Felt Board Stories

Last week Montessori Alliance posted a link for Flannel Stories which are available totally FREE! There are many choices to fit many familiar themes and children's literature. I used two of the printables today - the children loved them!
I printed off the ones I wanted to use - laminated them and put Velcro on them so I could use the felt board to present them.

There was an old lady who swallowed a fly!

I sing this song to the kids every day - using the prop brought even more smiles to the children's faces.

Although there is a goat in my version of the song the children didn't seem to care that when we use the prop a cow has moved in. :) 

Donut Shop

What fun this was - each child was able to select a donut and identify the colour. Even the shy children wanted to come up and take a turn selecting their colour. The verse that comes along with the donuts is very similar to one I use for a cookie game (as seen in the post here - resource-storage )

Previously I had been using these felt mittens to teach colours - now I have something else to support that!

The felt mittens lead into the felt shapes - I hold them up like flashcards and the children yell out the colour and shape - great fun!

I know I will certainly go back to the link and print more since we had so much fun and I do love using props. I have written about that before - Props

'D' is for DANCE!

Here in Ontario Canada the weather can present us with moments we would rather be inside. It’s too hot – too cold – rainy or just not conducive for extended play outside. So what we like to do is provide a lot of gross motor activities that can be implemented indoors. One of our favorites is DANCE! We love to throw on some happy tunes and kick up our heels. It’s all about free movement – and letting loose!

Some of our favorite tunes are:

Hands Up  and
The Twist

Dance is for all ages – from the youngest toddler to the eldest friends (me). Everyone wiggles and bops to the beat, with a smile and a giggle. Whenever the urge strikes us we put on a tune and get our bodies moving. To extend the experience, we have dance ribbons and batons which enhances our movement. They assist us in moving in new ways - we experiment with these ‘aids’ allowing our muscles to get a good workout.

As I stated in my Music and Movement post on my blog:

The development of language and memory skills - co-operation and socialization - co-ordination and balance, are supported with music and movement. We are energized and motivated to continue our daily lessons, when we are able to get up and move or burst into song. We are simultaneously building so many important developmental skills, so it would be imperative to have music and movement in the classroom whenever possible. The introduction of music and movement ensures a positive classroom experience. What a great way to let loose and enhance those dramatic urges inside us. 

If dance is not a part of your everyday classroom routine, I would suggest you implement it as soon as you can – daily gratification will be your reward.

*As a part of a 20,000 day celebration on Teach Preschool Deborah J Stewart asked her peers to take part in sharing the ABC's of Teaching Preschool. I was honoured to join in! I hope you visit her blog to see the other wonderful posts in this celebration series.

Link to series: ABC celebration 

 Click here to view all posts

Grocery Game

No time for flashcards asked this great question - which opened up a lot of opinions:

Do you open food packages at the store for your kids to snack on while you shop?

What this topic reminded me of was a game I used to play with my children while we shopped.

I gave the children cards made up from pictures of items we needed to buy - using weekly flyers. While we went around the store the children would try to find the items on the cards they had been given. It occupied them the entire time and if they found at least one item I would reward them with a treat of their choice once we got home with the goodies we purchased.

I have 2 kids, 13 months apart - my son is autistic and had many behavioural issues - using little games like this always presented us with a successful trip to the store - no tears - no fights - no fuss!!

I formalized and adapted the game for use in my classroom. To be used for nutrition activities - dramatic play activities and categorizing etc. The cards I made can be used in any way possible.

Here are some of the cards I made up for my classroom.

There are many more - I tried to cover as many common items as I could think of.

I actually got these images off line - printed - cut them out and glued them to blank index cards and laminated them. You can punch a hole in them and put them on a key chain to make it easy to take along to the grocery store!

Gross Motor Batons in action

OK we finally got to use our batons today - it rained so we decided to turn on some fun dance music and move to the beat.

We bend down low to tap on the floor and reach up high to tap in the sky.

 Then we tap to the left and tap to the right.

Drumming up and down!

Tapping the ends together and rolling them around!

Tapping behind our back!

However we move, the batons give us greater motion - wider - faster and harder. They allow us to tap with the beat of the music. We stick around a little longer - the batons give us insentive to stay in the action. We can conduct the music and lead the band. What can I say - the batons simply add to the fun!

Ribbons in action!

Here are pictures of our ribbons in action! We put on dance music and wiggled and swirled our ribbons to the beat! It was so much fun we did it in the morning and late afternoon!
I am so glad all the efforts in making them paid off!
This is our after school group - ages 18 months to 6 or 7 years of age - they all fit in and had a great time!

