Education expert
Kristen Miller began her career in Early Childhood Education in 1997 as a teacher's aide in the classroom while she pursued her degree in Political Science from University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She quickly discovered her talents in educating and nurturing young children and continued in the classroom as a lead teacher. Currently, Kristen is director of education at Celebree School, a nationwide early childhood education franchise, where she coaches teachers in instilling a lifelong passion for learning in their students. She is a long-standing member of Maryland State Child Care Administration where she works diligently on state legislation on behalf of Maryland teachers and childcare business owners. She has been featured in several nationwide publications as an expert in early childhood education.
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Mother\'s Day is the perfect occasion for toddlers to display their adoration for their mothers with sweet surprises. Preschool Mother’s Day crafts are excellent for younger children since it allows them to create personalized cards or simple DIY concepts to convey their love and regards to their mother. It also presents a chance for the family to bond while helping the preschooler create the Mother’s Day craft. Browse through this post to explore some easy Mother\'s Day crafts ideas for toddlers to showcase their love and gratitude for their amazing mothers. [mj-toc] 25+ Easy Mother's Day Crafts Ideas For Preschoolers And Toddlers 1. Painting With Flowers You will need: A sturdy drawing paper Paper plates Carnations or any other flower Paints How to: Pour paint of a color each on a paper plate. Cut the flower such that a little part of the stem sticks as a handle. Dip the flower in paint and begin coloring on the paper. You...
Get your children their four-leaf clovers, pots of gold, streamers, and leprechauns with these St. Patrick’s Day crafts for preschoolers and toddlers. You need the basic art supplies, a table that is permitted to get messy, and tons of St. Patrick\'s Day spirit. In this post, we have listed several St. Patrick\'s Day crafts suitable and fun for beginners and professionals alike. In addition, we have listed many crafts that revolve around the rainbows, pots of gold, and leprechauns that would transform your house and your child’s room into a leprechaun’s wonderland. Read on and gather your green art supplies to enter the world of DIY St. Patrick\'s Day decorations. [mj-toc] 25+ Amazing St. Patrick's Day Crafts For Preschoolers And Toddlers 1. Pom-Pom Painted Rainbow You will need: Pom-poms Paints of rainbow colors Clothespins White card stock White tissue paper Paper plate Glue Scissors Tiny containers or egg cartons How to: Attach a pom-pom to a clothespin. Pour the paint...
All about me activities help children explore different aspects of themselves in a fun way and embrace themselves for who they are. In this post, we bring you some all about me activities for toddlers to help them realize their various feelings and emotions. These activities of exploration can draw your preschooler or toddler’s attention toward their personality, interests, and abilities. They also help children learn about the various parts of their bodies [mj-toc] 20 All-About-Me Preschool Activities Here are 20 preschool all-about-me activities to begin with (1): 1. All-about-me books [caption id="attachment_878739" align="alignnone" width="720"] Image: iStock[/caption] You may start reading a few informative books such as “My Body,” “The Tooth Book,” “Parts,” and “All Of Me” to the little one. When you read out louder and show the body parts, it will help your toddler understand better. 2. All-about-me printables This fun activity requires each child to have a sheet of paper that has a questionnaire such as “my...
Preschool block activities are a source of rejuvenation and learning. There are many benefits of block play, such as developing motor skills in toddlers that allow them to learn and revise letters, shapes, and patterns through playtime (1) Head to the nearest craft stores and buy some unique block shapes that may interest your little one and see how their faces light up as they can’t wait to build the tall towers. [mj-toc] 20 Block Activities For Preschoolers Here are some fun block activities for preschoolers that are simple yet fun and entertaining. 1. Block tower [caption id="attachment_882275" align="alignnone" width="720"] Image: iStock[/caption] This is an effortless number learning activity. All you need to do is give the preschooler a collection of blocks for constructing a tower. As they build the tower, tell them to keep track of the number of blocks being added. This activity also aids in improving their memory and math skills. [MJ_RELATED_LINKS href="https://www.momjunction.com/articles/friendship-activities-for-toddlers-preschoolers_00779599/" title="20 Creative Friendship Activities...
