Early childhood education
These are some of the best ECE websites and books. Browse by topic:
- getting started
- fingerplays, rhymes and songs
- storytime ideas
- paired books for thematic storytimes
- arts and crafts
- math and science
Getting started
If you are new to circle time or working with young children, are rushed for time or just want some fresh ideas, start here!
Websites to get you started
The Activity Idea Place
Over 3,400 activity ideas for early childhood education professionals.
Earlychildhood News
A comprehensive resource for teachers and parents of young children from birth to age eight.
Early Childhood Learning Knowledge Centre
Information from a wide variety of public, professional and academic organizations across Canada.
Early Childhood Today
Replaces the discontinued Scholastic magazine. Gives free access to an archive of over 22 years of early childhood information from top experts in the field.
Education World: Early Childhood Community
Hundreds of activities, rhymes and more to suit dozens of themes.
Everything Preschool
Over 30,000 preschool education activities separated into over 100 themes, 26 alphabet areas and lesson plans.
The Idea Box
Activities, crafts, songs and recipes for toddlers and preschoolers.
Perpetual Preschool
Over 12,000 free ideas for parents and teachers of young children.
Preschool Education
A treasure trove for early childhood specialists.
Preschool Express
Jean Warren's educational activity resource for parents, teachers and grandparents of one- to five-year-olds.
Books to get you started
(Almost) Everything You Need to Know About Early Childhood Education
Judy Fujawa
Practical, creative and effective lists covering nearly all aspects of work with young children.
The Best of Totline Newsletter
Presents a year's worth of art, music, movement, science, math, snacks and much more for ages two to five. Divided into 12 monthly sections.
The Big Book of Stories, Songs and Sing-Alongs
Beth Maddigan
A treasury of age-appropriate programming ideas for children from as young as six months through age three.
The Giant Encyclopedia of Circle Time and Group Activities for Children 3 to 6
With over 600 activities covering 48 themes, this book is jam-packed with classroom-tested ideas.
The Giant Encyclopedia of Theme Activities for Children 2 to 5
Over 600 classroom-tested activities to actively engage children's imaginations and provide many months of learning fun. Organized into 48 popular themes.
Innovations: The Comprehensive Preschool Curriculum
Kay Albrecht
Designed for teachers of three- to five-year-olds, this complete curriculum book focuses on how educators can encourage, facilitate and stimulate children's learning and growth.
Toddlers Together
Cynthia Catlin
Fun, easy-to-do seasonal activities geared toward the toddler's unique stage of development.
Fingerplays, rhymes and songs
Having a wide range of activities at your fingertips is invaluable in a child care setting.
BPL activity sheets
Download thematic handouts of fingerplays, songs and rhymes:
- Adventure [PDF]
- Animals - Big and Small [PDF]
- Being Brave [PDF]
- Colours [PDF]
- Farm [PDF]
- Food and Eating [PDF]
- Friends [PDF]
- Pets [PDF]
- Royalty [PDF]
- Transportation [PDF]
Websites: fingerplays, rhymes and songs
Gayle's Preschool Rainbow: Preschool Fingerplays, Action Poems, Nursery Rhymes, and Songs
A wide selection of activities grouped by common early childhood education themes.
Kididdles: Mojo's Song Lyrics
Search for song lyrics by title or subject. Many are accompanied by sound files so you can hear the tune!
Mama Lisa's World
Children's songs and nursery rhymes from around the world.
Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes
Includes alphabetical access to the words for over 350 nursery rhymes, clip art, a brief history of Mother Goose, as well as fractured versions of well-known rhymes.
The Mother Goose Pages
Search for rhymes by broad themes. Includes performance tips and history for most rhymes.
National Network for Child Care: Fingerplay Plus
Words and instructions for a selection of fingerplays. Includes suggestions for related activities.
Sing Along Midis and Lyrics for the NIEHS Kids' Pages
Tunes and words to many songs for young children.
Books and CDs: fingerplays, rhymes and songs
And the Cow Jumped Over the Moon
Pam Schiller and Thomas Moore
Over 650 activities to teach toddlers using familiar rhymes and songs.
50 Thematic Songs Sung to Your Favorite Tunes
Meish Goldish
Add zing to circle time and enrich theme units with this collection of learning songs set to favourite tunes such as "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star."
HOP: Healthy Opportunities for Preschoolers
Viviene Anne Temple
A LEAP BC resource guide with 40 activities to encourage play-based learning from birth through age three. Download HOP [PDF]
I'm a Little Teapot!