With all the vigorous use I discovered I should heat seal the ends of all the ribbons with the flame from a lighter, to prevent fraying. Only a few unraveled, but I wanted to prevent any others from doing the same. I then decided I may as well glue the ribbons at the knots so they would not come off the rings and balloon sticks. Prevention saves a lot of hassle later on!

Click this link to see how we made these fun toys! Ribbons

I am storing them on/in a paper tube propped in a basket with ribbons laying inside.

Gross Motor movement equipment!

Today the teachers made ribbons for rhythmic dance activities while the children slept!

The supplies!

Satin ribbons in sizes 1/4" to 5/8" in various colours - shower curtain rings - balloon sticks - plastic glue.

We glued the ring openings shut - so the ribbons would not pop off!

We glued the ends on the sticks to ensure they would not fall off.

We cut the ribbon double arms length

Picked 3 corresponding colours - one 5/8" and the other 2 thinner

Then folded them in half and looped them over the closure section of the rings and pulled them very tight.

We made these for the toddlers so they could hold them firmly.

To secure them to the balloon sticks we doubled them over and looped them around the slits in the top of the stick. These ones were made for the older kids who would be less likely to use the stick for evil hitting! :)

Older children can make these on their own - we made them as a surprise for the kids hence the teachers only being involved.

As with the batons we hope to post pictures of the children using these at some point this week!

Gross Motor Batons

A couple of weeks ago we had Monkeynastix ( http://www.monkeynastix.ca/ ) come to our centre and do gross motor activities with our kids - they had so much fun. In my classroom we do a lot of gross motor activities and stretching; just as I did with the children in my karate program. I thought why not expand that and add some of the activities we learned the other day. One involved using batons to assist in stretching and large muscle movement. My dilemma was, how was I going to source the batons. I could not find them anywhere for purchase. There were batons for runners at $1.50 each on line, but they did not have the grips on the ends, which I felt were needed so that the batons didn't fly out of small hands. So it came to me - make them! Here is my version for about $1.40 a pair, with grips.

First purchase a 10 foot piece of PVC 3/4" pipe - this makes 12 - 10 " batons

Cut into 10" sections - we used a hacksaw.

You will need 3/4" Vinyl leg tips

They need to be softened in hot water - this makes them easier to put on the ends of the pipe sections. Purchase enough to cover each end of all the batons you wish to make!

Be very careful when you put them on - you may bang a knuckle or two - press the end down on a very hard surface (floor suggested) - push until the leg tip is on as far as it will go - flush with the end of the pipe.

You may notice there is printing on the pipes - you can clean it off with nail polish remover. The lettering came off the beige completely but not off the white - it only faded. I hope to decorate these with gymnastics reflective tape later on - but I like how the plain ones look!

Now I have enough for all the kids to have two each! I will post pictures tomorrow of how these are used! In the mean time you can go to the Monkeynastix sight to see them used in their little video on the home page.

Dot dabbers

http://www.teachpreschool.org/2011/07/diy-make-your-own-dot-dabbers-for-preschool/
 Take a look at my friend Deborah's dot dabbers! She always inspires me!
I have always used bingo dabbers with my tots - but the ink does not wash off well. Getting the colours you really want may also be an issue - so to make your own is a great option!
Here is my version!

We used yogurt drink containers and 2 styles of makeup sponges.

The pink one is like a regular sponge - more porous.

These are the perfect size for small hands.

The sponges were too small - so I added some fine netting and secured it all with elastic bands.

They worked out great! One had a bit too much water

so I have to remember not to add too much next time!

This little boy was thrilled to see he came up with a happy face!

Nice effect!

Created resources

If I can't find what I want - I try and make what I need in my classroom! I have created dolls as individual as we are - showing diversity in the classroom is important, to feel like we belong!

Go to my facebook page to see more!

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.215466161825020.57959.212611188777184

My Crocheted Finger Puppets

I have to be the most frugal Early Childhood Educator there is - what that has required is for me to search for materials at garage sales and thrift stores - or I have created my own resources. Here are some of my crocheted finger puppets, created from yarn found where? Yes - at garage sales and thrift stores!

The Frog Prince

Jack and Jill

Little Red Riding Hood

5 Green and Speckled Frogs

Hey Diddle Diddle

The Lion and the Mouse

Goldielocks and the Three Bears

Three Blind Mice

Three Little Pigs

Humpty Dumpty

Santa Clause and Mrs Clause