Fun Days-Teddy Bear Picnic

We often have different “themed” days in some classrooms.  Pajama day is always a fun one, and popular.

One day, however, I saw a great day in a classroom that almost made me wish I was still a lead teacher in the classroom just so I could implement it…almost, I love what I do.

They had a Teddy Bear Picnic day!

What did this entail?  Many FUN activities full of intentionality!

Everyone brings in their teddy bears.  If someone doesn’t have a teddy bear, that’s okay because the teacher had LOTS of extras!  If they forgot or didn’t have one, they were able to pick one to be theirs for the day.

The teddy bears are the children’s “students” for the day and the get to/must bring them around and share their activities with them. 

In the blocks, teddy bears were the receivers of beds made just for them…to size. 

In the dramatic play area, well, what teddy bear doesn’t LOVE coffee, cake, and plastic pizza?

During circle, they sat in a circle according the the teddy bears size!   This was a great math activity to start off and then having the responsibility of “keeping your teddy bear quiet” brought a new attention span to even the most wiggly child.

Circle time consisted of reading/singing the Teddy Bear Picnic book and going around the circle introducing the teddy bear to the rest of the group (name, favorite food, age).

At one of the tables, there were pieces of fabric, scissors, and patterns to make clothes for their bears…if they wanted.  There was one teacher close by to HELP the children stitch the things together with fat needles and thread.  Yes, the teacher allowed them to SEW with REAL needles!  Awesome practice in trusting the children!

At another table, if they so chose, the children had a picnic making activity.  Teddy bears and their owners spent time making sandwiches (math/patterning, fine motor, reading recipes), filling baggies with carrots (counting), and filling baskets with small group numbers of sandwiches, carrot bags, applesauce cups, plastic spoons, paper cups, napkins, plates, and pitchers of milk (community, counting, sorting, spacial awareness).

During outdoor time, teddy bears rode on tricycles going through obstacle courses, built sand castles, and went on…wait for it…a BEAR HUNT!  It was an awesome obstacle course!

Lunch was a picnic out on the grass!

Nap time was a breeze for the simple matter that the children didn’t want to wake their bears.

It was an awesome day!

What kind of fun days do you have?

Make it personal

One of my favorite things to do in the classroom is to bring the children into every area.  I don’t mean by physically dragging them over to the blocks or dramatic play areas.  What I mean is make each area personal for everyone.

Children love to see themselves, don’t they?  A great way to bring them into the areas and activities is to bring in pictures of them.  Here is a simple list of ideas that I enjoy:

Make block play people out of their pictures.  Print out pictures of the children making each child about 4 inches tall.  Glue those pictures onto cute and sanded 2x4 blocks that have been cut to size.  You can even take intentional pictures of the children and ask them to pose however they want.  Don’t tell them what it’s for.  They will get a kick out of it and love to play with each other’s blocks.

Recreate Brown Bear, Brown Bear.  Using pictures of the children, write your own book having each child on the page.  Write the words as in the book, substituting the children’s names for the animals. “Suzy, Suzy who do you see?  I see Alyssa looking at me.”  I did this once in a toddler classroom and used laminated pages so that when a child left and a new child came it was easy to change the children’s names on the pages as necessary.

File folder games!  There is so much you can do with this.  First is a matching game.  Real simple, a picture of John matched a picture of John.  There is the puzzle one where you glue half the picture to the file folder and they have to match the other half.  Use their pictures for this!  For a bit more creative, take pictures of the children in specific numbers of group so they match the picture with the written number on the file folder board.  If they are getting more advanced in letter sound recognition, have them match the child’s name to the letter on the board.

Make lacing cards with their pictures glued to cardstock, teach them how to wave them together to make a long line of classmates together!  Have a stack of pictures where they can sort by color shoes, boys and girls, color of shirts, etc…

What other ideas do you have to integrate pictures of the children into the environment?

Experiences in Geomotry and more

I obtained these blocks at a training I attended for free. If you want to order some, they are over here.

Yes, it does say they are for Kindergarten to 4th grade, however they are very appropriate for the 4 year old if it's a teacher guided activity.

It has some small pieces that a child who explores orally will need to be closely watched; but everyone else will be fine.

I used the term teacher guided activity, let me explain what I mean. First, let's look at how I set it up:

It's a very simple set up. I get some masking tape out and tape 6 squares on the table. This is a defined workspace for each child who would be participating. I then put a handful of shapes into each square (taking out the spheres because these just turn into throwing and destruction tools).

