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Early Childhood

Activity Bank

Sue LaBella, Education World's early childhood editor, has created hundreds of activities for use across the year and the curriculum. Click any month on the list below to scan her list of activities for that month. Sue leads off this archive with her long list of "Anytime Activities."

Anytime Activities
January Activities
February Activities
March Activities
April Activities
May Activities
June Activities
Summer Activities
Back-to-School Activities
September Activities
October Activities
November Activities
December Activities

ANYTIME ACTIVITIES

Brown Bear, Brown Bear
A House Is a House… (Habitats)
Animals and Their Homes
Animal Homes and Our Homes
Cloudy With What? (Language Arts)
A Big Blue Ox (Folktales)
A Special Fish (Art)
All About Me
Guess Who? (A Getting-to-Know-You Activity)
Graphing Our Names
Me or I? (Simple Rhymes)
My Pizza Looks Likes Me!
Should I Call 9-1-1?
The Doorbell Rang (Acting Out a Story)
Digging for Dinos
Dinosaurs: How Big Were They?
Eating Volcanoes
Dinos in My Bathtub!
A Real Dino Egg
Make a Dino
A Smooth Treat
Seeing Sea Stars: Two Activities
Under the Sea
Watch Turtles Hatch
Make a Turtle
Digging for Turtle Eggs
Turtle /t/ Diagrams
Tasty Turtles
Turtle, Turtle, What Do You See?
Are You An Ant? (Sentence Sense)
Hungry Ants (Science)
Ants in the Sand: A Recipe
Comparing Ants to Other Creatures
Graphing Our Favorite Popcorn
Dinosaur Books to Read
Beach Bucket Basketball
Say, Sing, Chant the Alphabet
Giant Alphabet
Grocery Store Walk (Letter Identification)
Alphabet Scavenger Hunt
Make Up a Game
It's an Obstacle, Of Course!
Just Moooooooooooove!
Shoot for the Stars
Create Starry Art
Starry Science
Counting Poems
Purple Passion (and Purple Poems)
Graphing Colors
Colorful Books
Community Helpers
More Community Helpers
I Like Me: Developing Self-Esteem
Friendship Fruit Salad
Sing a Friendship Song
Plan a 'Friendship Fair'
Amos and Boris Are Friends
The Bear's 'Reading Den'
Read and Do
Squeezing OJ
Paper Plate Puppet Play
Giggle Break
Imagine This: A Brother or Sister
Did You Hear That?
Noodle Numbers
Order, Order! (Sequencing)
Same Number, Different Look
More or Less?
Measure Me!
Go on a Measure Hunt
Name That Sound
It's Raining Numbers
We're Headed in the Right Direction
Is Your Head in the Clouds?
You Rock!
Aprons for Everyone
Super Sandwich People
Crunchy Cereal Parfait
Salad That Sings
Nosy Nick (Sense of Smell)
Invite an Artist
Friendship Wreath
Teamwork Works!
Make New Friends
A Friendly Mix
Our Friendly Book
Transportation Poem
How Will I Get There?
A Sinking Ship
Car Math
The Traffic Light Says…
Living Letters
Match the Animal Babies
Animal Tic-Tac-Toe
Wooly Lambs
Who Hatches?
Baby Animals Graph
Circle of Pandas
Panda Pokey
Panda Storytelling
Who's Who at the Zoo?
Peek-a-Boo Panda
Let's Eat Dirt
Earth's Fossils Let's Take a Bath
Milk a Cow
Act It Out
Our Revised 'Little Bo Peep'
Rub, Rub, Rub
A Fun Fingerplay
Read About Animals
Lamb Pop
Puppet Poetry
Froggy Fun
What's the Problem?
Marshmallow Finger Puppets
M&M Charts - Mmm!
Feed the Math Monster
Counting Bears
Ten in Bed, and… (Math)
Do You Want Fries With Your Math?
Trees Throughout the Seasons
Wall-to-Wall Fun
Hoop Hopping
Tossing Gumdrops
All Around My Home
Where Do You Live?
Finding Home
My Edible Home
What's an Adobe?
A Is for Alphabet Hunt
Do You Hear the /g/ Sound?
Seeing Stars
Ring Around the Rosie
A Tasty Piece of Pizza
Counting Meatballs
Popular Popcorn
Pancake Measurement

