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Seed Germination and Popsicle Stick Lizards – Preschool and Kindergarten Community

Preschool and Kindergarten Community weekly linkup

Ready for another week of linking up and sharing ideas? I am so glad that you are stopping by today (really, I am!) and can’t wait to see what you all have to share this week. Be sure to stop by our PreK & K Pinterest board to see a collection of the different posts we are pinning – including yours!

Don’t forget to link up a post or two of yours and share what you’ve been working on with your kids! Here are a few fun ideas from last week’s linkup.

Seed Germination

 How-Does-Your-Garden-Grow_

Love this simple seed germination activity from Playground and Park Bench.  She had her daughter draw pictures on the cards and show how they grew.

 

Dairy Farm Field Trip

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Take a trip to a dairy farm with Tree Valley Academy.  For those who don’t have access to a local dairy farm.  The picture with the cow hat is TOO cute! LOVED the picture with the cow hat.

 

Elefun Learning Fun

elefun new game pm

LOVE, love this idea of using Elefun game and adding some learning fun. Dabbling Momma shares some new rule ideas on an old game to bring new life to something that may be around your house.

 

Animal Babies Printable

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To celebrate Mother’s Day, All About Learning Press has a special downloadable reading activity: Baby Animal Names Matching!  This simple learning activity includes a few animals that you won’t see in a typical matching game, including a raccoon and a kangaroo. Just match the animal babies with their mommas!

 

Popsicle Stick Lizards 

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Who doesn’t love popsicle sticks, googley eyes, and pipe cleaners? Put them all together and you get some cute popsicle stick lizards. Visit Mama to 5 Blessings to see more!

 

 

Follow the PreK and Kindergarten Community Pinterest Board

Preschool Pinterest Board

Each week I am  pinning many of your links onto the Preschool and Kindergarten Community Pinterest Board. I’m a visual person, so having pictures to help me remember posts is super helpful. Be sure to jump over and follow the board – and find some fun ideas at the same time!

 

Were You Featured in the Preschool & Kindergarten Community?

If you were featured in one of the weekly posts, feel free to grab the button coding below and display it on your site!

Homeschool Preschool

 

Link Up with the Preschool and Kindergarten Community!

Homeschool Preschool: Preschool and Kindergarten Community linkup at Homeschool CreationsShare what you are doing with your kids! Please link your exact blog post to the Mr. Linky below and link back here too! Grab a button for your post and be sure to take a minute to visit the person who linked up before you.

Fuzzy Monsters, Lorax Planters, and Construction Art – Preschool and Kindergarten Community

Preschool and Kindergarten Community weekly linkup

Ready for another week of linking up and sharing ideas? I am so glad that you are stopping by today (really, I am!) and can’t wait to see what you all have to share this week. Be sure to stop by our PreK & K Pinterest board to see a collection of the different posts we are pinning – including yours!

Don’t forget to link up a post or two of yours and share what you’ve been working on with your kids! Here are a few fun ideas from last week’s linkup.

Fuzzy Monsters Paper Collage Craft

paper monster 5

If you have lots of scrap paper around, this fuzzy monster craft from Sunny Day Family would be great to recycle a bunch of it. It would also be great for fine motor skills!

Fizzy Word Building

Kids Activity Word Building with Fizzy Science 01

Add a little fizzy science fun to your word building time with this fun activity from The Practical Mom. Your kids will love getting messy – which will make sounding out words even better!

 

Weekly Activities for Kids ages 1 to 5

Discover, Play, Engage, and Learn

Weekly activity guides for kids age 1 to 5 from Hands on As We Grow

 

Make a Lorax Planter

seed-plant-eggshel-lorax-children

These Eggshell Lorax Planters from Rubberboots and Elf Shoes would be a great way to let the kids help you get a jump on your gardening!  And reading the Lorax together would also be a reminder to kids on ways we can help take care of the world we live in. I’m thinking these Lorax will look cute with hair!

Construction Art Project

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If you have construction tools, screws, and hammers around the house, check out these fun painting ideas from Study at Home Mama. Our boys would have been in tool heaven!

That’s it for this week! Be sure to link up below and visit a few other blogs to say hi and encourage them this week!

