Parent Children Activity Suggestion

I agree that doing some sort of physical thing might be fun. My daughter's preschool just did some movement activities that reenacted the life cycle of a butterfly and a frog. That would be super easy to recreate! You can even get some scarfs, handkerchiefs, or cheap pieces of gauzy fabric and the kids can hold one in each hand and use them as wings. You could also read a story beforehand that would tie into this.

I like the balloon game too. You could even just do simple things like jumping jacks and sit ups, you can make a little routine.

Like a craft? How about getting some masks (you can get them at Michaels) and having them color and put stickers on them.

I would start by reading a book about something like music, then depending on the number of children in the class (and the ability to collect that many)could you save old toilet paper/paper towel rolls, decorate with stickers and markers add the beans for homemade musical instruments? Or read something like Harold and the Purple Crayon and bring in big rolls of paper and a whole bunch of purple crayons and let the kids draw their favorite things..... tie it into a short story so they can see how the stories can actually be like real life (in some instances!).

What is the theme? Are you encouraged to do something calm, like a story, or a motor-skills activity?

When I have the option, I like "fun get the energy out" activities. The easiest I've found is a balloon game. Each kid gets a balloon and they have to see how long they can keep it in the air without touching the ground. I start simple - who can keep it up for 2 minutes? Now, who can keep it up for 1 minute using only their head? Now who can keep it up for 1 minutes using only their elbow?

Disclaimer - run it past the teacher and make sure it's ok. Also, it's best done on smaller groups of kids. If there are 25 kids, either split them into 3 groups or choose a different activity. Make sure there is a lot of room so the kids aren't on top of each other. And take the balloons already blown up, you don't want to waste the entire time blowing up the balloons and they never get to play.

I've done this 2 years in a row for classroom holiday parties, and the kids love it. If you have a theme - you can also use a few minutes of your time letting the kids decorate their balloon with a marker before the game.

Both of my kids love any art activity that involves their handprints. There are a TON on Pinterest if you search for them. :)