New Year's Archives - JDaniel4s Mom

New Year’s Thaumatrope Printable Set

December 17, 2017 By Deirdre

Thaumatropes feature a different picture on their front and back. When children spin a wooden dowel or chopstick placed between the pictures, they seem to blend together. Yes, you will see that it looks like one of the pictures has joined the other to form one picture. Your children will love watching the decorated images become part of a New Year’s themed optical illusion.

Creating a New Year’s Themed Thaumatrope

Getting Ready the Supplies Together

Downloading the Printable

You will need to download the New Year’s Thaumatropes Printable Set. Once you have downloaded the set, you can place a single word or the year of your choice on the back of the thaumatropes on pages five and seven. They have an editable space on them.

This set was designed to be printed out in black and white onto white cardstock. Your children can decorate or outline the pictures on their thaumatrope any color they like.

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Decorating Supplies

We used metallic marker pensto decorate each thaumatrope. If you don’t have any available, your children could use any of the following drawing tools to decorate theirs.

Magic Markers
Crayons
Color Pencils
Gold Foil Star Stickers
gel pens

You will also need wooden skewers or chopsticks for each child.

Putting the Thaumatropes Together

Once your children have decorated the designs that that will use on their thaumatrope, they are getting to glue them onto the chopstick. Then they will glue the back sides of the design circles together.

Explore Their Thaumatropes

Children will need to place the chopstick between their hands. Then they will need to rub them together. Rubbing their hands together will cause the thaumatrope to spin.

Some experimentation will need to be done to figure out how fast the thaumatrope needs to spin for the two pictures to blend together.

If you like this New Year’s activity, here are some more you will love.

Printable New Year’s Eve Countdown Clock

New Year’s Eve Fizzy Baking Soda Science

New Year’s Eve Wishing Wall

Paper Plate Countdown Ball

Zipline New Year’s Ball Drop

Practice Gross Motor Skills Every Month of the Year

December 15, 2015 By Deirdre

There is one gross motor action card for each month of the year in this set of cards. Each month’s action focuses on a holiday or event that happen during that month. There are so many ways you could use these Practice Gross Motor Skills Every Month of the Year Activity (The set has been update and now looks a little different.)

Ways to Us the Gross Motor Skills Cards

You may decide to celebrate the new year by having your children do all of them.
You could pull out one card a month and introduce the monthly action.
You could start with January at the beginning of the year. Then in February you could share February’s and review January’s action. You could continue this process all year.
You could place your kids in twelve groups. Each group could decide on a way to act out each action. They could then share it with the class.

The goal of these cards is to get kids moving and have them work on their gross motor skills.

Things to Use with Each Gross Motor Skills Card

We are going to be doing each of the actions without props. If you have props that fit a months action you could use them.

Here are some props that would work for each month.

January

Night Cap and a bathrobe

February

A mirror could be held up so a child could see their heart shape.

March

A small bucket or bag to put the shamrocks in

April

A rain hat or boots

May

A piece of brown cardboard that represents dirt that kids could stand on

June

A pictures with signs of summer on sticks

July

Red, white and blue ribbon streamers on hoops or sticks

August

Blue shower curtain liner to stand on while swimming

September

Fabric or paper leaves to hold while falling

October

Plastic pumpkin shaped bucket or treat bag

November

Turkey headband

December

White shower curtain liner to lay down on to make angels

Here are some other gross motor activities found here on JDaniel4’s Mom:

Exploring Colors Outside

Counting Leaps

You will find more gross motor skills activities along with fine motor activities on my Early Learning Pinterest board.

New Year’s Counting Game Printable

December 8, 2015 By Deirdre

This New Year’s counting game set of printable numbers and party hat counters is part of a holiday number series. The other counting game sets are Gingerbread Counting Numbers, Peppermint Counting Numbers, and Thanksgiving Turkey Numbers.

Each of these counting game sets can be used in a number of ways. Let me share with you some of the ways I have come up with to use them. If you come up with others, please leave them in a comment below or on my Facebook page.

Links below maybe affiliate links.

Counting Game Ideas

Select a number and place the appropriate number of party hats on it.
Line up all the numbers 1-10 (You can make a 10 by placing the 1 card next to the 0 card.) Start by placing one hat on the one and then slide that hat to two and add a hat. Repeat this slide and add process until you have reached the 10.
Select a group of numbers in sequence and place the correct number of hats on each of the numbers.
Challenge another person to place the correct number of counters on a number you have selected.
Sort the numbers into groups of even and odd numbers. Place the correct number of counters on each set of numbers.
Select a number and turn it over. Give another person clues as to what your number is.
- Example:
  - It is even.
  - A triangle has this many sides.
  - It is two more than one.
  - If I paid for a two cent item with a nickel, I would get this many pennies in change.
Create addition sentences with the numbers on a Carrollar Flexible Plastic Cutting Board Mats, Colored Mats With Food Icons, Gripped Back, Cutting board Set of 4or place mat. (You can draw the plus sign and equal sign with washable marker right on the mat. It is so easy to clean up.)

