Do you have similar activities that are inexpensive and provide tons of skills? Leave them in the comments below!
*Flannel Board Sets for Preschool Teachers and Storytime Librarians*
Golf Tees and Scrubbies = so many skills!
I came up with this idea when I was a nanny and needed an easy activity to keep the kids entertained in the back seat of the car. Two simple ingredients: golf tees and dish scrubbies... Just put them out in a tray and see what happens! This one is great for fine motor development and color sorting--if you can find colored golf tees, they'll poke those tees into the color-coordinated scrubbie. Counting happens naturally (or with your gentle, appropriate guidance), and they love lining up the tees, so you've got the potential for creating patterns as well. Older kids also like to use the tees as legs and arms as they create various critters. Such a fun and simple (and super cheap) activity.
Alphabet Sensory Tray
Here's an idea I used to do in the classroom when I was a preschool teacher.
Maybe it will work for you too!
Although I always had a regular sensory table in my classroom, with the older kids (3 and up) I liked to have sensory trays on a table as well. These were set up for individual play. I put two trays on the table across from each other, with a beach towel underneath to catch spills. Here's an example. The filler is dyed tiny alphabet pasta, and we put lots of little containers, spoons, etc in for the kids to explore. Love the touch of early literacy with the ABC pasta--the kids loved hunting for the letters in their names...
We usually colored the pasta as a small group activity but you could skip the kids' participation and just do it all yourself :) We gave each child a small zip lock bag and had them use a small scoop to put some of the pasta in the bag. Then we used liquid watercolor from Discount School Supply--the kids chose which color they wanted to use. The teacher squirts a little into the bag and seals it, and then the kids shake, shake, shake. Add more color if needed. Shake some more. Dump all the bags out onto a tray and shake it so it's spread out a bit. Let dry. I'm not really sure how long it takes to dry--we always did this before snack time and often wouldn't get back to it till around 1 or 2. By that time it was totally dry. I imagine it probably takes about half an hour to be usable. Easy peasy mac and cheesey :) This lasts for years, by the way.
Transportation Set
Thanks to custom requests, I am able to keep up with my best laid plans of frequent Flannel Friday posts! Well, actually my plans were for every Friday, but I am now just going to have to admit that that isn't going to happen. But better sometimes than never...
This set is intended to go along with a Barefoot Book called We All Go Traveling By, but it can be used in lots of ways.
Do you have other ideas of how to use this set? Leave them in the comments below!
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And don't forget to check out Flannel Friday's Pinterest Boards and Tumbler Page for a zillion flannel board ideas!
Open-Ended Art
I loved so many things about being a preschool teacher that it's hard to come up with favorites. But one of my most-loved areas of the classroom was definitely the art area. Always busy and usually messy, this area of the room was full of so much creativity, conversation, and discoveries! It took me many years to get my space and ideas organized in just the right way so that children could work independently, have access to varied, high-quality materials and tools, and engage in experiences that were interesting to the many little personalities in a group of 2, 3 and 4 year olds.
Communicating the 'why' of our open-ended art to the families was another issue. There are crafts, and then there is creative art exploration (people call it process art now.) My preference is creative exploration, but that's not always what parents know or understand. I liked to get it all out in the open from the beginning of the year so anyone expecting cut out snowmen or construction paper apple trees would understand why instead they were receiving globs of yarn glued to a stick, one stripe of paint on an easel paper, or an envelope full of tiny cut up scraps!
Here's the letter I sent out each year to my three year old class. I hope you find something useful in it!
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Our Art Program
The art program in our classroom is Developmentally Appropriate and child-centered. This means that we provide materials, and the children are able to use them in unique and creative ways, at their own pace. It means that your child may sometimes come home with artwork, and sometimes come home with nothing, because it will be his or her choice to work with art materials or not. It means that we focus on the process of art, rather than the product. It means that what your child does at one of our art areas may be completely different than what another child does with the exact same materials. Additionally, because we know how important it is for children to repeat activities, you may see the same art activities coming home day after day. Children learn by doing and through repetition, so we make every attempt to provide repeated experiences.
When your child does artwork, and other work in our classroom, we use objective language when we talk to them about that work. We will be sending home and posting (on the Good Information section of our bulletin board) a note with some examples of the kinds of words we use with them, but basically, we “Say What We See.” By using objective language, we help children form concepts, develop vocabularies, and grow in self-awareness.
We have three art spaces in our classroom, which are all grouped near each other and the sink. They are the easel, the open art table and the round art table.
The easel: We provide an easel in the classroom because different visual perception and eye-hand coordination skills are developed when painting here, versus painting on a flat surface. The easel is open every day, and we do not limit the children as to how often or how long they paint here. When we provide different consistencies of paint, various scented paints, scraps of different weights and textures, contrasting colors, shades and tints, and complementary colors, the children become aware of and attuned to these qualities and properties.