 

Follow the PreK and Kindergarten Community Pinterest Board

Preschool Pinterest Board

Each week I am  pinning many of your links onto the Preschool and Kindergarten Community Pinterest Board. I’m a visual person, so having pictures to help me remember posts is super helpful. Be sure to jump over and follow the board – and find some fun ideas at the same time!

 

Were You Featured in the Preschool & Kindergarten Community?

If you were featured in one of the weekly posts, feel free to grab the button coding below and display it on your site!

Homeschool Preschool

 

Link Up with the Preschool and Kindergarten Community!

Homeschool Preschool: Preschool and Kindergarten Community linkup at Homeschool CreationsShare what you are doing with your kids! Please link your exact blog post to the Mr. Linky below and link back here too! Grab a button for your post and be sure to take a minute to visit the person who linked up before you.

Kick the Cup and Magnet Cars – Preschool and Kindergarten Community

Preschool and Kindergarten Community weekly linkup

Welcome to another week of the Preschool and Kindergarten Community linkup! I am so glad that you are stopping by today (really, I am!) and can’t wait to see what you all have to share this week. Be sure to stop by our PreK & K Pinterest board to see a collection of the different posts we are pinning – including yours!

Don’t forget to link up a post or two of yours and share what you’ve been working on with your kids. Here are a few fun ideas from last week’s linkup.

Kick the Cup Game

Ball-Theme-Alphabet-Activity-Kick-the-Cup-2

If you have kids that need to get a little energy out, check out this Kick the Cup game from Mom Inspired Life. It would be great to try it with words as well – not just letters!

Chinese Fan Craft

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This Chinese fan made from a coffee filter is such a cute twist on an old craft. Visit Study at Home Mama for her tutorial.

Magnet Powered Cars

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These magnet powered cars from Science Kiddo are just going to translate into HOURS of fun for your kiddos. I am so sending my kids to the basement to do this!

Butterfly Life Cycle

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With butterfly season coming soon, this hands-on life cycle book is something to LOVE. Watching caterpillars grow and turn into monarchs is something that never grows old to me. Visit 3 Dinosaurs to see the fun resource she has to share (I want one!!).

Follow the PreK and Kindergarten Community Pinterest Board

Preschool Pinterest Board

Each week I am  pinning many of your links onto the Preschool and Kindergarten Community Pinterest Board. I’m a visual person, so having pictures to help me remember posts is super helpful. Be sure to jump over and follow the board – and find some fun ideas at the same time!

Were You Featured in the Preschool & Kindergarten Community?

If you were featured in one of the weekly posts, feel free to grab the button coding below and display it on your site!

 

Homeschool Preschool

 

 

Link Up with the Preschool and Kindergarten Community!

Homeschool Preschool: Preschool and Kindergarten Community linkup at Homeschool CreationsShare what you are doing with your kids! Please link your exact blog post to the Mr. Linky below and link back here too! Grab a button for your post and be sure to take a minute to visit the person who linked up before you.

Homemade Space Book and Bilingual Easter Eggs- Preschool and Kindergarten Community Linkup

Preschool and Kindergarten Community weekly linkup

Hope you all have had a wonderful week – and welcome back to another week of the Preschool and Kindergarten Community link-up! Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful learning ideas! Here are a few activities from last week that were too cute not to share!

Contact Paper Flowers

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Whether for Earth Day, Mother’s Day or spring, these simply adorable tissue paper flowers from Hands On As We Grow would be much fun to make with your kids.

Bilingual Easter Egg Activities

If those plastic eggs are still hanging around your house, pull them out and work on this GREAT idea for Bilingual Easter Egg Activities from Casa Watkins. I love the figures that are included inside add an extra fun element.

Earth Day Ideas on Pinterest

Earth Day Pinterest Board

Earth Day is April 22 – and here are some fun ideas and crafts to learn more about taking care of the world we live in.

Spring Garden Playdough

The popsicle stick flowers and carrots make this spring garden play activity from Homegrown Friends even more sweet. Have fun planting a garden together!

Homemade Space Book

Your kids will be looking through their Homemade Space Book again and again. Powerful Mothering shares what she and her little one put together – love it!