I put the tape down to give them for children who are working on Shared use of Space. (For those using the DRDP-r, this is measure 11). This allows a child who is possessive of their materials to have a clear line of what is theirs.

I use tape and not trays because it opens up the children much more to sharing their materials and also it is very difficult to build on some trays.

When the children come to the table, the teacher is sitting at one of the spaces as well. Remember, this is a teacher guided activity. When the children first come to the table I give them about 2 minutes to explore. I explore the items as well. Stack them, line them up, move them around.

Start "sports casting" what they are doing: "Ian is lining his up on the tape. Karla, are you stacking your up? I see you have made many little houses."

Then the guiding starts..."I'm going to stack mine by colors. Watch! Can you do this?"; "Ian, I wonder what you have more of, cubes or cylinders. How can we find out? Maybe if we line them up next to each other."; "Karla, can you make all your stacks look the same?"

These are suggestions only; if they go along with it, great. If not, at this point they may just walk away. Typically they will walk away if the task you give them is too challenging, so make sure that you are well aware of their ability level when you are guiding them through these challenges.

Also, make sure you are praising the work they put into it, not the work itself: "Wow Ian, you worked for a long time lining those up."; "Karla, high five for sticking with it. You're towers kept falling over but you figured it out!" You are praising the process, not the result. This is very important.

These shapes and this activity work on geometry, patterning, teacher interactions, peer relations, sticking with a task. For those using the DRDP-r, the measure numbers are: 11, 13, 16, 17, 24, 26, 28, 35.

Number Sense

The other day I went to a terrific training on Number Sense. I mean, it was AWESOME! Some of the things we did I thought, "yeah, I do that". Other things I thought, "Yeah! Why didn't I think of that!" And last, there were times I thought, "Wow! I NEVER would have thought that!"

See, what I always knew was (is) that math is all around. I LOVE math, numbers, shapes, equations, logic stuff, etc... I actually am geeky enough that I create my own problems. Driving down the street I count windows on buildings. Sitting at a stoplight I count cars, multiply windows, divide into like groups, etc, etc, etc... So, understanding that math and number concepts are all around is NOT news to me.

What I kind of knew, but had to hear someone qualified say it before I felt I could acknowledge it, was that you don't need numbers to understand numbers. What I mean is, that I don't need to know how to count 5 things and count 10 things and know that 10 is more than 5. I know by looking at the two groups that one is more or less.

Math is language. I thought about this for a long time after the training. I think what we really mean by that is that, in order for us to understand what the children understand, we need them to develop their language. I think that LONG before language comes around, children understand number sense; they just don't know how to express themselves.

What makes sense, but I really didn't think about, is that we teach children math all wrong. See, we teach them to memorize answers, we don't teach them to come up with a solution. We don't teach the to figure it out. Those critical thinking skills that are so essential in all areas of life. THAT'S where we fall short in comparison to the countries that beat us in math test scores.

I have been trying for a few days to write this post for you. But, there is so much information, I just don't know where to start. So, I gave you a few tid bits. Things to get your brains thinking. If you attended the same trainings (or one like it) share with us interesting things that you discovered in the comments.

I will be trying to create another post with a clearer understanding; maybe it'll be a series. There is just so much fascinating information in this line of concepts.

Sneaky Education

So many times parents come into the center and think their child is "just playing" all day long. They think that we aren't doing anything with them.

Then, after a few months that same parent comes in all impressed because their child is writing his or her name, counting to 100, and recognizing shapes and patterns while on outings. Here's the thing, we don't let our children know they are learning most of the time.

Sure, at circle time the children probably can figure out that it is "lesson" time. But during free choice activities, they really think they are just playing! How do we do it?

We set up an environment that is conducive to learning and the children don't even know it. What to teach patterning? We do it so many different ways. My favorite is with Lego's. In the block area I put out a container or Lego's and I join in the fun:

When I approach I find out what they are making (usually airplanes, robots, or jet fighters). "Can I make one too?" Of course! Then, I talk out loud while I am building. "Hm, green, blue, green, blue, green, oh, I need another Lego for my robots leg." This draws them in. They hand me one (maybe red). I put it on, "No, that's not right. Look at the colors I'm using." They hand me a green one. "No, I have a green one there" They are now intrigued by what I am doing. I comment, "See, it doesn't fit my pattern." Now they are involved with what I am doing and are helping me to create the patterns.

