I'm doing my edwebinar on finger plays this afternoon at 2. I know that
most of you will be teaching, but go ahead and sign up because you
can watch it later. It's FREE and you can even get CE Certificates.
most of you will be teaching, but go ahead and sign up because you
can watch it later. It's FREE and you can even get CE Certificates.
https://home.edweb.net/webinar/earlychildhood20190325/?fbclid=IwAR0znFTQxags2uZ_tdmefmEFPIA0UcMyXZl9ueD5vt0wlbGNqTxpy90graE
http://bit.ly/drjeanFingerPlay
I'm going to be sharing tons of information about WHY finger plays are important, as well as ways to use them as a springboard for skills you are working on. No worries about trying to remember everything because the next few days you'll find a review of the information on my blog.
Monday - WHY finger plays are important and how they can help children focus and learn.
Tuesday - HOW to introduce finger plays and props for your pocket.
Wednesday - COUNT ON and nurture number sense with finger plays.
Thursday - READ ON and integrate language arts standards with finger plays.
Friday - HOME/SCHOOL BRIDGES with finger plays.
WHY should you do finger plays with children?
Finger plays are even older than me! (And that's pretty old!) However, I hope they never go out of style because they are such an amazing way to reach and teach children. If someone says, "Finger plays are old fashion," just smile and hand them this list!!
Engagement – Doing a finger play is a natural way to engage children’s attention and help them focus.
Oral language – Repetition of finger plays builds oral language skills.
Auditory memory – Children activate their short-term memory as they memorize finger plays.
Comprehension – Most finger plays have a simple story plot for children to follow.
Imagination – With so much time spent in front of a screen, finger plays encourage children to make pictures in their brains.
Sequence – Remembering the sequence in finger plays can help children retell stories.
Phonological awareness – Finger plays build a foundation for rhyme, rhythm and alliteration.
Eye-hand coordination – Visual connections with finger plays are important for writing and reading.
Small motor skills – Doing finger plays is like sending the fingers to the gym to exercise.
Active Learning - Multiple senses are engaged as children watch and wiggle their fingers and repeat rhymes.
Purposeful Practice for Automaticity (aka repetition) - Children will enjoy saying these rhymes over and over.
Brain Breaks - Children will be oxygenating the brain and crossing the midline as they do finger plays. Many finger plays involve bi-lateral coordination (doing different motions with different hands at the same time).
Executive function – Children develop self-regulation and impulse control when they participate in finger plays. There's task initiation and completion - a beginning and an end.
Social skills – All children can be successful with finger plays and this group experience.
State Standards – You got it! Speaking, listening, comprehension, phonological awareness all rolled into one!
Skills for the 21st Century – You’ve got those, too, with communication and cooperation.
Transitions - Research says almost 20% of instructional time is lost due to transitions. You can take advantage of those times by entertaining the children with a finger play.
Best of all, finger plays are FREE! They are non-allergenic, simple to do, and FUN!
Check out the new packet that Carolyn Kisloski and I have put together with 60 of our favorite finger plays. Included in this packet are full sheet, illustrated finger plays for you to use in the classroom. You may want to enlarge the pages for shared reading or make a classroom book with them. Also included in the packet are half-sheet illustrated copies of each finger play that you may send home with each child to share with their families.
