The Creative Campus The Place For Learning Activities for all ages!

Happy December Everyone! I am offering a special blog series for the month of December! each week I will share 5 activities for you to use and learn with. Each activity will be connected to Winter Or Christmas in some way! I hope you enjoy using these as much as I have Enjoyed Creating Them! ART Circle Christmas Tree Language Development Snow Charades Sensory/Science   Snow construction (frozen Shave Cream) Math   Ice Cream Sundae (cut scoops of ice cream, Cherries, Sprinkles and Flavored topping). Give each player a bowl or cone shape. assign each item a number. using either number cards or dice, each player takes a turn and selects the item of their number. The first person to add all the items to their ice cream wins!  Dramatic Play Build Ginger Bread Houses With Boxes use a variety of your favorite art products and be creative!      If you would like to receive more free activities like these, Visit me @...

Topic: obstacle Courses and Gross Motor Games Advice One Use Games To Increased Gross Motor Skills I believe that using play is the best way to increase your child or students gross motor skills. This allows children to play and have fun with friends and yet they are building strength and coordination. I have a few favorite games that I like to use with my friends, and I encourage you to use them either at home or in your classrooms with your students.               Advice Two Obstacle Course (Going On a Bear Hunt) This is a great activity that enforces gross motor skills and coordination. This game is one that can be created in the form of a physical course, or you can simply sit on the floor and go through the motions. Either way it’s a fun experience and uses listening and coordination skills. Advice Three Keep it In The Air Game This last game is one that can be uses in many different ways for many dif...

Hi Everyone! today I would like to Talk about using story starters. I like to use these to engage students in learning about a new topic. Showing children pictures of people or objects and asking them either about what is in the picture or asking them to build a story about the object or the activity engages critical thinking Language Development tools.    Another fun activity I like to use with young children is picture displays. I like to take apart or reproduce pictures from my favorite repetitive speech stories and post them for the children at their level. I encourage them to say the words to the stories along with me. Some easy ones to use for this are Brown Bear Brown Bear or The Very Hungry Caterpillar. You can even engage the children in creating their own versions of these and picking their own pictures to add to them.    The possibilities for using this activity are endless, and can be stretched for all ages....

Make believe play can involve many different kinds of play. Often times we think of things like "House" or "Construction". These forms of play usually involve Gross motor and Creative Thinking. Today I want to talk about another form of "Make Believe Play". I like to encourage make believe with small manipulatives. Farm is a wonderful way to bring these forms of play together. you can set up a farm play set and add areas like water, mud or straw for the animals. you can even add play food to create gardens on your farm. this is a wonderful way to engage motor and sensory play. Cars is another fun way to use small motor play with sensor experience's. different kinds of cars have different wheels that will make different tracks when run through paint or sand or dirt. Cars are also fun to run around on a carpet or through a track that is made from blocks that will also use your friends small motor skills. Doctor or Vet is another fun way to introdu...

This Concept works for all formal areas of learning. Math, writing, reading, science. This is wont require as much work as it sounds like it will.Look at the goal that is attempting to be taught... and turn the written information and bring it into real world experiences. This will engage children in the learning process. extend children's interest in learning and engage their physical needs at the same time. Turn skills or themes that children need to learn or practice into games.If we let children experience learning, their interest and engagement will go so much further.    This is also a great method for Transportation and Construction   Construction/Gross Motor Play Encouraging your children to use their imaginations and every day objects to create learning and creative experiences. This also  squashes boredom and engages creative thinking and determination to "figure New things out" . Sometimes as parents and educators we forget that child...

Hello Everyone!! I just wanted to send you a little extra message on this Friday!  I am so excited to tell you about something that I just created. I often get asked, "Do you have any suggestions how I can get my child to learn" (fill in the blank). It is sometimes hard to come up with an idea at that exact moment without knowing the child or their skills and needs. Soooo I started thinking about how I could come up with answers to this question that would be easy to give to someone off the top of my head. I have created a weekly Email course where I will GIVE you 5 activities on a variety of different topics, delivered to your Email Inbox each week!   5 Activities To Promote Learning and Development" (Each Week Will Be a Different Topic)  I Cant wait to start sharing with you! Join My Free Weekly Email Course   " 5 Activities To Promote Learning and Development" (Each Week Will Be a Different Topic) http://t...

    I believe in the concept referred to in a quote by Lao- Tzu:" If you Tell me, I will Listen. If you Show me I will See, But If you let me Experience I will Learn"! That is the philosophy I have built my work around as well. I do believe that we are all different, we have different experiences and points of view and because of this we all also learn differently. this is why I believe that every child needs to be given learning and development experiences based on Their Skills, Needs( both educational and developmental) and Their Interests.  What are the things your children are always asking endless questions about? Maybe the same questions? what are the things that they are drawn too or constantly "Getting into". these are clues to the areas of learning you should incorporate into daily lessons. This is how to naturally engage and further learning! an activity that can be using for many learning areas and experiences I like to introduce "Veteri...

