here are some craft ideas from The GIANT Encyclopedia of Monthly Activities for Children Ages 3 to 6 that young children ages 3 to 6 are sure to gobble up!
Art Seasonal Learning: FallUse open-ended music and movement activities for preschoolers to encourage a long standing appreciation of music and the arts. Our movement activities are designed to focus childrens’ natural energy and curiosity in fun, educational ways. Twisting, bending, wiggling, and jumping to rhythms teaches children how their bodies move as they enjoy creating music from percussion instruments.
Our music activities for preschoolers are innovative and thoughtfully crafted for educators looking for creative ways to teach social skills while enhancing rhythmic awareness. When preschoolers are given the chance to use their voices for singing, or hands for shaking tambourines, they’re making vital connections between themselves and the outside world.
Parents can easily adapt music and movement activities created for preschoolers and toddlers for their younger children. Music activities for infants can be as simple as singing silly rhyming songs. Not only does singing to infants boost language development, singing enhances other areas of infant development like improvisation and creative thinking.
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