JANUARY ACTIVITIES

Winter Beach Party
Happy New Year!
Remember Others on the 100th Day of School
Estimate It on the 100th Day
Imagining $100 on the 100th Day
Counting by 10 on the 100th Day
'Our Book of 100 Opposites'
Emperor Penguins of Ant-ART-ica
Antarctica Similes
Animals Stay Warm With Blubber
Sweet Penguins
Which Penguin Is Your Favorite?
Winter Wear
Winter Whites
What Would They Say on a Snowy Day?
Move to Winter Words
The Mitten
Mitten Math
It's Soooo Big!
Super Snowflake
A Snowy Quilt
Mitten Match
Dress for Winter Weather
Floating Icebergs
Sparkly Snow (Art)
Eating Glaciers
Who's Hibernating?
Bear Biscuits
Food Is Hard to Find in Winter
The Grouchy Ladybug
Reindeer Treat

FEBRUARY ACTIVITIES

Paper Plate Groundhog
Groundhog Day Predict and Graph
Putting It Together: Compound Words
Groundhog Cupcakes
Find the Groundhog's Shadow
Let's Dance
Printing Hearts
Let 'Em Fly!
Make a Kiss to Give
I Love You More…
Let's Read on Valentine's Day
Love of Learning
Dental Health Month
Animal Teeth
Learning About Our Presidents
Presidents Day: The Men on the Money
Who Was President When…?
Valentine's Day
Make Heart Necklaces
Counting Hearts
Have-a-Heart Relay
Create a Quilt of Hearts
Happy Teeth or Sad Teeth?
What Color Is Your Toothbrush?
Let's Brush!
Let's Floss!
'Look Who Is Smiling!'
Pretty Lincoln Penny Necklaces
George Washington Finger Puppet
Make Cheery Cherry Treats
What Does the President Do?
Healthy Teeth: A Picture Poem
Happy Tooth, Sad Tooth
Which Toothpaste Is Your Favorite?
Give Us a Smile!
Healthy Teeth Experiment
Floss, Floss, Floss

MARCH ACTIVITIES

March Is Nutrition Month
March Music
Signs of Spring
Lonely Clouds in the Sky
Name That Food Group
Fruit and Vegetable Puppet Fun
Our Breakfast Big Book
Nutrition Month Read-Alouds
Silly Seeds
A Windy Walk
Rainbow Dancing
Tasty Kites
Spring Weather Words
Beautiful Seeds
Plants Drink Up Water
I Seed You!
Puzzling Plants
How Does It Grow?
Spring Trees
Watch Your Balance! (Nutrition)
Funny Bunnies
Watch the Flowers Grow
I Can Read!
Sprouting Beans
A Hungry Caterpillar
Extraordinary Eggs!
Flowers to Eat
Nutritious Reading

APRIL ACTIVITIES

Back to Nature: Investigating Trash
What Pollutes Our Air?
Don't Be a Litterbug
April Showers: Stepping in the Puddles
Paper Trees
Tree Math
More Tree Math
Why Be a Tree?
My Tree Book
The Shape of Trees to Come
Recycled Crayons
Let's Plant!
An Outdoor Scavenger Hunt
Make a Promise Tree
Time for Flowers
Growing Carrots
Carrots: Read 'Em and Eat 'Em
Seed It!
Get to the Roots
Spring Flowers
Pressing Flowers
April Showers Art
Flower Hour
Butterfly Match
Trees Are Terrific
Looking at Leaves
A Nest for Me to Eat
What Do I Feel? (Parts of a Tree)
Leaf Match
Sorting Leaves

MAY ACTIVITIES

Give a Hug Card
Pets and Their Pups
Bookmark It!
A Mother's Day Gift of Love
Mother's Day 'Tail'
Wow, Watermelon!
Make a Beehive
Look Who's 'Growing' to First Grade! (Graduation)

JUNE ACTIVITIES

Seeing Stars (Flag Day)
Describe Our Flag
F Is for Flag
Flag Day Poetry
Looking at W: A Watermelon Wheelbarrow
A Flag of Fruit

SUMMER ACTIVITIES

A Flag of Fruit
Find the U.S. Symbols
String of Stars
So Salty!
A Citizenship Flag
Studying Sand
What Makes Waves?
Summer Treat: Banana Push-Ups
Fruit Kabobs
Where Are the Ants?
The Enourmous Watermelon
Watermelon Treats
Let's Measure Our Watermelon
Patriotic Pretzels
A Day at the Beach
Sand and Shadows
Lucky Ladybugs
Watermelon Pops
Patriotic Parade
Fireworks!
Reaching for the Stars
Patriotic Windsocks
Cool Patriotic Pops
Summer Science
Egg Carton Sunglasses
Summer Pool Fun
Read It and Draw
Summer Refressshhhment!
Float or Sink?
Evaporation
How Strong Is Mr. Sun?
Water: Drop It, Pour It, Feel It
At the Beach
Watermelon Math
Super Symbols of the U.S.
Toss It!
Mmmm! Ice Cream!
Old Glory Cupcakes

