Mama's toolbox.....the power of re-arranging.

We have a great easel the kids were gifted with a few years back.  I like to change out the arrangement of play/learning/art items in our house.  I believe this is one of a teacher mama's best tools for engaging little ones.  Novelty and the way things are displayed.  

So back to this easel.  We had it in the dining room for a while in the past and the kids played with it a lot.  Then they gradually stopped working with it.  So I put it away for about 6 months--it folds down so I popped it into a closet.  A couple weeks ago I brought it back out.  I set it up in the dining room with some great colored pencils, a marker block, and some chalk.  The kids have gone bonkers over it!  Someone is always drawing something!  It is like they got something new, and in their world they really have.  It's been so long since they've played with it that it's now a new toy!  

 As summer engulfs our world and most of us are a little more fulltime teacher mama's, I encourage you to evaluate your play/learning space.  What things are your kids not really using?  Put them up somewhere for a few months.  Give em a chance to be new toys again!  Or even just move things to a new spot to catch your kids' eyes from a different perspective.   Trade out some art supplies.  Freshen up your play kitchen or your block area or even your bookshelf.  Spend 30 minutes doing a little purposeful rearranging and you will be amazed at the power this small action has!

This tactic works wonders for any age--even adults like a freshened-up space!  Try moving your table a different direction or your living room around to a different arrangement.  It will add a nice element of change to your "nest" and a little variety to your summer.   And babies--they love this tactic, too.  Adds so much interest to their world!  Move their mobile or change out what is over their changing area.  Put something different on the wall above their crib.  Change the direction their highchair faces....so many options!!  Get creative, teacher mamas!

An invitation to play....with marbles!

 Have you heard of the strategy of offering an "INVITATION TO PLAY" for your children?  Simply put, you set up an appealing area with whatever play materials you want them to use.  You do this while they aren't watching (napping, in bed, in another room, etc.) and then "surprise" them with the invitation.  Sometimes you tell them to expect an invitation, other times you just leave it out somewhere for them to stumble upon and notice.

Invitations are highly motivation for kids.  First off, the appealing nature of how the activity looks instantly grabs their attention.  Second, it's new!!  And fun!!

Invitations are great tools for fussy/grumpy times of the day.  Dinnertime, anyone??!!  We use invitations on the two mornings a week that Quinn doesn't go to school--before I go to bed for the night I set out a small breakfasty snack and some type of art or play invitation on our kitchen table.  She wakes up earlier than everyone else.  We like our sleep.  So she can come down, eat her little snack, and start working or playing with whatever I've left out.  This (usually) works great in the mornings!

Invitations are also great tools for encouraging kids to play with toys/materials they haven't seemed to get "into" before.  Maybe setting it up a little bit, making it look appealing, and then placing it somewhere for your child to notice would encourage them to try new materials.  I also like using it to reignite their interest in toys and materials they haven't played with before.

For this particular invitation I had bought some marbles at the thrift store.  I set them on a tray (it's always a great idea to "corral" your invitations somehow--helps for both set up and clean up--I often use a rug, a quilt, or a tray, depending on the activity).  I poured the marbles out of the tin so he would spot them right away.  I also put out three tiny wooden bowls, a couple glass jars (on the carpet), some measuring spoons, a sifter, and a strainer.  Of course you know I tried to use natural materials--no plastic--and as many different types of natural materials as possible.  I envisioned him using them for pretend cooking play and also for music-making--two of his current interests.

He loves his marbles and plays with them for long periods of time quite often.  I do put the tray of marbles up between uses--to keep everything together, to keep marbles from getting lost, and to keep the novelty of the activity.  Every couple of days he asks for his marbles or I suggest them to him.  They continue to be a hit!!

I'd also recommend starting small with invitations.  Just put out a few things.  You can always add more items/steps the next time you use that same invitation.

Invitations also work with:
*snacks
*cooking activities
*block play (build a little something to get them ingrigued--leave it set up along with a pile of unused blocks!)
*books (set a book open on end to catch child's attention)
*bath toys
*clothes

Really the possibilities are endless....and this is one of those teaching tools that can be adapted to any age!!

Pretend Play Gas Station...simple version.

 While I am certainly in favor of creating intentional, planned dramatic play experiences for my kiddos, I must admit that some of their favorite play scenarios/set-ups come about happenstance and require very little effort and preparation.  

