News for Black Hills Early Learners
We are here to bring you fun activities for any child ages 0-5 years. We hope you find this useful and helpful during this very unusual time. Happy learning!
Many traditional Halloween activities can be high-risk for spreading viruses. Click on the Make It Safe Logo for information on Community risk and ideas to safely Celebrate Halloween.
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SD Department of Health.
Infant Corner
Activities for children under 1
Development
More and more infants are spending time each day in some type of child care setting. All children—especially infants and toddlers—need a child care setting where they can thrive with caregivers who understand how to promote their healthy growth and development. The following article helps parents know what to look for and questions to ask when choosing quality care for their infant.
Play

Wrap a plastic ball in masking tape with the sticky side up and let your infant explore how it feels. Toddlers will enjoy this activity too.

Boxes are so much fun! There's no need to buy fancy blocks. Wrap up some smaller boxes (such as cereal boxes or shoe boxes) with wrapping paper and allow your baby to handle them and rip them open. Help your baby stack the boxes and knock them over.
Busy Toddlers
Activities for children 1-3
Physical/Outdoor
Toddlers use fine motor skills to wrap white yarn into mummies.

Shape ghost footprint activity will get toddlers moving. Put spooky music on and enjoy the silliness.
Science/Sensory

Monster Muck Sensory tub is easy to make with just shaving cream and cornstarch.

To keep children safe and healthy when doing sensory activities use individual sensory bins (plastic tubs/shoe box.)

Sensory bottles are perfect to use for a calm down tool.
Literacy/Math

After carving a pumpkin make pumpkin experience books.

Get a pumpkin bucket and some plastic spiders or spider rings. Have the kids toss them into the bucket. How many land in the bucket? How many land outside of the bucket?
Social Emotional
Cover a square tissue box in solid colored contact paper. Make Emotion Dice by placing a picture on each side with various emotion faces. Roll the dice and make a face in the mirror like the one on the dice

Create a lesson around the book Sometimes I'm Bombaloo.
Sometimes when Katie loses her temper she uses her feet and fists instead of her words.
Hands-On Preschoolers
Activities for children 4-5
Physical/Outdoor

Make a Halloween fine motor tray to help preschoolers explore and use their small muscles.

Lifting different size pumpkins and rolling them down your slide is a fun gross motor activity for preschoolers.
Here are a few ways to get kids moving outside with a Halloween twist.
Science/Sensory
Some spooky and fun witch's potion is a perfect Halloween sensory activity for preschoolers.

Have you ever read Pumpkin Jack by Will Hubbell? It’s a story of a boy and his pumpkin and what he discovers about it. Carve your own Pumpkin Jack and look at the rotting process which is awesome science for kids.
Literacy/Math
Create a simple pumpkin writing center at home or in the classroom.

Several math activities can be accomplished while exploring different size pumpkins.
Creative Arts

Make this glue and salt spiderweb craft. Great activity to pair with with Eric Carle's The Very Busy Spider.

Plunger painting is a fun activity for preschoolers. Use orange paint and make a pumpkin patch outside.