Pumpkins are synonymous with the fall season and Halloween. While your child is excited to go trick or treating, there are also other fun ways to keep them busy and entertained. Pumpkin activities can range from simple playing and painting to elaborate cutting and decorating them using accessories. If your little one is keen on showing their spooky spirit, here are some pumpkin activities for toddlers to try and go on exploring. [MJ_RELATED_LINKS href="https://www.momjunction.com/articles/pumpkin-songs-for-toddlers-preschoolers_00787759/" title="10 Cute Pumpkin Songs For Toddlers And Preschoolers To Fall For"] [mj-toc] 15 Pumpkin Activities For Toddlers Here are some creative pumpkin activities that your toddler may enjoy. Your child can create some fun pumpkin crafts using creative ideas and minimal supplies. 1. Pumpkin mummies [caption id="attachment_798975" align="alignnone" width="720"] Image: Shutterstock[/caption] Give the toddler a pumpkin and some bandages. Ask them to wrap the pumpkin around with the bandage like a mummy. Ask them to draw eyes, nose, and teeth on a piece of paper, cut...
Obstacle courses for toddlers involve walking, climbing, running, and crawling through a maze to reach the final point. They are designed for children to improve their bilateral coordination and gross and fine motor skills. These also help them build stamina and boost their logical and creative skills (1). Besides, most children enjoy and have the utmost fun while crossing the courses one after the other and gain a great sense of adventure and achievement. We bring a list of obstacle courses in this post, you may use any of them and motivate your children to cross through them and reap multiple benefits. [MJ_RELATED_LINKS href="https://www.momjunction.com/articles/indoor-games-and-kids-activities-for-this-season_00369105/" title="21 Enjoyable Indoor Games For Kids"] [mj-toc] How To Introduce And Teach An Obstacle Course To Toddlers [caption id="attachment_882070" align="alignnone" width="720"] Image: iStock[/caption] All you need to create obstacle courses for preschoolers and toddlers are creativity and making the best use of stuff lying in the house. When you are creating an obstacle course, you must...
An interactive drawing app for kids can do wonders. Nowadays, children need not learn to draw using pencil and paper. Instead, they can use their parent’s smartphone as a sheet and their finger as a pencil and get creative. Using these applications on mobiles and tablets is easy and fun for the little ones as they can move their fingers smoothly and have fun while doing so. If you want to know which app could be more useful for them, reading our post can be helpful. However, ensure that your children are not overusing the devices as it can prove detrimental. [mj-toc] 15 Drawing Apps For Kids These drawing apps for children keep them engaged for quite some time while giving them a chance to hone their creative side. 1. Drawing with Carl [caption id="attachment_1091911" align="alignnone" width="720"] Apple[/caption] Age group: 2 – 5 years With this drawing app, kids can learn to draw, paint, and color. The app is interactive...
Children, especially the little ones who have never been out of their cities, find farm life fascinating. We bring you some interesting farm activities for preschoolers in the post to help you inspire children to understand the importance of animals and farming. These activities are great for connecting millennial children with life at farms and engaging them in outdoor activities. Once they try their hands at such activities, they can understand nature from their early years. Our post includes crafts, outdoor picnics, storytelling, and much more to give them fresh experiences and help them get close to nature. So, read on and try these activities with them during the weekends and school holidays. [mj-toc] 20 Farm Activities For Preschoolers Here are some of the best farm activities for preschoolers to introduce them to farming. You may head out to a farm or practice these activities at home; your little one is sure to have oodles of fun. 1. Animal names...
