Young preschool students liked matching concentration games, but sometimes they get tired of doing the same kinds of these games on the table with matching cards. This is a concentration game of a different variety: on the wall.

Cut out circles and tape to the wall. Cut out smaller squares of paper and draw or write something on the squares. The students will match these pictures, so they may be pictures of shapes or numbers or letters. Tape those squares underneath each circle. There should be two of each picture to match.

Students can flip up one circle at a time and try to match the pictures underneath.

The preschool students used their imaginations to create an art masterpiece. They glued many pieces of recycling items they collected during Earth Day week to a large sheet of bulletin board paper.

They glued magazine pages, soda bottles, yogurt containers, papertowel tubes, gloves, plastic cups, and aluminum foil. This was a collective effort on each student in the class. They worked together to put each item in the perfect place.

After lots of glue and hours of drying time, the masterpiece was ready for display.

We displayed it on the wall for all to enjoy the art of recycling.

Through this experiment, the preschool students were able to see the effects of acid rain and water pollution or dirty water.

We used a healthy green plant with many bright green leaves and long roots. This pothos plant grows long roots in water. The students can see the roots in the water and understand the parts of the plant.

We poured a household poison (bleach) in the cup of water with the plant. We will wait and observe what happens to the looks of the healthy green leaves and roots on the plant.

One year we poured vinegar in the water in the cup. The leaves began to turn brown and look wilted after a few days.

The students are able to see what happens with unclean rain. They have already learned the water cycle and how rain comes down then evaporates back up into the clouds.

During Earth Day week, the preschool students did many experiments to see the effects of pollution. One experiment showed them the effects of littering.

Talk about how much fun it is to go camping and have a picnic. Talk about fishing and swimming in lakes and oceans and rivers.

Create a mountain scene using a piece of aluminum foil. Mound up one end of the foil with blocks or wads of paper so one side of the mountain is higher and the other side of flat.

Tear up pieces of paper and throw on the foil like people are littering their campsites and picnic areas. Throw a plastic cup on the area, too.

Then pour some water on top of the mountain and let it roll down the foil.

Explain to the students that is what happens when people do not throw their litter in the trash can or recycle bins. The litter gets into the lakes and rivers and oceans making the water dirty and polluted for fish and swimmers.

During the Earth day theme, the preschool students learned about water pollution. We talked about why it is important to keep our Earth clean and the effects of litter. They were able to see the effects of littering on the waters and lakes and ponds.

We filled a cup about half full of plain water. Then cut off a tip of a marker and put it in the water. We started to see the water changing colors and getting darker. As we set the cup aside for the rest of the day, we were later able to see the water was completely dark. Yuck. No one wanted to drink that water. No one wanted to fish in that pond.