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Pre-K activities, learning games, crafts, and printables


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Christmas-The toy chest

Original ways to explore a variety of toys with your group as they wait for Santa.

In the Educatall Club
Thematic letters from a very special elf as well as word flashcards, an activity sheet, and new songs that are all about toys!


Educatall Club
Educatall Club

ALL THEMES See 2024 schedule

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AREA SETUP

(Open thematic poster-The toy chest) Print, laminate, and decorate the walls of your daycare with all kinds of posters.

 

Educa-decorate-The toy chest
(Open educa-decorate-The toy chest) Print, laminate, and cut out the various items. Use them to decorate your daycare and set the mood for the theme.

SPECIAL TOOL

This special tool was created in response to a special request received. (Open Potty training diploma) Print to celebrate potty training success.

 

CIRCLE TIME

Circle time is an important part of daycare life. Use the following activities to spark a discussion with your group and introduce the theme.

 

Educa-circle time-The toy chestPicture game-The toy chest
(Open educa-circle time-The toy chest) Print the questions. Cut them out and deposit them in a small box so children can take turns picking a question. Also print the "It's my turn" card. Laminate it and glue a Popsicle stick behind it. It will help children respect the child whose turn it is to speak. You may also use a puppet related to the theme. The questions will help children sharpen their observation skills, increase their vocabulary, improve their thinking skills and cooperation, as well as help them learn to wait for their turn to speak. This tool will lead to an interesting discussion period with children of all ages and help you explore the theme. Of course, you can add your own questions too!

 

Name or identify the following items

(Open Giant word flashcards-The toy chest) Print, laminate, and display the word flashcards on a wall within your circle time area or on a large piece of cardboard that can easily be moved around within your daycare. Say a word or describe one of the items and invite children to identify the corresponding word flashcard. doll, car, truck, blocks, ball, puppet, beads, modeling dough, puzzle, book, robot, dinosau

 

My Favorite Toy DayGiant word flashcards-The toy chest
(Open perpetual calendar-My favorite toy) Print and display to inform parents of this special day. Children are invited to bring their favorite toy to daycare to present it to the group and share it with their friends. This day can take place at the beginning of the theme. It is a great way to introduce the theme to your group.

 

PICTURE GAME

(Open picture game-The toy chest) Use the pictures to decorate your daycare or to spark a conversation with your group. Print, laminate, and store the pictures in a Ziploc bag or in your thematic bin.

 

ACTIVITY SHEETS

(Open activity sheets-The toy chest) Print and follow instructions.

 

Educa-nuudles-The toy chest

(Open educa-nuudles-The toy chest) Print for each child. Have children color the sheet. Once they are done, they may use Magic Nuudles to turn the coloring pages into three dimensional works of art. Variation: If you do not have Magic Nuudles, ask children to fill the spaces designed for the Magic Nuudles with bingo markers or stickers. To order Magic Nuudles


WRITING ACTIVITIESStationery-The toy chest

(Open writing activities-T like toy) Print for each child or laminate for use with a dry-erase marker.

 

Stationery-The toy chest
(Open stationery-The toy chest) Print. Use the stationery to communicate with parents, in your writing corner, or to identify your thematic bins.

 

LANGUAGE ACTIVITIES

Word flashcards
Use the flashcards to spark a conversation with your group, in your reading and writing corner, or to identify your thematic bins. (Open word flashcards-The toy chest) (Open giant word flashcards-The toy chest) Print.

 

The educatall.com team has created a very special week that will help you explore the contents of your toy chest in a new way! Each day, children will be invited to discover and enjoy a different type of toy with Poni, our favorite puppet. (Open Poni the elf) Print and laminate the character and use it as a puppet to read the series of thematic letters to your group. Throughout the theme, you will need a large toy chest or a large cardboard box that has been decorated to represent a colourful toy chest.Songs & rhymes-The toy chest magic formula

 

Begin by teaching your group the following magic formula:

(Open songs & rhymes-The toy chest magic formula)

Toy chest, toy chest, open up!
All these toys are waiting for me
All day long what fun they'll be
Cars, puzzles, and dolls, yippee!
At the end of the day, after having fun
You can close your lid when I'm done.


Thematic letter-Day 1-Exploring cars, trucks, trains, airplanes, etc.Thematic letter-1-The toy chest
(Open thematic letter-The toy chest 1) Print.

 

Good morning!
Have you seen the big toy chest? When I leave, you can open it up with your early childhood educator to discover its contents. I am sure you will have lots of fun with what's inside! I will come back tomorrow to see how your day went. By the way, to open the toy chest, you must repeat the magic formula. Let's say it all together before I go...

Toy chest, toy chest, open up!
All these toys are waiting for me
All day long what fun they'll be
Cars, puzzles, and dolls, yippee!
At the end of the day, after having fun
You can close your lid when I'm done.

See you tomorrow!

