Thanksgivukkah Unit: Pumpkin Painting

Thanksgivukkah Unit: Pumpkin Painting

Our Young Toddlers had so much fun painting mini gourds and pumpkins, we had them paint large pumpkin.

Together, they painted using red, orange, yellow, green and blue.

We will put the painted pumpkin on display at Yal-Day-New Day Care Center, Inc.’s annual Thanksgiving Feast and Dessert!

Thanksgivukkah: Handprint Menurkeys

Thanksgivukkah: Handprint Menurkeys

Today, our Young Toddlers dipped their hands in paint and created Thanksgivukkah Handprint Menurkeys!

We used blue, yellow and orange paint for the turkey body, turkey beak and menorah candle flames; red, orange and yellow feathers; and goggly eyes.

We displayed the Handprint Menurkeys on easels and attached a laminated note, which reads:

This isn’t just a turkey,

As anyone can see.

I made it with my hand,

Which is a part of me.

It comes with lots of love

Especially to say

I hope you have a very happy

Hanukkah and Thanksgiving Day!

We can't wait to display the Young Toddler's Thanksgivukkah Handprint Menurkeys this Wednesday at Yal-Day-New Day Care Center, Inc.’s annual Thanksgiving Dessert and Feast!

Gobble Tov!

Thanksgivukkah: Menurkey Painting Project Completed!

Thanksgivukkah: Menurkey Painting Project Completed!

The Young Toddlers painted the ceramic Menurkey today!

It came out great! We used orange, yellow and blue paint... Both Thanksgiving and Hanukkah colors.

We can't wait to put it on display at Yal-Day-New Day Care Center, Inc.'s annual Thanksgiving Dessert and Feast!

Gobble Tov!

Thanksgivukkah: Menurkey Painting Project

Thanksgivukkah: Menurkey Painting Project

We are so excited for Thanksgivukkah; and our Menurkey (Turkey and Menorah) arrived in the mail today! Just in time!

We showed our Young Toddlers the ceramic Menurkey and explained it is both a Menorah and turkey... What a creative and wonderful way to recognize both holidays: Thanksgiving and Hanukkah!

Next week, when we begin our two-week Thanksgivukkah Unit, our Young Toddlers will help paint the Menurkey, which we will use as the centerpiece at Yal-Day-New Day Care Center, Inc.'s annual Thanksgiving Feast and Dessert!

Nursery Rhyme Unit: Felt Board and Young Toddler's First Book

Nursery Rhyme Unit: Felt Board and Young Toddler's First Book

This week, we finished up our two-week unit on Nursery Rhymes!

Each day during Circle Time, we listened and sang along to a Nursery Rhyme book on CD. We told Nursery Rhymes on the felt board using felt pieces we made previous to the unit. Felt boards are a great way to tell stories visually; and the students can help!

During Art, students decorated a Nursery Rhyme coloring page using crayons, dot paint and stickers; we focused on one Nursery Rhyme each day. As we decorated, we sang the Nursery Rhyme together! The students decorated Humpty Dumpty, Little Miss Muffet, Hickory Dickory Dock, Hey Diddle Diddle, Little Bo Peep, One, Two Buckle My Shoe and Jack and Jill. We created a personalized cover page, tied all the pages together using a hole punch and ribbon and made each child their first book of Nursery Rhymes to take home and share with their families.

Thanksgivukkah: Once In A Lifetime - The Kid's Table

Thanksgivukkah: Once In A Lifetime - The Kid's Table

We are excited for Thanksgivukkah! 

In celebration of this unique double holiday, we have compiled our favorite holiday activities for parents to enjoy with their children. These age-appropriate activities were initially created for our classroom students but can easily be completed at home with kids ages 2-3 years old.

Learn how to make Pinecone Turkeys, Glove "Talking" Turkeys, Corn Collages, Thankful Turkey Treat Jars, Fizzle Painting Pumpkin and Gourds and Handprint Menorahs!

Visit http://thanksgivukkahboston.com/holiday-craft-projects-for-toddlers/.

Thanksgivukkah Classroom Decor: Enter With A Thankful Heart Wreath

Thanksgivukkah Classroom Decor: Enter With A Thankful Heart Wreath

In preparation for our Thanksgivukkah Unit and Yal-Day-New Day Care Center, Inc.'s annual Thanksgiving Feast and Dessert for the students, we are decorating the classroom!