That’s it for this week – hope you all have a great week and can’t wait to see what you’ve been working on

Follow the PreK and Kindergarten Community Pinterest Board

Preschool Pinterest Board

Each week I am  pinning many of your links onto the Preschool and Kindergarten Community Pinterest Board. I’m a visual person, so having pictures to help me remember posts is super helpful. Be sure to jump over and follow the board – and find some fun ideas at the same time!

Were You Featured in the Preschool & Kindergarten Community?

If you were featured in one of the weekly posts, feel free to grab the button coding below and display it on your site!

 

Homeschool Preschool

 

 

Link Up with the Preschool and Kindergarten Community!

Homeschool Preschool: Preschool and Kindergarten Community linkup at Homeschool CreationsShare what you are doing with your kids! Please link your exact blog post to the Mr. Linky below and link back here too! Grab a button for your post and be sure to take a minute to visit the person who linked up before you.

Weather Doll, Life Skills, and Telling Time – Preschool and Kindergarten Community

Preschool and Kindergarten Community weekly linkup

You all linked up some great ideas during last week’s Preschool and Kindergarten Community! Here are a few of the activities to highlight this week – can’t wait to see what you all have been up to and share today!

How to Dress for the Seasons Doll

weather doll collage wm

This felt weather doll from Books and Giggles is such a great way to work on what clothes are appropriate to wear during different seasons of the year. She has a free template on her site for the felt doll too, so be sure to stop by!

Shape Suncatchers

shape suncatchers

These simple suncatchers are great for fine motor skills (hole punching) and also talking about shapes and colors – super easy activity from The Practical Mom.

Spring Flower Craft

Spring Craft for Kids

If you have forks, paint, and paper, you’re ready to work on this super-cute spring flower craft with your kids! Visit Ducks ‘n a Row to see their project and learn how to make your own.

Learning Life Skills

life skills for preschool

Kids can learn life skills during their play time (and you can get a jump on letting those kids help out around the house!). Check out this washing machine and sorting activity from Extreme Parenting and see how they are working on sorting, fine motor, and more!

Telling Time Matching Clothespins

hickory dickory dock

If you are working on telling time with your kids, or even number matching, this simple Hickory Dickory Dock Matching Clothespins activity from Best Toys 4 Toddlers is great for matching numbers, colors, and talking about time.

That’s it for this week – share your ideas and learning below!

 

Follow the PreK and Kindergarten Community Pinterest Board

Preschool Pinterest Board

Each week I am  pinning many of your links onto the Preschool and Kindergarten Community Pinterest Board. I’m a visual person, so having pictures to help me remember posts is super helpful. Be sure to jump over and follow the board – and find some fun ideas at the same time!

Were You Featured in the Preschool & Kindergarten Community?

If you were featured in one of the weekly posts, feel free to grab the button coding below and display it on your site!

 

Homeschool Preschool

 

 

Link Up with the Preschool and Kindergarten Community!

Homeschool Preschool: Preschool and Kindergarten Community linkup at Homeschool CreationsShare what you are doing with your kids! Please link your exact blog post to the Mr. Linky below and link back here too! Grab a button for your post and be sure to take a minute to visit the person who linked up before you.

FREE Preschool Chore Charts – Subscriber Freebie

Younger children can have a hard time reading from a chore list. Picture cards can be a huge help at the preschool age so kids can see what needs to be done each day – and actually work on their daily chores (grins).

Our kids have learned personal and financial responsibility in the process as they are taught how to save, give, and put money in their wallet for spending too!

While I’ve shared a version of our preschool chore charts in the past, I recently found some wonderful clip art that included a few bonus chores and was also cute – a win-win!

These charts have been some of the most popular downloads here and I’ve received many emails with requests for extra chores, so I put together a FREE Preschool Chore Chart printable especially for my email subscribers – yay!!

Are you already an email subscriber? Please go to this private page and enter the NEW password. You can find the password in your most current email at the very bottom. Become a subscriber HERE and receive instant access. 

When Kaleb was younger, this is the chore chart that we used for him and it worked wonderfully. (And to tell you the truth – he still prefers this visual chore chart over our chore charts for the older kids!) We broke his chore chart into three parts: morning chores, afternoon chores, and chores that he could earn money on.

