Stringed instruments create sounds through vibrations. When the strings are rubbed by a bow struck or plucked they create different sounds. Examples of stringed instruments are guitars, harps, violins and sitars. Some of the earliest stringed instruments came from Asia and India. Today they created their own violin!
Today we explored stringing letters!  They used yarn to create letters O & P or another letter they wanted to create. 
Guitars have six strings. Violins, Viola, cellos and basses have four.  We wrapped six rubber bands around an open shoe box, they took turns rolling the die, identified the number and encouraged to pluck that many rubber bands (strings).  
They rainbow traced letters P and O in their fine motor journals. 

Woodwind instruments create sounds by blowing air into or across a mouthpiece. Examples of woodwind instruments are flutes, clarinets, oboes and saxophones. The first woodwind instrument was a flute carved from the thighbone of a bear.  They made different sounds by blowing through their flute. Then they took turns tossing the cube with color notes, they were encouraged to place their fingers on the flute according to the colors.  
They used a straw and paint to create "blow art!"  They used watered down paint and blew softly and with greater force to move the paint!

This is one of my favorite activities! Occasional directed drawing projects offer numerous benefits for toddlers. These structured yet simple art activities help develop essential skills while encouraging creativity. For example, toddlers practice listening and understanding verbal instructions—key skills for school readiness. Additionally, following step-by-step guidance helps improve focus and attention. I love how these Rudolph drawings turned out!

Drums are percussion instruments that create sounds by pounding on them. In the past, most drums were made with animal skin stretched over a hollowed-out wooden shell. Some of the oldest drums came from China and much of the drum knowledge and rhythms came from Africa. Drums have been used for communication and celebrations. 
They created their own drum using paper plate, beads and a straw.  
They wrote their names and then we clapped out their names!  I demonstrated how to clap the syllables in all our names, then they gave it a try! We played a matching game, finding all the matching instruments. 
For fine motor, they cut up paper and glued in their journals.

Ginger is the root of a plant that can be ground into a powder and used as a spice. To introduce the children to the scents of ginger and cinnamon, I placed both spices on a plate. The kids smelled each one and chose which they thought smelled best!
Next, we mixed cinnamon and ginger into paint to create a sensory-rich painting activity. The children used the scented paint to decorate gingerbread men. Unfortunately, the paint didn’t dry in time for the kids to finish decorating their creations, but they still enjoyed the process and the delightful smells.
They used dot markers to mark the letter B!

Using strips of paper, the children created their own colorful trees. They had the freedom to arrange the strips in any way they liked, resulting in unique and imaginative designs. As they worked on their trees, we incorporated learning opportunities by comparing the strips’ lengths, counting the number of strips used, and exploring patterns with different colors.

Today was full of fun and engaging activities! We started by focusing on their names—each child built their own tree by adding a star on top and a stump at the bottom. They practiced fine motor skills by using Q-tips to paint the letter Bb and enjoyed a letter-matching activity, placing the matching letters onto presents.
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For fine motor skills, they glued number trees in their books in numerical order.

For a winter-themed craft, they used tissue paper to fill in a triangle, glued it onto blue paper, and added snow to create a beautiful, snowy scene. To end the morning, the children built gingerbread houses using Melissa and Doug gingerbread house sets. These were a huge hit! The velcro pieces made it easy for the kids to assemble, take apart, and rebuild their houses over and over again. A creative and festive day all around!

The paper plate shape trees turned out so well that we made more! The children painted paper plates, I cut out the triangles, and they glued on paper strips, a stump, and topped them with a star. They hung some of the extra trees around the daycare room!
For the letter Pp activity, the children colored pieces for the project. Those who were able to cut on the lines worked on cutting their pieces, while others practiced their cutting skills with strips of paper. They have all come a long way with the use of scissors since August.​

They created a wreath using a fork! First, they dipped the fork into green paint and pressed and dragged it onto paper in a circular shape. The fork made fun, spiky lines that looked like pine needles. It was such a creative way to paint, using an unconventional tool instead of a regular paintbrush. Watching the wreath come to life was super fun!
After the paint dried, they added red pompoms for berries. The kids chose where to place the pompoms and glued them onto the wreath. The soft, colorful pompoms added a festive touch and gave the wreath a fun, bumpy texture. This simple project was a wonderful way to explore creativity and fine motor skills!
They also rainbow-wrote the letter "Pp" using crayons. Additionally, they played with magnets, and I gave them jingle bells to incorporate into their creations.