Build With Letters - Alphabet For Starters The goal for our Alphabet For Starters series is to give you ways to introduce letters to your children through all sorts of play. This activity the 7th post in our series pairs gross motor play with letter recognition perfectly! Don’t forget that the number one thing you can do to teach your children about letters is to read to them so after the activity we’ve included some of our favorite books and if you are looking for alphabet books for kids we have 50 Alphabet Books too! Gather your materials. You will need some big blocks like these from Melissa & Doug ( cardboard boxes will work just great too ) ,scissors, painters tape if you don’t want to alter your blocks forever or a sharpie if you do. Last night I had to make more letters because my son was begging to spell all sorts of words. Our Bedtime Books Baby Giggles (Beautiful Babies) by Rachael Hale is a simple board book that my daughter adores. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? , Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See?
Ms. Conway's Kindergarten Website: About Play-Based Learning It has long been known that there is a strong link between play and learning. Children are full of natural curiosity and they explore this curiosity through play. When kids are playing, it's the perfect time to learn. Play teaches kids how to problem solve, how to make friends, how to express themselves, how to enjoy the world around them, and how to recognize letters and numbers. All of these skills form the foundation of a love of learning. In the kindergarten program, teachers structure play to create learning moments. Both child-initiated free play and more structured play-based learning opportunities are integral parts of the early learning classroom. As children move naturally from noticing and wondering about the objects and events around them to exploring, observing, and questioning in a more focused way, the teacher helps them develop and extend their inquiry process.
Irresistible Ideas for play based learning Making Books to Invite Creativity – with EASY Video Tutorial A colorful pile of blank homemade books! Don’t they just speak of creative possibilities? Stories and drawings and hand-drawn comic books! Journals, projects and secret codes! These books are really easy to make (yes, even if you aren’t crafty) and now that we have a stack of them we’re ready any time inspiration strikes. Mom’s book ideas: We can write a family story! The boys’ book ideas: James (7) – We can make a book about how valves work! Leland (5) – We can make a book about animals that shed their skins! Guess I’ll leave the content decisions to the kids… This stack of homemade books is ready for whatever the kids want to put in them. I used an excellent book called Creating Handmade Books to learn how to make these. Supplies: Cover Paper (I used Astrobrights)Inner Papers (Same size as cover, I used 4 sheets plain paper per book. Book Instructions: (See the short video for these to make sense. Now you can make these in whatever size you like.
The Mud Kitchen - A Recipe for marvellous Outdoor play Hello lovely blog visitors. Welcome! I am sharing the newest edition to Dimples out door play area today. The awesome and totally messy mud kitchen. The best recipe for engaging children in messy, active, outdoor learning is with mud. Here is the DIY mud kitchen that we built for Dimples in a few hours using recycled materials. The mud kitchen is built from off cuts of wood that I painted with chalk board paint, they're butted in to a old sink that came from a wrecked caravan, you could grab one from the wreckers or the buy back at the tip. Nearby I have up cycled an old sand pit as a mud pit. How awesome, an endless supply of mud on hand for hours and hours of messy outdoor play. For more outdoor play ideas you may like Happy Outdoor Adventures.
joran Marbled Sunset Painting While the sun was setting behind us, I thought Emily would like to paint a picture of a sunset. I wanted to use a technique that would be easy for her, but give great results. This one was a hit! To make your own marbled sunset painting, you will need: shaving cream (very inexpensive, make sure it is foam NOT gel), a piece of cardboard, paint (we used acrylics), a paintbrush, baking sheet, and some heavy-weight paper. I had no problem coaxing Emily into spreading the shaving cream on the baking sheet. Use a piece of cardboard to spread the shaving cream into a thick layer. Now, add the paint! With the opposite end of a paint brush, swirl the paint through the shaving cream with back and forth motions (left to right). Lay the heavy-weight paper on top of the shaving cream and press down lightly. Lift up the paper, scrape off the shaving cream, and reveal your beautiful sunset picture! For a different marbled paper technique we’ve tried before (and loved!)
Play: Where Learning Begins! Browse this selection of articles on play based learning from Young Children and Teaching Young Children. Assessing and Scaffolding Make Believe Play: Mature make-believe play provides unique learning opportunities Read more » Chopsticks and Counting Chips: Play and foundational skills don’t need to compete for the teacher's attention Read more » Playdough - What's Standard about It?: Using playdough to address early learning standards Read more » Block Building and Make-Believe for Every Child: Encouraging boys and girls to try out the learning centers they don’t usually visit Read more » Block Off Time for Learning: When children play with blocks, they learn math, literacy, social skills and so much more Read more» Recess—It’s Indispensable: Test scores do not improve when recess is cut Read more » Why Do Babies Like Boxes Best?