Is your child an aspiring artist? Are they fascinated by colors, paints, sketches? Why not encourage them to learn and develop their skills. Art activities for preschoolers are not just fun but also aid in the development of gross and fine motor skills, [simple_tooltip text="hand-eye coordination" tooltip="A cognitive skill of performing movements with hands while being guided by the eyes" ], and creative abilities. So, if your child is ready to unleash their inner artist then keep reading for some fun art activities for toddlers and preschoolers. [mj-toc] 19 Art Activities For Toddlers And Preschoolers Here are some easy art and crafting activities for preschoolers and toddlers to lighten up their day and allow them to enhance their creative skills- 1. Trace and paint the ABCs picture [caption id="attachment_884587" align="alignnone" width="720"] Image: iStock[/caption] Kindergarten is all about learning the ABCs of the alphabet, so this is a perfect kindergarten art project for children to apply themselves. First, fold the paper...
The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition is a children’s book authored by Carol Aebersold and Chanda Bell. Since its publication in 2005, families all over the world have read it and converted it into a real Christmas tradition and several playful Elf on the Shelf ideas for toddlers. The book tells a story of an elf who is supposed to be Santa’s scout from the North Pole. The magical and imaginary elf lives in the house and observes the deeds of family members, reporting them to Santa Claus. The family can name the elf, making the elf receive the magic to travel to the North Pole. You can be creative and use the concept of an elf seated on a shelf to depict scenes and situations, leading to an excellent imaginative play for children. In this post, we share such enjoyable imaginative Elf on the Shelf ideas for you to introduce to the toddler. [mj-toc] 50+ Easy And...
Introducing unique bulletin board ideas for preschoolers to your children can help boost their creative and artistic abilities. And as a bulletin board is available in almost every classroom, it becomes easy for children to try their hands on these ideas any day. Working on the attractive board can improve their fine and gross motor skills and hand-eye coordination. It can also help children develop interest in crafts and painting. It can also help them plan their schedules and stick to them. So, read this post to get some creative ideas to motivate your children to use the board and reap as many benefits as they can. [mj-toc] 20 Bulletin Board Ideas For Preschool Here are some fun and interactive bulletin board ideas for preschoolers that also aid in the development of their fine motor skills. 1. Butterfly study board. [caption id="attachment_885008" align="alignnone" width="720"] Image: iStock[/caption] Learning the life cycles of various insects could be not only informative for a...
Fingerplays for preschoolers/toddlers involve nursery rhymes, movements, singing songs, and dancing and require children to make simple finger and hand movements. These are great activities for promoting their fine and gross motor skills, encouraging language development, and improving their social skills. The activities are also fun-filled and pretty easy to learn for preschoolers. Hence, they are usually taught in kindergarten. Furthermore, these give you a chance to play with your little ones and spend quality time. Keep reading this post as we bring you some interesting fingerplay ideas to keep your children entertained for hours. [mj_protip type="Did you know" title="Did you know?"]Engaging your little one in singing, clapping, and finger-play is not just fun and joyous; these activities also support their brain development (1).[/mj_protip] [mj-toc] 20 Finger-plays For Toddlers And Preschoolers Finger-plays for toddlers are useful when you need a quick activity to entertain your children, such as traveling in a car or waiting in long queues. These toddlers and...
A child with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has a shorter attention span, which could hinder their day-to-day activities. Therefore, after-school activities that can enhance their attentive skills are valuable. In addition, these activities may also help them drain their extra energy and channel it better. Here, we bring activities for kids with ADHD that can be conducted indoors and outdoors. These activities range from light, fun activities to exhausting yet entertaining physical activities. [mj-toc] 20 Activities For Kids With ADHD To make these games more interesting, you may also introduce some props. 10 Outdoor Activities For Kids With ADHD Connecting with nature while having fun can provide peacefulness, relaxation, and the daily physical exercise for children. So find out the interesting outdoor activities besides the usual running and biking activities from the list below. 1. Group activities [caption id="attachment_789149" align="alignnone" width="720"] Image: Shutterstock[/caption] Activities such as gymnastics, martial arts, yoga, or tennis are a good option for children with...