Make a puzzle circle! Miss Autumn (2) was quite content to sit inside the puzzle circle and work puzzles. Simone was happy to supervise. A cozy nearby fireplace added ambiance and warmth for this cold winter day activity.
There is something about the NEST format of play. Are you a nest person? I am. I’ve always loved playing inside a circle formed by things-toys, books, supplies, whatever I’m working on-spread in a circle which surrounds me.
I really need to research this nest phenomenon. Does it point to a specific need, like security? Is nesting organizational in nature? Am I completely OCD and this is how it manifested itself when I was a child? Am I a circle person? Is this a form of marking my territory, albeit the creation of play boundaries and personal space instead of doggy pee trails? What does that mean?
Not nesting, as in I’m pregnant and preparing for the imminent birth of my child, though I also experienced that type of nesting. I clearly remember nesting the entire Memorial Day weekend. I thought I was just making things tidy, cleaning house, and putting baby things away. Lo and behold, our first baby came 3 weeks early and arrived before lunch on the Tuesday after Memorial Day. Surprise! I was baby nesting.
There is also the type of nesting performed by birds. I am not a bird. But I am amazed at the intricate, sturdy, vastly creative and unique types of nests these little bird brains build. With that in mind, I’m sure bird brain is a complement.
Back to play nesting. I have memories of Barbie nests, toy box nests (where the toy box is empty and I am surrounded by the toys), and fabric nests. The fabric nests lets you know this nesting trait carried over to my adult years. I remember a specific photo of my two preschoolers, complete with a circle of toys and nearly empty toy box. Donavyn and Autumn (grands) love sitting inside blanket nests. Is nesting hereditary?
Any ideas? Do you nest? Have you seen young children exhibit nesting? I’d love to know more about the nesting syndrome.
Meet Gage (3 going on 4) and Autumn (2 going on 16). Gigi is also featured above, all 3 of them enjoying a Babybel cheese break.
Preschoolers have discerning tastes and interests. I’d like to add that both of these magnificent grands are eloquent, opinionated, book afficionados. Here are their current favorite picture books. And why I think each has preschool staying power.
“Again!”
This remark nearly guarantees a great picture book. They should call it the AGAIN Award. SPOILER ALERT: Both grands love Peter and his adventures in the snow, though Gage is convinced the snowball did not melt, but is in fact, tucked beneath Peter’s chin as he sleeps. Don’t believe me? Look at that page. The background white section looks exactly like a snowball. They both love the snow adventures.
Why I think this book deserves the AGAIN Award:
Simplicity of text, universal preschool and young reader experiences, nature focus, playfulness of a child’s day in the snow
Froggy and his silly antics keep Gage and Autumn glued to the story. They love me to read this to them as they eat lunch. They love jumping to the conclusion before I even get there. The laughing portions of the book have great child appeal.
Why I think this book deserves the AGAIN Award:
Humor, age-appropriate excitement and desire to enjoy life, Froggy’s disregard for reality (hibernate in winter), repetitive language
Of all the books we read, this one surprises me. Not that it’s a bad book, but, you know, she dies at the end. Despite that, Gage LOVES this book. He knows the ending and he loves how the old lady gets larger and larger. I always use a sing-song voice when I read it, so music complements the retelling. Who knew?
Why I think this book deserves the AGAIN Award:
Illustrations, musical options, repetitive, cumulative, silly, full of exaggeration, contains extra details that can be shared as readers mature
This book was a hit the very first time I read it, with both Gage and Autumn. They love memorizing the story and retelling it themselves. I did hear that older brother, Donavyn, was purposely saying the wrong thing as she was reading to herself. This made her very angry! (This might have happened with the next book instead…). Preschoolers love reading about the caterpillar.
Why I think this book deserves the AGAIN Award:
Nature aspects of change, life cycle, eating, growing, overeating; days of the week; interesting pages and features like holes and different-sized pages; simple text and easy to recall story; classic picture book tale
This was one of the first books I dug out to share with Gage and Autumn. They loved it and immediately memorized the pattern of text and wanted to read it alone. This book is easy to figure out by simply turning the pages. The bright colorful illustrations help readers retell and enjoy the story.
Why I think this book deserves the AGAIN Award:
Predictable, patterned, colorful illustrations, teaches colors, simple text, imaginative (blue horse?!), fun to read, readers enjoy being in control and being the ‘teacher’ as they read
Anything with a flap is award-winning for preschoolers. This simple book has repetitive text and involves visual and textual clues to use to guess the answer. Fill-in-the-blank reading is lots of fun and both Gage and Autumn love shouting the answers. Animals, flaps, mystery! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve taped this book back together.
Why I think this book deserves the AGAIN Award:
Lift the flaps, simplicity, animal connections, emotions, cause and effect, thinking skills to figure out which pet is best
Three words: Hug, Bobo, Mommy. Who says you can’t tell a story with only 3 words? Everybody knows about hugs and mommy’s. Gage and Autumn love this book because of the mommy factor. Mommy’s are important and it would be horrible if she went missing. All the animals work together to help Bobo. So many good things in three words and great illustrations.
