Activity : Creating A Peanut Butter Sandwich

When lunch time arrives, the children can create their own sandwiches. Put out some bread, peanut butter, sliced banana, crushed pineapple, dried fruit, relish, raisins, grated carrots, or cheese. Let each child decide what she wants in her sandwich.

Activity : Stick Puppets

Help the children cut out several pictures of animals or people from a magazine. The pictures can be glued to cardboard and then to popsicle sticks to make puppets.

Activity : Make A Book

Have the children cut pictures from an old magazine. Each child can paste the pictures into a book made of paper and bound with yarn. Each child can write or dictate a short story about each picture.

Activity : A Theme Collage

What You Need :

• Old Magazines


• Safety Scissors


• Glue


• Paper

What you do:

Have the children decide the theme of the collage. Write the theme at the top of the paper. They can look through magazines and cut out pictures that follow the theme. Some ideas for
themes are dogs, cats, or plants.

Activity : Make Bean Bags

Help your child sew some scrap material together and then fill with navy or pinto beans. (Due to choking hazards, this activity is not intended for children under three years of age.)

Activity : Make A Megaphone

A clean, empty plastic bleach container with the bottom cut off looks exactly like a megaphone. The children can practice singing or talking to the “crowd.”

Activity : Dress Up

Old hats, shirts, shoes, ribbons, junk jewelry, and other old clothing will occupy a child for hours. Let each child pick out his own costume.

Activity : Start A Collection

Young children like to collect things like rocks, shells, or coins. You can help children organize the collection by labeling the objects as to where they were found or who gave it to the child.

Activity : Flavored Milk

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Of Milk


• 1/2 Bannana, mashed, or


• 1/2 Cup of Orange Juice, or


• 1/4 Cup of Crushed Strawberries

Help the child mix the milk with one of the ingredients, and then shake until blended. This is a tasty, nutritious drink.

Activity : A Noodle Necklace

Big uncooked macaroni, painted or plain, can make a great necklace. Younger children will enjoy threading a string or shoelace through the macaroni.

Activity : Make A Newspaper

what you Need:

• Several Sheets of Paper


• Safety Scissors


• Crayons


• Construction Paper


• Glue

What you do:

A child can make her own newspaper by drawing or cutting out pictures of events or writing a simple story. The child can mail the newspaper to relatives or friends.

USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program

Did you know you can be reimbursed for the food you purchase for your daycare ?

The U.S. Department of Agriculture provides funding for child care facilities that participate on the USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program. This federal program was established in 1968 to help childcare providers feed nutritious meals to the children in their care. Our organization, Southwest Human Development Services, is a non-profit sponsor of the Program.

Last year, the USDA provided $1.8 billion dollars for meals in child care facilities. Child Care Providers are always better off financially if the join the Program. Food costs are the highest operating expense for child care providers and the Program helps offset those costs. With a childcare provider feeding 6 children on the Program, the monthly reimbursement check averages $ 500 a month. In many cases, the childcare provider’s own children are eligible for federal child nutrition benefits.

They also provide free software to manage your child care business. You can also use this system for online claiming for the food program.

Their website is http://www.swhuman.org
Phone : 1-800-369-9082
EMail : Info@swhuman.org

If you have any questions please let me know thanks !

Activity : Press Some Flowers

On a nice day, ask the children to collect some flowers and place them inside a big heavy book or
a stack of books. (To protect the pages of the book, place a napkin or paper towel in the book first.) After a few weeks the flowers will be dry. The children can make a dried flower picture by
gluing the flowers on a piece of paper.

Activity : Homemade Puppets

Old socks, mittens, and lunch bags make interesting hand puppets. Children love to talk through
puppets. This gives them the chance to create their own characters. Use markers to make eyes and noses and yarn for hair.The children can even add clothes, a hat, teeth, or ears.

Activity : Experiment with Water

Fill three jars with water and mark the level on each jar. Place one jar in the freezer and one in a window. Put a lid on the third jar and put it beside the jar in the window. Have the children check
the jars frequently. Talk about expansion of water, evaporation, and air.