BACK-TO-SCHOOL ACTIVITIES

All About Me
Take a School Tour
Our Class Rules: 'A Picture-Perfect Class'
Make a Bulletin Board Friendship Quilt
We Fit Together
A Citizenship Flag
Who Do You See at School?
Here I Am
My Name Is…
My Name Is… #2
Back-to-School Bus
Let's Sing

SEPTEMBER ACTIVITIES

I Am an Apple Tree, Are You?
Take a Taste of Apple
Mmmm! Hot Apple Pie
More Apple Activities
Meet Mrs. Apple
Whose Apple Tree?
Apple Taste Test
Leaf Prints
Apple Recipes: Yum!
Finding Apples (Following Directions)
Johnny Appleseed
Sorting Leaves
Leaf Match
Leaves Are Falling
Leaf-Shaped Cookies
Leafy Mobiles
We the Signers… (Constitution Day)
We the Kids… (Constitution Day)
"Adopt" a Tree

OCTOBER ACTIVITIES

Why Stop, Drop, and Roll?
Let's Meet at a Safe Place
Pumpkin Graph
Pumpkin Search
Pumpkin Sauce
Make a Mini Pumpkin
Boo! to You: A Word Game
Where Are You?: How Bats Find Their Way
Bats and the Food Chain
Comparing Bats and Birds
Let's Write Bat Poems
Make a Classroom Bat Cave
Make a Batty Snack
Make a Pumpkin Word Wheel
It's Pumpkin Time
Let's Go Pumpkin Hunting (Following Directions)
Magic Pumpkin Seeds
Make a Pumpkin Pie
Pumpkin Poem
Pumpkin Fun: Smallest to Largest
Measure a Pumpkin: How Big Is It?
Pumpkin Fun: How Many Seeds?
Pumpkin Life Cycle
Egg Carton Fire Truck
Find the Fire Exits
Get Low and Go (Fire Safety)
Fire Dogs and Red Dots
Make a Shape-O-Lantern
Halloween Mice and Halloween Cookies
Create a Halloween Ghostie (Art)
A Great Big Boo! (Art)
Great Games for Halloween
Counting Pumpkins in the Patch
Pumpkin Pies (Art)

NOVEMBER ACTIVITIES

Move Like a Turkey
A Giving Month
'Feather Together' Turkey
A Hand-y Turkey (Art)
Plan a 'Corn Week'
Thanksgiving Word Match
Let's Make Gravy
"I Am Thankful for…"
Turkey Hide and Seek
Thanksgiving Corn (Science)
Savory Snacks for November
Learn About Pilgrim Children
The Wampanoags
Cookin' Up Thanksgiving Words
Pinecone-and-Leaves Turkey
A Harvest Snack
Giving Thanks
Turkey, Turkey (Art)
Thanks for the Corn (Math)
Pizza for Thanksgiving

DECEMBER ACTIVITIES

Sharing Dreidels
Make a Kwanzaa Drum
Santa's Here! -- A Special Cookie Gift
Pretzel Yums: A Sweet Treat to Give
Make Holly Gift Tags (and More)
Make a Dreidel
Nifty Necklaces Celebrate Kwanzaa
Perfect Piñatas
Joyful Jars (Ramadan)
Delightful Diyas (Diwali)
Christmas Candy Cane Ornament
Where's Rudolph?
Don't Eat the Ornaments!
Las Posadas Cookies
Holiday Candles You Can Eat
Make an Edible Menorah
Kwanzaa Fruits
Cereal Christmas Trees
Create a Holiday Song CD
A Holiday Gift That Makes "Scents"
Something's Soapy: A Holiday Gift
Thinking About Giving
Orange Delight
Holiday Ornaments: Which One Is Missing?
Holiday Bells (Following Directions)
French Toast Holiday Treats
Pinecone Bird Feeder
Get Well Wishes Cheer Classmates (Flu Season)
Sharing - Yes or No? (Flu Season)
Cover That Sneeze
Healthful Habits Bulletin Board
Read About Staying Healthy
Remembering Our Helpers This Holiday Season
A Gift of Thoughfulness

Susan LaBella is a former teacher and editor who loves writing poems for young children. She especially enjoys writing rhymes that make children smile. Susan lives in Connecticut with her family and her bulldog named Daisy.