One of my favorite children’s books is The Little Red Hen. I read it every year to my class. I often pair the story with this interactive circle time activity, which is designed to improve listening skills, and teach colors. It also gives children an opportunity to follow directions and to participate during large group.
Cut out colored hens to match the colors in the poem (the hen pattern is provided here). I happened to have some extra felt, so I just used that. However, construction paper will work just as well. Glue the hens onto paper plates, add some googly eyes, and coordinating craft sticks. I used watercolors to color the sticks.
During circle time, give each child a hen. Some colors may have to be repeated depending upon how many children are in the circle. Instruct the children to hold up their hen when they hear their color, then read the poem below. This is a fantastic attention grabber. My preschoolers, even my “busy” ones, hold their breath with anticipation, just waiting to hear their color words; they get so excited to spring into action!
THE COLORED HENS POEM
This little hen is brown
You’ll never catch her with a frown
This little hen is black
She’s not a duck, so she doesn’t quack
This little hen is yellow
She’s friends with Mr. Rooster – he’s a happy fellow
This little hen is purple
She likes to walk in a circle
This little hen is green
On the farm she can been seen
This little hen is blue,
She likes to follow me and you
This little hen is red
She’s laid all her eggs in her bed
After the poem is read, and all the hens have been held up, talk about the different colors. To build phonemic awareness, the rhyming words should also be repeated and discussed.
MATERIALS USED:
– Colored felt or construction paper
– Our hen template
– Scissors
– Tacky glue
– Paper plates
– Jumbo craft sticks/tongue depressors
– Washable liquid watercolors
– Googly eyes
This Easter sensory bin assembly was completely effortless since we had so many cute goodies left over from our our 3D collage Hobby Lobby and Dollar Tree hauls. This time around, colored rock salt was used as a base. You can find the tutorial on how to color rock salt, rice, and macaroni in our post here.
Oh, look who is making yet another appearance! We cannot get enough of the soft little chicks. The great thing is, is that even though this bin will contain many of the same items that the children will have used in their collages, they will be using them in totally different ways, creating new learning experiences.
MATERIALS USED:
– Any suitable container
– A batch of colored rock salt (tutorial here)
– Plastic eggs
– Plastic bunny eggs
– Small glitter eggs
– Colored buttons
– Chicks
– Easter grass
– Small baskets
– Small cups
– Ice cream scoop
– Sand rake
– Tweezers
This math activity is sure to engage children while reinforcing seriation (size skills). Have your learners arrange the Peeps in different ways before adhering them onto the paper. Ask them to arrange the pieces from small to large and then large to small. In addition, have them separate the two largest from the two smallest. Finally, let your students choose which size order they would like to glue the bunnies in.
Be sure to discuss other words that mean big (huge, large, etc.) and small (tiny, little, etc.), and incorporate them into the task.
We're Gigi and Zoey. We teach a two-year program (preschool and pre-k), and we're passionate about Early Childhood Education and the philosophy that children learn through play. Our goal is to prepare children for kindergarten while making learning fun.
We hope that our resources inspire you, and that you will share them with your little ones.
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