The Open Art Table: The long rectangular table is our Open Art Table. This table is also open every day. The shelves contain open-ended materials that are easy for the children to use independently. We provide paper, scissors, crayons, stickers, glue and collage materials. As the year goes on, we add baskets of lids and tubes and small boxes, along with masking tape, string, and ribbon. This is where your child might create things that look like “junk” to you ;-). Again, it is the process, and not the product that is important. As your child tries to cut a piece of paper or use masking tape, important fine muscles are developing. As she makes choices about what colors of paper or crayons to use, she is making color discriminations and planning in advance. As children work here, they might also experience problem solving, decision making, inventing, and imagining, and they develop an awareness of linear patterns, color contrasts, spatial relationships, cause and effect, texture, proportion, etc.!
Round Art Table:
Our third area is the round art table. This is where the teachers will introduce a new material or activity for the children to explore. It may involve many of the things that the open art table will eventually contain. This is where children can paint on a horizontal surface. Sometimes we want to expose the children to an activity that requires a little more adult supervision, so we present it at this smaller table. With our emergent curriculum, we may link an art activity to an interest we see happening in the classroom (for instance if someone is extremely interested in cars or other vehicles, we may invite them to paint with the wheels of cars; if someone is always playing with the animals, we may introduce painting with the feet of the toy animals; if balls are a constant toy in use on the playground, we might experiment with painting with various sizes of balls…) Sometimes we may simply introduce a fun, messy activity that we hope the children enjoy. In all cases, the end product is not what is important. Rather, the process that each child becomes involved in is what holds the most meaning…
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Week of the Young Child 2018
Well, somehow I missed the fact that this week was the Week of the Young Child! But there's still today to celebrate all those little and amazing people (and then of course there's every other day of the year, too :) )
So how to celebrate?! I'll pick two of my favorites from NAEYC's site...
NAEYC suggests fitting in an art activity or two, and has some nice guidelines to help parents fit it into their busy days. I think these work for teachers and librarians, too, of course! If you're scrambling for ideas, I've gathered a ton of ideas for preschoolers and toddlers over on my Pinterest Boards.
In the art area of my classroom, I had the following blurb posted, so that teachers new to my philosophy of "encouragement rather than praise" had some ideas for talking with children about their art...
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What to say at the easel/in the art area:
Nothing!
Or...
You used lots of paint today!
That yellow is so bright!
Do you want to talk to me about your painting?
Your hands were moving in big circles when you made those marks…
Say what you see!
(and remember that it is ok to say nothing)
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As you probably already know, many of my flannel boards are musical, and if they aren't, I sing them anyway :) Below are just a few of my favorites--I love the fact that singing and dancing with children builds so many skills--fine motor, gross motor, early literacy, math...the list goes on! Best part? It's FUN!
And don't forget to check out Flannel Friday's Pinterest Boards and Tumbler Page for a zillion flannel board ideas!
Over in the Meadow
I presented a bunch of flannel board songs and games to a lovely group of librarians this past week, and on the drive back home I started down memory lane. I miss doing circle times! I love singing, dancing, reading, and playing with kids! (My cats just don't interact the same way ;) )
One of the songs that stuck out on that lane of memories is this fantastic version of Over in the Meadow. It's a Barefoot Books version, which I was introduced to by one of my past student's mom. I just love, love, love it. Here it is!
One of the songs that stuck out on that lane of memories is this fantastic version of Over in the Meadow. It's a Barefoot Books version, which I was introduced to by one of my past student's mom. I just love, love, love it. Here it is!
I have a felt set of this song, too. I couldn't do all ten animals--it was just TOOooooo much.
But I've got five parents, and 15 babies, and that's just right for me :)
(I ended up making a custom set for a lovely lady, and it does include all 10 parents and their wee babies. In case you're interested, here's what that looked like:)
And here's a video of my set in action:
I love combining books and music, and this one throws in math as well! Hey! Learning IS fun!
Happy spring!!
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Mary Had a Little Lamb
I love nursery rhymes, and they provide so many early literacy skills (singing with kids helps them hear the sounds in words; rhyming helps with phonological awareness; rhythm helps with understanding syllables!) It's fun to just share them with children while you're playing, talking, and reading--and sometimes during a story or group time they need a visual to hold their attention. Enter Mary and her little lamb (and everyone else pictured, of course :) )
Here's the rhyme to go with this set:
Mary had a Little Lamb
Mary had a little lamb
Little lamb, little lamb
Mary had a little lamb
Its fleece was white as snow.
And everywhere that Mary went
Mary went, Mary went
Everywhere that Mary went
The lamb was sure to go.
It followed her to school one day
School one day, school one day
It followed her to school one day
Which was against the rule!
It made the children laugh and play
Laugh and play, laugh and play
It made the children laugh and play
To see a lamb at school.
And so the teacher turned him out
Turned him out, turned him out
And so the teacher turned him out
But still he lingered near...
And waited patiently about
Patiently about, patiently about
And waited patiently about
Til Mary did appear.
Mary had a little lamb
Little lamb, little lamb
Mary had a little lamb
Its fleece was white as snow
And everywhere that Mary went
Mary went, Mary went
Everywhere that Mary went
The lamb was sure to go!