5 Steps To Educational Success in   Early Childhood 1)       Every experience a child is presented with should be dictated by them. This means they should be given choices or options of items to engage with, but the child should be the one making the final choice. This teaches independent thinking and development of the creative process.   2)       All areas of development should be engaged in each activity that the child selects throughout the day.   3)       Always start learning experiences for a place of existing skill sets to create interest in further learning.   4)       Create lessons and experiences around the child’s preferences and interests. Meaning if the child is more interested in art, then use art and the different art modes for teaching and learning. If the child likes to engage in sensory activities, then use senso...

Good Morning Everyone! I am very excited to tell you about and offer you a fun new activity. I call them "Busy Boxes", This is a great idea for when you want to give your children something quiet to do while your in public places such as "The Bank" or "Doctors Office" or even on and "airplane". Although I have to admit while the activity was and is my creation. I have to credit my cousin Kim .D for the inspiration to offer them to you as a Product! Thanks Kim! she asked me if it was something I was selling as part of an event, to which I responded "No its just something im doing as a favor for a charity giveaway". However as the days passed this question she asked me REALLY bothered me! I couldn't figure out WHY( if I created this) am I not putting it out there for people?! SOOOO.......  Now I Am!   I am going to include a link to my pin on Pinterest and give you a way to contact me if you are interested in purchasing them. http...

Cooking   Math and Science   Advice One Critical Thinking and Cause/Effect   (Math and Science Skills) Cooking is a wonderful activity that creates fun interactive learning experiences with your children and students. What children don’t realize as they are cooking, is that they are also learning. They are using Math Skills (measuring) Science Skills (mixing wet and dry ingredients) They are even using their motor skills (Mixing, Rolling and even sometimes cutting with cutters). One of the things I love to use with children is Play dough. Not only can the children engage in the “Making” process, they also get to enjoy the finished product over and over again. I like to make a very easy Cinnamon Applesauce Play dough.   Mix Equal Parts Applesauce, Cinnamon, and add flour little by little to help the thickening process.               Advice Tw...

Welcome Back!  I have something for you that I think your really going to enjoy! I know I am very excited to use it in class with my friends!  I call it "Scrap Art". As you see it IS exactly what it sounds like! What I love about this is that the possibilities are ENDLESS. you can create anything with it that your mind can think up. The best thing is, it can be stretched or simplified for ANY age! you can make larger more abstract objects with older children using smaller objects. for younger children (as we did above) you can provide pre cut "Parts" to the art and allow then to decorate with the provided art supplies. I love to use confetti, Tissue Paper, Dry Pasta, Straws. I could go on and on! In this version, we allowed the older children to create whatever they wanted. We provided them with contact paper, Wiggle Eyes and Recycled Art Work. Then the children cut them into whatever shapes they wanted. This is a fantastic art activity that works on all s...

     "Learning With Our Hands Class"            Hello! I am the creator of The Creative Campus , and I just wanted to write to you and let you know what I have been working on.  I started my own business working with Stay At Home Moms and Nannies. Things have been changing rapidly here at The Creative Campus And I am so excited about our progress I wanted to write you and tell you all about it right away! I have expanded my company YET AGAIN! The inspiration came out of the clear blue sky and I ran with it! I have decided that what I enjoy most about what I do, is getting to know you as Moms and Nannies along with your children and creating new learning experiences that help you grow. Because of this, I was inspired to get into coaching. You can now work with me one on one. I work with you to define your child’s current skills and learning needs. Using a Current Skills survey and I will now work with you on a monthly ba...

Happy Spring Everyone!  I hope you are learning lots of fun things and enjoying the wonderful sunshine!  I wanted to share something with you that my friends enjoy and yours will too. I call it "Mix and Match Math". I  take things like popsicles and their sticks (paper versions only) and I put Shapes, Numbers and or Letters on both the sticks and the popsicle its self. then I separate them and mix them all up. I invite my friends to re connect the matches. this can be done with may different items that have two pieces. I also do a version of this with carrots. you could even do this ice cream cones and scoops that match. The fun with this activity is endless depending on your goals. you could even do this will pictures. Cutting them into sections and instructing the children to re connect the edges (which I suggest you cut in designs). I hope you have a lot of fun with this, its one of the favorites in my class. Don't forget....  if you like this and want more ...

