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Nov 19, 2014
5 Senses Theme Activities· Fall Theme Activities· PreK· Trees and Leaves Theme

Nuts and Seeds Theme: Listening Games with Sensory Sound Shakers for #PlayfulPreschool

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ย NUTS AND SEEDS THEME FOR PRESCHOOL!

Nuts and Seeds Sound Shakers

Each Wednesday throughout the school year, we will continue offering learning activities along with the brilliant #playfulpreschool blogging team.ย  This week’s activities are centered around a Nuts and Seeds Theme for Preschool.ย  If you have missed the previous theme-based activities, they are linked for your convenience below.ย  Also, please take a moment and visit links to additional Nuts and Seeds Theme resources from the Playful Preschool Team for learning inspiration at home or in the classroom!

Discriminating Sounds with Nuts and Seeds in Preschool

The Sense of Hearing (Sound)

The Sense of Hearingย  is powerful learning for preschoolers!ย  In order for the children to explore sounds, they must be able to locate the primary body parts that provide sensory sound information: the EARS!

Introductory (Circle Time) Games:

  • Mirror Play – Invite the children to look for their own ears in a mirror.ย ย Note: hand held mirrors are durable, but supervision is necessary with young children if using real glass.ย The children can also partner with an adult or siblings/peers and use magnifying glasses for discoveries of other body parts that provide sensory information. Children will think it’s silly to look at each other, but they are gaining important information!

Sensory Mirror Discoveries

  • Listening Chant – Invite the children to LISTEN by saying:ย  โ€œClose your eyes (NO PEEKING!) and open your ears, listen carefully to the sounds you can hear!โ€ย  Some of the children will want to make sounds instead of listening.ย  Remind the children that the goal is to listen for sounds coming from the environment, not the sounds they can make.ย  It takes a little practice, but the children will love playing this game.ย  After a few seconds of listening, have the children open their eyes and share what sounds they heard.ย  The listening game can be played indoors or outside (weather permitting).
  • ย Loud/Soft Sounds – Brainstorm with the children places where LOUD voices would be appropriate or where SOFTER voices should be used.ย ย  Chart the answers the children give and add to the list as the children become familiar with loud and soft sounds.

Nuts and Seeds Cracking and SortingNuts and Seeds Sensory Sound Shakers

Materials needed:ย  assorted seeds or nuts, any container (we used glass salt/pepper shakers, but cardboard tubes sealed with waxed paper and a rubber bank will work great, too).

Note:ย  when making sound shakers with children who still put objects in their mouths, supervise closely.ย  Seeds and nuts are a choking hazard.ย  Please also note any children who have allergies, especially peanut/nut allergies.

Prior to the sound activities we incorporated cross-over lessons by inviting the kids to shell or crack some of the varieties of nuts as part of our practical life center.ย  Set the nuts and seeds out on a table or a tray and demonstrate for the children how to crack the shell of the nut open with a nut cracker. Most preschoolers will need to use both hands with a nut cracker or their hands/fingers to crack or open the shell. ย  Nut cracking is a wonderful fine motor challenge for preschoolers! ย Note – leave some of the nuts/seeds in the shell to create a range of sounds for for the children to hear.

To make the Sound Shakers:ย ย for additional fine motor practice, set out various transfer tools that the children can use to move the seeds/nuts from a tray into the various sound containers (ex:ย  spoon/melon scoop/tweezers/chop sticks/small tongs).ย  Each container should only be filled half-way with nuts or seeds.

Nuts and Seeds Sensory Sound Shakers 011
Sensory Sound Shakers with Nuts and Seeds

Sound Games to Try With Preschoolers

  1. Begin with just two of the sound shakers. ย Hold a hand towel over the sound shakers (one at a time) with one hand and shake the container with the other hand. ย See if the children can determine what KIND of seed/nut is placed inside the shaker using only their sense of hearing.
  2. One at a time, invite the children to shake the containers to determine which container makes the LOUDEST or SOFTEST sound. ย With younger children, limit the number of shakers until they gain confidence discriminating between the sounds.
  3. Make matching sound shakers and have the children locate the matching seed/nut containers by listening to the sound the container makes.ย  Note:ย  this activity works best using the cardboard tubes to hold the seeds/nuts as the children cannot SEE what is inside the container.ย  The children then can only rely on listening skills to match the shakers.
  4. Invite the children to order the sound shakers from the softest to loudest (or loudest to softest) sounds (see below).
Nuts and Seed Sound Shakers and Listening Games for Preschool
Ordering the Sound Shakers from LOUDEST to SOFTEST

Come together after exploring the sound shakers for discussions about the sound discoveries. ย Some examples of questions to explore with the children: ย  What seeds/nuts created the louder sounds? ย Did the shells on the nuts/seeds make a difference in the sound? ย Did the louder sounds bother any of the children? Sometimes loud sounds (sirens, thunder, workplace machinery), when heard repeatedly, can cause stress and anxiety for children, teachers, and parents. ย  Softer sounds are usually more pleasant to hear for longer periods of time.

Playing with different sounds is not only fun for preschoolers, but it provides great opportunities for important sensory learning!ย  For more playful learning with all 5 Senses, see the 5 Senses Thematic Unit here on the blog!

We gave our FB group a “sneak peak” of this activity and while they didn’t quite guess how the containers were used, many offered great extension activities for the nuts/seeds.ย  Come join us and learn from other professionals in ECE on Facebook.