Why I think this book deserves the AGAIN Award:
The mommy factor, hugs, friends, helping, simple text, universal needs and desires, family, being lost and getting found
Introducing the AGAIN Award. You heard it here first, friends.
Let’s find other books that deserve the AGAIN Award. For in those beloved books, we will find the joy of reading and the shared experiences of lap time.
This Throwback Thursday post is brought to you by Mission Friends, preschool education, and great activities for kids.
Hammer, safety glasses, wood, apron, nails. Real tools. Check.
Plus supervision.
Add Chelsie, age 5. Ready to go and do some world building. Figuratively (pretend play and exploration) and literally (girls can do anything they dream, including learning to hammer nails and build). I offered this activity to my group of preschoolers in Mission Friends. I never shied away from plans some considered slightly dangerous: hammering nails, melting crayons on a food warming tray, chopping softer fruits and veggies with butter knives. And the kids never let me down. They LOVED doing grown up jobs and took their activities seriously.
How do preschoolers and young children learn? By doing, exploring, experimenting, evaluating, planning, making mistakes, trying again.
My way of doing preschool.
“Play is the highest form of research.” Albert Einstein
This post is NOT about wrapping preschoolers in bubble wrap. But it is about how much fun tots have popping bubbles.
Today during a sorting marathon, I discovered two small boxes filled with hand-sized rectangles of bubble wrap. Bubble wrap became the seed of creativity for my two young charges.
First, the fine motor skills used in attempting to pop the plastic bubbles brought intense concentration. Next came sound effects-boisterous shouts for each successful popping noise. And after introducing the ‘stomp-til-you-pop’ game while standing on the kitchen floor, squeals of joy and excitement filled the house.
30 minutes. That’s the minimum time they spent focused on small squares of bubble wrap. Moms, I was able to complete several tasks while supervising the giggly kiddos.
Mom tip: Get (save) bubble wrap!
Other activities to do with bubble wrap:
– use bubble wrap taped to a cardboard tube to make a paint roller
– add bubble wrap to cardboard strips to make bumpy roads for toy vehicles
– experiment with the protective properties of bubble wrap (drop an egg?)
– press bubble wrap in play dough or damp sand to make prints
– add bubble wrap to doll beds for mattresses (tape securely with duct tape)
– cut bubble wrap to fit inside a freezer gallon ziplock bag; seal with duct tape; let younger tots pop bubbles through the bag
– make bubble wrap shoes and walk around outside to see how well they work
CAUTION: Always supervise any play with plastic. Keep plastics and bubble wrap away from faces and mouths.
It might be noisy, but bubble wrap fun will be music to your ears.
As a preschool educator, I would like to suggest two new developmental stages.
The Stage of Why.
The Stage of “Actually”
1. The Stage of Why. My 3-year-old grandson is solidly in this stage, as evidenced by lengthy ‘why’ infested conversations during our daily commutes. Today, after being unable to even count HOW MANY whys were tossed willy-nilly towards me from the back seat, I turned the tables and rephrased his questions into ‘whys’ for him. To which he replied with the actual answers to some of my lobs.
Why? Why? Why? I love answering questions and explaining things we see and do (teacher!), but sometimes, I may be close to my limit of whys. Gage is on the verge of being out of this stage, but since we are taking a pit stop in the WHY questioning period, my game of counting whys and popping the questions back to him might just keep me sane.
2. The Stage of Actually. This word, used correctly in context by the younger preschool crowd, cracks me up. It usually shows up when preschoolers are able to grasp the abstractness of this word and how they’ve heard others use it. AND they can get out that many syllables, be understood, and make sense. Actually has been visiting this 3-year-old and his conversations. Waiting for the 2-year-old to pick up on it.
Preschoolers. They ROCK. Life is enriched with their preschool-ness.
What other new developmental stages would you like to add?
When did I begin writing for preschoolers? WAY back when.
I’m so glad my honey took this photo. This was my first trip to Birmingham, Alabama, to attend a writer’s conference and begin writing curriculum and products for Mission Friends (preschool missions education materials).
Chelsie was three, Taylor was five, and I had dark hair (and hair, period). Judging by how old they are now, I’ve been writing for Woman’s Missionary Union for about 28 years. Time flies when preschoolers are having fun and this writer is loving every minute of the journey.
What a blessing it is to remember this opportunity from the Lord! I so love preschoolers. You know, that age is one of the funnest ever! (I know, I know. There are other ages that are also super fun. Okay, you caught me. I adore them all.)
Sweet babies, fantastic supporting husband, and dreams for endless learning activities. Now my babies have given me five grands, with three going to school this fall and only two still at home.
Enjoy those moments, mama and daddy! Those babies are gonna grow up too fast and before you know it, you’ll have a lap full of your own grands.