Jane Cobb
Includes the words to 500 action rhymes for three- to five-year-olds. What'll I Do With The baby-O is a companion title that includes hundreds of rhymes and songs for babies and toddlers.
Jump Into Literacy: Active Learning for Preschool Children
Rae Pica
Over 100 lively literacy activities each with a literacy objective, materials list, instructions and extension activities.
Ring a Ring O'Roses: Fingerplays for Preschool Children
A compilation of over 365 fingerplays collected by the Flint Public Library.
Music and Movement in the Classroom
Steven Traugh
This is a complete program of materials and teaching techniques designed to channel young children's natural enthusiasm for music and movement into productive learning experiences.
Wee Sing Children's Songs and Fingerplays
Listen to 70 classic traditional songs and fingerplays on this CD. Lyrics included in the accompanying book.
First in the Wee Sing series.
Wiggle, Giggle and Shake
Rae Pica
200 simple, practical and fun movement activities and ideas for four- to eight-year-olds, grouped according to popular themes.
Storytime ideas
Flannel boards, puppets and draw-and-tell stories can be fun companions to reading picture books during circle time.
Did you know that ECE staff working in Burnaby can borrow thematic storytime kits from BPL? Find out more...
Websites: storytime ideas
Flannel Board Stories, Songs and Rhymes for Children
Tips, ideas and stories. Includes links to other sites.
Books: storytime ideas
Chalk Talk Stories
Storytellers seeking a unique variation to traditional storytelling will welcome this collection of 12 draw-and-tell stories suitable for preschoolers.
The Flannel Board Storytelling Book
Judy Sierra
Includes 50 felt board presentations for toddlers and prechoolers as well as instructions for making flannel boards and figures with up-to-date craft materials.
Puppets and Storytime
Jean Feldman
More than 100 skill-building ideas and activities for early learners.
Starting With Stories: Engaging Multiple Intelligences Through Children's Books
Pam Schiller and Pat Phipps
More than 1,500 ideas for learning centers, activities and literacy experiences that relate to 100 popular picture books.
Story Stretchers for Infants, Toddlers and Twos
Shirley Raines
Includes 240 ways to stretch 80 age-appropriate books in new ways to enhance the learning process.
Storytime Ideas for Circle Time
Jean Warren
Tips and techniques to strengthen language, memory and attention skills through active participation in storytime sessions.
Storytime Magic: 400 Fingerplays, Flannelboards and Other Activities
Kathy MacMillan and Christine Kirker
Organized by theme, this resource includes recommended titles, easy-to-follow craft and feltboard patterns and early literacy tips.
Paired books for thematic storytimes
These read-aloud picture books are terrific choices for thematic circle times. Each one is paired with a non-fiction title that extends the theme.
Anansi and the Talking Melon
Eric Kimmel
Finding himself trapped inside one of elephant's melons following a ravenous snack, Anansi talks to Elephant who is convinced he has grown a talking melon. Pair with Spiders by Rebecca Gilpin to show the wonders of real spiders.
Arabella Miller's Tiny Caterpillar
Clare Jarrett
A little girl feeds a tiny caterpillar and watches him grow into a butterfly. Pair with Caterpillar by Karen Hartley to introduce the life cycle of caterpillars.
Dog's Colorful Day
Emma Dodd
In this colourful story of a sloppy dog, you can count your way to a happy ending. Pair with Don't Lick the Dog by Wendy Wahman to introduce kids to the behaviour and actions of real dogs.
Gobble It Up!
Jim Arnosky
Rhyming text invites kids to imagine being different hungry animals while learning what each creature is eating. Pair with Holy Guacamole! by Nick Fauchald for simple snack recipes.
Hero Cat
Eileen Spinelli
A cat gives birth to a litter of kittens in an abandoned building that catches fire while she is out searching for food. Pair with Fire Trucks and Rescue Vehicles by Jean Coppendale for an exciting look at the real world of firefighting.
I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean
Kevin Sherry
A giant squid brags about being bigger than everything else in the ocean - almost. Pair with The ABCs of Oceans by Bobbie Kalman for factual information about marine animals from clownfish to deadly electric eels.
Katy Did It!
Lorianne Siomades
An energetic katydid wreaks havoc as she hops among the garden plants. Pair with Singing Crickets by Linda Glaser to introduce youngsters to crickets and how they sing.
Little Cloud
Eric Carle
A little cloud becomes all sorts of things, from a sheep to an airplane and a hat, before joining other clouds and raining. Pair with Water by Penelope Arlon for information about the water cycle as well as the importance and uses of water.