Beck (24 months) is in love with gas stations, getting gas (or watching Mommy, to be precise) and points out every station we pass (at the top of his lungs).  So one evening when we were playing this past week and he was driving around in his box car, I decided we should have a gas station.  Q write "GAS" on a piece of scratch paper with a crayon.  She decided gas costs $85 (her current favorite number) so I wrote that.  We brought in our makeshift cash register from the playroom, tucked a piece of ribbon tied onto a plastic funnel into the ottoman, cut a gas door in the box car, and VOILA!  My kids have played "Gas" for days!  And think of all the skills they are benefitting from--money awareness, counting (as they count out the dollars and coins), practical life, dramatic play, turn taking......

Oh yeah, Q put that afgahn out on the floor to be the parking lot at the gas station.  Duh, Mommy forgot all about that detail.  :)

 So....look for ways to build upon your child's interest and create small "play opportunities" during the time you spend together this week.  As a parent you can scaffold your child's learning and imagination in this way--take what they start out with and stretch/build upon it just a little bit.  And have fun together! 

The cash register (a hack)

 Quinn has been wanting/needing (developmentally) a cash register.  Except that you know I hate all the plasticy ones that make noises and beep and light up.  Because that means my kids would spend all their time pushing buttons to make it light up and beep and ZERO time actually playing with it doing cash-register related tasks.  So I wanted something that isolated the one skill of cash-register-using.  I'd had it on my mind for a while--to be looking for something that worked out as a simple cash register.  I'd even searched for plans to make a cardboard one online and came up with nothing.  Last week when I was putting something in our playroom cabinet I spotted this guy--Beck's wooden shape sorter.  It has a drawer that pulls out.  PERFECT!  I put some play bills (just a few) and some coins--I used the largest foreign money coins I could round up from our junk drawers, thinking they'd be least likely to go in Beck's mouth or get lost in the carpet.  I also found a play credit card from some junkmail.  I made a construction paper sign that I taped on, and voila!  Quinn adores it and plays with it often, selling all sorts of stuff!  Beck likes to drop the coins through the holes in the back and then open the drawer.   So, I encourage you, as always, to be creative with your toys and look for other uses for them to fill a need that your child may have, developmentally.  :)

Car play area for toddler

 Little Man needed a place for his car/truck/vehicle play.  So we recently worked to set him up a little spot!  A felt road with yellow felt lane markers, a box garage (I have a little sign that says "Beck's Garage" to modge podge on it someday soon....), our montessori box (above) that is supposed to hold wooden balls--but all kids who live at/visit my house really love to put cars in it--so we're going with that right now!

 And you know I am not a fan of tubs/baskets of toys typically.  So of course I recommend putting out just a few vehicles at a time.  I needed a way to display/organize them, so Matt whipped up this super simple shelf using scraps in the garage in 5 minutes.  It is not AT ALL fancy, but just something to hold a couple cars!

 And I set out some blocks and a piece of scrapwood for building a ramp.  Great science lessons learned while having fun here!

 Here's the whole area.  Nothing fancy, but definitely does the trick of providing him a play place with his wheeled loves!

The great OUTDOOR TOY CHALLENGE!

My good friend, E stepped up to my outdoor challenge and headed to "Sally's" (Salvation Army) to replenish her outdoor toys.  She says:
"$2.33, I'm super impressed!  The plastic spatula is because I didn't see any metal on this trip:)  Cheese knife, 3 wooden spoons, 1 metal spoon, 1 spatula, 1 tongs, 1 grater."
 

Five stars for her and these great finds!!  Who's next?  Email me your pics and I'll post em!

PS) Another great thing about these outdoor toys--they are wonderful vocabulary builders--tongs, grater, spatula....all words a child will learn as they play with these items!

Sand and mudpie kitchen toys....toys for outside play

I buy all our outside toys--for our sandbox, waterplay, and mudpie kitchen secondhand.  My favorite spots are Goodwills and Salvation Army, where you can get the greatest stuff at a killer price.

Here are some of the items I never pass up:
-metal bread pans
-metal sifter (this is actually my old broken one, but I see them there for a buck all the time!)
-metal teapots (I can NEVER pass one up....We have two inside, one outside and I give remainers as gifts to other outside-loving birthday kids...)
-tin dishes
-cheese grater (.49!)
-bamboo or wooden utensils (.29!)
-wooden dishes
-random utensils (.49!)
-cast iron pans
-cake pans
-muffin tins

 

All of these items are so much more appealing than the standard plastic items you buy at the dollar store  or big box stores--I know this for a fact, because we have some of the plastic stuff, and visiting kiddos ALWAYS choose the real, thrift-store purchased stuff over the plastic.  Plus buying used items means you don't create a market for MORE plastic consumption on this planet and your money spent at the thrift store goes to a good cause.  You can get the same amount of items (if not more!) for the same amount of money.  Try it!!  I dare ya! 