You will find more number games on posts for each of the other numbers sets. Please take a moment to check out those ideas too.

I love to tie learning activities into pictures books. Here are a few New Year’s Eve themed books you might what to read to your children before starting any of the counting games.

Squirrel’s New Year’s Resolution

The Night Before New Year’s

P. Bear’s New Year’s Party: A Counting Book

Pete The Cat: A Groovy New Year

Happy New Year, Everywhere by Arlene Erlbach (2000-07-29)

New Years Eve Games and Activities

December 7, 2015 By Deirdre

New Years Eve is such fun to celebrate with kids! We have celebrated it at noon on New Years Eve! We have celebrated in via a countdown to New Years starting the week before. Sometimes we have celebrated it on the first day of the new year. No matter when you celebrate it with your kids I think they will love the New Years Eve games and activities I am sharing below.

New Years Eve Games and Activities

New Years Interview from Teach Mama

Pin It For Later

New Years Traditions from Around the World from Red Ted Art

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New Years Time Capsule from Imagination Tree

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{Free Printable} New Years’ Eve Counting Booklet and Memory Booklet from Royal Baloo

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New Year’s Eve Games Bingo Cards from Plucky Momo

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Family New Year’s Activities from Mom with a Lesson Plan

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New Year’s Eve Game from All Done Monkey

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New Years Photo Memory Game from No Time for Flashcards

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New Years’ Eve Countdown Activity Bags from Happy Home Fairy

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Free New Years Coloring Pages from 3 Dinosaurs

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Fireworks in a Jar from I Can Teach My Child

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New Year’s Blowers Painting Project from Glued to My Crafts

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New Year’s Wishing Wand from Baby Centre

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Printable New Year’s Coloring Party Hats from Totschooling

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Pipe Cleaner Tiara from Zing Zing Tree

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Clock Hats for New Year’s Eve From Reading Confetti

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Confetti Party Popper from Mama Miss

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New Years’ Eve Confetti Eggs from Rad Megan

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New Year’s Eve Celebration Playdough from Mama.Papa.Bubba

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Simple New Year’s Recipes for Kids from Lemon Lime Adventures

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New Year’s New Paper Plate Countdown

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Counting Stars Gross Motor Game

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Ten Preschool New Years’ Eve Songs

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New Years’ Eve Sensory Bin

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New Year’s Eve Sparkler Drink

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New Year’s Custom and Activities Chart

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New Year’s Eve Shakers

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I have placed the links to the pins for these wonderful activities beneath each activity. Please take a moment to pin your favorites to your boards!

Ten Preschool Songs for New Year’s

December 26, 2014 By Deirdre

After sharing how to make a New Year’s Eve countdown ball with you earlier in the week, I decided to seek out so New Year’s themed preschool songs for kids. I thought you would enjoy having fun songs to welcome the new year with! I searched high and low to find preschool songs for New Year’s. (There are actually tons of them out there. I was pleasantly surprised!) Here are the ten preschool songs for New Year’s that I loved the most. Wait! Before you look over the preschool songs, please note that they could be used in any primary classroom or at home with your family. Don’t let the title of this post throw you off. I think they would be fun to do with everyone!

New Year’s Songs for Preschoolers

Cheer the New Year (Row, row, row your boat)

Found on Kids Parkz

Cheer, cheer, cheer the year,
A new one’s just begun.
Celebrate with all your friends,
Let’s go have some fun!
Clap, clap, clap your hands,
A brand new year is here.
Learning, laughing, singing, clapping,
Through another year.

Fireworks On New Year’s Day (Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed)

Found on Perpetual Preschool

5 little children waiting to see,
Fireworks on this New Year’s Eve.
One saw the fireworks and what did she say?
“Happy New Year to you this day!”

Out with the Old, In with the New (Mary Had A Little Lamb)

Found on The Best Kids Book Site

This year’s drawing to an end,
To an end, to an end.
This year’s drawing to an end.
Soon we’ll start a new one.
Out with the old, in with the new,
In with the new, in with the new,
Out with the old and in with the new,
On January 1st.

Hickory, Dickory, Dock

Found in a nursery rhyme book in our book collection.

Hickory, Dickory, Dock,
The mouse ran up the clock,
The clock struck one and
The mouse ran down.
Hickory, Dickory dock.

Hickory, Dickory, Dock,
The mouse ran up the clock,
The clock struck two and
The mouse said Boo!
Hickory, Dickory dock.

