My little preschoolers all have a favorite letter J preschool activity. It’s making up jokes, like the following.
“Why did the leaf cross the road?”
“I don’t know, why?”
“Leaves can’t talk!”
My kids like to tell this joke over and over again and laugh and laugh and laugh. Of course, it doesn’t make any sense, but they don’t seem to be bothered by that fact. I’m sure that one day when I get very old and senile, (some would argue that I’m there already) I will sit in my little rocking chair and tell jokes like this, because after all of the child-rearing, that’s what my mind will be reduced to.
It’s okay. It’s the only way I can get my children back for making me listen to hundreds of thousands of jokes that either don’t make sense or aren’t funny. Kids are way more entertaining when they aren’t trying to be. But then, aren’t we all?
Letter “J” Preschool Activities for “J” week
So anyway, here are some alternate options for letter “J” preschool activities when you get sick of the joke telling.
Play Lifesize Jack-In-The-Box
Get a box big enough to hold a child, sing “All Around the Mulberry Bush”, and then take turns being the one to turn the crank and the one who pops up like a jack-in-the-box.
"All Around the Mulberry Bush"
All around the mulberry bush,
The monkey chased the weasel.
The monkey thought it was a joke,
Pop! Goes the weasel.
Eat Jawbreakers
Eat jawbreakers and talk about what and where your jaw is. As you are eating them talk about why are they called jawbreakers.
Start A Journal
Help the children start a journal. Read some fun things you may have written in the past about your daily life. Then have them dictate to you what they want you to write in their own journal (a simple notebook would work fine). Then let them draw a picture to go with the words. Do this each day this week. For fun you could take pictures of them and add them to the pages as well. You could do this in scrapbook style too, but then that would be “s” week.
Junk Food Or Not Junk Food?
Gather several different foods and categorize them as junk food or non-junk food. Talk about the benefits of eating healthy foods. Have some yummy, creative, non-junk foods this week. For example:
- Bugs on a Log. Celery sticks filled with peanut butter and sprinkled with raisins, for the bugs.
- Edible Lincoln Logs. Cheese cubes connected with pretzel sticks.
- Fruity Faces. Cut fruit into bite-size pieces and make your own funny faces on a paper plate.
First Day On The Job
Talk about several different jobs and their descriptions; have stations set up where the children can go and “try out” a job. Try a secretary station with a phone, a typewriter, and paper and pencil. Or a doctor station with a stethoscope, a reflex hammer, a lab coat, etc. Or a computer programmer station where you go do research and development by playing computer video games with your colleagues, chat back and forth to your friends through email and have free recruiting lunches every other day.
Make Juice
Gather some oranges and make your own juice; have the children give suggestions for fruits that you could get juice from; try juicing these other fruits. Then gather several different kinds of juice (from the store) and have a taste test; see if you can guess by the color or taste, what flavor it is. Make sure to vote for your favorite.
Having Fun With Letter “J” Preschool Activities
I hope you enjoyed these letter “J” preschool activities! Have you tried them out at home yet? Or have any other ideas for “J week”? Let us know in the comments! Remember that the object in all of this is to have some fun with your children and help them learn a little at the same time. If the kids are getting bored or lose interest, drop what you are doing and head for the sandbox.
Originally published December 21, 2005 in the Crossroads Journal.
Looking for more activity ideas?
We’ve got something for every letter of the alphabet! Over 800 activity ideas, all organized by letter for easy preschool lesson planning. That includes ideas for snacks, books, music, field trips, crafts, and so much more!