Well, Valentines Day is soon to be here again. I can’t believe it. It seems just like yesterday that I was preparing my daughter and my students for Christmas.  Time sure flies.

Isn’t Valentines Day a great time to introduce new songs and Valentine’s Day Preschool Books?

Be My Valentine Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter [Warne, 2002]. This charming board book features Peter Rabbit and his quest to find a special Valentine. It is perfect for toddlers and children up to the age of 4.

The Valentine Bears by Eve Bunting. This is a classic “Bears” book. I loved it as a child and am sure your child will enjoy it as well. It is a sweet story.

How about some Valentines Goodies to bring to class? Or you could make these in class and send them home with the children. We all know how much kids love baking.

Heart Shaped Biscuits with Pink Butter

Let children roll out biscuit dough and cut out heart shaped biscuits using a heart shaped cookie cutter. Bake. To make the pink butter, fill small containers with lids (clean baby food jars work best) with heavy cream and a few drops of red food coloring. Next, instruct the children to shake the jars until it becomes butter. Then, spread the pink butter on the heart shaped biscuits. [Daylene, Perpetual Preschool].

Friendship Fruit Plate

For a heart-friendly option, try a friendship fruit plate. Explain that the color red and pink is associated with love and friendship. Ask the children if they can name various red and pink fruit. Then create a fruit plate using strawberries, raspberries, slices of pink grapefruit, cherries, sliced red apples, red grapes, cherries, or any other fruit that fits the bill.

Valentine’s Day activities for preschoolers should focus on the themes of love and friendship. For toddlers, this could involve talking about the importance of sharing and being polite to others as well as discussing things and people they love.

I hope you enjoy these Valentine’s Day activities. Please let me know what you think by leaving a comment.

Technorati Tags: Preschool Valentines activities, prescool valentines, valentines

I just got myself a Nintendo Wii and already my preschooler is enjoying Wii Fit with me. She has her own little “Mii” that she uses while she runs or hula hoops. It is great.  As a music teacher I had heard awesome things about Wii Music I decided to get it for my classes. You can do so much with it. The kids learn a LOT and LOVE it.

Nintendo’s new Wii Music game is spreading from the family room to the classroom, thanks to newly formed collaborations with select schools and educators. To help inspire students and promote an active appreciation for music, Nintendo is working with teachers to incorporate Wii consoles and Wii Music software into their lesson plans to offer teachers a unique tool for creativity and improvisation.

Nintendo’s collaborators in this effort include MENC: The National Association for Music Education, which is recognized as the world’s largest arts education organization and as a teaching resource for all levels from preschool to graduate school. MENC will help teachers in 51 cities across the nation integrate Wii Music into their curricula, making use of the game’s 60-plus instruments and fun array of tutorial exercises in rhythm, tempo and song structure.

“The goal of Wii Music is to inspire people of all ages to enjoy music,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “By partnering with educators and bringing Wii Music into their classrooms, we hope to give students a memorable, hands-on experience that helps them discover their own creative voice.”

The Wii console’s motion-sensing controls allow Wii Music users at any experience level to step up and jam, whether playing solo or as part of a group. Using the wireless Wii Remote and Nunchuk controllers, players make simple, intuitive movements to strum a guitar, play a trumpet or bang a drum.

“At any grade level, it’s essential to provide students with the tools and encouragement they need to be creative,” said John J. Mahlmann, executive director of MENC. “We look forward to collaborating with Nintendo to drive awareness and advocacy for music education through Wii Music.”

Some teachers already have begun to incorporate Wii Music into their lesson plans.

“Wii Music has brought a renewed excitement to music class for students from first grade to fifth, myself and even some of the classroom teachers,” said Helen A. Krofchick, a music teacher at Doby’s Mill Elementary School in Lugoff, S.C. “I love how many music standards can be covered in such a short time. Students also have to use language skills, spatial awareness and hand-eye coordination. We have a school very supportive of the arts and Wii Music has empowered our program even more. Any system that is educational and can add a love of music to children’s lives should be in every classroom.”

Other collaborating and partner organizations currently include San Francisco’s Blue Bear School of Music and New York’s Opus 118 Harlem School of Music. Teachers in these programs will use Wii Music to build students’ familiarity with technology while bolstering their ability to create and improvise. Experts in the field of music say getting kids interested in music at an early age can help build a lifelong appreciation.

“The joy of playing music is something that should be experienced by everyone, regardless of age, talent-level or experience,” said Joe Lamond, President & CEO of NAMM, the National Association of Music Merchants. “Research shows that more than 82 percent of people who don’t currently play a musical instrument wish they did. Wii Music can help address this by providing a positive introduction for millions of people who might not otherwise be inclined to try.”

Remember that Wii features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other Wii features, visit Wii.com. For more information about Wii Music, visitwww.WiiMusic.com.

For more information about Nintendo, visitwww.nintendo.com.

Technorati Tags: nintendo wii, preschool music, wii music

I was AMAZED the other day when I was teaching one of my preschoolers in my preschool piano class. I was teaching her the notes to “It’s a Small World” I was having her name the notes to me which she was doing very well, but I was amazed that she also was reading the words to the song!!!. Here is a little 3 year old sounding out words already.

Now from what I understood reading and writing was introduced when a child is 5 or 6. She was 3. That got me thinking that we could be doing more for our preschoolers, teaching them to read and write. My daughter who’s 3 1/2 is VERY interested in her numbers and letters. She is trying to write them already.

THat got me searching for a good site out there that gives worksheets and ideas for reading and writing for a preschooler. I found the perfect site.

Check it out.

Enjoy.

Technorati Tags: preschool reading, preschool writing

As an early childhood music educator I realise how important music is in the lives of a preschooler. Just yesterday I taugt a “music class” for over an hour for my 3 year old daughter and some friends of hers. Normally we do the class for a half hour only but they kept wanting more and more.

Preschoolers LOVE music. Here is a great youtube video I found while searching for more ideas for my music classes. It looks like a great scarf game.

watch?v=DrtR1xJLRks

I also found a site for free preschool music ideas here. There are a couple neat ideas.

Technorati Tags: free preschool music, preschool music ideas

We all know that educational games are really important for kids. They help kids learn while having fun. Most kids don’t even know they are learning. I know Olihvia loves any kind of game and if it’s educational that’s wonderful.

I found this great site about educational games for kids. Check it out.

Technorati Tags: kids educational games