Independence in the classroom, I believe that all children learn using different methods and because of this we as parents and educators need to offer different experiences that encourage our children and students to learn about the same subject or topic different ways. I believe that doing so  promotes problem solving skills.   Asking questions about the activities that a child has chosen to engage with encourages children to solve problems independently . Allowing a child to be independent and to figure things out for themselves along side an adult that is observing creates confidence in a child's ability to learn. Confidence pushes them to try new things and to keep trying and learning even when they don't succeed at the first attempt . I also believe that the activities that are provided in a child's learning environment should be  based  on child's skills and needs. this way you are encouraging curiosity, along side ed...

Topic: Art and Creative Teaching Methods   Advice One ( Using art to teach skills )   I believe that there is a place in the Early Child world for both Process and Product art I believe that when children are able to express themselves and use different skills they learn better I use art to teach everything from Letters, Numbers, Colors, shapes even science. A great example of this, is “Splat Painting”. This is a fun activity that allows the children to use their Small Motor skills while creating fun art. You can combing process and product using this method OR you can simply let the children enjoy the Process simply provide the children with a piece of paper and make piles of paint. Cover with wax paper (I even put the paint in between two pieces of Contact Paper) and let the children Pound or roll on top of the paint. Smearing and mixing till they are happy. —   Creating products i...

Hello Again Everyone! I have something for you that you might find helpful. Manipulatives are a great toy for introducing Math and Reading Skills. These toys encourage children to recognize Color, Size and Patterns. Manipulatives encourage children to engage in creative play without limits. When they do this, they naturally start to recognize that some look similar and then begin to group them. What are some of your favorite Manipulatives to use? I have used many over the years. Play dough is a fun one to use, which offers many different opportunities for Learning, Play and Development. I like to have the children make a simple play dough, which teaches them to follow directions and engages math skills. Then I offer the children an opportunity to play with their play dough which engages motor skills and eye hand coordination. Often I will give the children learning activities to do with the play dough such as Letter Copying, Shape Copying,  and even Number and Counting Pract...

Hi Everyone! I hope your enjoying the New Year so far! I wanted to share a fun idea with you what I have used many times over the years. We all know how important it is to help our little friends learn Letters and Numbers. Well I wanted to come up with a way to do this using "Play", so I came up with "Alphabet Soup" Game. You use your sensory bin filling it with small manipulatives including bugs, cars food things like that. give each child a real life cooking spoon or ladle. then each person gets to take a turn getting one scoop of objects and putting them into their soup bowl. by saying the following rhyme I Scoop (name the object or letter for the very small friends 2/3) out of my soup with my little spoon.  OR for older friends I use this one.  " I scooped (name the object) out of my soup with my little scoop with my little spoon, and it starts with (child names letter). you can use this for children who are learning to read and spell as well. have them...

Happy Fall Everyone! I hope your September has been great! I cant believe its already over. We had some much fun this month, and I wanted to make sure to share it with you. I also wanted to remind you that if you are ever looking for a fun activity to do with your little ones, you can always email me fragileangel@wowway.com and I will send you free activity ideas. You can even Head over to my website thecreativecampuspreschool.weebly.com and you can inquire about purchasing my programs and even working with my one on one! NOW on to the fun stuff :) . This month we talked about trees and how the leaves are starting to change and the weather is getting cooler. I provided my friends with real pieces of bark, Play dough and shape beads and encouraged them to create their own trees. We also talked about things that grow on and live in trees. I provided my friends with Paper Rolls as tree trucks and we made our own trees. We used Leaves, Pine Cones, Twigs and apples. these act...

Hello Everyone! Today I wanted to talk about something that is very personal to me! I Believe we are seeing a shift in the ways in which we are approaching education. I believe we are starting to see a focus on the individual child and their needs which is a change from seeing large groups of children being taught to using one method that is said to be  "The Best". This is a concept that I believe in very strongly. I personally believe that we need to educate and even parent to each child's personal needs and skill levels. We all know that just because a group of children share the same AGE level, doesn't mean they share the same Educational level or Developmental needs. Some in the group will be further along in understanding of things, while others will not be quite where they should be. Because of this, I believe that as educators, we need to look at the needs of the group and chose topics and subjects to teach TO the whole group, using different methods for...

Hi Everyone! I hope you are having a wonderful summer. I wanted to share something with you and get your thoughts in return. I know a lot of parents are interested in the concept of Homeschooling and creating an active interest in learning while at home. I wanted to share with you some thoughts on the topic. I believe that Play not only is how children learn best and most naturally, Play also promotes and creates creativity. When children are allowed and encouraged to be creative you build a passion for learning. A passion for learning is the key to getting children engaged in learning which leads to them being able to take in all the skills and knowledge they will need to succeed as they grow through life into adult hood. Childhood is a time for learning and experiencing the environment around them. Play allows children to build confidence in their skills and knowledge at their own pace. That is why when I introduce a new topic or activity, I always test the idea first. By this ...