How about sharing a Throwback Thursday moment of your own?
Three car seats. Three preschoolers. Three strong-minded individuals. Three precious grands. Three songs.
Over and over. In equal quantities, or else. Even the 1 year-old can tell when it’s time for HER song.
Auto repeat would make life much easier in the car as we commute to preschool, the store, the post office, the library. But no. The Nana Bus has only the old-fashioned CD player. One CD at a time.
Nana has become a master at switching.
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, complete with unsynchronized clapping. (Pentatonix)
Bananaphone. With hand motions. (Raffi)
Baby Beluga, formerly known as Baby Beguda and Baby Deguba. (Raffi)
Originally blogged on 12-9-2015, this post gives you a glimpse into the life of a writer. Sheer amounts of paper, paper clips, organization, unfinished housework, and crazy messy office.
Meet the completed project.
And . . .
I miss my huge office! Writing in an RV is challenging, inventive, exciting, and sometimes inspiring. Oh, desk in the storage unit, I’d love to be able to snap my fingers and pop you back and forth to the RV – as needed.
The completed manuscript with sources, sketches, and documents ; Rather, I should say 1/2 of the completed project
(Read below from 12-9-2015)
This is what I’ve been up to. Instead of blogging.
There is not much time left in my days (weeks, months) after planning, writing, editing, printing, sourcing, compiling, emailing, packaging, and mailing this baby.
Oh, yes. This is my baby. The first half of a 12-month activity book for preschoolers and missions has been delivered (emailed and mailed) to my faithful preschool resource team at Woman’s Missionary Union.
The completed manuscript package and its twin – the emergency copy that can be mailed if the PO loses the original
Now they get to do their huge part.
And I will continue on with the above steps for the second half of the book.
The writing life is grand.
A glimpse of the chaos that is my office, including desk, side table, and floor
I’m so excited about First Steps in Missions! This resource has 12 months of ideas for activities teachers can do with preschoolers to teach them about missions around the world.
One of my favorite activities in Chapter 1 is Washing Clothes (page 9). Chapter 1 focuses on the Philippines. Some families in remote areas of the Philippines wash clothes in rivers. While I wouldn’t want to wash our laundry in the river because it sounds like a lot of hard work, I am fascinated and admire the many families who must use local resources to wear clean clothes. I also know preschoolers enjoy water play.
The Washing Clothes activity suggests preschoolers wash clothes in two plastic tubs. One tub should have smooth stones for washing and the other have clean water for rinsing. Set up a drying rack for clothes to hang while they dry. My favorite tool for preschoolers from this activity? BAR SOAP!
Do you know how many fun activities you can do with BAR SOAP? Maybe some of the children you come into contact with have never used BAR SOAP. Think about it. We are a culture committed to cleanliness. This often comes in the form of hand sanitizer, liquid soap dispensers, and all sorts of gels, sprays, and goop. BAR SOAP is a great resource for preschool (and other age level) rooms.
Fun with BAR SOAP
1. Car Wash. I just did this with my grandson. Fill a plastic tub with warm water and put it on a thick towel. Use toothbrushes dipped in the water and raked across BAR SOAP to clean the cars. Rinse in water and drive on the towel to help cars dry.
2. Rock Scrub. This is one of my favorite summer activities, but you can do it anytime. Kids will rewash the same rocks for hours at a time. All you need is a tub of water, a variety of rocks (I like to use rocks big enough so little hands can grip them), BAR SOAP, and toothbrushes. You have a rock washing station. This can later transform into a rock painting station.
3. BAR SOAP Boats. Any old BAR SOAP will float, but experiment to find your favorite brand. Open up BAR SOAP, use a screw driver or butter knife (no sharp tips) to scoop out a center (you can skip this step), and add toothpick flags. Have boat races in the bath tub or sink. Get clean and have fun!
These activities show that one can use just about anything to have fun. Let’s get creative!
If you would like to order your own copy of First Steps in Missions, call 1-800-968-7301 or visit www.wmustore.com. Thanks!
Thanks for visiting. Feel free to share these ideas with your friends.
This weekend I will be presenting two breakout sessions about writing at a retreat. I’m very excited to attend and enjoy the retreat, as the past couple of years my schedule has not allowed me to go.
Besides sharing with women, I was invited to bring my books. Isn’t that nice? Of course I’d love to bring my books.
The problem was that I didn’t have any up-to-date flyers or informational handouts.
What does Angie do? She contacts the professionals (and her good friends) at Woman’s Missionary Union.
I asked and boy, did I receive.
We back-and-forthed messages for quite a few days. And because there was a tiny break in their schedule of deadlines, my friends were able to put together several lovely pieces for me to use.
The flyers and posters look so lovely and colorful, I just had to share . . . though it is odd and a bit disconcerting to see so many me-faces staring back!
Thank you, Clay, Teri, Robin, and Joye! You ROCK! You also made me look good. We can never underestimate the value in that now, can we?
Love, Laughter, and Life 