Let’s march into March with some fun and learning. See the calendar for all kinds of play activities for young children. After all, play is the brain’s favorite way to learn!
fairy play
Fairy Snacks: Fairy Fruit Magic Wands and Fairy Berry Smoothies
Fairy snacks are fun and easy to make with fruit. We made fairy magic wands and fairy berry smoothies too. They are nutritious and yummy to eat.
Fairy fruit magic wands can use almost any fruit you have at home. After washing our hands so we couldn’t taste any fingers, Big Brother helped slice a banana while I topped some strawberries.
Together we made one magic wand with strawberry, banana, and pineapple chunks on a skewer. We put them on in a pattern: strawberry, pineapple, banana/strawberry, pineapple, banana. Then, Big Brother made his own. He chose to use only strawberries and bananas and, for the most part, put them on in a pattern too.
Patterning is an important thinking skill. It helps reduce the volume of information so, whenever possible, we play with pattern sequences. Kids need lots and lots of experiences to figure out how patterns work. After making the fairy fruit magic wands, we slid the fruit back off the skewers and ate them up.
Berry and fairy sound almost the same. To make the smoothies, we used raspberries and strawberries. Blackberries aren’t ready yet here but they would be good too. So would blueberries. After washing hands and fruit we added them to the blender with some yogurt and a bit of honey. Blend until smooth, pour into cups, and slurp with straws.
Cooking with kids encourages more skills than patterning and rhyming words. There’s following instructions, doing steps in order, basic science, special language, measuring, counting, comparing, and others. When children are involved with food preparation, they are more aware of what they are eating and more open to trying new foods. They develop a partnership with foods instead of only consuming them. Being part of the preparation and the clean-up also promotes a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment. We all enjoy being part of the group, kids included. They feel they are able to contribute to the family too.
These fairy snacks were easy and healthy. Magic wands weren’t needed for taste, but added to the fun. Any kitchen fairies at your house?
For more fairy fun, from snacks to science to stories to songs, visit the plays-of-the-day on 123kindergarten blog.
Dancing Buttons Fairy Water Science Experiment – Fairy Activities #18
This dancing buttons fairy water science experiment is a twist on the popular dancing raisins activity. It’s fun to try something a little different.
Raisins dance up and down in clear soda pop. We’re used to seeing things sink in water or float, but not usually both. The bubbles in the soda carry the raisins up. When the bubbles all pop, the raisins sink back down. We called the soda pop fairy water and tried some different items.
There were some shiny sequin shapes left-over from our fairy play dough fun. First, we had to check if they would sink in plain, ordinary tap water. When we placed them flat on the water in a jar, they floated but when we dropped them in sideways they would sink and stay on the bottom. Now that we knew they would float, we were ready to try them in the fairy water. Big Brother and Little Sister said they would float. Big Sister said they would do both. Baby Brother was napping and didn’t express his hypothesis, even though he has plenty of opinions at other times.
When we dropped the sequin shapes in the fairy water, they stayed on the top. The only way they would sink even a little bit was if we stirred them and poked them. So then we tried buttons. The kids looked thru the button box and choose 5 small ones each. We checked in the plain tap water that they would sink. They did. We talked about what would happen in the fairy water. Although the kids thought they would float, I suggested they might be too heavy. We put in all 15 buttons at once.
What a show! The buttons danced up and down and up and down. We watched them for the longest time and checked on them periodically after that. After about 15 minutes, there were fewer bubbles so the sequin shapes would sink a little if we poked them. It took longer for the bubbles to build up enough for the buttons to rise but there was still action.
Simple science activities can be such fun. We’ve added a variation to the raisins to make our own dancing buttons fairy water science experiment. Any suggestions for what we can try next?
For more fairy activities, come and play on the 123kindergarten blog.
Fairy Writing Fun – Fairy and Elf Activities #17 for Boys and Girls
Not all kids are interested in pencil and paper activities, but it helps to turn them into play – like this fairy writing fun. Have you ever seen any? Who knows what fairy writing looks like? Since none of us have ever seen any, one idea is as good as another. We can ask kids … Continue reading Fairy Writing Fun – Fairy and Elf Activities #17 for Boys and Girls
Washing Fairy Rocks Play – Fairy and Elf Activities #16 for Boys and Girls
Today’s post, washing fairy rocks play, is a perfect reminder to parents, caregivers, teachers, and all adults of how play is in the in child not the toy. We’d done a couple of play activities with fairy rocks, like digging them up after burying them in the dirt, and rolling them in play dough. The … Continue reading Washing Fairy Rocks Play – Fairy and Elf Activities #16 for Boys and Girls
Play & Celebrate International Fairy Day – Fairy Play For Girls & Boys
It’s time to play and celebrate International Fairy Day. At summer solstic, the boundary between the fantasy world and the real world is blurred. This fantasy world doesn’t only appeal to kids: Whether you see them as small winged tenders of the deep natural places of the earth, or as tall stately figures with fair … Continue reading Play & Celebrate International Fairy Day – Fairy Play For Girls & Boys
Fairy Yoga Play for Kids – Fairy Activities #14
Each year at the start of summer it’s International Yoga Day but yoga can happen any time. Let’s try some fairy yoga play for kids—and grownups too. Some of these yoga poses are from mom Giselle in a Fairy Yoga post on KidsYogaStories.com. The kids and I have done yoga a few times. Needless to … Continue reading Fairy Yoga Play for Kids – Fairy Activities #14
Magic Milk Swirling Color Science Experiment – Fairy Activities #13
The Google doodle for Oskar Fischinger was a swirl of color, shapes, and sounds; it inspired this visual magic milk swirling color science experiment. The sound was our squeals of wonder as we watched the art-in-action in a dish. Usually, this magic milk swirling color science experiment is done with red, blue, and yellow food … Continue reading Magic Milk Swirling Color Science Experiment – Fairy Activities #13
Fairy Lego Fun- Fairy and Elf Activities #12 for Boys and Girls
While there is fairy Lego, boys and girls do not need the special pieces; they can have fairy Lego fun as they build and imagine with any of it. (or Duplo) For a play-of-the-day, let’s create with Lego. Besides fairies, there are trolls, gnomes, sprites, pixies, elves, dwarves, imps, wizards, witches, and other fantasy beings. … Continue reading Fairy Lego Fun- Fairy and Elf Activities #12 for Boys and Girls
Telling Fairy Stories – Fairy and Elf Activities #11 for Boys and Girls
We’ve all heard of fairy tales, which are not always about fairies, but instead of reading about these adventures, how about telling fairy stories? This activity can be done inside, or outside, like we did on a forest and garden tour. Once upon a fairy… Did you know that making up stories with your child … Continue reading Telling Fairy Stories – Fairy and Elf Activities #11 for Boys and Girls