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Fun Frog Books for Preschool

May 13, 2016 by Selena Robinson 13 Comments

Are you planning a frog homeschool unit study for your kids soon? Be sure to add in reading! And this roundup of fun frog books for preschool is awesome for helping little learners practice reading skills, learn about frogs, and have fun at the same time!

I’m also sharing lots of frog unit study resources from my fellow bloggers that are perfect for rounding out a frog unit! Read on to grab them!

Fun Frog Books for Preschool

Want more froggy fun? Check out the other frog-themed unit study resources from my fellow bloggers!

Find the Letter F is for Frogs from 3 Boys and a Dog

Frog Life Cycle Free Printables from Natural Beach Living

Frog Books for Preschool from Look! We’re Learning!

Frog Anatomy Worksheets from Living Life and Learning

Frog Hop Activity from CraftCreateCalm

Make a Fun Handprint and Footprint Tissue Paper Frog from Crafty Mama in ME

Free Resources for Frog Life Cycle from Something 2 Offer

5 Easy Frog Exercise Moves for Kids from FrogMom

Children’s Books Featuring Frogs from The Jenny Evolution

Frogs of the Rainforest from Tales of Education at Home

Frog Theme Color Words Book {free printable} from Books and Giggles

Recycled K Cup Frog Craft and Skip Counting Activity from Artsy Momma

Frog Life Cycle for Kids {Printable Set} from The Natural Homeschool

Lots of Learning and Fun with Frogs Sensory Bin from Living Montessori Now

Frog Race Graphing Game from Simple Fun for Kids

Poison Frog activity from Schooling a Monkey

Non-fiction Frog Emergent Readers from Royal Baloo

Interactive Frog Life Cycle App for Kids from iGameMom

Frog Writing Prompts from The Usual Mayhem

Get more unit study study ideas from my Unit Studies board on Pinterest!

Simple Harry the Dirty Dog Activity for Tots

April 12, 2016 by Selena Robinson 1 Comment

Piglet and I read the classic children’s story Harry the Dirty Dog together and she absolutely loved it.

So, we decided to share a simple art activity together that would help her connect with the events in the story.

And that’s how this super easy Harry the Dirty Dog activity came about.

This prewriting activity is simple enough to try with toddlers, tots, and preschoolers and you can prep it in just a few minutes.

Read on to get your copy of this fun toddler prewriting activity free!

And, for more fun with early education, don’t miss our list of 20 fun printable resources for preschool!

Harry the Dirty Dog Activity for Toddlers

This activity is extremely easy. Honestly. Plus, it’s guaranteed to get your little ones into the story!

What You’ll Need: (This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

The book Harry the Dirty Dog
Crayola Dry Erase Crayons
A copy of our Clean the Dirty Dog Printable
A laminator

Once you print the Clean the Dirty Dog printable, run it through the laminator.

Then get out your dry erase crayons.

You’ll only need the black one.

I like the Crayola Dry Erase crayons, because they come with the cleaning mitt, which you’ll also need.

In the story, Harry hates taking baths, so he hides his scrubbing brush and runs away from home.

While he’s away, he gets super dirty – running through a construction site, sliding down a coal chute, and so on.

So our first step was to get our white dog dirtied up!

I just turned Piglet loose with the crayon.

Boy, he really got dirty, didn’t he?

Making our white dog dirty was probably Piglet’s favorite part of the entire activity.

When Harry returns home, he’s so dirty that his family doesn’t recognize him.

Frightened, he digs up the scrubbing brush, runs into the house, and jumps into the bathtub.

Once he’s all clean and scrubbed, the kids know that the black dog with white spots is actually Harry, their white dog with black spots.

Naturally, we had to clean Harry up too! And that’s where the dry erase mitt came in handy.

Aw…look how clean he is!

To do this art activity with your littles, get a copy of our free Clean the Dirty Dog printable below!

>>> Clean the Dirty Dog Printable Activity <<<

Want more book-related learning fun? Check out these posts!