That's all I have to do. I have created enough interest now that the next day when they are playing they are making patterns themselves...and showing me! Slowly, I start pointing out patterns around the classroom; slowly, they start pointing them out to me!

Another thing I do is put a sign in book for the children. Each child signs his or her name when they come in and when they leave for the day. Their name is written in big letters across the top of the page so they have a sample (I don't dot the letters or highlight anything, they copy it on their own). I also have a book in the writing area that has all of the children's names on a full sheet in protective sleeves with dry erase markers available. They can now write any child's name they want. At circle, and other times throughout the day, I listen carefully for that "how do you spell" or "what is this word". I take that cue and then create more pages in this book of "favorite words". These are words that they are interested in learning to write themselves.

We have treasure hunts. Cut out shapes of letters, shapes, numbers, anything and hide them all around the school. Then we have to find them! I also will create a map in which I put the location of the letters on the map and say "Let's go find the letter g" looking at the map we find it there, then we go look around the center for it.

When we are getting ready for a big activity or special event I ask them what we need. As they come up with the list, they write it out. Yes, I am writing it down as well so I can remember what it is if I can't read it, but that's on my own paper they know nothing about. Typically each child gets to write their own suggestions, but we might have a "secretary" who gets to write everything.

At the lunch table we might talk about what our favorite food on the plate is. As we are talking, I am writing down a graph on my clipboard. After everyone says their favorite, we talk about the graph I just made!

Another one of my favorite graph activities is in the manipulative area. I get one dice and a paper with columns of squares (six columns) I write the numerals at the bottom (1-2-3-4-5-6) and put a marker with it. Every time they roll the dice, they color in a square in the corresponding column. They just like rolling the dice, counting the numbers, finding the numeral, and then coloring it in. They don't realize they are making a graph and learning about probability.

When parents ask me what they can do at home to help them learn; they are typically looking for "Sit them at the table and have them write..." What I tell them is: have them write the grocery list and read it when they get to the store, show them how to find the price of an item and have them tell you how much it is (as they get older, have them add up the items as you shop-round up or down for the younger ones $5 and $2 is how much), look at signs on the street and talk about the shapes, read books and have them "read" aloud to you.

What things to you tell the parents to do at home? What is your favorite classroom activity that is teaching the children when they don't know they are learning?

Curriculum Ideas-Bug predictions

This week, let's examine bugs! I mean really examine bugs. Here are some great activities to do with science and creating theories and estimations. Critical thinking skills are important to develop in the early years and all of these activities do just that:

1. Get an ant farm! Put in some different types of food and ask the children which the ants will like best. For more fun, ask them why they think that will be the favorite. Throughout the day and week, check back and record your findings. Which food went the fastest? Which did they not touch? What can you conclude from this?
Make sure that you have magnifying glasses out at the science table so the children can get a closer look at what is going on. Also, make sure you leave the journal out for anyone to write their observations in. They have to write their name for any observation. They can draw the observation or write it; whichever they choose. Everyday, bring the journal to circle and discuss what everyone has observed and make some predictions based on those observations. Be sure to answer any predictions is possible (which food did they like the best?)
This activity works on critical thinking skills (predicting what will happen based on previous knowledge or observations) as well as writing skills, and interest in nature.

2. Another fun activity that I've done (and seen others do) is to get some ladybugs and put them in a clear tube. Tape a piece of black paper over one half of the tube and leave the other half open. Before placing the paper over the tube, have the children guess which side the ladybugs will like best: the dark or the light. Write these predictions down in a graph: one side list the children who say dark, the other side list the children who say light. Then, keep the tube, laying flat, on the science table with a journal. Let them write down their observations throughout the day and come back at the end of the day and discuss what they saw; or even the next day.
I like to let the ladybugs go after a day because they don't have any food or water in that tube. What's even more fun is that you can buy a box of ladybugs at the home and garden stores and use the few you need for the experiment (5-10) and let the rest go outside. They hang around for a while and the children love them!
This activity works with predictions and writing skills. It also works with math: graphing!, and of course, interest in nature.

