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?

Homemade Fridays- Favorite songs

We have discs upon discs of music to play in the classroom. And, like any other CD collection, each disc only has about 1 or 2 songs that the children enjoy listening to. The children will ask over and over for the same song, and completely ignore the rest of the disc.
Then there are the parents who come to you and say "What's that song about a dog?" or "How does that waddle song go?" or "Do you sing something about a bee named wally? And you have to guess that they mean Oh I want to be a dog, or waddelee acha, or willabee wallabee.
So, I had a coworker once who solved all these problems...and more. She made a collection on one disc of the classroom favorites. It was great to have in the classroom! It was the only disc that the children listened to the whole things and you never had to skip over or repeat songs because they couldn't wait to hear the next one too! She also made copies and gave it to the parents so that they would know what the songs actually were that their children were singing.
A simple idea? Yes! But sometimes you need to use someone elses simple idea to spark it in yourself.

So, what are you classroom favorites?

Homemade Friday-Sand Timers

This is really about different things you can do with tornado tubes. You know the little plastic piece that allows you to screw together two soda bottles, filling one with water, and make a tornado? Well, they have many more uses. One great fun use is to make sand timers. You can find them anywhere, but I usually like to stop by this booth at the conferences and pick some up. I also like to use the smaller bottles because they are easier for the children to handle. I find the big 2 liter bottles are very awkward for the little hands.

Anyway, to make a timer, I like to get some nice clean, dry sand. You can even buy colored sand at some craft stores that work wonderfully! It can get a bit pricey, but in the end I think it's worth it. So, with this sand, you have to make sure the the bottles and sand are very very dry. I would go so far as to leave the bottles open in the sun daily for a few days (making sure to bring them inside when the sun goes away) and, if you are using sand from your playground, lay it out on a tray and do the same as with the bottles. Then, use a funnel to fill one bottle with the sand. If you want, you can add glitter or confetti to the bottle as well. This is always engaging to the children when they are looking at it. Next, screw the bottles to the tornado maker. You now have your very own sand timer.

Let the children experiment with how much sand they want to put in. Use different types of sand and see which one falls faster. There's endless possibilities!

Things homemade friday-Block people

This is the best idea I have ever seen! I wish I had some pictures to share, but I have a description in how to make them. I walked into a classroom the other day and the teacher had made Block Play people with the children in the classroom on them! The kids LOVED them! It was the greatest idea ever, and of course my over working mind came up with all sorts of ideas.

First, take a full body shot of each child in the classroom individually. Print them out so they are about 3-4 inches tall. Glue the pictures onto cardstock to give them some sturdiness. Then cut out around the shape of each child. (The children had all posed differently for their pictures and it was adorable! Some were laying down, some were jumping, it was great!)
Next, get some 1x1 boards and cut them to a 2-3 inch height. Glue the pictures of the children onto the peices of wood. Make sure to put the picture close to the base of the wood, but not past it. You want the pieces to be able to stand on their own.
Then the play begins! These were in the block area and the children had a blast with them. It's fun being able to put yourself into your block play.

Of course, here is where my ideas ran to:
Add pictures of the teachers in the center
Make pictures of all the family members of the children. How fun would that be!
Use the children's pets!
Did you have a guest speaker come to the center? Add them in, they can "recreate" the experience.
This is an endless idea! You can make your own theme sets.
Another thought would be to strategically put the pictures on with velcro so that you can easily change the pictures to fit different themes, however they are so cost effective, it would be okay to just glue them.

What would you make?
Take pictures and send them to me if you do this! I would love to see what you make!

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-Toddler blocks

Toddlers love to build and break down. It's part of being a toddler. However, the wood blocks are not safe for this purpose. Yes you can buy cardboard and foam block sets, but you can also make them yoursefl! These are perfect for stacking up and breaking down. Throw balls at them, run through them, kick them! And you don't care if they get all smashed up because they hardly cost you anything! It's very simple:

Take 1/2 gallon cartons (empty milk, orange juice, etc...)

