Spot The Cow Game
Builds on: counting skills, finger strengthening, vocabulary building

What you'll need:
Large side view print of a plain cow
1 large Ziploc freezer bag
1 tub of black playdoh



What to do:

Place the picture of the cow inside the Ziploc bag and zip it up. Place everything on to the activity table and sit across from your little. Show your little how to take a pinch of playdoh from the tub and press it on to the picture of the cow to make spots.

The most important thing is to keep talking while there is interest in this activity. Moo every time there is a spot added or count each spot that's placed on the cow. Talk about cows on the farm, especially if you took a field trip to a farm and saw one. Talk about other animals on the farm that you saw together.

The Carrot Seed Farm
Builds on: math, color recognition, fine motor skills

What you'll need:
1 empty cardboard egg carton
Green, purple, yellow and orange pipe cleaners
Wire cutters
Large exacto knife
The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss
Four 3x3 squares of paper the same colors of as the carrots

What to do:

Turn the egg carton over so that the egg cups are facing up. Use the exacto knife to cut and X into the center of each cup. Use a pencil to force the X open a little more.

Use the wire cutters to cut the all the pipe cleaners into 2 inch pieces. To create a carrot take a green pipe cleaner and a purple pipe cleaner fold them each in half. Twist the two ends of the purple pipe cleaner together to so that you have a loop at the folded end and a point at the twisted end. Finally, thread the green pipe cleaner through the loop of the purple pipe cleaner and twist close to the loop leaving the ends untwisted for the stocks of the carrots. Repeat with all of your other colors until you have 12.

Once you have them all made push the pointed ends through the holes of the egg cups and place it on the activities table. Once you've read The Carrot Seed you can let your Hoot pull out all of the carrots and put them back in. Each time a carrot is uprooted say the name of the color and sort the carrot on to the matching colored paper. As the carrots go back in make sure to count each one that goes in. 

Addition activities:

Follow the links below for some of some more carrot activities, by some other awesome bloggers, to go allow with The Carrot Seed

Soda Bottle Carrots: A Very Small Kitchen Garden
Spring Sensory Tub With Carrots
Carrot Fingers
Preschool Carrot Patch Math Activity

Q-tip Painting & Homemade Watercolors

Builds on: fine motor skills, color identification, life skills and creativity

This activity is so easy with very little mess and the kids get excited because they get to help by making the paint. Great for both Hoots and Roos!

What you'll need:

Neon and black food coloring
2 cups cold water

4 empty yogurt cups
thick rag towel

straws for mixing

10 large Q-tips

Jumbo Halloween coloring sheets 

What to do: 

Have the kids pour the water into the 4 empty yogurt cups as evenly as they can. Place the cups onto a thick towel that can get stained and let your Hoots pick out the colors. Say the colors clearly and repeatedly in sentences to help them remember the names. We chose electric green, purple, red and black because they are halloween colors.  Help your Hoots put between 4-10 drops into the water and stir with the straws. Make picture choices. Then place the pictures, q-tips and your newly made watercolors on to the activities table. Use the q-tip ends as the brush by dipping one end into a color and then making strokes on the picture to transfer the paint. Then just let the kids have fun!

*The more drops of food coloring you use the quicker it will stain surfaces making it less washable.