Sensory Bin
This week was both challenging, and so much fun to create! The kids loved all of these activities and enjoyed learning about all of the different types of families. Do you teach this theme in your class? What activities do your kiddos love? Leave your response below.
Family tree
- Dirt like filler- coffee beans, ground coffee, colored rice etc
- Logs
- Leaves
- Dolls
Add all of your materials to a sensory bin and have your kiddos create a family tree.
Neighborhood
- Grass
- Black colored rice (street)
- Dolls
- Magnet tiles (houses)
- Plants
- Cars
- Garbage cans
- Etc.
Create a neighbor hood and have your kiddos explore!
Mixed families
Mixed families are a beautiful thing ❤
- Skin tone colored filler-mixed rice, kidney beans, black beans, pinto beans etc.
- Mixed families from amazon
Such a simple set up, but so much fun!
Loved ones theme
- Pink and purple colored rice
- Heart confetti
- Family images
- Flowers
- Buckets
- Shovels
Add materials to a sensory bin and have kids fill each others buckets with kindness.
Dramatic Play
Family Dinner
- Sandwich kit from Amazon
- Printable menus
- Dress up
Display your sandwich sop and have kids take, receive and deliver orders.
Family Vacation
- Hawaii back drop
- Coconut cups
- Leis
- Hula grass skirts
- Babies
- Hats
- Visors
- Telephone
- Printable cameras
All Hawaii decor was from the Dollar tree!! It goes fast, so as soon as you see it grab it!
Family Photos
- Printable polaroids- I used the set from my family photo memory game
- Family portraits- I used Canva to find these
- Plastic flyer stands
- Telephone
- Star photo backdrop- I used a plastic table cloth
- Printable Make up- If you are interested in this leave a comment below 🙂
- Dress up
Set up your photo center and have kids take family photos.
Family Picnic
- Felt sandwich set
- Toy fruit
- Paper bags
- Visors
- Picnic blanket
- Binoculars
- Ice chest
- Printable soda cans
Set up your picnic blanket and enjoy lunch with your family!
Science Area
Reading a Family tree
For this activity I created 12 different types of family trees, and displayed them for the kids. Each kid picked a tree that they wanted to learn about. We started with the person in the center.
- Does this person have siblings?
- How many?
- Do they look the same?
- Who takes care of this person?
- Who takes care of those people?
- etc.
Some cases where the caretakers are male and female, I explained that it doesn’t always mean Mom and Dad. It can be Aunt and Uncle, Big Sister and Big Brother etc.
To save some time, check out the ones I have already created Family Trees
Build a family
For this activity I printed and laminated 6 different looking houses. I then created family names, printed and laminated as well. I displayed a variety of dolls and had the kids pick a home. They then rolled the di and counted the number. The number they got was the amount of family members in their house. They randomly picked the family names and chose a doll for that member.
This Build a family activity is available in my TpT store.
Family Puzzles
This was a super easy set up. We have these family puzzles displayed in our class through out the year. The kids took turns completing each puzzle.
Family Photo memory match
This was a fun one! My kiddos LOVE when I have a memory/match game at the science center. Like my other activities, I created these through Canva. But they are available here for purchase.
I always start with the images facing up so the kids can get a good look, and try to memorize as many matches as possible. I then flip the images face down, and have them flip 2 at a time to make a match. When we have finished with all of the matches, we love to play musical cards! Choose one image that looks significantly different and make that the “out” card. If you have 5 players, you should have 5 cards-including the “out card”. Flip them face down, hands in the air, and play a song. When the music stops everyone places a hand on any card they want. One by one flip them, who ever has the “out card” is out! Repeat this process, removing a card each time, until there is a winner.
Build a home
Any craft materials would work here. I used lollipop sticks, tinsel toothpicks, and play dough. The kids used a styrofoam disc as the base, and built a home!
Need More Ideas?
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