Poni the elf

 

Memo for the early childhood educator: Before children arrive, fill the toy chest with cars, trucks, airplanes, and other types of vehicles. After Poni's visit, children will discover the "toys of the day". Cars and other vehicles are usually used in a particular area of your daycare. Here are a few new ways they can be explored with your group:

  • In your arts & crafts area, encourage children to roll the vehicles in washable poster paint and then on a large sheet of paper to draw tracks.
  • In a sand table or rice bin, trucks can be used to transport all kinds of cargo.
  • In the area where children normally play with cars and other vehicles, remove the mat on which roads are drawn and let children draw their own network of roads by sticking colourful adhesive tape on the floor. Add homemade traffic signs.
  • In your water table (or a sink), children will enjoy washing the different vehicles as if they were at the car wash.
  • In your role play area, arrange chairs one behind the other to represent a train, an airplane, or a taxi.
  • In your science corner, use the vehicles to explore movement. For example, use a large piece of wood to create a slope and observe how the vehicles pick up speed as they go down the slope.

Thematic letter-Day 2-I am discovering dollsThematic letter-2-The toy chest
(Open thematic letter-The toy chest 2) Print.

 

Good morning!
So, what did you find in the toy chest yesterday? Cars! Trucks! Wow! I am sure you had a lot of fun playing with them! Do you think the toy chest contains the same toys today? I am sure you can't wait to open the toy chest with your early childhood educator! I must leave once again because Santa Claus needs my help. However, I will come back tomorrow to make sure you are having fun. Once again, let's repeat the magic formula together to unlock the toy chest:

Toy chest, toy chest, open up!
All these toys are waiting for me
All day long what fun they'll be
Cars, puzzles, and dolls, yippee!
At the end of the day, after having fun
You can close your lid when I'm done.

See you tomorrow!

Poni the elf

 

Memo for the early childhood educator: Before children arrive, fill the toy chest with all kinds of dolls and accessories. Children will discover the "toys of the day" after Poni's visit. Dolls are usually explored in your role play area. Here are a few new ways to have fun with dolls:

  • In your arts & crafts corner, you can dip the feet of plastic dolls in poster paint and then make prints on paper. You can also let children draw on each doll's face with washable markers. They will love giving them rosy cheeks, pretending to add eyeshadow on their eyelids, and lipstick on their lips.
  • In your building blocks and toy car area, provide miniature dolls. Children will enjoy building houses for them or driving them around in cars.
  • In your sand table or rice bin, children will love to help the dolls play in the sand/rice. Add a few accessories.
  • In your water table (or sink), children can wash the dolls. Children can also wash doll clothes and hang them on a clothesline to dry.
  • In your role play area, children will love pretending to be mothers and fathers.
  • In your science area, explore diapers and demonstrate their absorption capacity. You can also dissolve powdered milk in water and fill tiny baby bottles with the mixture.

Thematic letter-Day 3-I am discovering puzzlesThematic letter-3-The toy chest
(Open thematic letter-The toy chest 3) Print.

 

Hello again!
I am still very sleepy. We worked in Santa's workshop until very late last night... Did you enjoy playing with the dolls yesterday? I knew the toy chest contained dolls yesterday since I am the one who filled it before you arrived in the morning. Today, you will discover thousands of tiny pieces. I know you can't wait to play, but first, we must repeat the magic formula:

Toy chest, toy chest, open up!
All these toys are waiting for me
All day long what fun they'll be
Cars, puzzles, and dolls, yippee!
At the end of the day, after having fun
You can close your lid when I'm done.

Poni the elf

 

Memo for the earlychildhood educator: Before children arrive, fill the toy chest with several different types of puzzles. If you are brave, you may even choose to empty the contents of a few puzzle boxes and mix them all up in the bottom of the toy chest. Normally, children play with puzzles only in your manipulation area. Here are a few ways puzzles can be explored in other areas of your daycare:

  • In your arts & crafts corner, use the pieces of an old puzzle as stencils. Children can trace the contour of the different pieces or paint over them with paint rollers or paintbrushes.
  • In your sand table or rice bin, hide the pieces of a puzzle. Children will have to dig them out in order to complete the puzzle.
  • In your building blocks and toy car area, empty the pieces of a 1000-piece puzzle on the floor. Children will enjoy loading the pieces in trucks and driving them around. A very large foam floor puzzle makes a great rug for children to sit on while playing in this area.
  • In your water table (or a sink), let children manipulate plastic puzzle pieces. They will love fishing the pieces out of the water.
  • In your role play area, the pieces of an old puzzle can represent crackers that can be fed to dolls.
  • In your science area, stick magnets behind puzzle pieces and let children explore them while trying to complete puzzles.

Thematic letter-Day 4-I am discovering blocksThematic letter-4-The toy chest
(Open thematic letter-The toy chest 4) Print.

 

Hi!

I am searching for my puzzle pieces... I'm sure you saw them yesterday! Today, you will explore your engineering skills with the contents of the bin. You probably can't wait to get started! As usual, to open the toy chest, we must first say the magic formula:

Toy chest, toy chest, open up!
All these toys are waiting for me
All day long what fun they'll be
Cars, puzzles, and dolls, yippee!
At the end of the day, after having fun
You can close your lid when I'm done.

