An invitation to play tutorial. I have been seeing a lot of “Invitations to Play” across the web and on Facebook.
The photos being shared are beautiful and inspiring to look through but there are many things to consider when creating an invitation to play… Defining the Invitation to Play Simply stated, an invitation to play is arranging the environment so that it “invites” young children to come to an area in your classroom to explore, investigate, question, examine, participate, touch, feel, and manipulate through as much independent play as the materials can possibly allow. An invitation to play should… Capture a child’s curiosityBe intentional in design and purposeBe appropriate for the age of children you teachInclude materials that the children can freely touch, manipulate, and explore Questions to answer about the Invitation to Play The invitation to play is not just setting up a pretty table but it is instead intentional in design to foster learning and to keep the child engaged the learning process. Make it curious. "Press Here" ~ An Action Story! I was delighted to spend last weekend with my daughter and mother.
Our time together usually includes a trip to Barnes and Noble where Lydia said, “Mom, look at this cool book.” As she began to read I said, “I’m bored already.” To which she replied, “Mom! You have to DO IT!!” I did it and it IS a cool book! It is “Press Here” by Herve’ Tullet. It begins by instructing the reader to ‘press here’ on the yellow dot. You turn the page and it magically becomes two: When you press the yellow dot again, it turns red. Tilting the book causes them to slide to the side: Clapping your hands makes them increase in size: As you can see it is clever, unique, and quite magical! It is full of concepts: colors, size, position, left/right, patterning, cause and effect. It is cool! Story Extension 1 You can extend the story by doing some dot painting. You need: paper, paint and sponge tip bottles or you can use fingertips to make the dots.
Story Extension 2: It is great fun and action! The Play Academy at NurtureStore. Tot School Tumblr. Clothesline Names. Working on weaving in preschool. I have learned so much from others since I started Teach Preschool.
I am always amazing at the creativity of all the other bloggers out there and I am constantly sharing the ideas I read about with the teachers and children from my school. As I continue the process of setting up classrooms, I want to add fresh ideas for play in the centers/shelves. I have seen the idea of weaving all throughout blog land and then I stumbled on these blue baskets in the Dollar store and knew they would be perfect for a weaving activity in the Fine Motor center. I purchased four of the baskets for this classroom. The teacher added strips of ribbon and strips of foam for the children to weave in and out of the holes in the basket. We will switch out the types of materials the children use with these very light-weight baskets periodically. See My Montessori Journey and The Activity Mom and Let the Children Play for more on putting together a weaving activity!