Hopping into Spring

This week at the Cottage, we are focusing on spring and Easter! We hope these activities brighten your week with a little entertainment, education, and fun! Don’t forget to tune into our Cottage Facebook Live Series.

Tuesdays: 1-1:30pm story time with Mrs. Charlotte
Thursdays: 11-11:30am music and Spanish with Sr. Gio
Fridays: 9:30-10am directed activity with Ms. Haley

We hope to “see” you there! Also, feel free to post any pictures of your creations or adventures to our Cottage Facebook page. We’d love to see what you’ve done!

Easter Egg Matching Games
Plastic eggs or paper eggs (paper ovals cut in half) are all you need for fun matching games!

Upper/Lowercase Matching Game
On the top half of each egg, write an uppercase letter. On the bottom half of each egg, write its corresponding lowercase letter. Separate both halves of each egg and mix all of the eggs together. Your child can sort through the eggs connecting uppercase letters with their corresponding lowercase letters! You could do this with the entire
alphabet or simply use the letters in your child’s name.
Number Matching Game
On the top half of each egg, write a number 0-10 (or higher for an extra challenge). On the bottom half of each egg, draw the corresponding number of dots - the way you would see them arranged on a die or domino. Separate both halves of each egg and mix all of the eggs together. Your child can sort through the eggs connecting numbers with their corresponding dots.
Note: If you are using plastic eggs, you can use a Sharpie to write the letters/numbers/dots and rubbing alcohol to easily remove your writing.

Scholastic Rabbit Roundup
Click on this link - Rabbit Roundup - to watch a 5-minute video about rabbits!
Then, click on this link - How Many Jumps? - for a fun jumping activity! In this activity you will use masking/painter’s tape to mark the starting and stopping points of several long-distance jumpers (grasshoppers, frogs, and kangaroos). Ask your child to help you measure each distance. Then, ask your child to guess how many jumps it will take him/her to go that distance. Finally, jump to check your guesses!
Scholastic has compiled a great list of books, videos, and activities for families at home. Resources are listed by grade level and then by weekly theme. Follow this link - Scholastic - for more great ideas!

Easter Egg Hunt at Home
Before you begin your Easter egg hunt, have your child create an Easter basket using a paper bag or small cardboard box. Decorate with stickers, paint, markers, paper eggs, etc.! For extra fine motor practice have your child make the paper eggs for the egg hunt. You cut out one oval using card stock or cardboard. Then, have your child trace and cut eggs out of construction or printer paper for the hunt! Your child could even decorate these eggs. Next, hide your paper or plastic eggs around the house or yard. Send your child on an Easter egg hunt! For an extra challenge, write numbers 1-10 (or higher) on each egg. Once every egg has been found, ask your child to put the eggs in numerical order! If you have 26 eggs, you could write one letter of the alphabet on each egg. Once every egg has been found, ask your child to put the eggs in alphabetical order! Siblings could compete in timed egg hunts. The fastest to find all of the eggs and put them in order wins!

Planting a Rainbow
Listen to and watch Planting a Rainbow, a beautiful, spring-inspired story by Lois Ehlert!

Next, complete this rainbow worksheet designed by Still Playing School for Pre-K Pages. Click here - Rainbow Worksheet - to access and print the pdf. Ask your child to cut out food, plants, and flowers from old magazines or draw his/her own to complete the rainbow! Follow this link - Pre-K Pages - to see examples!

For an extra challenge, create a rainbow garden of your own! Ask your child to paint one entire sheet of paper red, another orange, another yellow, and so on. Allow the paint to dry. Ask your child to cut out petals, stems, and leaves using the colorful paper. Finally, glue the pieces together on a blank piece of paper to create a rainbow garden collage masterpiece! Follow this link - Fine Lines - to see examples! We can’t wait to see your beautiful work!