Rocks, Caves, Mines, Preschool Learning Activitie

Featured Articles

Learning at the Grocery Store

Fun & easy Ways to make this everyday chore a learning experience for both preschoolers and elementary school kids.

Both of these shows make parents cringe, but how do they change the behavior of children who watch them? A simple experiment in child psychology provides an answer, a cautionary warning about how children absorb what they watch on TV.

More Evidence That TV’s
Don’t Teach Tots

Many parents own baby Einstein tapes, but evidence continues to mount that they don’t actually teach toddlers much of anything, despite their name. This article explores recent research into the topic, and outlines differences in the ways that toddlers and preschoolers learn.

Getting Your Baby to Wear Hats, Sunglasses, or
Other Props
You hit the malls and come home with all the latest gear, determined to have more fun accessorizing than you've had in years. You pick out the perfect look, and try it on your baby. Then the first thing they do is yank whatever it is off their head. What do you do? Read and find out.

Child Safety is everyone’s
responsibility!
Child Safety Resources:
Child Safety Books & Information
Child Abduction Prevention
Fire Safety
Water Safety
Child Safety in the Home
Child Proofing Your Home
Gun Safety for Kids
Child Car Safety

Activity Listings (page 1 of 1)
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Coloring sheets/Mini coloring books
These free printable coloring sheets and mini coloring books will help you jazz up your curriculum. We have several types to choose from: Standard Coloring Sheets, Educational, Emergent Literacy, and others to help with your lesson plan.

Resource: Art
PET ROCKS _________________________________ View This Activity
Ages: Kids of all ages

Cave of Crystals
The Naica Mine in Mexico uncovered what is being called the 'cave of crystals.' It is a huge underground tavern that is home to up to 170 giant crystals. The longest is 37.4 feet, and around 600,000 years old. Related activities:

- Google the "Naica cave crystals" to print out pictures of this tavern to show to your class
- Measure a string to 37.4 feet and have children stretch it out to get an idea of just how big these crystals are. Have them lie down feet to head to see how many of them could fit along this length.

Resource: Science, Sensory
ROCK POLISHING ____________________________ View This Activity
Ages: Kids of all ages

Golden Sand
Did you know that most gold these days is not found in rocks mined from caves. Rather, it is extracted from sand and dirt. Earth movers and giant trucks scoop up loads of dirt that has microscopic flakes of gold inside it, most smaller than a grain of sand. In fact, it usually requires the removal of 250 tons of rocks and sands, which are then crushed and run through a large extractor, just to get an ounce of gold--about the same amount that is in a typical wedding ring.

- Related activity (sensory/outdoor): Turn this into a sand box activity by bringing in play trucks, funnels, and other props. Next create the "gold" by spray painting a handful or two of sand with Golden spray paint. After it dries, mix the golden sand into the sandbox. You can also do this indoors at your sensory table, by mixing golden sand and regular sand and adding assorted props.

Large Motor Skills, Science
ROCK BREAKING ____________________________ View This Activity
Ages: Kids of all ages

Why do diamonds sparkle?
When light enters the dense matrix of a diamond, it gets bogged down. The light photon becomes trapped in a maze, and it takes a lot of pinging back and forth amidst a thicket of carbon atoms in order to find an exit. This action is what gives diamonds their sparkle. They actually change the way light behaves.

The rocks are alive!
Ok, not really. But scientists do say that more than half of all the mineral species on Earth owe their existence to life. Back when the earth was young, it had only around 250 or so different minerals. But as life transformed the planet, it also changed the rocks. New elements mixed together, and gave way for the creation of new minerals, such as rhodonite, turquoise, aragonite, calcite, or hazenite, among others.

- Related Activity: Rock Collecting Hunt: Go on a nature walk to look for unique rocks, and bring a sampling of the most unique ones back to the classroom. Have a group time discussion about whether the kids think each particular rock was shaped by life, and if so, how. What other things (such as water) might have helped form the rock? How old do they think the rock is? Where do they suppose it carne from, and what made it? Don't worry about helping them to correct answers; it's the analytical questions and the creative conversation which count.

We’re adding new activities to our list every month, so if you didn’t find what you needed, be sure to check back!