This post is part of the Read It, Make It Book + Craft Week linkup from Emma Owl! Get 50 ideas for arts and crafts based on children’s books!

Ten 10 Minute Preschool Activities

February 22, 2016 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Have you ever spent an evening planning an activity for your preschooler only to find that it lasted all of 10 minutes? I have. It’s extraordinarily frustrating.

I cannot tell you the number of times I made that mistake with Tigger when she was younger. I’d meticulously plan a unit study, complete with books, games, activities, crafts, and more – only to find that she’d lost interest after just a few minutes.

But let’s be real: Preschoolers are not known for their long attention spans. Which means that when it comes to activities, the quicker the better. And if the setup is also simple, then that’s a win-win!

So here are ten 10 minute preschool activities that are fun, easy to set up, and educational! Don’t worry. With these, your preschooler won’t have time to get bored!

Image c/o: dmitrimaruta / depositphotos

Ten 10 Minute Preschool Activities

Pick a part of the human body and do a craft about it. These can be as simple as a cut-and-paste activity. For example, try this simple hands-on craft about taste buds!
Read a great picture book with your preschooler. If you need book suggestions, check out my list of the best picture books for three-year-olds!
Practice scissor cutting skills. Learning to use scissors is an important preschool skill. This set of bee-themed scissor practice printables is simple to set up!
Go on a nature walk. Take your child outside and look at the plants, animals, and insects in your neighborhood. If you have a lot of trees nearby, grab these free leaf identification flashcards and see how many you can spot!
Learn sign language. ASL is a wonderful language for both deaf and hearing kids and you can learn to sign a few words in just a few minutes! Check out this video to learn how to sign weather words in ASL.
Look through a kids’ cookbook and find a recipe to make together. This list of fun children’s cookbooks features some great selections!
Do a simple science experiment. In just a few minutes, you can show your child a scientific principle or two! Try this quick experiment to learn how to make an egg float!
Design a map of the solar system. Use this set of free printable solar system flashcards to set up a universe on your dining room table!
Make moon sand. When the weather’s nice outside, take your preschooler outdoors and make this recipe for colored moon sand together! It’s an awesome play material and a great way to incorporate sensory integration in your day.
Create a batch of edible play dough. This recipe for edible dairy-free play dough is super fun and super easy to make!

Try these other activities for early learners!

Harry the Dirty Dog Extension Activity

How to Teach Preschoolers to Play Quietly

The Best Picture Books for Three-Year-Olds

For more preschool learning ideas, follow my Learning for Little Ones board on Pinterest!

And for more ideas to teach kids of all ages, check out The Big Book of Homeschooling Ideas!

The Big Book of Homeschool Ideas by iHomeschool Network

This post is part of the “Useful Tasks You Can Do in 5 to 60 Minutes” linkup from iHomeschool Network! Stop by to see the other quick tasks you can get accomplished in your homeschool!

10 Free Printable Flashcards for Toddlers

November 12, 2015 by Selena Robinson 9 Comments

We’ve been sharing loads of free printable flashcards on the blog for the past year. Today I thought I’d round up the flashcards that are best for our tiniest learners – toddlers!

Piglet started tot school this fall, so she learns right along with our older kids when we have our homeschool lessons. During tot school, we try to focus on the absolute basics: counting, letters, numbers, shapes, colors, and some animals.

So if you’re teaching your toddlers the same concepts, here are 10 free printable flashcards for toddlers that are available right here on the blog!

10 Free Printable Flashcards for Toddlers

While I’m recommending these flashcards for toddlers, they can really be used for any age at all. Some preschoolers may need to focus on strengthening number and letter recognition, while some grade schoolers may enjoy using the animal flashcards as part of a unit study. Feel free to use them however you see fit for your kids!

