Curriculum Corner
Did you do any of these activities? Let us know how they went!
Email: familychildcare@eceauv.org
Activity Ideas
Mess Free Painting
What you’ll need: paper plate, gallon Ziploc bag, green and blue paint
Drizzle green and blue on a paper plate. Then place the plate in the Ziploc bag and let the kiddos smush around the paint in the sealed bag to make an Earth!
Nature Scavenger Hunt
Look outside at your play space and draw flowers, leaves, bugs, and other nature stuff you see. Place your drawings (or nature print offs) on the ground and challenge the kiddos to go find them!
Feed the Birds!
Make some treats for the bird with the kiddos and let them do some bird watching! Bonus points: keep some bird identifying books nearby for them as well!
Secret Snowflakes
On a piece of paper draw snowflakes with a white crayon. Give your kiddos watercolors and let them discover the hidden snowflakes!
Sticky Wall Snowman
On a large piece of paper, draw your snowman scene. Cover with contact paper, sticky side out. Set out various supplies to have your kiddos decorate the snowman!
Frozen Pom-Pom Rescue
Freeze pom-pom in a container and set out various tools- play tools, fine motor tools (pipettes, spray bottles), and scoops.
Fill up spray bottles and droppers with food coloring and water. Let the kiddos paint the snow and make beautiful designs
Winter Scavenger Hunt
Find pinecones, pine needles, sticks, and other things in nature to take inside and make a garland or banner with the kids. It makes for a fun lesson and it doubles as a decoration!
Add some tractors to your sensory bin and play harvest with the kiddos!
Tree Art
Add some paint to a Ziplock bag for easy clean-up play! You can make leaves, trees, turkeys, pies, etc..
Dramatic Play
As early educators we see the value in a cardboard box! Create a burning building scene with tissue paper OR build a fire truck!
Click the link to see Sesame Street’s Fire Safety Program!!
Social/ Emotional Curriculum Ideas
Focus: Social-emotional learning—helping children recognize and name feelings using visual emotion cards.
🎨 Activity Ideas
Feelings Check-In
Use cards during arrival or circle time. Children choose how they feel and practice simple “I feel…” statements.
Matching Game
Match emotion cards to stories, photos, or real-life situations.
Calm-Down Space
Use feelings cards in a quiet area to help children identify emotions and choose calming strategies.
Role Play
Use puppets or acting to show different emotions for peers to guess.
Story Time
Pause during books to talk about how characters are feeling.
🌱 Skills Built
Emotional vocabulary, self-awareness, empathy, and early self-regulation.
Focus: Social-emotional learning + early literacy—building gratitude vocabulary from A–Z.
🎨 Activity Ideas
Alphabet Gratitude List
Create a class chart where children name something they are grateful for for each letter of the alphabet (A–Z). Write responses together and display them.
Daily Gratitude Letter
Focus on one letter per day or week. Children share something they appreciate that starts with that letter.
Drawing Extension
Children draw pictures of their gratitude word (e.g., “B is for books”).
Class Book
Compile pages into an “A–Z Gratitude Book” for the classroom.
🌱 Skills Built
Letter recognition, vocabulary development, gratitude practice, and positive social-emotional habits.
Focus: Social-emotional learning—helping children recognize and express emotions by observing facial expressions.
🎨 Activity Idea
Mirror Exploration
Children use a mirror to look at their own faces and practice making different emotion expressions (happy, sad, surprised, angry, etc.). They notice how their face changes with each feeling.
🧠 How to Do It
Provide small mirrors for each child or group use
Call out or show an emotion card
Children copy the expression in the mirror
Talk about what their face looks like when they feel that way in real life
🌱 Skills Built
Self-awareness, emotional identification, expressive language, and early empathy development