FOSTERING INDEPENDENT PLAY: You can set up centers in your classroom (or about the house and yard if you homeschool) where the children can play freely, carrying out their own ideas and projects. They will enjoy painting and other art & creative materials, musical activities for getting the wiggles out, a feltboard for quiet play with lots of pieces for making felt pictures, puzzles and manipulative toys, puppets, play-dough, a housekeeping corner, blocks & accessories, props for dramatic play and dressing up, sand & mud, cars & trucks, and lots of room for big muscle exercise - running, jumping, leaping, skipping, hopping, chasing balls, and all those other active things kids like to do! And a book nook with a soft mat and pillows in which to relax with picture books. Place a basket of stuffed toys in the book nook and put a sign on the wall which says, "Have you read a good book to your teddy bear today?"
ABOUT THAT BOOK NOOK: Preschoolers can never have too many picture books! You can get them at the Library or the Book Store. But the books young children like best are the ones they help to make themselves. So stop and have a picture-making session often.
Spend some time together looking through old magazines, catalogs, and other sources to find pictures. Cut these out and glue them into simple books you make by folding construction paper in half and tying in the middle with yarn. Decorate the first page as a cover and give it a title. Let the children help put pictures on every other page, leaving the facing pages blank for writing their stories. As the children talk about a picture, print their comments on the page.
Read these books again and again at story time and bedtime. Treat them as works of important authors, which in fact, your children are.
THE CREATIVE ART CENTER: Creative activities are not the same as handcraft projects, where the product is an important outcome. In the creative art center, the process is more important than the product. Here is where the children can experiment with big crayons, paints, paper, scissors, glue, and other materials as they wish, following their own ideas and objectives. They also love messy things, such as finger painting with pudding or jello!
Set up a special table where you can rotate these kinds of materials. You may want to cover the floor with a plastic shower curtain and have the children wear old shirts put on backwards and buttoned down the back to protect clothing.
OUTDOOR PLAY: Time outdoors will give the children some time to relax and stretch. If you do not have much in the way of outdoor equipment, set up some activities. Streamers will encourage the children to run as they twirl behind. Blow bubbles and watch them float in the breeze. A basket of balls is always fun. A 2x6 board laid flat on the ground makes a good walking beam. And some sand in a portable tub along with spoons and containers for sifting and pouring can be relaxing.
Safety First! Watch to see that the children do not throw the sand or put it into their mouths.
Dampening the sand with a watering can or spray bottle filled with water will help keep the dust down and is good for making mud pies.
Give the children buckets of water and great big paint brushes. Set them to work "painting" the house, the walls, the picnic table, and even the sidewalk. They will love it!
Run races. Line the children up at one edge of the yard and stand a short distance away. "Ready, set, go!" The children run to you. When each reaches the goal, he or she gets a special smile and hug from you.
God made so many things to see! Draw the children’s attention to trees, flowers, birds, clouds, or other things you may see while outside. Even a puddle of water can be interesting to the children. One time we attended a church which was temporarily meeting in a high school building. We had been talking about all the things God has made and had taught our three & four year olds to say, "Praise the Lord," as we mentioned each thing. Later we took a walk and came upon a muddy puddle in the middle of the sidewalk. "Oh, look!" we said. "Here is some water God made." The children gathered around. "God made the water," they exclaimed. "Praise the Lord!" Passers-by on their way to the tennis courts did a double take and we got some curious stares and a few encouraging smiles.
THE MOST IMPORTANT LEARNING CENTER: There is one more learning center that is perhaps the most basic of all. It is always with you. Whatever you do, wherever you go, everything you say. There it is. This important interest center is you! And your children are learning from it all the time, whether you know it or not. The best teaching you will ever do is through guided conversation as you and your children are engaged in hands-on activities. If you are homeschooling you can do tasks together about the house. Talk about what you are doing as you work and play together.
© 2005 by Jodi VanBibber, SUNNY HOLLOW PRESS