This week one of the great fall events in our area was in town, the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. This is an event that brings 700+ hot air balloons together and literally thousands of visitors to our little city. We are so lucky to have it, and so this week I decided to teach a Hot Air Balloon theme. A few of our activities were more "regular balloon" than "hot air balloon" but materials for this theme are pretty scarce!
Tot Trays
Lacing a Balloon Lacing Card
Sensory Balloons -
I filled some balloons up with various materials
(rice, beans, sugar, coffee grounds, nuts)
and he enjoyed feeling them all.
R also practiced naming shapes using the shape balloons from the preschool printables I made for his sister.
Art
We used inflated balloons to paint a printed picture of a hot air balloon.
Just for Fun
The kids watched the hot air balloons take to the skies almost every morning via one of our local channels coverage. There were also a couple of days where the balloons flew right over our house!
Field Trip
We went last Saturday to one of the Balloon Glows - a nighttime event at which you get to see all the balloons light up together as they stay stationary on the ground. There was a cool fireworks show afterwards as well.
I also tried taking the kids to a morning mass ascenscion, but unfortunately it was a rainy day and the launch was cancelled. We had tickets to a Teacher Appreciation event in the nearby Balloon Museum though, so we enjoyed checking out the museum and doing some of the activities they had set out for kids.
Books & Movies
Age appropriate books about hot air balloons (or balloons in general!) were a bit hard to find, but this is what I managed to rustle up from the library. A few were a little too long and had to be edited, but he still enjoyed the pictures! We also watched Up!, which was the perfect movie for this theme.
That's all for this week! To see what other toddlers are learning this week, check out the official Tot School Website!
This week one of the great fall events in our area was in town, the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. This is an event that brings 700+ hot air balloons together and literally thousands of visitors to our little city. We are so lucky to have it, and so this week I decided to teach a Hot Air Balloon theme. A few of our activities were more "regular balloon" than "hot air balloon" but materials for this theme are pretty scarce!
Preschool Printables
I had a hard time finding some Hot Air Balloon printables, so I made a (very!) few for M in this pack: Hot Air Balloon Printables
It contains a shape matching printable - match the hot air balloon to it's chase vehicle (which is a crew that follows each balloon around to help in land and pack up after it's flight).
It also has a sheet of small blank balloons which I drew different patterns on, copied, laminated, and had M match.
There is also a set of large blank balloons which we used for our art project below, and a set of colored balloons which I laminated and used as lacing cards.
Yes, she has "incorrect" pencil grip. No, I'm not working hard at correcting it. It's a natural step in the pre-writing process, and she'll grow out of it when she's ready.
Preschool Trays
Lacing a balloon card
Weaving a Gondola (the basket beneath the balloon) at the Balloon Museum
Filling our sensory balloons with a funnel
Sensory Balloons - we filled pairs of balloons with rice, beans, sugar, nuts, and coffee grounds.
She had to match the pairs just by feeling. Source.
Art
Painting a Hot Air Balloon printout with an inflated balloon
Field Trip
We went last Saturday to one of the Balloon Glows - a nighttime event at which you get to see all the balloons light up together as they stay stationary on the ground. There was a cool fireworks show afterwards as well.
I also tried taking the kids to a morning mass ascenscion, but unfortunately it was a rainy day and the launch was cancelled. We had tickets to a Teacher Appreciation event in the nearby Balloon Museum though, so we enjoyed checking out the museum and doing some of the activities they had set out for kids.
Exploring a hard sided balloon that was used to travel outside of the atmosphere
Making a hot air balloon using panels of fabric & velcro
Exploring the concept of air lift using cut up paper cups & a large fan
Books & Movies
That's all for this week! To see what other preschoolers are learning this week, check out the official Preschool Corner website!
Preschool Printables
We used the adorable Tool Tot Pack from Our Little Monkeys. I loved the graphics in this pack, they were so cute! We did more than I got pictures of, but here are a few shots.
Hammering the letters as I called them out.
Which is Different? sheet
Writing Practice
Counting Cards
Preschool Trays
Sorting nails by size/appearance
Transferring nails with small tweezers
Hammering Golf Tees into Styrofoam
An extension of Styrofoam hammering - having to get the tee in a small hole
Field Trip
We went to a Safety Day at Home Depot this weekend and M got to work on a project in addition to all the other fun activities they had going on.
Sanding her wood before she starts her project
Unfortunately M and mommy couldn't figure the darn project out so we sat back and enjoyed free hot dogs while daddy finished up!
Books and Movies
That's all for this week! To see what other preschoolers are learning this week, check out the official Preschool Corner website!
I had a lot of great ideas mapped out for our Tool Week, but life got busy and it didn't quite happen; even when I added another week! Here's what we DID do. :)
Tot Trays
Putting Small Nails into an Ice Cube Tray
Hammering Golf Tees into Styrofoam
Just for Fun
Playing with his toolbox
Using a saw to cut through Styrofoam
Field Trip
I didn't get any good pictures of R, but we went to Home Depot's Safety Day on Saturday where he got to "help" his sister with her workshop project. By help I mean bang a hammer against a table until he got bored. :)
Books & Movies
That's all for this week! To see what other toddlers are learning this week, check out the official Tot School Website!
Preschool Skills Printables
We used printables from:
2 Teaching Mommies "On the Farm" Unit - Where things Come From Puzzles, Beginning Writing Practice, Which is Different, Shadow Match, Writing Maze, Plant or Animal Sort, and Cow Spot Counting.
Harvesting Apples (Using tweezers to move them from bucket to jar w/ small opening)
Pouring Milk (Water w/ flour in it)
Art
The pig printable and collage clip art all came from Lawteedah's "Farm Life" Unit Study.
Covering Pigs in Mud (with brownish fingerpaint)
Branding a Cow (with a letter M stamp)
Farm Collage
(I love that she insisted on the sheep and pig riding the tractor!)
Activities
Making Butter (Shaking Heavy Whipping Cream)
Homemade Butter!
Enjoying it on a Tortilla! Yum!
Field Trip
We went to the NM State Fair this week for our field trip. We saw lots of farm animals and were even able to watch a cow milking and sheep shearing demonstration. We talked alot about how different animals give us different products - like how the wool from the sheep could be turned into clothes. There was a great pretend kids farm where they could harvest vegetables, milk a pretend cow, etc. She also really liked the agriculture building where all the prize fruits and vegetables were and liked talking about how BIG they all were! She also couldn't get over the fact that the goats had a little toddler slide in their pen. She kept saying "Goat's don't have slides! Aren't they silly?"
Books
That's all for this week! To see what other preschoolers are learning this week, check out the official Preschool Corner website!