3. I knew one teacher who got a sack of praying mantis eggs from the home and garden store. This was awesome! She had all the children predict how long it would be until the eggs would hatch and wrote this down on a paper she posted in the science area. She placed magnifying glasses on the table in the same area so that the children could go over and observe. This is also, as every activity, a great place for a journal for the children to write or draw what they observe. Everyday, they would revisit the table and chart and see if there were any baby praying mantis yet.
This activity helps develop language and writing skills, predictions, estimations, and, as always, interest in nature. This also helps develop understanding of time! They must predict how long: a day, hour, month, minutes. This is a great way to see who understands time. It would also be great to add a clock to the science table or, if you can find one that goes that far, a timer that counts up.

Does anyone have any other great bug activities?

Curriculum Ideas-From a song

There is a simple finger play song that goes like this:

5 little froggies sitting on a well
1 looked up and down he fell
Froggies jump high
Forggies jump low
How many froggies left in a row?

Of course, the simple thing is to sing this as a finger play putting down one finger at a time. But, why would I go with the simple here? Let's expand this idea:

First idea (this children LOVE this):
Get a container of water to be the well. I have found the disposable food containers work very well for this. You know the kind, ziplock or reynold's have. They are cheap and sturdy. Get one with mouth that opens 4-6 inches is best, but pretty much anything works.

Fill the container up to an inch from the top with water. Get a lincoln log or a long block from the block area and rest it on the edge. I should note here that when you do this teacher directed, put the log closest to you. Then get 5 little toy frogs (I use the frogs from this, but you can find little frogs anywhere). As you, and the children, sing, drop the frogs in the water one at a time.

The children get a HUGE kick out of this. Once you introduce this to them, make sure to put it out on the table as one of the activities. If you don't...they will! So, you might as well be proactive about it and beat them to it. If possible (read you have enough materials) set up 3 or 4 stations until the newness wears off. Then, now don't be afraid, put it in the language and literacy area. That's right! Maybe don't put as much water, but go ahead...trust them! It's only water and I have yet to have a huge disaster that got out of control.

Second Idea:
During a transition time, change the words to include the children. Let's pretend you are in circle time and it's time to go choose activities. There are 16 children there today so you start:

16 froggies sitting on a well
Jose looked up and down he fell (at this point Jose gets to stand up in his spot or in the center)
Jose jumps high (have Jose jump as high as he can)
Jose jumps low (have Jose make little hopping jumps)
And off he goes...(Jose now gets to go to his activity)

This is a longer transition song so it also works well for getting hands washed and bathroom runs done since there is ample amount of time between verses for the person to have washed his hands.

Third Idea:
You have the finger play puppets for 5 green and speckled frogs...use it here!

Fourth Idea:
Buy a long post at the lumbar store (one that has a flat edge so it won't roll) and put it out in the yard. Have children stand on it and sing the song, jumping off when it's their turn.

Anyone else have a great extension for this song?

This song is so closely related to the 5 green and speckled frogs you can almost do the same activities with that song as well.

Cooking activities

I love cooking in the classroom. I have at least one activity every other week if not more often. We have done the jello to a home made salad from our garden. Mini pizza's a great! We made mashed potatoes one year as well. We never make things from boxes, everything is from scratch.

So, when we made egg salad one day for lunch, we made the mayonnaise (egg whites, oil, lemon juice) and boiled and peeled the eggs ourselves. I brought in a bag of potatoes to peel (using our fine motor and eye-hand coordination skills), cut up into cubes (for the most part the teachers did this, but we did allow some very capable children help while strongly supervised), and then, after boiling, we mashed the heck out of them.

We made a cake one year as a going away party for an assistant teacher, made from scratch. What was even more impressive about that was that the children managed to keep it a surprise for more than 1 week! We also made lemonade and sold it to the parents and the rest of the center as they came to pick up their children. A great lesson in math and money.

I will go into more details in how to do a cooking activity in the near future; and we will finish up our observation to lesson planning soon as well. Today, however, I want some suggestions:

What kind of cooking activities have you done? Leave the recipe as well so others can share with their classrooms as well.

Dinosaur Curriculum

Okay, I bunch of you have been searching and asking for some Dinosaur Curriculum. So, here are my five best ideas:

1. I have talked before about the sensory table and an archaeological dig. This is always fun!

2. Of course there is my favorite song. This is great fun to act out, use at transition times, or just to sing together. My favorite time to use in transition is getting ready for lunch. It gives plenty of time between each child to go potty, get their hands washed, put out their blanket, and sit down for lunch. This doesn't work if the children are going from one activity to line up and wait for everyone. They wait in line way too long!