Today, we made a Thanksgivukkah wreath for the classroom door.

We traced and cut out each child's hands using either red, orange, yellow and brown construction paper and wrote their names on them. We taped the hands onto a heart shaped sign reading "Enter With A Thankful Heart."

Voilà! A simple, cute and meaningful Thanksgivukkah wreath for the classroom door!

Yal-Day-New Day Care Center, Inc. Open House

Yal-Day-New Day Care Center, Inc. Open House

Yal-Day-New Day Care Center, Inc.'s Open House will be Tuesday, December 17, 6 PM - 8 PM.

We hope to see you there!

Nursery Rhyme Unit: Felt Board

Nursery Rhyme Unit

Felt Board

In preparation for a two-week Nursery Rhyme unit, we created "Humpty Dumpty," "Little Miss Muffet," "Hickory Dickory Dock," "Jack and Jill" and "One, Two, Buckle My Shoe" felt pieces. Felt boards are a great way to visually tell stories during Circle Time.

Thanksgivukkah Unit: Blue Acorn Dreidels, Pinecone Turkeys and Blue and White M&M Turkey Favors

Thanksgivukkah Unit

Blue Acorn Dreidels

In preparation for Thanksgivukkah, our Young Toddlers collected acorns to make dreidels! We removed the acorn tops and instructed the students to dip their acorns into small cups of light blue paint. After drying, we used a hot glue gun to glue the acorn tops securely onto the now blue acorns - creating simple - yet adorable and creative - dreidels!

Pinecone Turkeys

Gobble gobble! In preparation for Thanksgivukkah, our Young Toddlers collected pinecones to discuss during Circle Time and put on display in the classroom. We helped our students construct a class Pinecone Turkey using red, orange and yellow construction paper, pipe cleaners and goggly eyes. Gobble tov!

Blue and White M&M Turkey Favors

Gobble gobble! In preparation for Yal-Day-New Day Care Center, Inc.'s annual Thanksgiving Feast and Dessert for the parents and students, we created M&M Turkey Favors using blue and white M&M's s, brown netting, red, orange, yellow and brown pipe cleaners and goggly eyes. Gobble tov!

Fall Unit: Leaves, Pumpkin and Gourd Fizzle Painting

Fall Unit: Leaves, Pumpkin and Gourd Fizzle Painting

We brought our Young Toddlers outside to collect a variety of leaves! We laminated the leaves and hung them on our bright, yellow wall in the classroom, conveniently at the student's eye level. By laminating the leaves, our students were able to examine the colors and feel the texture of the leaves without damaging them.

We taped the laminated leaves onto a table and placed a white sheet of construction paper on top. Our Young Toddlers created a beautiful collage of leaves by scribbling over the laminated leaves with crayons. We hung the collage in the window, allowing light to shine through the white paper, making the collage really visible.

In addition to the collage, our Young Toddlers also created Fall leaves using diffusion paper and red, orange and yellow water colors. They also decorated Fall coloring pages using crayons, dot paint and stickers.

Fall and Science: Pumpkin and Gourd Fizzle Painting

We introduced both Fall and Science to our Young Toddlers with Pumpkin and Gourd Fizzle Painting! We mixed baking soda with red, orange and yellow Tempura paints and instructed our students to each paint their own pumpkin and gourd. Using a straw (or droppers if available), our students watched while we let drops of vinegar fall onto the painted gourds and pumpkins, creating a bubbling, fizzling reaction the students loved!

Simchat Torah Unit

Simchat Torah Unit

We had our Young Toddlers help us create a classroom Torah! The Torah was made from recycled paper towel rolls, brown paint and crayons. The Torah was put on display in the classroom and used during Circle Time as a teaching prop.

Erev Sukkot Unit

Erev Sukkot Unit

We helped our Young Toddlers collect sticks to create a classroom Sukkah! The Sukkah was made from a recycled cardboard box, brown paint, glue and sticks. The Sukkah was put on display in the classroom and used during Circle Time as a teaching prop. Because our classroom sukkah was made with point sticks, our Young Toddlers could only examine and explore the sukkah one-on-one with a teacher.