Hickory, Dickory, Dock,
The mouse ran up the clock,
The clock struck three and
The mouse ran Weee!
Hickory, Dickory dock.

THE PEOPLE ON THE BUS (The Wheels on the Bus)

Found on Preschool Express.

Oh, the people on the bus wear party hats,
Party hats, party hats. (Children place hands together at a point over their heads)
Oh, the people on the bus wear party hats,
All through the town.

Oh, the people on the bus are blowing horns,
Blowing horns, blowing horns. (Children place fists over their mouths)
Oh, the people on the bus are blowing horns,
All through the town.

Oh, the people on the bus say, “Happy New Year”,
“Happy New Year”, “Happy New Year”.
Oh, the people on the bus say, “Happy New Year”,
All through the town.

THE CLOCK IS TICKING DOWN (The Farmer In the Dell)

Found on Preschool Express.

The clock is ticking down.
Get ready for the sound.
Boom, Bang, it’s 12 o’clock
Fireworks all around!
Jean Warren

A Brand New Year (The Muffin Man)

Found on Preschool Education.

Now we have a brand new year,
A brand new year, a brand new year.
Now we have a brand new year,
It’s (name of year).

New Year’s Day (Jingle Bells)

Found on Preschool Education.

New Year’s Day, New Year’s Day
Comes but once a year.
On New Year’s Eve, we celebrate
And ring it in with cheer!
New Year’s Day, New Year’s Day
Comes but once a year.
On New Year’s Eve, we celebrate
And ring it in with cheer!

Happy New Year (Are You Sleeping?)

Found on Preschool Education.

Happy New Year!
Happy New Year!
Rah! Rah! Rah!
Rah! Rah! Rah!
Goodbye to the old year!
Hello to the new year!
Rah! Rah! Rah!
Rah! Rah! Rah!

This Year’s Drawing to an End (Mary Had A Little Lamb)

Found on Preschool Education.

This year’s drawing to an end,
To an end, to an end.
This year’s drawing to an end.
Soon we’ll start a new one.

Out with the old, in with the new,
In with the new, in with the new,
Out with the old and in with the new,
On January 1st.

Along with singing these wonderful preschool songs, you may want to have the kids make props to use while singing them. A New Year’s Eve noise shaker or having your children select an object like the ones in our New Year’s Eve sensory bin to hold while singing would be fun!

New Year’s Eve Craft- Noise Maker Shakers

December 29, 2012 By Deirdre

Recently we had the little boy next door over to play. I thought it would be fun for he and JDaniel to make New Year’s Eve craft. We are calling them noise maker shakers. They had the best time trying to decide what to add to their bottles to make them look nice and make a lot of noise.

Here are the supplies we used to make our New Year’s Eve craft:

one bag of mixed beans
muffin tin
chopsticks (optional)
empty water bottles
sparkly pom-poms
sparkly pipe cleaners
sparkly ribbon or rickrack

How did we make our New Year’s Eve craft?

New Year's Eve Craft- Noise Maker Shakers- Sorting Beans

Before the boy next door came over I had JDaniel sort the mixed beans into groups in a muffin tin. While he sorted them, I talked to him about how the size of the beans he would add to his shaker would determine the sounds the shaker made and the space that they took up in the water bottle.

I had JDaniel use a pair of his chopsticks to move the beans from the bowl to the muffin tin. He needs to work on his fine motor skills related to holding a pencil and holding chopsticks works on those same skills.

JDaniel was very interested in what each bean was called and what we would use to make. I told him that the the chickpeas were used to make hummus and the kidney beans were used when we made chili. We decided to try using all the beans that we didn’t use in the New Year’s Eve noise maker shakers to make the soup recipe on the back of the bag of beans.

When the little boy next door arrived, they both dug into the beans and the pom-poms and started adding them to their bottles.

JDaniel’s bottle didn’t have a flat bottom. It kept wiggling around. I gave him a silicone cupcake liner to put his bottle in. It seems to help him keep the bottle vertical and less frustrated.

As both boys added beans and pom- poms to their bottles, I reviewed the need to not fill the bottle with too many beans if they wanted their noise maker shakers to make loud noises. We also reviewed what each type of beans was.

When it was time to add the pipe cleaners, the boy next door went with the curve the pipe cleaner before adding it to your bottle. JDaniel went with the jam the pipe cleaner into the bottle approach. The pipe cleaners were supposed to represent streaking fireworks. I guess that there isn’t a wrong way to display fireworks.

After placing caps on their shakers, the boys selected the ribbons they wanted on their bottles. Neither boys has mastered tying bows so, I helped them out. JDaniel wanted his ribbons at the top and the boy next door wanted one at the top and one at the bottle’s middle.

I think they did a great job on their New Year’s noise maker shakers. It was fun to tie learning into creating them.