Day 6: Crafting With Helping Hands

Day 6: Crafting With Helping Hands

“If volunteering begins at an early age, it
can become part of kids' lives — something they might just expect and want to do.” – KidsHealth.org

Here’s me getting outside my comfort zone…from inside my comfort zone…read: using crafting as a means to help others. This is a project we started today: making spring decorations to donate to a nursing home. When I contacted the center, I presented my case: I want to teach my children the value of community service, I don’t have extra money to donate, and they are not old enough to volunteer- BUT we have crafting supplies out the waaz and time to commit to projects: what can WE do?

The activities director said that the residents already receive child-made greeting cards on a regular basis from area schools, but that they are always in need of themed decorations for the hallways and small, hand-made items to use as BINGO prizes- she mentioned that a good place to start might be to make some spring flowers. Yes- this we can do!

The photos here show our prototype, but with the kids coloring and me cutting out each individual flower, we aren’t going to be able to produce many of these before interests wane (for all of us). I switched gears mid-project and modified our plan- I am going to use a paper punch to punch flowers out of patterned paper to speed things up, and have the kids help color the pots and assemble the flower parts. We will deliver our flower pots this weekend- Little Lady said, “All the ladies and gentlemen will be happy when they see our flowers!” Yep- that’s the idea: crafting together to put a smile on someone’s face.

I am looking for more ways to get kids involved in age-appropriate volunteering/community service opportunities on a regular basis…do you have ideas? I’d be particularly interested in ways my kids can help other kids (in addition to making donations). Post them here!

Day 5: A New Twist on File Folder Games

Day 5: A New Twist on File Folder Games

Remember those old-fashioned file folder games you played
with in elementary school? The laminate was probably peeling, the folders were
that uninspiring blah-beige, and the pieces were probably colored by your
teacher (or some unsuspecting students)? The file folders were big and unwieldy
for small hands, the pieces were always flying out of the flimsy paper pouches,
and- let’s face it- they were the go-to seat work time fillers when the teacher
didn’t know what else to do with you. Yep- pretty boring.

Say hello to the new and improved file folder game! Now you
can find file folder games online in all sorts of themes- printable for FREE that
are appealing and available in full color (or black & white if you want
some therapeutic coloring time). We found two great St. Patrick’s Day themed
games to whip up today- one was a pattern matching game, one was a sight word
phonics activity- from the following sources:

File Folder Game: Shamrock Pattern from Preschool
Printables:
http://www.preschoolprintables.com/filefolder/shamrock/filefoldershamrock.shtml

Shamrock Phonics File Folder Game from File Folder Fun:

http://filefolderfun.com/Pages/KindergartenPhonics/ShamrockPhonics.html

But before you get all excited, hit print, and head to
Staples for a box of manila folders, consider your purposes: where will your
child play with this game? Do you want the game to be portable? Do you have a
purse big enough to accommodate a file folder? Are the pieces going to print in
a size that will work for YOUR child? Do you plan to laminate the pieces?

Make these games useful; customize them for YOUR child. We
prefer portable games that can go with us on play dates, to lunch, to church,
to the grandparents’ house, etc. I do not carry I diaper bag or a ginormous
purse, so we needed a smaller size if I would be the one toting it around.
Also, storage for the small pieces is imperative: nothing worse than a game
that’s missing three pieces!

To make the shamrock pattern match more accessible, I
printed the shamrocks on cardstock at about a quarter size, and made my own “file
folder” out of green cardstock- approx.. 6 x 10 inches opened up. I pasted one
set of shamrocks inside, slapped the smaller version of the title on the front
of our mini-folder, cut a snack baggie in half and taped it to the back to hold
the pieces, and boom! Tiny hands, small purse-sized “file folder game.” We
assembled three of these- one for each of mine, and one to send home with a
friend who was over today- in less than an hour.

To make the phonics game more manageable, we ditched the file
folder idea all together and used business-sized envelopes to make sleeve “pages”
and cardstock to “bind” the envelopes into a little booklet. I also added a
blank line to the beginning of each end sound to show that the words the
littles were looking for should have different beginning letters, but they all
would have the pictured ending. A little glue, a little cutting, and bam!
Phonics flip book, at your service! Total time spent? Maaaaybe 30 minutes- had
several potty breaks during this project, hard to tell. Ha!

The best part about this project was that it was “we”
working on it, not just “me.” We sat at the table together, the littles went
over to fetch the pieces as they printed out, they helped organize and sort
pieces as I cut them out, we talked about what we were doing and why: “Why are
we making new games Mommy?” “This one can help you practice your math skills-
see the patterns? This one helps you practice your letters, and will help you
learn to read.” “Well I can read these little words, because I’m kind of big.” :) Get busy! Get crafty!

Day 4: Materials and Invitations for March

Day 4: Materials and Invitations for March

After a long day of staring into my computer, working on
grad work and grading papers, it was a treat to come home and clean the house!
Don’t get the wrong idea- I left the mop and bucket where they rightly belong-
out of my line of sight! I cleaned in the way of putting order back to
everything that had become displaced, disorganized, and disenfranchised throughout
the week…read: cleaning up after the littles.

Since I was doing an overhaul on the toy corner and craft
center anyways, I used this as an opportunity to pull out all things green for
the month of March. These are the materials I pulled out while doing the
regular Sunday afternoon clean-up I would usually do- using the time as a
focused “green hunt” tacked on an additional 20 minutes or so. I took the
picture you see here and printed it to stick on the fridge: it gives me a
visual reminder of all the things I have for planning purposes without having
to drag everything back out. I put everything in small in labeled baggies, and
stashed it all in and on this organizer we keep in the dining room for easy
access.