How about a few books to go along with this set, in case you're doing a lamb, spring, or farm story time...
And here's my Pinterest board on Farm Books!
And don't forget to check out Flannel Friday's Pinterest Boards and Tumbler Page for a zillion flannel board ideas!
Cats!
I happen to have two kitties who are in my lap as I type this. I've been a cat owner for the past 25 years, and yet I've not had a cat flannel board set!
Thanks to a recent request from a librarian, I was able to make this stinkin' cute set :) Bonus for you: you can buy these cuties in my shop!
(Since this post was originally published, I've added another kitty cat felt board set to the mix!
You can check out the blog post here, and the felt set is right here.)
So many ways to use this set! You can pass out the cats and ask the kids to bring them up by color, and use position words like over, under, next to, above and below as you ask them to place them on the board. Doing a color theme or story time? Ask the kids with a cat the color of a night sky, or a violet, or dirt, (or whatever clever ideas you have) to bring their cat up. Increase their visual discrimination skills--"If you have a sleeping cat, bring it to the flannel board!"
I've also come up with a rhyme for using five of these:
Five Little Kitty Cats
Five little kitty cats sleeping on the floor
One pounced away, and now there are four!
Four little kitty cats, cute as can be,
One leapt away, and now there are three!
Three little kitty cats, hunters through and through,
One caught a mouse, and now there are two!
Two little kitty cats, basking in the sun,
One slinked away, and now there's only one!
One little kitty cat got up to stretch and yawn,
I looked away...and now he's gone!
Thinking about doing this with puppies too!
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as well as fun preschooler-related tidbits :)
Pot of Gold (a Little Mouse Variation)
Yep, it's that time of year again. Leprechauns will be coming around to classrooms, clues will be left for scavenger hunts, maps will be used, songs will be sung, rainbows and good luck and clovers and shamrocks will be discussed, green beer will be...oh wait--that's not preschool!
Okay, on with today's flannel board!
This set was made as a custom request, and of course as with most of those, I thought--why didn't I think of that? Well actually, I sort of almost did--here's my Leprechaun Hide and Seek set from last year! In case you don't click, I'll repeat the adorable Mr. Leprechaun song below, because it's worth repeating :)
(Here's a link to my recent Mr. Leprechaun set.)
So, this set is pretty self-explanatory if you're familiar with the Little Mouse game, but I like to assume you're a newcomer, so here's the deal:
You place your pots on the board one at a time, commenting on or asking the children to help you name the color of each pot as it's placed. Sneakily hide the gold coins behind one of the pots as you're putting it on the board, and then begin...
The chant is as follows, subbing the bold words as appropriate:
Gold coins, gold coins,
Playing hide and seek...
Are you behind the red pot?
Let's take a peek!
And then you use all kinds of dramatic techniques to check behind the pot, act confused/disappointed/stumped/etc. as you seek out those sneaky gold coins! We like to pat our legs as we do the chant, just to get the kids even more involved and aware of the rhythm... And of course invite them to tell you which color to check under (sometimes just lightly touching the one YOU want to do next will send a subliminal message and they'll 'choose' it for you!)
As with all the Little Mouse variations, this is a great set for increasing color knowledge, exposing the kids to rhymes, building interactive social skills, and just plain having fun! Do it again and again--you're bored, but the kids aren't ;)
And the Mr. Leprechaun song I mentioned above:
Mr. Leprechaun
(credit goes to a past co-worker, Angela Lenz)
Mr. Leprechaun, Mr. Leprechaun, Mr. Leprechaun--Hello!
Mr. Leprechaun, Mr. Leprechaun, Mr. Leprechaun--I Know...
...you're a cute little elf,
If I say so myself!
In your suit all of green,
You come on March seventeen!
Discover Flannel Friday--and join in if you like to make flannel boards, too!
Here's the Tumbler Page if you'd like to check it out, and here are the many amazing Pinterest Boards!
Create a Car (or really, a vehicle :)
Another custom order that's turned into something I'll carry regularly in my shop! This set is along the same lines as many of my other do-it-yourself sets, and this time the theme is vehicles. If I were still teaching, I would love to see what kind of crazy combinations the kids would come up with by mixing the various vehicle parts together... 
This set is great for color and number naming and recognition, and could easily be used in a group time by handing out the pieces and letting the kids come up and decide where their piece could go! You could also ask things like "If you have a red piece that is BIG, come put it on the board...or..If you have an orange piece that is small, come put it on the board." You could play a color sorting game, and just have them bring their pieces to a designated area of the board, not building anything, or you could decide as a group that you want to build four vehicles--you could build the bases and then ask them to come put the wheels, windows, and other accessories on. What a great team work project that builds vocabulary at the same time. I love these sets as both a group time activity and for kids to use on their own...
Discover Flannel Friday--and join in if you like to make flannel boards, too!
Here's the Tumbler Page if you'd like to check it out, and here are the many amazing Pinterest Boards!
And hey--feel free to check out my shop right here: Flannel Board Fun
And hey--feel free to check out my shop right here: Flannel Board Fun
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