Plan Your Nut and Seeds Learning Week With Activities from the #PlayfulPreschool Team

Colorful Pumpkin Seed Names by Fun-A-Day
Nuts to You!: Squirrel Feeder by Mom Inspired Life
Number Word Punch: Counting Nuts by Tiny Tots Adventures
Turkey Patterns with Pistashio Shells by Still Playing School
Seed and Letter Sensory Bin by Growing Book by Book
Growing Seeds by Learning 2 Walk
Exploring Chia Seeds by Powerful Mothering
Nutty Science–A Lesson in Buoyancy by Capri + 3
3 Fun Activities with Seeds for Preschoolers by Life Over C’s
Easy Sight Word Acorn Game by The Educators’ Spin On It

All Playful Preschool Themes

APPLES THEME ACTIVITIES, FAMILY and HERITAGE THEME ACTIVITIES, FARM THEME ACTIVITIES, HARVEST THEME ACTIVITIES, FALL COLORS, NIGHT SKY THEME, DINOSAUR THEME, COMMUNITY HELPERS THEME, CREEPY CRAWLIES THEME, SCARECROW THEME, FEATHERS THEME

 

 

 

22 Comments

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Devany says

    November 19, 2014 at 6:43 am

    I love that they are invited to make the shakers too! I want to try this with my kids!

    Reply
  2. Theresa says

    November 19, 2014 at 9:06 am

    I love the nut and seed shakers. Putting them in order from softest to loudest is brilliant. What a great way to fine tune their listening skills.

    Reply
    • pschooltoolbox says

      November 19, 2014 at 8:13 pm

      Theresa – we are experimenting this week. We have wonderful little scientists! Thanks for visiting and your comment!

      Reply
  3. Danielle @ Mom Inspired Life says

    November 19, 2014 at 2:07 pm

    How fun! Even my 15 month old would love the shakers!

    Reply
    • pschooltoolbox says

      November 19, 2014 at 8:13 pm

      Yes, for 15 month olds…anything that shakes WITH SOUND is good. Use plastic containers (with a good lid) for great explorations with toddlers. Thanks for your comment!

      Reply
  4. Natasha says

    November 19, 2014 at 2:20 pm

    This is going to be fun and loud. With the toilet roll shakers matching game, do I make them both out of the rolls or one roll and one clear for them to see?

    Reply
    • pschooltoolbox says

      November 19, 2014 at 8:11 pm

      Natasha – the children will SEE as they add the seeds/nuts to the toilet rolls. Ask them to distinguish the sounds without looking inside. It’s fun to shake, listen, and make decisions based on what they hear without the use of sight. Thanks for visiting and your comment!

      Reply
      • Natasha says

        November 20, 2014 at 12:13 am

        Thank you! I’ve setup for us to try this activity out tomorrow.

        Reply
  5. Mary Catherine says

    November 19, 2014 at 8:11 pm

    What a fun way to explore the sense of sound! We’ve done something like this before, but I love the different materials you used – and those salt shakers!!!! ๐Ÿ™‚ A great musical and sensory idea for the fall!

    Reply
  6. Alana - eSpectacularKids says

    November 20, 2014 at 12:38 pm

    I really love the nuts and seeds sensory idea! Even though it’s focused on hearing, children at our school get so excited by foods they’re not so familiar with, and the colours are interesting on their own! When we’ve covered sound in class, children have had a great time focusing on the different kinds of sounds, and it was something they continued doing all week ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
  7. Jodie @ Growing Book by Book says

    November 21, 2014 at 8:28 am

    What a fantastic idea! Such a neat way to let kids make observations and explore.

    Reply
  8. Nicolette Roux says

    November 21, 2014 at 6:27 pm

    mmm.. tasty.. I want to make a cookie with all of these.. hehe

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Alphabet Activities: Seed Sensory Bin - Growing Book by Book says:
    November 19, 2014 at 5:11 am

    […] Pumpkin Seed Names by Fun-A-Day Nuts to You!: Squirrel Feeder by Mom Inspired Life Nuts and Seeds Theme: Listening Games with Sensory Sound Shakers for #PlayfulPreschool by The Preschool Toolbox Blog Number Word Punch: Counting Nuts by Tiny Tots Adventures Turkey […]

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  2. Exploring Chia Seeds says:
    November 19, 2014 at 5:53 am

    […] Pumpkin Seed Names by Fun-A-Day Nuts to You!: Squirrel Feeder by Mom Inspired Life Nuts and Seeds Theme: Listening Games with Sensory Sound Shakers for #PlayfulPreschool by The Preschool Toolbox Blog Number Word Punch: Counting Nuts by Tiny Tots Adventures Turkey […]

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  3. 3 Fun Activities with Seeds for Preschoolers says:
    November 19, 2014 at 6:08 am

    […] Pumpkin Seed Names by Fun-A-Day Nuts to You!: Squirrel Feeder by Mom Inspired Life Nuts and Seeds Theme: Listening Games with Sensory Sound Shakers for #PlayfulPreschool by The Preschool Toolbox Blog Number Word Punch: Counting Nuts by Tiny Tots Adventures Turkey […]

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  4. Growing Seeds: A Preschool Lesson Plan says:
    November 19, 2014 at 6:23 am

    […] Pumpkin Seed Names by Fun-A-Day Nuts to You!: Squirrel Feeder by Mom Inspired Life Nuts and Seeds Theme: Listening Games with Sensory Sound Shakers for #PlayfulPreschool by The Preschool Toolbox Blog Number Word Punch: Counting Nuts by Tiny Tots Adventures Turkey […]

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    November 19, 2014 at 8:06 am

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  7. Number Word Punch: Counting Nuts | Tiny Tots Adventures says:
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  9. Nutty Science–A Lesson in Buoyancy says:
    September 21, 2016 at 9:35 am

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