I must get back to work, Christmas is almost here!

Poni the elf

 

Memo for the early childhood educator: Before children arrive, fill the toy chest with all kinds of blocks. Children will discover the "toys of the day" once they open the toy chest, following Poni's visit. Children normally explore blocks in your building blocks area. Here are ways they can have fun with blocks in other areas of your daycare:

  • In your arts & crafts corner, use blocks dipped in paint to create a variety of prints on paper. The blocks can also be used as stencils.
  • In your sand box or rice bin, encourage children to use the blocks to build different structures.
  • In your toy car area, children can use wooden blocks to create roads and bridges for vehicles.
  • In your water table (or a sink), let children experiment and try to make underwater constructions.
  • In your role play area, children can use giant blocks to build shelter or a bed for dolls. Smaller blocks can represent food for dolls.
  • In your science area, children can build very high towers and watch them fall down. They can experiment balancing by stacking blocks of different sizes.

Thematic letter-Day 5-I am discovering modeling dough
(Open thematic letter-The toy chest 5) Print.

 

Good day to you my little friends!
This will be my last visit since I will be working day and night until Christmas to make sure Santa's bag is filled with toys. I hope you had fun with the building blocks yesterday. Today, it is the artist in each of you that will be given the opportunity to shine. I am sure you will enjoy being creative with the contents of the toy chest. To discover what is inside, let's once again repeat the magic formula:

Toy chest, toy chest, open up!
All these toys are waiting for me
All day long what fun they'll be
Cars, puzzles, and dolls, yippee!
At the end of the day, after having fun
You can close your lid when I'm done.

I hope you all receive a toy chest filled with love for Christmas!

Poni the elf

 

Memo for the early childhood educator: Before children arrive, fill your toy chest with modeling dough and cookie cutters. Children will discover the "toys of the day" after Poni's visit. Children usually play with modeling dough in your manipulation area. Here are ways modeling dough can be used throughout your daycare:

  • In your arts & crafts corner, encourage children to use the modeling dough to create different stamps that can be dipped in poster paint and pressed on paper to make prints. Of course, use old modeling dough for this activity since it will have to be thrown away.
  • In your sand box or rice bin, have fun rolling balls of dough in the sand or rice to explore a variety of textures. If you have a pasta bin, children will enjoy pressing pasta pieces in the dough to create a variety of designs.
  • In your toy car area, trucks can be used to carry modeling dough "rocks". Toy cars can also be rolled over modeling dough to make a variety of prints.
  • In your water table (or a sink), experiment with different types of modeling dough and encourage children to observe the changes that occur under water.
  • In your role play area, use modeling dough to bake pretend desserts or pasta. Cookie cutters can be used to make modeling dough cookies.
  • In your science area, you can prepare homemade modeling dough with your group. Visit the Creative Recipes section of the educatall.com website for recipes.

COGNITIVE ACTIVITIESEduc-pairs-The toy chest

Educ-pairs-The toy chest
(Open educ-pairs-The toy chest) Print. Children must draw a line between identical illustrations or color them using the same color. For durable, eco-friendly use, laminate for use with a dry-erase marker.

 

Educ-trace-The toy chest
(Open educ-trace-The toy chest) Print for each child. Children must trace the lines using a marker of the corresponding color and then color the object at the end of the line using the same color.

 

Educa-symmetry-The toy chest
(Open educa-symmetry-The toy chest) Print. Children must color the bottom picture to make it identical to the picture on top.

 

ARTS & CRAFTS

Models-ToysEduc-trace-The toy chest
(Open models-Toys) Print several copies and use the models for your various crafts and activities throughout the theme.

 

Puppets-The toy chest
(Open puppets-The toy chest) Print the models on heavy cardboard. Cut them out and glue a Popsicle stick to the back of each puppet. Decorate them using a variety of materials.

 

COLORING PAGES

(Open coloring pages theme-The toy chest) Print.

 

I am learning to draw-A car
(Open I am learning to draw-A car) Print and laminate the model sheet. Invite children to practice their drawing technique on the model sheet before trying to draw a car on their onw.

 

SCRAPBOOK
My favorite toy

(Open scrapbook-My favorite toy) Print this new scrapbook page for each child. Have them complete it before adding it to their scrapbook. If you do not already have a scrapbook, visit the Scrapbook section of the educatall club.

 

SONGS & RHYMES

(Open songs & rhymes-The toy chest)

By: Patricia Morrison Sung to: Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer

 

The toy chestSongs & Rhymes-The toy chest

This is my favorite toy chest
It's filled with all kinds of fun
Puzzles, dolls, and instruments
Modeling dough, cars, and blocks
So many things to play with
Oh how I love my toy chest
So come on now everyone
Join in all my favorite games

 

Have fun

The Educatall team

 

 

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