Making the Most of Everyday Play

I've been working really hard to encourage play based learning.  Don't get me wrong, I believe there is a ton of power in free play and I make sure the kids get plenty of that each day.  I just also think it is important to make the most out of play. 

Remember those "gems' I bought?  Well, I also purchased small plastic cups, gave the kids a container full of gems and let them explore.  They spent about 10 minutes dumping, pouring, and throwing (that would of been Mason).  Then I stepped in, and we started counting, sorting, and labeling. 

 

Ella loves anything jewelry so when I told her we were going to make bracelets, she was thrilled.  She spent almost 20 minutes stringing beads onto pipe cleaners.  When I notice her starting to finish up with an activity, that is when I step in.  We then counted the beads, identified colors, and made patterns.

 Haiden is probably the most difficult to engage with and get creative with.  He is very rigid and everything has a purpose.  So playing with clay was a great opportunity for sensory play, exploration, and using his imagination.  Of course, he wanted to spell his name first.  Then we made animals and food with the clay.

 A felt board is a great, inexpensive tool for pretend play.  I just tucked a large piece of felt in the frame of a bulletin board we already had.  Then I cut out shapes and other figures for the kids to explore with.  I didn't step in at all with this activity.  The kids made different things with the felt and even role played.

 Sensory play!  Haiden wouldn't of touched shaving cream 4 years ago but now he loves it!  I just let them play with it in the beginning and then I step in.  I encourage Haiden to draw pictures and spell words.  I helped Ella work on basic prewriting skills like drawing vertical and horizontal lines.

 You can never go wrong with play-doh.  Ella wanted me to play with her right away.  We made pancakes and pretended to serve each other food.

 Ella loves Fancy Nancy!  My friend, Karin, got Ella an awesome Fancy Nancy sticker book.  What I loved about this sheet of stickers is that Fancy Nancy was making all kinds of facial expressions.  I took this time to work on emotional intelligence (if you know Ella, you know this is an area of need).  She would peel off a sticker and tell me what she thought Fancy Nancy was feeling based on her facial expression.

 I got this dropbox idea from www.playathomemom3.blogspot.com.  I just had it on the floor with a ton of objects and let the kids explore.  After awhile I stepped in and guided Mason in color matching.

 I love puzzles and so do the kids.  My grandma got Haiden a puzzle of the world.  Not only did he love putting it together but this opened up a whole new obsession.  (If you know Haiden, you know, he just doesn't get interested in something, he gets obsessed.)  He now loves anything geography!  It has been so fun showing him new information and watching him learn so many new things.

 Mason's favorite, dry rice and beans!  I have two storage containers filled with rice and beans.  He loves to pour, mix, and scoop it.  I usually let him play then we pretend we are making "taco soup". 

I'm learning there are so many play based activities to do with your children.  Luckily I found some on-line resources that have helped me expand my creativity a bit. 
http://playathomemom3.blogspot.com/
http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.com/index.html
http://totallytots.blogspot.com/
http://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/my-printables