Alphabet Walk

Make binoculars with your children out of toilet paper rolls or paper towel rolls. Cover them with construction paper and decorate them with markers, crayons, sticker, etc. Hole punch two holes (one on each side of the binoculars) and tie a string to go around their necks. Then take them on a walk around the neighborhood and look for letters on signs, houses, license plates, cars, etc. Have the children call out the letters they see and try to sound out the words. You could also do this same thing with shapes, colors, or numbers.

Shapes are Everywhere

Look through magazines and cut out objects of different shapes. A table, a clock, a stop sign, etc. Then show them to the children and have them tell you the shape it is. Have a posterboard or large piece of butcher paper and make rows for each shape. Sort/chart them. Put all of the circles into a row, the squares, etc. Then you could count how many each row has and write the number at the bottom. This helps them to work on their shapes, charting, counting, and number recognition. Let the children play with the shapes and chart during free play. You could also leave out magazines and scissors and let them find their own shapes and cut them out.

Look around the room and point out shapes that are in the room. Hold up a picture of a square and ask a child what shape it is. Have that child look around the room for something that is that shape. Do this with all of the shapes. Be creative. Tiles, lights, pictures on the wall, patterns on clothing, anything counts.

Musical Flowers

Make flowers out of construction paper and laminate them. Make one for every child in your class plus a few extra (just in case). I made my flowers different colors and put # in the center of them. You could put shapes on them too if you wish. Then you put on some music (something to do with spring or plants or gardens would be fun) and have then children walk around the flowers. Then when the music stops, you call out a number, shape or color (adjust to their age/ability). The child standing near that flower holds it up and then they get to choose a treat/sticker and then be your helper and watch the other children until the activity is over. This is great because you can ask your 2 year old what color their flowers is, your 3 year old what shape they have, and your 4 year old the number. It is quickly and easily changed to fit every age.