"Grab our free printable pattern pages, grab some loose parts ad work on fine motor skills, patterning, creativity and more!
Handwriting has never been easy to teach to kindergartners, but it is in the Common Core Standards that they learn how to print letters correctly. Each year I have tried through the traditional ways of working on fine motor skills the first half and then formal handwriting sheets the second half of the year. It never worked so this year I tried something new... An inquiry about lines! I asked the kids what kind of lines they knew of. At first they drew straight lines, but then started to expand the types of lines they made! We read some books and watched some videos on YouTube that showed us different lines and also gave them names. I put out provocations for them to explore lines in many different ways and see what they noticed and what connections they made. I put out invitations for them to use lines to make letters, shapes, designs, pictures and numbers: They explored! They are doing activities to build strong finger muscles to help with handwriting and explore lines at the same time! Our clay is quite hard and they have to work it to soften it up. Plus, manipulating the pipe cleaners helps work those fine motor skills! Through this simple inquiry, the kids are much more aware of the different types of lines and how to make them. They are recognizing them in letters, shapes, numbers and pictures. So far, I am seeing an improvement compared to previous years in their names as they try to form the letters the correct way. More are pulling down vertical lines rather than pulling up when making letters but for some this is a hard habit to break! We will keep working on it in developmentally appropriate ways and we will see as the year goes on if this knowledge of lines will help them with the common core standard of writing letters correctly! Here are some other things the kids have been doing in our room during this inquiry! Dots! We celebrated International Dot Day and celebrated creativity! Ken Robinson said that creativity is as important as literacy and I cannot stress enough how true that is! Employers want creative and critical thinkers so these skills need to be emphasized! Here are some pictures of some invitations to be creative and our final display of creativity! In Literacy, we have been focusing on letters and letter sounds. They have been using their names and the names of their friends to help them to recognize letters and their sounds. The invitations at the beginning of the year focused mostly on exploring letters and names. Working lavender into this play-dough also made this a great sensory experience as they used it to explore letters and try to spell their name and friends names. They have been working on the concepts of print as they learn letters and sounds through letter books. They have been practicing starting in the right place, pointing to the words and going in the right direction when they read. When they partner read, one is the reader, the other is the helper so they have to listen and watch closely, then they switch roles. In math we have been exploring numbers counting objects and matching them to the number. We also have been exploring measurement. In math we are also exploring shapes and their properties. In science, they have been working on looking closer, wondering and documenting what they notice. I set out invitations for them to explore and practice these skills. It has been a very full first month! It is amazing how far the kids have come! Stay tuned to find out what the kids are creating for our math area!
This Bug/Insect Exploration activity is fantastic for a classroom setting, a daycare or home school environment, or as an extension to your educational learning home. Children can explore how to build a bug/insect with a variety of materials. Great for a Montessori or Reggio Emilia inspired environment. Materials Included: – Sectional organizing tray – Wooden …
These free printable butterfly colouring pages and craft templates are a creative activity for kids of all ages.
Here is a fun loose parts preschool activity that is so much fun! It comes with many benefits and skills such as fine motor play, hand/eye coordination and
Kids are sure to love these light table and loose parts activities! They make a great addition to fine motor activities in Preschool, Pre-K or
I’m here to give you a recipe for homemade playdough ideas with shaving cream (trust me on this one!).
These light table activities can be used with loose parts such as transparent counters or glass gems. These fine motor activities are great for kids in Preschool, Pre-K and Kindergarten. #lighttable #lighttableactivities #looseparts #loosepartsactivities #finemotor #prek #preschool #kindergarten #reggioemilia #provocation
Kids of all ages will love this fun, crazy faces, loose parts activity, using these free printable face parts cutouts.
"Grab our free printable pattern pages, grab some loose parts ad work on fine motor skills, patterning, creativity and more!
"Grab our free printable pattern pages, grab some loose parts ad work on fine motor skills, patterning, creativity and more!
Loose parts are open-ended materials used for play. There are many options to use with infants and toddlers. Using loose parts has several benefits.