  

I do try to look for items that won't rust--so tin or stainless.  It's humid here in Houston and wet and so stuff rusts easily.  I do try and stay away from plastic, and I choose to incorporate a few pieces of breakable dishes...I believe it's important to teach children to handle items carefully...and for them to know how to respond if something DOES get broken.  So we do have some glass bottles, a glass coffee pot, etc.  

I also have a bunch of silverware in our mudpie kitchen--mine came from hand-me-downs, but you can get GREAT deals at the thrift store.  

 Also the "real stuff" typically has many more uses than plastic items and stands up to wear better.  Look at my girl lovin' her cheese grater to break up pieces of tree bark for some concoction she's cooking....

So this spring as you replenish your outside toys, I challenge you to decide on the amount you'd spend at the dollar store and head to a thrift store instead, and see what you can get for your $$$!

Pipecleaner snowflakes

I set out the stuff to make pipecleaner snowflakes--pipecleaners and a pair of small wire cutters.  Quinn loves trying to use the wirecutters.  Unfortunately she usually doesn't have enough hand strength to pop through the wire, but she sure enjoys trying!  I showed her how to fold the pipecleaners in half--making sure the ends matched up (math skill!!!!) and then to cut on the fold.  Then we refolded the half to make a "v" shape.  Three v's were twisted together to make a snowflake with six pieces.  We learned from our snow book that snowflakes have six sides. 

I had planned on letting Q brush these with glue and then go glitter crazy, but the kids have had a fun time just playing with the plain ole pipecleaners this week.  All Q wanted to make was one snowflake, then she found alternate uses for all the other pipecleaners.  Not wanting to stifle her creativity I let her do her thing.  I may revisit finishing the snowflakes next week and see if she's game.  Beck enjoyed carrying them around and spreading them across the house, too.  :)

 

We've always had pipecleaners available in the studio for art projects, but I've never incorporated them into play areas.  I'd suggest it!  My kids loved them.  A small pack of pipecleaners might also make a good item to take along on a road trip or in a bag to a restaurant when there might be a long wait.....lots to be done with those fuzzy bendy little guys!

Ikea easel-hack Barn

Of course our farm-y playroom needed a barn!  I used our Ikea easel, a red quilt, and some masking tape to create one.  Of course Baby Gap, our horse, took up residence inside!  And yes, there IS a rooster perched atop!
 

Fall "Playsilks"

Of course to go along with our fall-ish playroom we changed out the ever-present playsilks to be fall colors.  I had a red piece of crinkly cotton fabric and some orange gingham that fit the bill perfectly.  I am not a playsilk purist--we use all different types of flowey fabrics for our fabric play.  I do always have two hooks out--so we put out two playsilks/fabrics at all times.  If you haven't incorporated playsilks into your play area, I strongly recommend it!  For ideas, check out this site.
Start small--put out one or two pieces of fabric you have around the house.  Light blankets (baby swaddling blankes are great!), scarves, wraps work great!  Engage in some pretend play with your child to model some ways the playsilks can be used......become princesses, knights, monsters, or dress up your baby dolls with them.  Playsilks encourage imaginary play in great ways!  I teach Quinn how to find the center of the playsilk in her hand and place it over the hook when she is finished using it.  This is a great premath skill and also involves fine motor development.  At her school they fold the playsilks and place them in a basket, and folding (always done from top to bottom and left to right) is a great tool for pre-reading--it helps train the brain in the direction of print. 
So.....playsilks.....get-you-some!!!

Farm Work

Here are two more items on our work shelf right now.
The blocks make an animal noise when you put the matches together.  Beck has a hard time getting them lined up right (and really isn't that interested in working with it by himself) but loves for me to demonstrate it for him.

The milk jug has wooden blocks inside.  Beck can open the lid, dump the blocks, and then put them in again.  The same thing could be made with a regular milk bottle or carton. This one is vintage--it was ours when we were kids!

