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?

Intentional Teaching where the Children are still at

Okay, we've talked about a very intentional teacher directed time (science experiment) and we've talked about the child lead Intentional Teaching opportunity (block play zoo). Today, we will discuss a mixture of the two.

You set up the environment daily/weekly/monthly with different themes, right? One of the areas that we are constantly changing the theme in is the Dramatic Play area. Home life, restaurants, offices, doctors, veterinaries, etc... How do you involve the children in preparing the environment?

What? You don't? YOU SHOULD!

See, when preparing the environment, if you involve the children, they will respect the environment so much better and will interact with it in a very different way.

Let's go with an example in the dramatic play area of a way to get some Intentional Teaching with the children while setting up a new environment and following the children's lead.

When you are going to change the dramatic play area into a restaurant, what do you need?

A table, chairs, table cloths, food, dishes, aprons, chef hats, etc...

The one thing that we seem to forget sometimes are the menus, the order pads, and the cash register.

When I set up a restaurant, we start by setting the table and dishes and food up. At circle, we discuss that we now have a restaurant in the classroom and I need their help in creating a menu. During free choice time, I take some paper, pencils, and pictures of the food into the dramatic play area.

First we discuss what a menu is. Then we make our menu. We look at other restaurant menus that I have brought in to see what they look like. They have pictures of the food. We decide which items should be served together and cut and paste those pictures of the food.

Then we come up with names for our menu items.

Then we have to come up with a cost. Make it easy. Everything, at first, is 1 or 2 dollars a piece. They get to decide how much everything is worth.

On another occasion I visit the restaurant as a customer. I find that I don't want something that's on the menu, but I want to make a combination of different items. What are the children going to do? Oh, they are very accommodating. The learning takes place when they have to decide how much to charge me.

Then, I just happen to have play QUARTERS rather than play DOLLARS to pay with (this is my way of adding the coins into the play WHEN THEY ARE READY). Now we have to discuss how 4 QUARTERS equal ONE DOLLAR. It's another lesson that I have taken to them in their play.

It's often easy to bring intentional teaching into dramatic play if you have an imagination. After all, if you don't want coffee to drink but would rather have tea, well....what's the difference between coffee and tea?

What do you do if a customer doesn't have enough to pay for their food?

How are you supposed to sort the food at the grocery store?

Again, this is Intentional Teaching brought to the child's play.

The one thing to get rid of is that preconceived notion that we are JUST supposed to let children play. We need to ADD to their knowledge and experiences to help influence that play just a little bit.

Cultural Dolls

There are times when you order something thinking it's going to be great. We did just that a few months ago with these cultural dolls.

It's not that they aren't great, it's that I could tell as soon as we took them out that they weren't going to last long. They were made of that plastic that you just know is going to crack and split with just a little bit of use.

Besides the facts that they put these shoes on them and what I can only assume were supposed to be socks. They were really just two pieces of netting sewn together. And, with this same netting, they sewed two pieces together and put it on the "girl" dolls in an attempt (I can only imagine) to give the underwear. I found it odd that it was only placed on the female dolls. If you are going to make this attempt, wouldn't you put it on all of them?

Needless to say, we put this in the classroom that we know takes the best care of their toys (oddly enough that is out toddler classroom) and they are doing a better than I expected; but they are definitely not great. It's the type of plastic that is hard and thin; so when it's stepped on it just stays indented and doesn't bounce back.

We payed more than we should have, but less than we would have had we used a different company. So, the lesson is this: Buy toys from places that you know makes a quality doll. Spend the extra money, it's well worth it.

Dramatic Play Ideas-Camping

I have been in many classrooms. Some are great all around, some excel in one area and hurt in others, some have spurts of good ideas. The toughest area seems to be the dramatic play area. Some combine this with home living. I'm okay either way.

This week I went into a classroom and was curious when I walked into the closet and saw two Styrofoam pieces (obviously from a box that held some sort of appliance like a toaster oven or small microwave). Well, they were both painted red and one had a hole cut in it that was filled with black pipe cleaners (looked like jail bars). I was trying to figure out what it was and what the teachers could possible use it for.

The next day, I was spending time evaluating the environment and saw this:

They were doing a camping scene in the dramatic play. As you can see, the red thing I couldn't figure out...a barbecue! Very creative! Very nice! The children cooked eggs. The shelf had a mat on it so they could lay down and feel like they were camping. There was a fire pit and even a box made into a "lake" to go fishing in. On the hooks hang binoculars that the teacher and children made as well.

Very well done! Very creative! And the children were having so much fun!

Caterpillar Crawl

This has been at the center for longer than I have been there. When I first got there about 2.5 years ago, it was sitting in the front yard where no one played with it. About a year and a half ago, the two's teacher hosed it down and brought it to her yard. It is now a favorite!

Except for the pieces that were taken from it by the local skaters in the neighborhood (why they want plastic caterpillar feet is beyond me). But, the children love it. It's a great place to dig quietly by yourself, get away from the noise of the classroom, and just hang out with friends.

As they get older (more towards the young 3 age) they begin the pretend play of turning it into a car and sitting on top of it to "drive" to the store. It's very versatile and very sturdy. The color arches can also be rearranged so you can make the tunnel a winding one or one curve. The holes in the side make it easy for a teacher to supervise what's going on in there easily. The holes also make it easy for the children to climb right up to sit on top. We've only had a few children who have tried standing on it, but they were the type to stand on top of the monkey bars a year later as well, so I could say that it isn't much thought to standing on top.

It easily hold the weight of the teachers who play right along with the "rides" to the store; so it's sturdy! It is worth the money spent and has lasted quite a while.

