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Holidays are coming, what do we hear?
Songs and bells ringing -- they sound loud and clear.
Holidays are coming, what do we smell? Latkes that sizzle; sweet figs as
well.
Holidays are coming, what do we feel? Warm woolen mittens; an orange to
peel.
Holidays are coming, what do we taste? Sweet sparkly cookies, not one goes
to waste!
Holidays are coming, what do we see? Bright smiling children just like you
and me!
We hope this issue's suggestions and ideas will help make your classroom
activities "scent...sational!"
Early Childhood Education Newsletter, December 5, 2005
 ACTIVITY
IDEAS
 NOSY
NICK
Tell your children a story about Nosy Nick the reindeer (or another
animal) who loves to smell. Explain that he especially loves holiday
smells. Bring in a toy reindeer or other animal to enhance your story. Ask
children to bring in something for Nosy Nick to smell such as pine needles
in a plastic zip-lock bag or cinnamon placed in a glass jar. Let children
and Nosy Nick sniff each item. Then invite students to identify each
smell. Finally, create a group story that tells about Nick's (and
children's) smelling experience. "First, Nosy Nick smelled
_________________. Next, he smelled _____________. Nosy Nick did not like
to smell __________________, and so on.
ORANGE DELIGHT
Give each child an orange and invite him or her to poke holes in it
with a blunt needlework needle. Invite children to push cloves into the
holes of their oranges. Then help children wrap their oranges in a piece
of cheesecloth and tie the cheesecloth with a ribbon. Let children smell
the wonderful scent!!
DO YOU SEE IT?
Read the book Your Five Senses, by Bobbi Katz. Tell children you will
investigate the sense of sight with this game. Place five different
holiday ornaments in front of children for them to observe. Discuss with
children how each one looks. Next place a towel over the five ornaments
and have children close their eyes. Remove one ornament and uncover the
rest. Invite children to guess which ornament is missing. Continue by
replacing the missing ornament and removing another (while children's eyes
are closed) until you have removed each ornament. When finished, help
children understand that if they did not have the sense of sight they
would be unable to play the game. Ask what other holiday things do our
eyes help us see?
 HOLIDAY
BELLS
At circle time, play a holiday song as children pass around a bell.
Stop the music at intervals and ask the child holding the bell to follow
your directions. "Ring the bell three times" or "Hold the bell over your
head" or... As students become more proficient, try offering some two-step
directions such as "Walk to the wall and ring the bell one time."
Reinforce with students how important it is to have the sense of hearing.
HOW DOES IT FEEL?
Let children make texture collages to give as holiday gifts. Provide
glue and scraps of fabric, sandpaper, or wallpaper that have been cut into
circles, squares, triangles, stars, and so on. Give each child a piece of
mat board. To get children started, ask them to find and glue a circle
shape onto their mats. Continue until children have glued one of each
shape onto their mats. Then let them add other pieces until they have
completed their collages. Invite children to run their fingers over the
different textures in their creations and to describe what they feel.
FRENCH TOAST TREATS
Gather cookie cutters that are representative of various holidays (a
dreidel, a wreath, a bell, a piñata, and so on). Invite children to choose
a cookie cutter and to cut a shape from a piece of bread. Mix together 2
eggs, 1/2-cup milk, a dash of cinnamon, and a dash of salt. Dip each shape
into the egg mixture and cook it in a greased frying pan or griddle until
golden brown. Serve to children with warm maple syrup. Yum!!
ON
THE WEB
Check out the following Web sites for more background and activities.
Ten Activities for Teaching the Five
Senses
A collection of activity ideas -- some of which are great to use with
young children.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson183.shtml
 The
Fabulous Five Senses
Children investigate the five senses in this lesson plan that
incorporates using the computer.
http://www.valdosta.edu/~dkcullen/topiclesson.html
The Five Senses
Let children take part in a scavenger hunt to learn about the five
senses. Activities are differentiated by level of student readiness.
http://www.manhattan.k12.ca.us/staff/pware/diff/files/5Senses.pdf
The Senses Working Together
You'll find a variety of hands-on activities to discover how our
senses work together.
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/chtoget.html
Teaching Children About the Five Senses
This summary of ways parents can teach their children about the five
senses would provide a nice take-home page.
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/nibbles/succeed-senses.html
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