3. I also love to have the children see how big dinosaurs actually were! Find the measurements for dinosaurs. There are so many different types and sizes I can't begin to give you links. You'll have to look those us. But once you get those lengths, measure them out on the playground. Use chalk and draw a line on the sidewalk or wall to show the length. You can also use yarn, but make sure you attach is securely so it doesn't come undone and trip people up. Have the children lay head to toe to show how long they actually are. Another way is to have them stand with their hands wide spread. Mark along the line how many children it took to measure the different dinosaurs. Make sure to post pictures of the dinosaurs you choose to use to show how tall they were.

4. You can do the same with the weight, in a way. This takes more math for the bigger dinosaurs, so stick to some smaller ones. Using a picture of the dinosaur, find out how much that dinosaur weighed. Then, weigh all the children. You'll have to add them all up; unless you have a really big scale! Take a picture of the groups of children that equal the weight of the dinosaur and post it underneath the picture.

5. Sorting dinosaurs by type (land, water, flying, meat eater, plant eaters, etc...). Have pictures or play dinosaurs and let the children sort them. Even better: help the children make a land area in the block area or on any expanse that can be left out where they can put the dinosaurs accordingly in the areas.

Math essential

We know that every classroom should have puzzles and math activities no matter what the age group. In my opinion (professional at that) I think every classroom should have one of these or one of these or, better yet, both! The second of these is perfect for an infant toddler classroom. They can't choke on the pieces, and they can't miss in putting them in the wrong hole. They fit in all the holes! The long pieces are great for little hands to grasp as well. As the children get older, they can be introduced to this one pictured here. With the four different shapes there is a 25% chance that the pieces will fit into an appropriate hole. Eventually, as they age, they will begin to sort by color and size. They can also sort in short simple patterns. These are great for spacial relations, geometric shapes, color awareness, coordination, seriation, measurements, and even logic! And yes, the children will stack them and roll them, and build with them too; and that's okay! I am a very firm believer that this is a tool that every classroom should have in a preschool setting, every age from 0-4 years.

Roads roads and more roads!

I have a few boys in one of my morning classrooms that LOVE cars. For the past 2 or 3 weeks they have spent their free play time building complex roads with the blocks. They bring in their own matchbox cars to supplement the ones we have here (because the 15-20 we have are just not enough). So, when I was doing my order, I saw this item and decided now was the time to get it. I had seen it before and thought it was totally cool, but I didn't really have anyone who would absolutely love it as much as me. Plus, I had been watching them create ramps (short and long) across the classroom and knew that this would help in exploring these creations. So, I put it in the classroom yesterday before any of the children arrived. They immediately were drawn to it and had no problem at all assembling the pieces. I thought they might have a problem at first in connecting the pieces; but they needed no help at all! These pieces fit very easily together, and their size allows for them to easily create turns, ramps, bridges, and anything else they dream up. The set also comes with two battery powered cars; they just turn them on and the cars stay on the road! They liked using those cars because they were a novelty, but soon they were using all the matchbox cars, too. The picture doesn't show this item any justice. Those color sections are actually a bunch of individual pieces already put together. So, in reality you can also take patterning into the block area with a child who just doesn't care about math play yet. You can use these pieces to make a pattern in the road. Since the way these pieces connect allows for the connection to turn and bend in all directions, it's easy to incorporate the blocks in making bridges and hills; however the set does come with 4 ramps to place under the road to make a hill. There are seemingly endless possibilities with this item! The only thing it doesn't have is the ability to make a fork in the road (you know, the road could go left or right) or make corners (intersections); but I don't think that has bothered them yet!

Favorite song

I just realized I have yet to give you a great circle time song! I think that I will try and make a regular posting on songs for the classroom. We always need new creative ideas right? So, here is my kids absolute favorite song. It's a counting song and is loud and soft all at the same time. So here it is:

5 dinosaurs sleeping on the cave floor (hold up5 fingers and speak very softly)
They woke up and started to ROAR! (stretch like you're waking up and ROAR LOUDLY!)
There's no more room (point finger and move it back and forth)
No more no more (continue wagging finger in the air)
There's no more room on this cave floor (point to floor)
So they tossed (roll arms in front of you)
And they turned (roll arms opposite way in front of you)
And they pushed galore! (push hands out in front of you)
And 1 dinosaur rolled out the cave door. (hold up one finger then roll arms again)

Continue until you get to 1:
1 dinosaur sleeping on the cave floor
He woke up and started to cry
He missed his dinosaur friends
So he goes to the cave door and shouts!
"Dinosaur friends! Come back!"
Then all the dinosuars rolled back into the cave and...
They all went to sleep.