Now on to the fun part…setting up invitations to play! I
picked up this term from one of my favorite blogs, Play At Home Mom- check
their site for more information on setting up invitations- and prepare to be
wowed! http://playathomemom3.blogspot.com/search/label/Frequently%20Asked%20Questions

These techniques are based on constructivist learning theory,
which holds that children construct new knowledge based on experiences-
remember Piaget in college?- yep, that’s his deal, and I favor Montessori
principles, which you can learn about here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montessori_method
and the Reggio Emilia approach to teaching and learning for birth through age
6ish: http://www.communityplaythings.co.uk/resources/articles/reggio-emilia.html

An invitation to play is just what it sounds like: cool
stuff set up in an interesting way for the littles to walk into and say, “Whoa!
What’s this? Let’s play with it!” But the invitation is more than just throwing
a bunch of toys out to keep them occupied. The selection of materials is
intentional, based on your objectives for the experience, and while the play
can be guided (by you) or independent (child-led), you are the one who does the
selecting.

So an invitation for play based on the green-themed items in
the photo here might be as simple as putting out four bowls containing the dark
green, light green, white, and orange snap cubes. Enter the littles…
My daughter would likely approach the table and start lining
the cubes up in alternating colors all on her own. I would let her play for a
while, and then sit down with her and ask her to tell me about what she was
doing. She would likely say that she was making something spectacular, like a
dragon tail or a road. I could take the initiative and build a length of cubes,
creating a pattern. Knowing her, my daughter would automatically imitate my
action, unknowingly making a pattern of her own. I could introduce the math
term “pattern” and practice making patterns with her, or I could just leave it
at that: playing and experimenting with building, organizing, sorting, making
patterns, etc.

My son would need more monitoring with this invitation, as
he is half the age of my daughter, and is still likely to fling things about on
a moment’s notice. He would probably first find a spoon to stir the cubes and
call it “soup.” Then he might dump them all in a big pile and mix them up- he
might use his hands or feet to do this. He would probably then either line them
up or try to build with them. I could insert myself here to talk to him about
the shapes, colors, texture, and feel of the cubes. We could build together, me
modeling, him following…or I could just let him be to explore on his own. After
15 minutes, though, I could expect cubes to start zinging past my head, which
means that we cut this invitation experience off at about 10 minutes. :)

Stay tuned for more on the invitations, teaching and
learning through play, green-themed activities, St. Patrick’s Day happenings,
etc.! Keep crafting, keep creating, keep collecting resources to engage your
littles’ hands and minds!

Day 3: The Gift of Sensory Play

Day 3: The Gift of Sensory Play

Made a gift for a friend's son's birthday...was going to pick up some bath toys for his gift, but then I thought, well anyone can get those for him...why not assemble a special birthday sensory bin? I didn't spend anymore than I would have on the bath toys, it took maybe an hour to assemble, and voila- a versatile gift that promotes early learning and can grow with him for years! (and there's a gift receipt just in case I'm crazy and the boats are all they really wanted after all).

Sensory play and exploration is a BIG theme in our house. People ask, "Why bother?"

The emphasis on sensory play and it's part in children's development is research-based, and championed through Montessori & Reggio teaching methods.

More than "just a fun thing to do on a rainy day," sensory tables provide your child with the opportunity to learn about a host of concepts while manipulating sensory-appealing materials- think dry beans, rice for those with allergies, sand, gravel,water, shaving cream, different textures, colors, weights, etc.

In addition to exploring the world through play, children practice skills which support learning in measurement, sorting, comparing, describing, developing language, counting, not to MENTION the skills involved with teaching children appropriate boundaries when playing productively (think "we don't throw rice," "this is not safe to place in your mouth," "we put items away when we are done with them," etc.).

Not everyone has the space- or desire!- to have a sensory table in their home. (We have a small DIY one that will be featured later.) But sensory bins offer all the fun in a tidy, storable package! Start small: choose a base material, such as rice- store brand is something like $10 for 20 lbs. Put a few inches in the bottom of a plastic tote. Add "tools"- measuring cups, plastic cutlery, play doh tools, small cups, etc. Include a set of sensory materials to explore (but record what you introduce so you will know if something turns up "missing"). For material ideas, see photos here. Put down a cheap plastic table cover- makes for easy clean up, cause this can get MESSY! And...GO! Play! Let your child lead, you follow. Resist the urge to show a "right" way to play: your input should focus on safety and logistics: "we do not eat the rice," "pouring rice on the floor is fine DURING SENSORY BIN TIME, not any old time of day," etc. Ask questions...watch...learn...enjoy!

As I said, sensory play is a big deal around here, so you'll see much, much more in this vein. For today, here is the gift I assembled for a friend's son's birthday. He is turning one, entering his second year of life: aka prime time to introduce sensory play! A big word of caution, though: sensory play is NOT something to set your toddler doing while you wash dishes or do other work: it is IMPERATIVE that you engage WITH your child for safety reasons. Sensory play is great, but not if your child is not attended to and begins eating and choking on the pieces. Plus, playing WITH your child guides them in approprate ways to play and interact with the materials, gives you the chance to ask questions that lead them to make their ONW discoveries, and of course- time to CRAFT those positive memories with your budding learner!