The Best of 2013 – My Favorite Posts!

Today, I’m joining over 50 bloggers from the Kid Blogger Network for The Best of 2013 Blog Hop!  Yesterday, I shared Fun-A-Day’s top preschool learning activities for the year.  Today, I want to focus on a few of my favorite posts.

I have to admit that I get attached to each post that I wrote here, so narrowing down my favorites was a bit difficult.  But here goes . . .

my favorite posts – the best of 2013!

1. How to Dye Corn Kernels
This post isn’t directly about a kid activity, but it serves as the basis for so many potential ideas!  It started out as an idea I had to make corn mosaics with my preschoolers.  However, I just couldn’t find any conclusive information about dying corn kernels with good results.  This post details the method I found to create beautifully colored corn kernels.

2. Pirate Science FUN: Exploding Treasure Chests
If you’re a regular reader of Fun-A-Day, you know how we love science experiments!  This one was created for a pirate-themed summer camp.  I enjoyed crafting the experiment for the kiddos, and they all had a BLAST with it!  So much so that they would have played and explored for hours if they could have.

3. Winter Sensory Play {and a Few “Disasters”}
This post details a few ideas for winter sensory bins in preschool.  While I liked the sensory play ideas, this one is a favorite of mine for a different reason.  It illustrates how even the best-laid plans can go awry, with messy consequences!  Even better, it shows how children can run with an activity . . . and take it down a path the teacher didn’t even consider.  🙂

4. Kindergarten Readiness: What Your Child REALLY Needs
As a preschool teacher, a former kindergarten teacher, and a mama, kindergarten readiness is close to my heart.  Here I share my professional opinion as to what children really need to know to be ready for kindergarten.  It links to a related post by Sandi of Rubberboots and Elf Shoes, a Canadian kindergarten teacher.

5. Christmas Senses Book – Holiday Book Making in Preschool
While this is a holiday-themed post, it clearly shows a great way to incorporate literacy into the preschool classroom.  Making books with children of all ages allows for so much meaningful learning!  Links to other book making ideas are included at the bottom of the post.

On a more personal note, I’d like to add one more.  This post wasn’t focused on my usual child activities and ideas.  It was an intensely personal look at how my childhood, as well as a group of other mamas, had a huge impact on my journey into motherhood.  I poured a lot of myself into it, so I hope you’ll take a moment to read it . . . Motherhood: Breaking the Cycle of Abuse.

Below you’ll find over 50 Kid Blogger Network members coming together for The KBN Best Of 2013 Blog Hop. We know you’ll find tons of wonderful ideas to browse, pin and share. We’d love for you to join the blog hop and share your favorite activity of 2013 too, and make sure you’re following the Kid Blogger Network on Pinterest. 

Happy New Year from the KBN Best of 2013 Blog Hop Co-Hosts!
Powerful Mothering, The Good Long Road, All Done Monkey, Afterschool for Smarty Pants, B-Inspired Mama, Babble Dabble Do, Bits of Positivity, Boy Mama Teacher Mama, Caution! Twins at Play, Child Central Station, Creative Family Fun, Creative World of Varya, Cute and Peculiar, Dirt and Boogers, Edventures with Kids, The European Mama, The Eyes of a Boy, The Fairy and the Frog, Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails, Fun-A-Day!, Glittering Muffins, , Growing Book by Book, Hands on: as we grow, Here Come The Girls, iGame Mom, I Heart Crafty Things, Inspiration Laboratories, Kid World Citizen, Kiddie Foodies, Kids Yoga Stories, Kitchen Counter Chronicles, Lalymom, Lemon Lime Adventures, Let’s Play Music, Living Montessori Now, Makeovers and Motherhood, Mama Smiles, Multicultural Kids Blog, My Little 3 and Me, P is for Preschooler, Peakle Pie, Pennies of Time, Playdough to Plato, PlayDrMom, Preschool Powol Packets, Racheous – Lovable Learning, Still Playing School, Smiling Like Sunshine, Stir the Wonder, Teach Me Mommy, Teach Preschool, There’s Just One Mommy, Toddler Approved, True Aim Education, Tutus and Tea Parties, Where Imagination Grows, and Wildflower Ramblings.

If you’re a blogger, please join us and link up your best posts of 2013!  If you’re a blog reader, please check out the amazing amount of kid-related posts shared by my co-hosts and in the link up!

Hands-On Preschool Materials

It is imperative that we keep our classrooms stocked with materials that will give our students the hands-on learning experiences that they love (and need!). There are a few specific things that I always keep on-hand in my classroom. Check them out in the list below.

I may get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

• Crayons
• Glue
• Blocks
• Puzzles
• Safety scissors
• Dramatic play items
• Math manipulatives
• Dry erase markers
• Sensory items
• Play dough
• Craft supplies
• Playground balls
• Music and movement tools
• Books, books, and more books!

When it comes to preschool, this list is really just skims the surface of the wide variety of materials that can be used. The best thing about this age group is that they learn the most while playing. So, whether they’re playing on the playground, building with blocks, or creating a masterpiece, rest assured that the children are learning so many important skills, all while having fun!

Done-for-You Preschool Resources

Planning meaningful lessons for students week after week, all while balancing other teaching responsibilities and a personal life, can be a daunting task. That’s where Preschool Teacher 101 comes in to save you time!

Preschool Teacher 101 is excited to share with you some amazing lesson plans, activity packs, and other resources made specifically for preschool. We offer a wide variety of themes that are frequently used in preschool classrooms as well as less common (but super interesting) themes. Click on the image below to learn more about some of my favorite resources:

Join The Pack from Preschool Teacher 101 today for exclusive access to our amazing products. And we even have three different membership options to suit your needs!