I've also use the smaller copacitie's too (quart, pints, etc...)

Make sure to clean them out real well. And let them dry very well too! This is important. I will even leave them in the sun for 3 days just to make sure they are very dried out!

This next step is up to you how you handle it. I like to cut two of the four top sides so when I tape them down it makes a real sturdy closing. I know others who just completly cut the tops off and others who cut each diagonally so that the four sides meet in the middle.

After you cut the top to your preference, I like to fill it with crumpled newpaper. This gives the blocks a little bit of weight and stability, but again this is not necessary. Then tape the end down so that you now have a brick like shape.

Then get some colorful contact paper and wrap them up!



These are also great outside with older kids. They like to build them up into walls and run their bikes through them. It's okay because they can't really hurt them or anything else.



It's also a pretty easy project to collect for because you can usually get parents to bring them in. One time I actually made a whole block set using cartons and frozen juice cans, cracker boxes, and pretty much and food container I could find that was lightweight.

The view from my desk

I completed my wall of pictures project. This is now what I am looking at across from my desk. It's hard to see from the slideshow, but it is awsome in person! All the pictures are black and white; I was easily able to print them from my printer/copier and they turned out very well. Each picture is of one child doing something, not just a still face shot. It has already been a huge hit! Parents have come by my office just to admire it, as word spreads quickly. It is also a great thing to be looking at all day.

I have a huge white board right across from my desk with notes that I need to be looking at, my way of staying organized and keeping the teachers informed without having to get up and tell them every time a parent calls (we don't have phones in our classrooms). And I have a radio on the top left there. This is literally the only wall I can use to hang things on because the outside walls in our building are all brick, and some interior walls as well. Anyway, this has really added to the environment in my office and I am glad I did it. It's nice looking up and seeing those smiling faces; it reminds me why I'm here when things get tough.

Things Homemade Friday-Instasnow

Yes, you can make instasnow in the classroom! How? All you need is a few of these:

That's right, disposable diapers! The instasnow is actually the same thing that is in the diapers. This is a fun science activity in "how things work". Of course, you want to do this with children who are already out of diapers. I knew one teacher who even used diapers as a color mixing activity where the children used dropper and colored water just like on a coffee filter. That's always fun too. The parents get a kick out of it as well. I would, however, be careful of using disposable diapers in a center that is low-income if you have some struggling parents who are currently buying diapers. They may be a bit insulted that they are struggling to buy diapers and you are playing with them. However, if you don't have a child with a baby in the classroom, I would jump all over this art activity.

I would never hesitate to take a few diapers apart to find out what is inside them, however. It's great science.

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!

Things Homemade Friday-Feely Bags

Today in "things homemade" is a great science table item. Our science tables are always full of many different items, and they are available to the children at all times. Our three year olds have been talking about the color white. They have also been exploring different materials in science (mixing baking soda and water; baking soda and vinegar; flour and vinegar; etc...). So, the teacher has made the great feely bags:

It is real simple to make, and very versatile. Get as many zip lock bags as you will be making, find things to fill them with. Make sure you don't fill them too much, and try and keep out the air. These ones (looking for white things) are filled with the following: Flour, white paint, paste, and baking soda and vinegar. Label each one. Depending on your class, you may need to get some clear packing tape and tape the top of them so they don't get opened. This class doesn't need it.
This can also be an activity do make with the children. Having them fill their bags and tape them up. Then they can be taken home.
I have seen some toddler classrooms do this and then tape the bags to the walls, giving the children something to feel that way.
One other variation I have used is to fill these with some sort of squishy material (i.e. shaving cream, glop, etc...) and then added a drop each of two different colors. As the children squish the bags, the colors mix together.

Notes to remember:
Know your group of children and what they can handle to determing if they need to be taped shut.
Use the "tape it to the wall" scenario if your children are oral explorers so they don't bit the bags open and choke on the pieces.
Fill the bags with things that are safe for the children, and easily wiped up if spilled...There will be at least one bag that will get a hole in it and spill everything out.