The Little Dump Truck
Margery Cuyler
A happy little dump truck, driven by Hard Hat Pete, hauls stones, rocks and debris from a construction site to a landfull. Pair with Tough Trucks by Bobbie Kalman for a close-up look at a variety of trucks.
Monkey Puzzle
Julia Donaldson
Little Monkey has lost his mum and Butterfly tries to help him find her. Pair with A Baboon Grows Up by Anastasia Suen to follw a baboon in East Africa from birth until he grows up and leaves the troop.
My Friend and I
Lisa Jahn-Clough
A young girl makes friends with the new boy next door. When they have a fight, she discovers that she misses him. Pair with Emily's Sharing and Caring Book by Cindy Post Senning for an introduction to the benefits of caring for and sharing with others.
On a Dark Dark Night
Simon Prescott
As Mouse runs through the moonlit night towards a big, dark house, there are strange shapes and shadows, just waiting to jump out. Pair with Mice by Rebecca Sjonger to learn about the life of a pet mouse.
Quiet Night
Marilyn Singer
One frog, two owls, three geese are joined by increasingly larger numbers of different animals, including noisy raccoons chowing down on garbage, that keep ten campers from falling asleep in a tent. Pair with Raccoons by Elaine Landau for an introduction to the world of raccoons and their nocturnal feeding habits.
Tyson the Terrible
Diane and Christyan Fox
Three young dinosaurs are afraid when they hear Tyson the Terrible approach, until the meet the young tyrannosaurus for themselves. Pair with Dinosaur More! by Henrietta Stickland for fun facts about dinosaurs.
Who Ate All the Cookie Dough?
Karen Beaumont
Kanga and her friends try to discover who ate all of her cookie dough. Pair with Guess Who Hops by Sharon Gordon for a guessing-game introduction to kangaroos.
Arts and crafts
Websites: arts and crafts
The Crafty Crow
This blog collects links to hundreds of crafts on the web. Click on "Categories" to browse by age or subject.
DLTK's Crafts for Kids
Crafts, colouring pages, projects for holidays and educational themes. Links to similar sites.
Kaboose Crafts for Kids
Includes a wide selection of seasonal and holiday-based ideas.
KinderArt
Thousands of classroom-tested free lesson plans, ideas and resources contributed by people from around the world.
Books: arts and crafts
Art Across the Alphabet
Kelly Justus Campbell
Over 100 art experiences that enhance early literacy.
Arts and Crafts
The best arts-and-crafts activities from the 1998-2004 issues of The Mailbox magazine.
ArtStarts for Little Hands!
Judy Press
Presents a variety of art projects and related activities grouped around popular themes.
First Art
MaryAnn F. Kohl
Includes 75 fun-filled art adventures for toddlers and twos.
The Giant Encyclopedia of Art & Craft Activities: For Children 3 to 6
A comprehensive collection of the best teacher-created art and craft activities for young children.
The Little Hands Big Fun Craft Book
Judy Press
Presents over 75 simple arts and crafts activities related to popular themes.
Little Hands Create!
Mary Doerfler Dall
With everyday items, 3 to 6-year-olds can let their artistic side take over and create paper coffee filter flowers, egg carton boats, milk carton villages and more.
Mudworks: Creative Dough, Clay and Modeling Experiences
MaryAnn F. Kohl
Over 100 delightfully squishy kid-tested projects to capture the imagination of preschoolers and caregivers alike.
Math and science
Websites: math and science
PBS Parents Early Math
A site that helps nurture development of math skills in the early years.
Books: math and science
The Best of the Mailbox Math
Curricular activities in mathematics for teachers of preschool and kindergarten age children. Compiled from the best teacher-tested ideas published in the 1996-2002 preschool and kindergarten issues of Mailbox.
The Giant Encyclopedia of Math Activities for Children 3 to 6
Organized by curriculum area or time of day, each of over 600 activities is complete with math concepts, materials needed and step-by-step instructions.
The Giant Encyclopedia of Science Activities for Children 3 to 6
Over 600 teacher-created, classroom-tested activities to teach children about science while they are having fun.
Kathy Ross Crafts Triangles, Rectangles, Circles and Squares
Kathy Ross
Provides step-by-step instructions for 20 easy crafts intended to teach about four basic shapes.
MathArts
MaryAnn F. Kohl
Exploring math through art for three- to six-year-olds.
Quick & Easy Science Fun
Over 100 simple experiments, activities and demonstrations.
Science Play!
Jill Frankel Hauser
Science discovery activities for two to six-year-olds.
Sunny Days and Starry Nights
Nancy F. Castaldo
Over 60 activities to teach about the outdoors.