Now you are looking at this thinking "What good is this post?  I don't have either of those toys and I am not doing a farm unit."  What I am really hoping to encourage is the mindset to always be purposeful in the toys/work you provide for your children.  Try not to just set out toys because you have them.  Be sure they are selected because they are supporting a current developmental milestone OR that they fit with the overall theme or focus of the work area....and in an amout that the child can play with and clean up with only a little assistance.  I also want to encourage you to think creatively, outside the box, with the items you have--think about how items can be repurposed or just a few pieces used for a different purpose.

Providing toys/items in the context of a theme or area of focus (ie: farm, fall, cooking, animals, transportation, etc.) helps teach children to build inter-related schemas in their minds--ie: fall things include pumpkins, leaves, scarecrows, colors of gold, red, orange, squash, etc.  They learn that these items fit together--which is a huge science and vocabulary/comprehension skill. 

And I'm off my soapbox now.  :)

And the rabbits....

We also have a rabbit hutch in the barn.  I put a tablecloth over a piano stool we had around the house and then covered it with a basket that fits down perfectly over the top and VOILA!  Instant rabbit hutch.  We have the rabbits from my sewing spree last spring, so they re-emerged from the toy cupboard.  I also put in a wooden bowl and some felt veggies we had around the house.  Nothing fancy, but also leads to some good dramatic play--and motor skills when putting the basket back on the rabbit cage--a bit tricky!

Farmer's Market Pretend Play

We've finished up our birthday party play...and since our Kitchen School has moved to a fall Harvest/Farm theme, we decided that we needed an in-house farmer's market!  So our little kitchen area has been converted.  To begin with I took all the furniture out and cleaned underneath, then moved things back in, rearranging to a different layout.  I always feel new arrangements give us a fresh feel in our play spaces and always seem to reignite play in an energetic way.  I encourage you to spend the time rearranging the furniture in your play spaces!  It feels SO good!

I had grand schemes for a super cool sign....but life got in the way and I wasn't getting around to it, so finally I made myself loosen up a bit and I whipped this one up with felt scraps and some scrapbook stickers in about 10 minutes.  And it does the job just fine and is much better than no sign....which is what waiting for my PERFECT sign was leading to.  :)

The top shelf of this little wooden stand holds our meal essentials--cloth napkins (changed to orange for the fall season) and the kids' fabric placemats.  The second shelf holds a basket of fake apples and the bottom holds a basket of mixed produce.  We've been talking a lot about what items are fruits and what are vegetables (after reading about these in Gail Gibbon's book THE VEGETABLES WE EAT) and we decided we needed to label the bottom basket PRODUCE since it has both fruit and vegetables.  This was a great science lesson for us that delves into classifying and sorting and properties of plants!

 

 

On our actual little kitchen we sell other items:

Q chose the prices, and she can actually read enough to know how much items are--and is able to take the correct amout of bills according to price!  This is a great pre-reading and pre-math activity and she loves being the market clerk and getting paid for the items.  We're working on some simple adding anytime someone buys more than one item. 

These eggs are still out from our Easter wreath I re-did this year.  I pulled them off and put them out for her to work with.  She puts them into the cartons and sells them in her store.  We also have some pretend chickens (pics to come soon) in the playroom/barn that lay eggs!

A friend taught me to crochet a circle so I could make these flowers to sell at our market.  I couldn't get a great picture because if they aren't arranged just right they tip the pitcher over.  With Little Man and his grabby hands, we have to use a plastic pitcher, even though a larger vase would work better.  Anyhow, you get the idea.  Q can take the flowers off the stems and arrange them to her choosing. 

I have agonized for quite some time over what to do for a cash register.  Honsetly I really don't like the plasticy ones...and they are so big to store when not in use.  So I raided my vintage jewelery box collection (I LOVE THEM!) and this small one works just fine for her moneybox.  When Beck stops eating everything we'll be able to add some play coins in the small compartments, but for now we have to stick to bills.

milk!

Fruit and veggies...she has the knife to cut them if a customer only wants a portion (FRACTIONS!!) and she cracked me up because she had the peels/leaves/skins from these in a pile on the floor the other day and she told me it was the compost pile.  :)  THAT is my girl!

 

 

Baskets and bags for shoppers.

I moved the little curtain that usually covers the lower "cabinet" part of the little kitchen up (just tucked the excess behind the shelf) for a change of pace and put our library on top.  These are farm and harvest books we'll be reading throughout our unit!

I have fallen in love with using our little kitchen as a "stand" upon which to create different dramatic play areas.  Both kids--4 years and 13 months--have had lots of fun with the farmer's market already!