Last week was busy, busy with a workshop in Columbia,
SC, and the NAEYC Conference in DC.
There was a lot of “stuff” in the exhibit hall. It is tempting to get caught up in the
materialism of early childhood and to believe that we need the latest and
greatest technology, toys, and equipment.
Mary Blenner really touched my heart when she remarked, “Teachers think
they have to have great activities that are super fun to make school fun. The reality is that teachers have to be
FUN and school will be FUN for the children!” Amen!
Forest Crowns
There were several exhibits with natural equipment
(tree trunks as benches and limbs for climbers) at the Conference. I loved these forest crowns made with
sentence strips, double sided tape, and leaves and natural objects found on the
ground.
Magic Bag (Towson University Students)
Bring in an empty bag and tell the students it is
filled with shoes. The students
have to pull out a pair of shoes and act out what the shoes are. For example, they could pull out ice
skates and ice skate around…ballet shoes and dance…fins and swim…etc.
A New Handshake (David Bedard)
Burger – Bump fists together.
Fries – Fingers up and back of hands together.
Shake – Arms up and shake around.
Turn and Talk (Holli Grolosky)
When children share with a partner they say, “Eyes to
eyes and knees to knees.”
When reading with a partner they say, “Elbows to
elbows and knees to knees. I read
to you and you read to me. The
book’s in the middle so we both can see!”
Can-Have-Are (Macon Turner)
Make a flip book with three sections. Write “can,” “have,” “are” on the
front. Children open and write
descriptions for animals, plants, and other topics you are studying.
Peanut Butter Plus (Sara Jane Campbell)
When doing the song, “Peanut butter, we like peanut
butter,” do different exercises on the chorus. For example, toe touches, jumping jacks, twists, run in
place, etc. After practicing the
song several times let students lead and pick movements to do during the
chorus.
*Write the motions on cards and randomly pull them
out.
Make New Friends, But Keep the Old - I saw my dear friends Mary Jo Huff and Lisa Maddox,
and I met some new friends as well!