Dramatic Play Clothes Rack

We have had this clothes rack for a while; we actually have two of these in different classrooms. We used to have three. Why are we down one? Because it was not well made and was unstable and just in general bad shape. It is nice to have for the children to be able to put the dramatic play clothes on, but I could probably have a dad make one for us that would be much sturdier. The two that we have left are just about ready to go as well. I would prefer to get a sturdier rack. If I had ordered these (which I didn't), I would have gone to the store to get them. I have seen some much better quality ones at IKEA, Target, and even Walmart for about the same amount of money (even less).

I am very big on getting parents to volunteer and help out in the classroom; so I would have actually asked one of our handymen dads to build us one of these. I can promise you, the parents put so much effort into these projects it will last longer than anything in the center.

Wagons

About 3 weeks ago a parent donated one of these to our center;

They were moving into a smaller place and didn't have the space for it. Plus, the children never used it (key word there is never). So, how long does a wagon like this last on a preschool playground? Not long at all. Last Tuesday I went out and it had just broken. One of the front wheels had come off. Upon closer inspection, the plastic around the wheel split apart from the rest of the wagon. Does this mean this wagon is a bad product? No. In a home, I have seen these last for years. However, a preschool yard tends to give equipment years worth of use in just one short week. The children had a blast pulling each other around the yard. They are still putting it to good use:

I suggested we take the wheels off and put it in the sand box. At first when we took the wheels off, we didn't dig a hole for it to sit in. The children had fun pulling each other around the yard in their "boat"! That alone was worth it. After a while we saw a safety need to either get it out of the yard, or make it a more permanent structure. Now it's still a boat, it just doesn't go anywhere. Eventually they will get tired of it, and at that point we may move it to our garden and make it a flower bed; until then...it's a boat!

Set of play dishes

I had a set of these in the classroom with my last classroom as a teacher. I got them here. I think the first day one plate broke. After that, the set lasted until I left. I don't know if it's still there; but I would think it has lasted. I am a firm believer in trusting children. You give them things to use, show them how to use it respectfully, and everything will be fine. 90% of the things that broke in my classroom (sound bottles, picture frames, dishes, etc...) was because of me, not the children.

So, these dishes are sturdy. The stand up to the accidental droppings on the carpet. When they do break, it is usually into large pieces that are easy to clean up.

I would say that if you are just starting out in trusting children and want to give yourself some practice in trusting them, this is a great item to start with. Plus it's reasonably priced. I tell you, once you begin to trust children, you will do most of your classroom supply shopping at IKEA. They have some GREAT things!

Things Homemade Friday-Costumes

The children had a blast with this one! It was real simple. Get a box. We just use the onesthat supplies come in. The best are the boxes from office depot. But the paper towel cases work well too! Cut out two holes for eyes. We found that cutting the holes for the arms, cut it all the way down so the box just rests on the shoulders is better. It was very difficult for the children to get their arms in and out; some of them would get stuck in it. Then you have a panicy 3 year old who can't think clearly and disaster is in the make...plus then they are apprhensive to try it again. Let the children help paint it. If you can get enough boxes, make one for each child. The teacher here had found some colored celophane to use in the eyes. The children really liked this! They had a blast! This lasted for close to a month before it got beyond reparable; by that time the chidlren were ready to move on anyway. They named this costume "Sponge Bob", can you guess why? It was a great project.

Now, the developmental areas: art (for obvious reasons) and dramatic play (again for obvious reasons); but it also had a lot of discussion (lanugage) both while they were making it and while they were playing with it. Conflict resolution was huge at first and of course waiting for your turn.

A great project for home or school!

Things Homemade Friday-bottles

Many of you have probably already seen these; some of you have already made them even! However, it you haven't, they are awesome. If you have, I am going to expand on ideas you may not have thought of. The simple way to make these is to get regular water bottles. Peel the labels off then you may need to put some hot water in them to help get the glue off. If you fill the bottle with hot water, it will melt the glue on the outside and you should be able to work off the sticky glue. Then get creative!

The common one is to add some colored water and oil into the bottles. Then add glitter or sprinkles, confetti. Pretty much anything!

A really fun one is to fill it about a quarter full with water then get a clear dish soap and just put a couple of drops in it. It will bubble up when shaken and will eventually go back to looking like clear liquid.

These are great in an infant and toddler room! Be sure to glue the caps on! They are also fun in a preschool room. However, I change it up a bit.

I use Snapple bottles or another glass bottle that has a cool clear shape. (Yes, I use glass bottles in the classroom! I trust my children and I teach them how to respect things!). I have taken 8 glass bottles, filled each one with a different color to a different level in order to make a musical scale. I then line them up on the shelf and put two rhythm sticks next to them (so that two can play at a time). It's also fun to fill the jars with a three layer separator: water, oil, and hair conditioner works well.

Leave the water out of it and put some bells in there too! That's always fun!

The key to making these bottles is to be creative. Add a liquid, don't add a liquid. Use anything that can fit into the opening: glitter, confetti, cotton balls, screws, beads, toothpicks, the list is endless!

If I have the children help me make the bottles, which the older ones do, I don't glue the lids shut because they already know not to open it. If I use it with the younger ones or they didn't help me make it, I hot glue the lids shut so that they don't accidentally get opened. Then again, if they did, we would just clean it up. No big deal!

With the plastic bottles, they will eventually crack (usually a small hole in some inconspicuous spot) and will begin to leak. In the 7 plus years I have use glass in my classroom, I have only had 2 bottles break. One was my fault completely. I wasn't paying attention when I was putting away mats and hit one off the top of the shelf. It happens! I cleaned it up, and we moved on...making another bottle to replace the one I broke.

The infants and toddler get fascinated and use lots of observation with these. The preschoolers like using them in dramatic play, music, and science. They are a lot of fun! If you make some, take pictures and send them to me. I would love to see what you all come up with!

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.