The children love the last verse! The one's who actually remember after a few times get proud that they can remember that it changes! This is a huge hit!
This is also a great song to act out. Have 5 children stand in front of the group. The "actors" love it because they get to roll across the floor.
I have also succefully used this as a transition song dismissing the children from circle. I change the last line to say "and Rosy dinosaur rolled out the cave door." The child then rolls out of circle and then goes to an activity or whatever is next (hand washing for lunch, skill builder time, outdoor time, etc...). It's a great transition activity.

Question of the Day

Two years ago, our agency decided to by the Question of the Day for every preschool classroom. We mandated it to be used every day. Let me just say now, I am never for mandating something to be used in a classroom because each child, teacher, and classroom is different. What works for one does not necessarily work for the other. For that matter, what works one year does not necessarily work the next (even with the same classroom and teacher...the children are different). That being said, the Question of the Day is a useful tool in the classroom. The way the classrooms use it is at circle time they ask the chidlren the question of the day, the child then takes their nametag and puts it under the answer they choose, and then you count it...like a graph. It is a very useful tool! It helps with language, math, and social skills. However, if I were in the classroom this is how I would use it:

When the children arrive, the question would already be posted. At this time, they would (with their parent) find thier name tag. They would then read the question and make a choice for an answer. This would bring in the parent involvement and give the child a responsibility that needs to be completed (kind of like homework). Then at circle time we would discuss the results. I would allow any child to comment on why they chose their answer if they wanted to, giving them an opportunity to create conversation and also to wait their turn to talk. Used right, this tool could be a huge resource of stimulation in the classroom. Name recognition, lanugage, communication, social skills, counting, patterning, comparisons, etc...

Now, the product itself is very well made. Yes, you could probably make it yourself with a poster board and some velcro, but this was definatly worth the money. All the pieces are laminated; this means you can write the children's names on the tags and reuse them next year. Here's a handy tip: use permanent marker so the names don't wear off. At the end of the year, or when the child leaves, rub a dry erase marker over the letters and wipe off. Anytime you get permanent marker on a wipable surface, dry erase will erase it! It also comes with a box full of potential questions, front and back, and they are catagorized and sorted. It's easy to decide what kind of question you are looking for and then find it. Want a question on colors? How about animals? Transportation? Yes or no questions? It's got them all. What? You can't find the question you want? Well it also comes with several blank pieces so that you can make up your own question. The answer cards are also catagorized and have lots of options. Again, there are some blanks for you to make your own answers. I like to mix it up and make it fun for the children. For example: How did you come to scholl today? Car, walk, bus, airplane. The children find this funny, and even funnier when one of the characters actually chooses airplane.

Let them pick their answers. This is one of those "there are no wrong answers" activities. So what if they want to say they came by plane? Does it really matter? They have their reasons. Maybe they pretended their car was a plane this morning...maybe that was the only way mom could get them in the carseat!

I would say that this is an activity that should be in every classroom (whether you buy this product or not). I would also say that this product is well worth the money and is an asset to the classroom experience.

Curriculum Ideas-Patterning

When I was teaching in the classroom, I would constantly see my children making patterns out of EVERYTHING! I was walking through my classrooms the other day and noticed I saw NO ONE making patterns...and thinking about it, I can't recall the last time I had seen it. Of course, the simple way to make patterns is on the calendar. 30 days of making patterns with shapes, colors, or anything else. But what else can we make patterns out of?
Well, there is the standard stringing beads or counting bears; but I want to make patterns elsewhere as well.
Lining up boy girl boy girl. How about more complex: 2 boys 1 girl
Standing according to our shoes: laces, velcro, slip ons
How about in the sand box: dig a hole, pile the sand, dig a hole, pile the sand
Obstacle courses: Over, under, around, over, under, around
Setting the table: napkin, fork, plate, cup, repeat

What ideas do you have?

Heart day!