Excercise those fine motor muscles and engaging in a fun collaborative art project for toddlers and preschoolers with this Decorate a Tree Loose Parts Play.
ease see below shipping information before purchasing this product. Fun2 Messy Tray is an activity tray for sensory drawing, loose parts play, and organising and storing small beads. Set includes 4 trays. (Yellow, Blue, Red and Green) Dimensions: 250mm x 30mm deep Our Early Learning Range Stimulate and develop your children’s senses. Our curated range of early learning and classroom resources are designed to engage, provoke and develop the 5 senses. We stock a wonderful range of resources that are perfect for fine motor activities such as play panels, puzzles, block play, threading, weaving and lacing encourage hand/eye co-ordination and cognitive development. We also have a beautiful range of puppets and felt pretend play from Tara Treasures and Juni Moon which are perfect for the development of language and communication. We also have a fabulous range of sensory and messy play bases and accessories, gross motor ride ons and bikes/trikes, dolls and home corner play resources. Please note: this item is shipped directly from our wonderful Australian distributor. Shipping direct is music to Mother Earth's ears, as it is an eco-friendly game-changer! By reducing unnecessary transportation, it cuts down on carbon footprints and gives our planet a well deserved breather. In turn, this item is not eligible for free click and collect and is exempt from any free shipping offers. Shipping costs are as per the below table. Due to system restrictions, a base shipping charge of $9.00 will be charged upon checkout, and exact shipping charges will be invoiced after your order is placed.
Our little Stompers' imaginations and creative energy flourished during our cold and wet February. They filled their time with us by exploring, socialising, climbing, jumping and balancing, with an energy that is always surprising to us no matter how challenging the weather is. I heard they were making apple pie in the wheel barrow....Yum! See you in April. Thanks for Stomping by!
Fine Motor exercises are an important part of any child's curriculum and learning experience. Learning how control your hands and refining those hand muscles help a child learn how to do important, every day life skills like feeding, wiping, zippering, and tying shoes. Enter Finger Gym.
Get answers from an expert and discover the magic of loose parts play. Nurture children's creativity and learning in early childhood.
Strengthen tiny toddler fingers with just tape! Try this super simple tape peeling fine motor activity right on the kitchen table at home.
Grab these free printable butterfly playdough mats for your kids today. Use them to explore science, literacy, sensory, and fine motor skills.
Learn how to make suncatchers with this fun, fine motor raindrop art activity that has preschoolers peel and sharpen crayons to create raindrop shapes.
Loose parts come in all different shapes, sizes and colors. They stimulate the imagination and develop fine motor skills in kids of all ages. Set up invitations to play and see the true beauty of childhood innocence come forth while kids explore their prompts.
This loose parts letter exploration activity is fantastic for a classroom setting, a daycare or home school environment, or as an extension to your educational learning home. Children can explore how to trace & complete letters with a variety of materials. Great for a Montessori or Reggio Emilia inspired environment. Materials Included: - Wooden Sand Tray - White "Kid Safe" Sand - Sectional organizing tray - Wooden card stand - Lamented Card - Rocks, Marbles, and Shells to fill in letters - Wooden Stick - chalkboard - [display mat and chalk are NOT included] Suggestions for use: - Place this work in a place for your child/children to easily access - Let them explore without any directions Important Information: - Recommended for children ages 3+ as there are small parts. If using with young children please keep a close eye on them. - Some of these materials are made with unfinished wood and may have some exposed wood splinters.