Farm Animal Flashcards

Sorting by Color Flashcards

Animal Alphabet Flashcards

Pet Flashcards

Snowflake Counting Flashcards

Spanish Number Flashcards 1-10

ASL Number Flashcards

Sign Language Alphabet Flashcards

Color Flashcards

Shape Flashcards

Free Printable Flashcards: Sorting Flashcards

July 28, 2015 by Selena Robinson 1 Comment

Continuing with our free printable flashcards series, we’re introducing our newest set today: Free Printable Sorting Flashcards! These cards are great for young ones who are just beginning to recognize differences and similarities in objects.

Today is also another edition of the Laugh and Learn linky, so read on to see which posts Lindsey, Tina, Haley, Sarah, and I especially liked from last week’s party. 🙂

Free Printable Sorting Flashcards

These cards feature four simple objects in four basic colors: blue, red, orange, and green. Kids can then sort them out according to color. The set includes blank flashcard pages with hints as to which colors belong on which page.

You could cut the object cards out and then let the kids describe what they are, what they look like, what color they are, and which ones belong together according to color. 🙂 If your little ones are still working on color recognition, don’t forget to pick up our free color flashcards as well!

To get your set of our Free Printable Sorting Flashcards, click the image or the link below to visit our Store!

Free Printable Flashcards Sorting – Look! We’re Learning! Store

Come join us every Tuesday for our Laugh and Learn Linkup! You are welcome to share any Parenting or Homeschool link. You will enjoy all the great links! #LaughLearnLinkUp #Homeschool #Parenting #Blog #Mom #Bloggers

Welcome to our 43rd week of Laugh and Learn – Homeschool and Parenting Linkup!
Laugh and Learn – Homeschool and Parenting Linkup will be open by 6 am every Tuesday morning.

NEW: We have a blogger returning to us! Please help us welcome back Lindsey and her new blog. We have decided to return to our previous method of picking our favorite posts, and featuring them on the next week’s linkup. Starting this week your links will be shared on five blogs!

We are also sharing the top posts on Pinterest: #LaughLearnLinkup {Featured Favorites}. It’s added exposure for your awesome content!

Your Fabulous Hosts 😉

Tina

Tina lives abroad in Latin America with her husband and four children. Currently in Mexico, Tina is active in homeschool, travel, and her Bible ministry. She blogs about all of their adventures and more at Los Gringos Locos.
Find Tina at her blog link above, and on the following social media networks:
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Google +
Linkedin
Tsu

Selena

Selena is a writer and a homeschooling mom to four kids, including three with ADHD/SPD. Selena and her husband, Jay, are committed to teaching their children at home and loving every minute of it! You can read about the family’s homeschooling experiences at Look! We’re Learning, written by Selena!
Find Selena at her blog link above, and on the following social media networks:
Facebook
Pinterest
Twitter
Google +
Instagram

Sarah

Sarah lives in Kentucky, USA, where she and her husband homeschool three children. Sarah writes for and about, families with special needs. She hopes to provide support and encouragement to all special needs parents in the homeschool community. Visit Sarah at Dedicated Homeschooler.
Find Sarah at her blog link above, and on the following social media networks:
Facebook
Instagram

Haley

Haley hopes to encourage stay at home moms. She wants to help moms learn how to make an extra income, to stretch a budget, to make crafts, and other useful information. Haley always has updates on the kids and funny things that happen. Visit Haley at Haley’s Vintage Finds & Deals.
Find Haley at her blog link above, and on the following social media networks:
Facebook
Pinterest
Instagram
Twitter
Google+
YouTube

Lindsey

Lindsey is a passionate writer eager to touch the hearts and minds of homeschoolers and parents abroad. As a devoted mother to two, happy homeschooler, and scatterbrained housewife, she’s on a mission to find love and joy in “the simple life” and invites you to join her! Visit Lindsey at Nitty Gritty Homeschooling. Find Lindsey at her blog link above, and on the following social media networks:
Facebook
Google+
Instagram
Pinterest
Twitter
YouTube

The Winners for the Week of July 27th:

Easy Minion Marshmallows

Shapes, Counting and Colors Busy Bag (with Printable)

Colorful Hanging Suncatchers

Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award

HOMEMADE BOUNCING BUBBLES RECIPE + VIDEO (NO GLYCERIN OR CORN SYRUP)

Thanks to everyone who submitted a post. Please check out the post above by clicking on the image.
[bctt tweet=”Come share your favorite #parenting or #homeschooling post with us. #ihsnet #ibabloggers”]

Now give us your best posts!