Yes, I am mean. I don't let my classrooms celebrate Valentine's day. I do this for several reasons: 1st, it is to commemorate a religious saint!!! I have to keep religion out of it; therefore I can't teach the children the real history of this holiday. 2nd, do I really want all those kids bouncing off the walls on candy?. 3rd, Valentine's day is supposed to be a day that celebrates love and a day for lovers; well, do the children really love each other? They aren't even developmentally able to for friendships, no less love! and so the reasons go on and on.
What do I do instead? Well, my two year old class is talking about mail and where does mail come from? And how do you mail a letter? And if we time it right, they get to see the postman deliver our mail and maybe even ask a few questions.
My 3 year old classroom is talking about the colors red, white, and pink. We are mixing red and white to make pink; we are hunting for things around the center in those colors, and they are dressing in those colors to come to school. This will also lead to making patterns by standing in line according to the colors in our shirts.
The Pre K classrooms are writing letters to another center to create pen pals. They will get to mail these letters out themselves. So, we are practicing our writing skills, plus learning a new form of writing skill: writing a letter.
So you see, we still do something special, we just leave the Valentine's for the parents and home.

Ring builders

Do you have these in your classrooms? I think every center I have ever been in has a set of these. At least one set. Typically, they come in a "library" of manipulative items sold by the major suppliers. They are only an okay toy.

That's right, I said only okay. They aren't my favorite. They do have their positives: great for patterning and math activities. They can even be good for some fine motor skills...for the more advanced child. However, I believe that there are more better products for these skills.

Patterning can be created with any product, and there are so many fine motor activities that these aren't really necessary. I wouldn't order them except that they come in "libraries" of items that I do want.

In my experience, they are easily misshapen. The bend and stay bent easily. The bumps on top don't easily line up with another piece, making it difficult and frustrating for most children. The children end up placing them in rows or organized piles, rather than actually building with them. It takes an advanced thinker to start doing, or trying to, more than just towers. To use these to build out and up, rather than just up or just out. I have yet to witness a child do this on their own (without an adult initiating the idea).

The bumps on the top also easily break off. This makes it even more difficult to using properly. With the way they are easily bent (sometimes just from the way they sit in the containers) it makes it difficult to line up the bumps and posts to make a structure; once they get them together they aren't very stable because they are already bent.

In conclusion, I would only buy these if they come with a "library" of other items I need/want.

On a positive note, they are fun in the sensory table with soapy water, they make okay bubble blowers.

Bonus today: what interactions should look like!

I walked into the classroom yesterday and saw this; of course I had to take a picture. This is one of the most awesome sights I see. This is our 3 year old classroom; and it is very typical for me to see this sight. Pictured is my an assistant teacher reading a book with a child. You can see from the picture that she is discussing with the child what is going on. He was actually discussing what he saw on the page and she was pointing to what he was talking about, asking questions to draw more information out of him. The two children in front of her were quietly playing together with domino's (using a math and matching game out of it). She was constantly aware of what they were doing, yet letting them make their own game. She only interfered when they asked her to help out (i.e. "is this 3 or 4" response "let's count together"; or "NO! Miss J, he's putting the wrong ones together" response "tell him 'these two match' and show him how to do it."). As a director, I love walking into this room. The teacher and assistant are always aware of where every child is in the classroom; they are typically on the ground with the children, involved with them in what they are doing; and they easily take each child where they are at developmentally and work from there.

This is not to say my other classrooms aren't doing the same thing, however this is the picture that I got!

Countin Actvities

When I first started ordering things for classrooms, I was working in Head Start where I had more money to know what to do with. I ended up ordering these:

I never really saw the purpose of them, and I actually thought they looked pretty boring. Plus, until a child could really read numbers, the could never truly be successful at this game. Plus, all you really do is place things on a flat picture and take them off again. It could have been because of my lack of excitement over these materials, but the children in my classrooms never really seemed to enjoy these. What they enjoyed doing was playing with the small materials in other ways (including sticking them n their pockets to go home).

Last year I saw, and ordered, these:

Now, these are fun! They are totally interactive! There's a dice that you roll to determine how many of the item to put in. If your children can't read numbers yet, that's okay. Use a regular dice and count the dots. They can also sort this these (all the pink gems in one box, one of each cookie on each plate, etc). Yes, they use these for props in other games...and that's okay too! The materials are all very durable! Since they have a purpose that the children enjoy, they are more likely to put things away properly so that it will be available the next day. Everything is made with strong materials made to last; there is no cardboard pieces or paper things that will get smashed, ripped, or torn. The children can play with these items without needing much if any, explanation. They really enjoy these items!

I highly recommend these materials. Of course, the original purpose is for math skills, but they also promote social play and dramatic play experiences as well.