Earlier this month I started to write a post about "snap painting," but the children grew quickly bored and/or frustrated and turned it into a pirate ship painting party. In fact, ever since that day whenever there is black paint outside, the boat's exterior gets a further touch-up, although the interior has remained clean. So while boat painting has been on the children's minds, snap painting has remained on mine. It is just too good a concept to let drop: painting rubber bands then snapping them on paper to create these cool, spidery, freckly splats. I was working on the theory that I'd made this simple concept too complicated the first time. Not only did the kids have to paint the rubber bands, a challenging target, but then hold the entire frame down with one hand while pulling up on the rubber band with the other. Then, as a reward, they received a backspatter of tempera paint in the face. Is it any wonder that most of the kids only gave it a single go before wanting to do something else? I sought to eliminate the "holding the frame down problem" by building larger PVC frames that hooked under the bottom of the work bench on either side, which would allow the kids to stretch the bands as far as they wanted without lifting the entire apparatus. I designed them to be a little bit loose so that as the paper got filled with paint, an adult could carefully move the frame to unpainted parts of the the paper, hopefully without smearing what we'd already done. I even provided milk crates and step ladders for the kids to stand on when they wanted to reach the middle of the table. I was imagining that when we covered the entire sheet of dark blue paper with white dots and squiggles, it would look like a starry night, an appropriate image for us to consider during the run-up to the long night of the winter solstice. And, in all honesty, I thought by limiting the paint selection to white (pirate ships, I'm told, are "black"), I'd avoid having it turn into just another boat painting extravaganza. I really wanted to give snap painting a fair chance. To address the "face full of paint" issue we got out our safety glasses. So now it would just be about painting those rubber bands and snapping them. Of course, if you look closely at the photos, you'll see that kids lost patience with the process almost immediately, and while there was a little more snap experimentation than the last time, the frames and rubber bands were really just in the way of a painting project. After about 20 minutes, we got the frames out of their way. Darn it! I'm still not ready to give up on snap painting, there is a good idea here, but we just haven't figured out the execution. The reliance on paint brushes is part of the problem. It's too tempting to just use them to apply the paint directly to the paper without hassling with the intermediary of a rubber band . . . But I'm also starting to think it's too much of a one trick pony -- one or two snaps and you're done. Maybe there needs to be more to it, like a target . . . Or maybe I still need to work on the frames. Of course, I'm already imagining a giant one involving massive amounts of paint and butcher paper on a wall some feet away, kind of like a huge paint slingshot. If we can make an "everyone clear out event" from each snap it could be a blast . . . Or, going the other direction, maybe we need smaller, hand-sized frames so the kids can move them around easily and quickly on their own, letting them "dip" their rubber bands in paint rather than painting them . . . And thinking about the back splash issue, maybe we need to be doing this in Halloween masks . . . So far I've failed to succeed, but that's how we learn.
This wooden sensory tray set is the perfect way to engage your little one's senses. Crafted from high-quality wood, this set includes a variety of utensils, and vessels. It's perfect for developing fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and problem-solving skills. With its natural wood material and tactile textures, this set is sure to provide hours of fun and learning. Get your child this wooden sensory tray set today and watch them explore and discover. Easily create an inexpensive sensory bin for hours of play with a tray, and loose parts (rice, pom-poms, beans, lentils, pasta or even play dough)
These fine motor activities are a fun way for kids to use loose parts on a light table. This pack features six cute garden bugs - butterfly, bee, spider, caterpillar, ladybug and snail. These fine motor tasks are also great for work tubs, morning tubs, table time or as an early finisher activity. Suitable for Preschool, Pre-K or Kindergarten. This pack includes: 6 x Butterfly loose parts mats 6 x Snail loose parts mats 6 x Bee loose parts mats 6 x Spider loose parts mats 6 x Caterpillar loose parts (great for patterning activities too) 6 x Ladybug loose parts mats Notes These activities work well with glass gems or transparent counters. Adult supervision is required due to the small parts (not suitable for children under three). YOU MAY ALSO LOVE... >>> Bakery Dramatic Play >>> Home Corner Dramatic Play >>> Scissor Skills BUNDLE >>> Holiday Themed Playdough Mats >>> Alphabet Playdough Mats FOLLOW ALONG! ★★★ Click here to follow me to get regular updates about new resources and awesome freebies ★★★ JOIN THE FP COMMUNITY! >>> Fairy Poppins >>> Instagram >>> Pinterest >>> Facebook Sign up to my free newsletter on my blog to receive updates about new resources and freebies. QUESTIONS, ISSUES OR REQUESTS Please feel free to contact me via the "Ask a Question" tab. I value your feedback and am happy to help. Need help with printing, downloading or opening files? Click here.
With Valentine's day just around the corner the Book Robot in Love written by by T.L. McBeth is a great book to read followed by a STEM Invitation with Loose Parts. The heartwarming story is about a robot who creates gifts for another robot that he falls in love with. After reading the story, you can integrate the literacy experience with a STEM invitation to build a Robot with Picasso Tiles and Loose Parts. You will need the PicassoTiles® 100 Piece Set Magnet Building Tiles.PicassoTiles® Piece
Read the latest magazines about loose parts by schema and discover magazines on Yumpu.com
Loose parts bring endless options and can create a stimulating play space for kids when you have little room. Here's a list of our 10 favourite loose parts
