Pool Noodle Horse DIY and Game

Pool Noodle Horse

A "How To" and a Letter Review, Hay Game

On our very first day of Preschool, I asked the kids what they wanted to learn about that year. I wanted to lesson plan based on what the kids were interested in. One of my kids said she wanted to learn about horses and ponies. As I was looking for ideas, I saw one idea where you can make a ride on horse out of a pool noodle. 

We were in season for Pool Noodles at the Dollar store, so I went and picked up enough for the kids. While I was there I also found some twine to make the reins. We had the Google Eyes and some yarn for the hair. I also found some leftover felt from previous projects. 

 I try to use the supplies that I have in the house. I am more concerned with teaching a concept than I am about something looking perfect. As I planned this, I tried thinking of a concept the kids could learn with their horses. Yes they could use this for pretend play, but was there anything else we could do? What I came up with, was a Letter Review, Hay Game. 

 How to Make a Pool Noodle Horse

This was a very easy project. I plugged in the Hot Glue Gun to start warming up while I tied the top of the Pool Noodle down. 

Once the Pool Noodle is tied, You can attach the ears, cut out of felt, the hair, which can be felt or yarn, and the eyes. I suggest putting the glue on the item and let it sit for just a bit before putting it on the pool noodle. Otherwise it will just melt the noodle. I didn't realize that I only had 2 small glue sticks for 8 kids to complete, so I really tried to skimp on the glue. The yarn hair hung off quite a bit. 

The kids chose their colors and eyes and then I glued it for them. 

Letter Review Hay Game

For the game, I drew some straight or slanted lines on a paper and then the kids cut out the strips. We want them working on their fine motor skills, so they cut their paper. 

Once the hay was cut, they either wrote their letters or traced them, depending on their level. Each piece of hay had a different letter on them. Once that was done, we threw them on the floor and the kids galloped after each other until it was time to "eat the hay". 

Depending on their level, they either say the letter or they also make the sound of the letter as they feed their horse. 

Horsey, Horsey, Don't you stop

Just let your hooves go Clippity, Clop

Your tail go swish, and your wheels go round

Giddy Up! We're homeward bound. 

The kids thought they were being funny...

Horse Puppet

For our younger group, they made paper bag, puppets and then fed their puppet the letter hay. I just got construction paper and then tried to free hand the different pieces. For the Template, Click Here. It is hard figuring out which piece goes where, when the kids butcher them. :)  I cut a little slit by the mouth for the hay to fit down. I never did get a finished picture, but you get the point. It's just a different, cheaper idea for something the kids can play with while they learn their letters. They love it. 

Shark Letter Review - Ocean Theme at Preschool

Shark Letter Review

As I was planning for our Ocean Theme at preschool, I saw the idea of making a shark out of cardboard. I got one of our large boxes and drew the outline of the shark and used a knife to cut out the mouth. I cut out triangles for the teeth and the kids did the rest. 

They loved the making of it just as much as the playing with it. Some colored the shark and some put the teeth on. Because the box was large enough, we made 2 sharks so we could have more kids play with it. 

The kids each took turns being the shark and then being the ones to feed the shark. 

The kids feeding the shark had to say the letter fish before the shark would eat it. The sharks had to check the fish to see if they got the letter right. 

 We kept this out for a while because the kids enjoyed being sharks. 

Cookie Jar Letter Review

It was time for a recap of what we had learned so far so I thought it would be fun to make a cookie jar. Originally I had planned on gluing the cookies on a paper but I thought it would be fun if they could play with them and hold them.  

I drew circles on brown paper and the kids cut them out. I used a hole punch to make the "chocolate chips". This is great for fine motor since they are harder to handle. The kids glued the "chocolate chips" on and then we traced letters on each cookie. I quickly drew a Jar shape on a brown paper bag and cut a slit at the top of the jar so the kids could slide them through. The kids always seem to love doing this. 

The kids found their letter cookies as I called them out and they fed it into the cookie jar. This is great for letter C day and perfect for reading "If you give a mouse a cookie" book.  

Wizard Letter Review

We were learning about the letter W and I thought it would be fun if we pretended to be Wizards that day. 

I quickly put some paper in a cone shape and stapled to make hats for the kids to wear. Then each child got a Pipe cleaner for their wand. I have Harry Potter gear, I just couldn't find it this day, so I improvised with what I had. (story of my life)

The kids got to pick a letter card and then I would tell them what letter they had to cast a spell on. 

If the children don't know their letters, then they can see the card for help. 

 I think he was casting a Dinosaur spell on the letter T. 

This was a fun way to review our letters. I forgot to send home home the hats so we are going to have the kids decorate them and play again. 

Umbrella Water Drop Letter Review

We made it to the Letter U and I thought it would be fun to learn about the Letter U at the same time as reviewing what we already learned. 