An InLinkz Link-up

How to Teach Sign Language to Preschoolers

June 16, 2015 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

As you might be aware, we use Sign Language fairly often in our family. (For examples, see here, here, here, and here.) Many experts agree that the years from birth to age 5 are the prime years for introducing a foreign language to kids. But is it really possible to teach sign language to preschoolers?

Of course it is! Baby sign language has become extremely popular, so preschoolers are naturals as signing. But what does it take to teach ASL to very young children? Today I’m sharing a post I wrote for Learning 2 Walk that’s all about how to teach sign language to preschoolers!

Today is also another edition of the Laugh and Learn Linkup, so scroll on down to read our features from last week and the newest parenting and homeschooling posts!

How to Teach Sign Language to Preschoolers

One of the biggest suggestions I can give to teach ASL to preschool-aged kids is to keep it extremely simple and relaxed. When young children have fun, they end up learning naturally! And there’s no reason why learning sign language shouldn’t be fun!

For even more tips and suggestions, visit Learning 2 Walk to read the post “How to Teach Sign Language for Preschoolers“!

How to Teach Sign Language for Preschoolers – Learning 2 Walk

If you’re looking for some great books and resources for teaching sign language to toddlers and preschoolers, try these!

1. Baby Sign Language Basics by Monta Z. Briant

2. My First Book of Sign Language by Joan Holub

3. Sign Language: My First 100 Words by Michiyo Nelson

4. ABC Sign and Color: A Beginner’s Book of American Sign Language by Susan T. Hall

Linky time! 🙂

An InLinkz Link-up

Textured Sponge Painting Preschool Craft

August 9, 2013 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Art is one my favorite subjects to teach in our homeschool lessons. But when you’re starting with young children, I’ve found it best to keep the projects as simple as possible. After all, they’re not quite ready to study post-modernism. 🙂

So we tried this easy textured sponge painting preschool craft with our kids and they absolutely loved it! It was a simple way to study color and painting while giving them a bit of sensory input at the same time.

Read on to see how to do this simple art project with your kids! And if you love this craft, try our list of super easy preschool crafts you can make in 10 minutes!

Textured Sponge Painting Preschool Craft

To do this craft, you’ll need the following:

To set up this craft, we cut a large kitchen sponge into four pieces and handed them out. (This step should be done by an adult.)

Then we added a bit more texture by having the kids crumple up their paper before beginning. We found some super old fingerpaint (I mean, from when Tigger was a toddler) and added a bit of water to thin it out and then it was time to get started!

When we asked Roo if he wanted me to sketch his design for him, he said “I want to make whatever I want to make.” Got it.

Tigger wanted to paint a picture of a tree, so I sketched it for her to give her a little guide since the sponge tips are so large.

Pooh wanted to paint a train and it ended up not going as well as he would have liked. But the experience of painting was so fun that he was all smiles anyway at the end. I think that’s what art should be like for kids!

Here’s everyone’s work. Mine is at top left, Tigger’s is at top right, Pooh’s train is bottom right, and Roo’s unique individualist expression is at bottom left.

To give the pictures a bit more flair, we sprinkled glitter and colored salt on them before they dried. A simple introduction to Impressionism, perhaps?

Have you tried this textured sponge painting preschool craft with your kids? Let me know how it went in the comments!

Like this post? Try these other ideas for preschoolers!

And get more ideas for preschool learning on my Learning for Little Ones Pinterest board!