Activity : Go Bird Watching

Make a bird feeder out of a paper milk or juice carton. Cut out two opposite side panels and fold down to make a ledge for the birds to rest on. Let the children decorate the carton. Put a string through the top to hang. The bird feeder can be hung from a tree or clothesline near a window.
Let the children add the seed when necessary.

Activity : Fun Play Dough

What you need:

• 2 Parts flour


• 1 Part flour


• Food Color


• 1 Part Salt


• 1 Part Water

What you do:
Mix and knead until it is doughy and the color is mixed in well. Store in a covered container.

Activity : Feel Box

Find an old shoe box. Cut a hole in the lid. You can ask the children to decorate the box. Put some things in the box. Let each child put one hand in the hole and try to guess what is in the box by feeling the objects.

Activity : Egg and Milk Cartons As Toys

Cut egg cartons into individual cups and make them look like flowers. Use a pipe cleaner as a
stem. The children can also make puppets out of egg cartons and pipe cleaners. Milk cartons can be transformed into great building blocks or a train. To make the blocks, simply cut the top off two cartons and push them together. The blocks can be covered with contact
paper.

To make a train, cut the top off of the carton and cover with contact paper. For wheels, glue four egg carton cups on the bottom of each “car” of the train. The cars can be connected
with string or yarn.

Activity : Ideas with Paper

Children can make a collage or book by cutting pictures out of old magazines and gluing them on a piece of paper or cut out colorful magazine strips and wrap around a tooth pick. Pull the toothpick out, glue strip, let dry, and thread between beads.

Activity : Household Items Can Be Fun !

Egg cartons, milk cartons, empty thread spools, flour, salt, water, and food coloring can be used to make fun, safe educational toys and materials for the children.

Activity : Counting the Dishes

Have the children help set the table for meals or snack and ask them to count how many napkins, forks, dishes, and spoons will be needed.

Activity : Obstacle Course

An obstacle course can be set up either in or out of doors. Chairs, old tires, stools, and logs are just a few things that can be used. Make and show the children the pattern of the course so that they know what they have to crawl over, under, or through.

Activity : Learning Important Information

Help a child learn his telephone number and address while playing. Tape the house number on
a play house or the bedroom door. The telephone number can be taped to a play telephone. Ask the child his telephone number and address frequently.

Activity : Let's Jump !

Have the children stand with their toes at a starting line. When you give a signal, have the children jump five times forward. The distance each child jumped can be measured with chalk or string. Let the children jump again to see if they can improve their distance.

Activity : Colored Sand Art

Take dry sand from the sand box and put a handful into several small containers. Add some food coloring into each container and mix together until the sand is colored. Give the children some
paper and glue. Have them make patterns with the glue to make a design. When they are finished, let them sprinkle the glue with the colored sand.

Activity : Make A Necklace

Empty thread spools that are painted different colors can make a safe necklace for younger children. They can even help you make the necklace.

Take the spools and string them together with a soft string or shoe lace. The younger children will enjoy helping you do this.

Activity : Make A Musical Instrument

A musical instrument can easily be made with two
small paper plates and beans. Place the beans on one plate. Cover with the other plate. Tape, glue, or staple the plates together. Encourage the child to playthe instrument to music.
(Due to choking hazards, this activity is not intended for children under three years of age.)

Activity : Have A Telephone Conversation

A homemade telephone can help younger children build their vocabulary skills and also be a lot of fun. The phone can be made of styrofoam, cardboard, or plastic cups. The phone line should
have two “receivers.” Punch a small hole in the bottom of each cup, and push the ends of a 15 to 20 foot string through the holes. Tie a large knot at each end of the string. The children can stretch out the string and begin their conversation.

Activity : Paste Jewelry

What you need :

• 3/4 cups of flour
• 1/2 cup of corn starch
• 1/2 cup of salt
• Warm water

What you do :

Mix the ingredients in a bowl. Add warm water , gradually until the mixture forms a dough. Before working with the dough, dust with flour to reduce the stickiness. The children
can shape the dough into different shaped beads. A hole can be pierced in each bead with a toothpick. Dry the beads on a screen.