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More Sights & Sounds of Winter

More Sights & Sounds of Winter #MGTblogger

We finished December with more Sights & Sounds of Winter with Mother Goose Time. It’s always such a busy time of year with extra crafts and celebrations plus days off so we don’t always do all the activities that are included. When time is a little rushed, I try to do the art activities or, at least, use whatever materials are sent in the kits.

Winter Birds: This daily theme is actually part of the Outdoor Sights & Sounds of Winter. We don’t have many birds in our yard this time of year but occasionally we do get Mr. Cardinal. We so enjoy seeing and hearing him! I like how this art project incorporates real photos and art. I find that often kids are frustrated with glue and cotton sticking on their fingers so that’s a whole learning experience in itself!More Sights & Sounds of Winter

Light & Dark: Learning about the light and darkness of winter with candles and shadows. Candles also work very well with the holiday season. My group liked the song about tiptoeing in the dark with their candles! This is such a clever craft. It presents a good opportunity to talk about safety around candles too.More Sights & Sounds of Winter

The shadow puppets were fabulous! We set up a flashlight on some pillows in the bedroom with the lights off. Then we made shadows on the wall and took turns telling little stories. So fun! Each child could take home their puppets to play with at home too. Wonder if anyone got to sleep on time that night?? More Sights & Sounds of Winter

Tea: This is always fun! Tea bags were included in the kit. I introduced tea bags to the group. Some were familiar with tea already but they never get to handle tea bags. So I showed them how to open the tea bag and then they smelled it. One 3-year-old said, “It smells like garbage!” Well, that was pretty funny!  Next I gave them a cup of warm water (just from the tap). They dunked their tea bags and made tea. This is exciting! They get to drink tea! One little girl drinks tea at home and said, “This is the best day ever!” We decided it needed a little honey.More Sights & Sounds of Winter

After the tea tasting, I gave the kids fresh, dry tea bags and they painted their teapots. They turned out beautiful! Such a fun learning experience. It’s always beneficial when kids can use all their senses in learning.More Sights & Sounds of Winter

Painted teapots:More Sights & Sounds of Winter

Fireplaces & Stockings:  We focused mostly on the stocking craft with lacing, names and using those small hand muscles to apply stickers. I spent time going around to each child and helping with lacing as needed. Lacing can be really frustrating and they often need one on one help to keep their interest.More Sights & Sounds of Winter

Cookies: Let’s not forget the taste of winter! Decorating paper cookies is fun too, especially with real sprinkles. More Sights & Sounds of Winter

That wraps up our Sights & Sounds of Winter theme. January is all about Going on Safari. It’s always great to start the new month with Mother Goose Time. Each theme is so well covered that we’re ready to move on and it feels good to start again.