How to Teach Preschoolers to Play Quietly

January 28, 2013 by Selena Robinson 1 Comment

Are you homeschooling more than one child? If so, you’ve probably dealt with the challenge of getting your preschoolers to play quietly while your older kids are working. When I first started this school year, I envisioned all of my children sitting quietly at the table working together.

Here’s the problem with that scenario: Roo and Pooh are three and four years old, respectively. They’re not going to sit quietly on their own for long.

Instead of peacefully working, Roo took to making faces at Tigger while she was trying to work and Pooh busied himself by asking me a million and one questions. Something had to give.

Fortunately, I learned a wonderful way to teach preschoolers to play quietly and I’m sharing it with you all today!

How We Taught Our Preschoolers to Play Quietly

What helped us get our preschoolers to play quietly? Morning Time.

When you get a chance, click over and read the post about Morning Time at Hodgepodge to find out what it entails, but it’s basically a training session to help the younger kids get used to working quietly by themselves.

I decided to let them listen to a Bible drama about the 10 Plagues and play with LEGO DUPLO Blocks. It did take a few tries to help them understand that they actually had to be quiet for about 20 minutes, but they got the hang of it by the end.

Tips for Getting Preschoolers to Play Quietly

That picture right there? A thing of quiet beauty and a joy forever. 🙂

We also instituted a list of Quiet Time activities. Since the boys aren’t reading yet, I made a sheet with pictures of quiet activities they can choose from.

They can select which one they want to do and then stick with it for 20 minutes while I finish a lesson with Tigger. It’s working so far!

If you’d like to use a Quiet Time activity list with your kids, feel free to download our free Quiet Time Activity Cards! You can cut them out, laminate them (here’s an affiliate link for my favorite laminator), and let your preschoolers pick which activity they’d like to do!

To get your set, click the image or the link below to download them!

>>>Free Quiet Time Activity Cards<<<

Resources to Help Preschoolers Play Quietly:

Here are some more excellent resources to help your kids learn to enjoy quiet play!

For more resources for your smallest learners, follow my Learning for Little Ones board on Pinterest!

And get even more ideas for parenting little ones below!

Fun Frog Books for Preschool

Fun Frog Books for Preschool

Simple Harry the Dirty Dog Activity for Tots

Harry the Dirty Dog Activity for Toddlers

>>> Clean the Dirty Dog Printable Activity <<<

Ten 10 Minute Preschool Activities

Ten 10 Minute Preschool Activities

Harry the Dirty Dog Extension Activity

How to Teach Preschoolers to Play Quietly

The Best Picture Books for Three-Year-Olds

10 Free Printable Flashcards for Toddlers

10 Free Printable Flashcards for Toddlers

Farm Animal Flashcards

Sorting by Color Flashcards

Animal Alphabet Flashcards

Pet Flashcards

Snowflake Counting Flashcards

Spanish Number Flashcards 1-10

ASL Number Flashcards

Sign Language Alphabet Flashcards

Color Flashcards

Shape Flashcards

Free Printable Flashcards: Sorting Flashcards

Free Printable Sorting Flashcards

NEW: We have a blogger returning to us! Please help us welcome back Lindsey and her new blog. We have decided to return to our previous method of picking our favorite posts, and featuring them on the next week’s linkup. Starting this week your links will be shared on five blogs!

Your Fabulous Hosts 😉

The Winners for the Week of July 27th:

Now give us your best posts!

How to Teach Sign Language to Preschoolers

How to Teach Sign Language to Preschoolers

How to Teach Sign Language for Preschoolers – Learning 2 Walk

Textured Sponge Painting Preschool Craft

Textured Sponge Painting Preschool Craft

How to Teach Preschoolers to Play Quietly

How We Taught Our Preschoolers to Play Quietly

>>>Free Quiet Time Activity Cards<<<

Resources to Help Preschoolers Play Quietly:

The Best Picture Books for Three-Year-Olds

Free Alphabet Animals Flashcards

10 Ten Minute Preschool Activities