He earned minimal money, but our point in paying for a few chores is to help our kids understand the concept of giving, saving, and spending. Pennies were excitement to our kids at that age (they think they are rich!), so it was a great way to learn.

The chore charts and chore cards can be printed off on to cardstock and laminated to make them sturdier. Place velcro dots in the center of each square and on the back of each chore cards to make them stick to the chore chart. (See below for additional ways to use the printables).


Using the Chore Charts

Each morning I added chore cards to his chart. When a chore was completed, he would remove it and put it in a little box nearby. Chores he completed to earn money were tracked on the back of the chart by writing with a  Sharpie (the Sharpie comes off easily with nail polish remover or you can use a vis-à-vis marker as well).

The cards are the same size as my workbox activity cards, so if you want to mix and match those cards with this grid, they will work together.

Daily Chores for Preschool

We kept it pretty simple for our preschool chores. Above is a peek at some of the things that we had on Kaleb’s chore chart. Many of the chores rotated throughout the week, but there were several that were consistent on a daily basis.

  • Daily chores: make bed, clean room, brush teeth, pick-up clothes, pick up shoes/hang up jacket, set table, wash table, devotions.
  • Extra {paid} chores: trash, vacuum, laundry, wash windows, dust, sweep, water plants, weed garden.

If you need help coming up with chore ideas, here is a great list from Money Saving Mom to help you out.

Tips for an Effective Chore System

  1. Make sure chores are age appropriate. Children can be taught to complete household tasks, but there are some things that are definitely more difficult for younger children to work on vs. older children. Be sure that the chores you are asking your very young children are appropriate for their age. Younger children can help sweep, push a vacuum cleaner, pick up toys, match socks, etc… but may not be ready for other chores. Just because a chore card is listed, doesn’t mean it has to be used. (grins)
  2. Keep the chore charts handy – and where they can be seen. Hang your charts somewhere where they will be seen daily – the front of the fridge, near the bedroom door. Where ever they are, be sure to keep them handy so both you and your child remember to work on them.
  3. Walk through how the charts work with your kids. Be sure to show your kids how the chore chart will work each day. Do they need to check in with you when they are done and have you go over their work? Have the system in place
  4. Know what works best as incentives for your kids. Some children may work for treats from the Dollar Tree, while others may work for small monetary prizes. The incentives are up to you – and you know what works best for your children!
  5. Be consistent in payout of incentives. It is so easy to let things slide, but if you are working with your kids in understanding that no work = no pay, remember that it goes the same the other way too. When you work, your boss pays you, so pick a ‘payday’ and take care of it each week or whenever you set up your payday.

Washing dishes is always fun….

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And making beds…

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Additional Ways to Use the Chore Charts

Rather than using a large chart, there are a few alternate ways that the chore charts can be used.

  • Use a jump ring: The cards can be printed off on cardstock, laminated, and then put onto a jump ring so children can carry them around while working. The printable includes a few alternative cards that can be placed on the jump ring as well: morning chores, afternoon chores, paid, chores, etc…
  • Use magnetic sheets: If you have a magnetic refrigerator, consider printing the chore cards off onto magnetic sheets, cutting them out, and placing chores on your fridge. Store finished or extra chores in a magnetic pencil bin nearby. We have friends that do this and it is so handy!

Download the Preschool Chore Charts

The chore chart file has five different colored charts: blue, green, pink, purple and white {so you can print on colored cardstock if you would like} and also includes chore cards. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. :)

If you aren’t on the paid chore bandwagon, there is a white chart with an alternate text of morning, afternoon, and evening.

This is a FREE download for subscribers – and it is really easy to subscribe by simply clicking HEREor by entering your email in the box at the bottom of this post. 

Subscribe button

After you subscribe by email, you will receive a confirmation. Once you confirm your subscription, you will be redirected to a page with a link, password, and directions to get your FREEBIE!! You can always email me if you have any questions and I’d be happy to help you out. 

In case you missed them before, you can also download a copy of our Chore Chart Printables for our older kids and see how we’re implementing that system in our house. There may also be extra cards for you to use in the workbox activity cards.

Hope this helps you out and feel free to ask any questions below!

Chore Chart Supplies

The following products are ones that we use and recommend for putting your chore charts together – the Scotch laminator ROCKS!! I’ve had mine for years and it is still going!