This child didn't want her umbrella on the paper so we taped a pencil on the back so she could hold it up and walk around with. She decided to draw an umbrella on the paper instead. 

For this Activity, I traced an outline of an Umbrella on white paper and then traced water drops on blue paper. I always trace a few extra just in case they make mistakes in cutting or in tracing and they want to redo it. 

The kids got to color their umbrella how they wanted and then they started cutting out their pieces. Some of the kids are at the tracing stage, and others are at the stage where they know their letters and can write them on their own. I always try and adapt the activity to the child so they can do it. Below is our freshly turned 3 year old (my daughter) She didn't cut out her umbrella and some of her rain drops are the extras from the other kids or scraps from her cutting. It's more about the process then it is about the finished product. 

As a tip, I've learned that it helps to give each child a cup to put their small cut out papers they want saved. We've had many, many days where pieces were accidentally thrown away. 

Feed the Elephant Letter and Shape Review

Feed the Elephant Game

Great for working on a review of what the kids have learned

We are learning our Alphabet at a slow pace in our class. I like to stop and have reviews so it sticks better. Since we got to the letter E I thought it would be fun to have a little game this kids could take home and play with. 

I roughly traced a trunk, 2 ears and 3 eyes for the kids to cut out. Since I don't have gray paper I just rubbed a gray crayon quickly over the white paper. 

Next I folded the tan paper pretty small (probably into 8ths) and then traced a peanut shape on top and then cut it out as it was folded. It gave the peanuts a rough edge because my scissors are quite cheap but I figured it worked just fine. 

I wrote Letters A-E and then did 5 shapes for the kids that they were learning about. 

The kids glued the parts on to the brown paper bag. Once the glue was mostly dry I cut out a mouth for the peanuts to fit in. 

At the end of the day, we sat around a circle and I would call out a letter or shape and the kids would feed the Elephant the correct letter and shape. Then they took it home and got to play with it at home. 

Letter Q Day

Letter Q Day at Preschool

This Quilt activity took a little bit of brain power for both of us. I ended up cutting the paper in 4ths and then drawing diagonal both directions so each of the 4 rectangles that had been cut, now have 4 triangles on it, and then the kids cut them. Since we have several kids, We just swapped halves so one child had 4 long green triangles and 4 long pink ones, and then 4 green short ones as well as 4 short pink triangles. The other kids alternated it so it looked like an actual Quilt pattern but this child arranged them differently. The first bottom left rectangle shows the pattern. This was good puzzle practice and patterns and size practice as well. Once everything was glued on, the kids wrote Capital Q's on the Green pieces and then lower case q's on the pink triangles. The reason we waited until after it was glued, was so the letter would be written in the correct direction and side. 

We finished off with a letter review of what we had worked on so far. We used Q-tips to paint our letters.

Dog Puppet Letter Review

I saw the idea of this adorable puppy and thought it would be great to make this into a puppy that eats bones. My 3 year olds were practicing their letters A, B, C, and D and reviewing colors as well. I made a bunch of bones while they cut out their spots and face. Once everything was glued on and dried, I cut out a hole under the flap for the mouth.

We sat around in a circle and I called out a bone and the kids had to find it and then feed their dog while making munching sounds. It was a hit with the kids. I had a mom tell me that her daughter played with it all day. 

Jack and the Beanstalk Letter Review

At Preschool, we learned about the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. The kids cut out leaves and wrote the letters a-j on them and then glued them in alphabetical order on the bean stalk. After that we came to the living room to act out the story. They had to say the letters going up the stalk and then they had to say them backwards as they came down the stalk. When they forgot what letter it was, they sang the song and pointed to the letters and then they were able to remember what letter they were on. This was great because Jack goes up and down the stalk 3 times! I was the giant at the end of the story and came down after them. 

Letter Review

This was a letter review for what we had worked on so far. A-G with upper and lower case letters. We always try to work on scissor skills since Teachers really can't help one on one with scissor skills in Kindergarten. We stuck the letter gumballs on contact paper and then glued the rest of the pieces on. 

Last year we did a different letter every day and with field trips and Holidays, it worked out perfectly that we touched on the whole alphabet by Christmas time. Then after our break we could come back and delve into our themes and continue on with our alphabet. The problem was, one of my kids had retention problems. We would sing songs, and trace it, do a craft, and she would repeat the letter and then, without fail, 5 minutes later she couldn't remember the letter. This year I have another one like that so I have scrapped long term plans and frequently stop and do reviews. It has made a huge difference with this child, this year. 

The other thing I do, is have a way for them to figure out the letter on their own. They learn the alphabet song pretty quick and I have the cards hanging up in the preschool room. When she gets to a letter she doesn't know, I have her go to the preschool room and sing as she touches each letter till she comes to the one doesn't know. It gives them a sense of pride to be able to figure it out on their own.

Idea from here