Acorn Smashing

We have an abundance of acorns thanks to our oak trees, so we've been having fun using large rocks to smash up the acorns.  Q was interested to see what they'd look like on the inside.  We use the smashed acorn-ness in mudpies, of course!  They make great "sprinkles" for the tops!
At school they have a pecan tree, so they do the same thing with the pecans that they find on the ground. 
The smashing is great hand-eye coordination, practices muscle control, lends itself to imaginary play, and involves science exploration skills.  Who knew....just from smashing up a bunch of acorns! 
And the mommy benefit--it is a positive way to get some wiggles and energy and even aggression out of little ones!  If you don't have acorns or pecans there is probably some smash-able item out in your nature area--seed pods, etc.  Check it out!

 

Natural items in the playroom

I try to always have some natural objects available for examination/play in our playspace.  I raided our overflowing nature shelf and put the majority of items "into hibernation" for a while.  I kept out some pinecones and acorns (above) and feathers and leaves (below). 

 

Dancing Bells

Quinn is 4 and LOVING dancing bells.  I've had them for a couple years, and she's used them as shakers before, but recently she's discovered that she loves to wear them. 

To make them I just cut a piece of ribbon a bit bigger than her leg.  I used a lighter to seal the ends so it wouldn't fray.  I strung on a large bell.  I happened to have some iron-on velcro on hand, but you could sew or hotglue it, too. 

She can fasten one bell to each ankle and dance along to the beat of music.  They can also be used as shakers in the hands, or you can do like Q does....just wear them around as a nice little accessory.  :)

 

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.  :)

Opening/Closing work

Our little man has discovered his fine motor skills--he wants to open and close everything he can find!  I made him a tray of items.  He isn't quite able to do twisting yet, but I still included two twist-off jars so I can demonstrate/teach him.  I also included the metal pot and wooden jar--both have lift-off lids which he can remove easily.  The little wooden heart box has a latch that he's working on.  The oatmeal lid requires a bit of leverage to get the lid off, so it's a challenge for him, too.  So he has a nice mix of easy and challenging lids.  Sometimes he works by himself with these items, other times I sit and work with him.  We like to hide things in the jars when we play together!

His big sister likes to incorporate the containers in her pretend play.  Usually they become some type of medicine for animals or babies.  :)

Our music basket

One constant in our playroom/learning areas is that we always have a basket of instruments out.  I change the instruments occasionally, but some assortment is always available.  Here are a few that are being particularly enjoyed right now:


*I inherited this metal tin from Mimi during a garage clean out a few years ago and it makes THE BEST drum!  The drumstick varies, but right now it's the wooden handle from a kitchen baster brush (the silicon brush part comes off to wash).  We have also put pennies, rice, beans, etc. inside to make more of a "snare drum" sound, but with Little Brother right now, we just use it "as is."

*My kids LOVE tp and papertowel tubes.  Whenever I finish one I always present it to them with a loud "dooo-de-dooo" trumpet sound and they go nuts to try and get it from me.  Often I have to cut it in half so each kid gets a piece.  We do lots of songs through the tubes and even some trumpeting!  I will someday rock their worlds by showing them the wax paper/rubberband magic that turns it into a kazoo!

*Beck has a wooden baby teether/rattle I made him that we discovered makes a great sound--sorta like rain--when it gets shaken.  We rescued it from the "outgrown baby toys" basket and it now resides with our instruments!  Lots of baby toys make music and can be repurposed as an instrument for older children.  Check out your stash!!

*My sister gave Q a triangle for her birthday and it's been a huge hit with both kids.  It takes quite a bit of coordination to hold one side and play with the other hand, so I love watching them try to do it!  I have seen these at the dollar store recently and I think they are definitely a staple to an instrument set!  Plus the noise is so pleasant!

So nothing amazing, but a few simple items we are enjoying.  A couple years back I met a lady that had her master's degree in early childhood music education and was a guru in the field.  Her own two boys are in highschool and are musical genuises.  Not that I have that ambition for my kids, but I we do love music, and at the very heart of it, I believe that God gave us the ability to use music to worship him (we've been studying the life of David recently, which totally drives home this point with the kids).  Anyhow, I asked this mom/teacher/musician what her number one recommendation in teaching music at home was--she said to always have instruments available and to take "music breaks" whenever possible to just sit and sing, play, and explore.  She said conventional instruments are great, but even better is to offer some unusual instruments and ask "How could we make music with this?"  Such a open-ended, thought-provoking, creativity-encouraging activity!  This is the core of "music education" at our house!!

I encourage you to start a music basket if you don't already have one.  Ours is nothing fancy, in fact one handle is even broken.  And it's not very big.  Only a few choices at a time are practical. 
If you DO have a music basket, I encourage you to assess its contents and see if there is any updating needed!

Farm Puzzles

I always use different ways for displaying puzzles at different times.  For this season I got back out the plastic paper sorter and put Q's farm-themed puzzles out.