Hip! Hip! Hooray! Election Day in Pre-K!

Hi! I'm Ayn and I am a Ga. Pre-K teacher, serving 4 and 5 year olds in an inclusive setting. I share my classroom adventures on my blog, little illuminations.

^^^Parts of this post are reprinted from an earlier post on little illuminations.

Tomorrow is ELECTION DAY here in the U.S.! Politicians will be campaigning, citizens will be voting. The children will have the day off, as most of the schools in our area are voting precincts. By Wednesday, we will know who will lead our country for the next four years. I've already voted, and was proud to take my youngest daughter with me to the polls for her very first time! I want my vote to be counted. I won't tell you who I voted for---that's personal, and quirky as it may be, I don't even share that with my husband or children. It's serious business, much too serious for kids. Or is it? While many of the political issues may be WAY over their heads, many will stand at their parents' side as ballots are cast. Children are curious about what is going on. I think voting (and making our individual voices heard and counted) is one of the MOST important things we can do as American citizens, and it is never too early to help the children understand how important voting is.

Lately, we've had a couple of discussions about politics. We talked about the reason we vote, and how that is our chance as a citizen to let our voice be heard. I relate it to the children's jobs at school, and how different people might do a job differently, using simple terms in a way they might understand. We vote on a variety of things in preschool, so they got the basic idea. 

We've set up a voting booth so the children can vote on who they think will win the election. These are pictures from one of our previous election booths in Pre-K.

We converted our puppet theater, using shoe boxes, pictures of the candidates, and index cards with a big sticker for the ballot. 

The children will go into the booth, away from where the other waiting children can see, and "cast their ballot". 

After voting, they'll even receive a sticker to show they have voted!

When all the ballots are cast, we will count and re-count the votes together, which makes for a fantastic little math lesson. 

I can't wait to tally up the children's votes later today and compare them to the actual winner of our Presidential Election. We'll see how accurate their predictions are when the final count is in tomorrow!

There are some great books about the democratic voting process for children. Here are a few of my favorites:

      

                                  

Please get out and VOTE!!!! Your vote counts! 

 Stop by and visit me anytime at littleilluminations.blogspot.com or visit the little illuminations fanpage on facebook! And be sure to check out PreK+K Sharing EEE!

Repurposing Dramatic Play

It's Scott from Brick by Brick. I love to repurpose materials—use materials in ways different from their intended purpose.

Dramatic play, pretend play, is such a great activity for preschoolers. They love to pretend to be someone else - to try out different roles. And your home center or dramatic play center is a great place to repurpose items for play. Here are a few ideas.

Empty food containers - use the container for pretend cooking or to play grocery store.

Bed sheet - toss a flat sheet over a table for an instant tent for camping or for a reading nook

Old technology - use old keyboards, phones, and other technology for office or communication play.

Kitchen utensils - mix in "real" mixing bowls, spoons, spatulas, cookie sheets, and cutting boards with play dishes for more cooking possibilities

Boxes - use old mailing boxes to pretend to pack and move

Tools - use tape measures, goggles, and work aprons from the hardware store to enhance play with pretend tools

Draining rack - add a real draining rack to a dishpan of water to wash dishes.

Purses and wallets - adding purses and wallets from the dollar store or thrift store can enhance all kinds of shopping play

In many cases, we don't necessarily use something in a completely different way. But we use "non play" items for play. Look for ways to repurpose different items and real tools to create even more fun possibilities in your dramatic play center.

Driving the Imagination

It's Scott from Brick by Brick. I love to repurpose materials—use materials in ways different from their intended purpose.

I want to share with you one of the all time favorite activities in my classroom. This activity has been enjoyed by numerous groups of children. In fact, whenever I have this set up in my classroom, someone always plays here. Always. Here's the complicated preparation for this activity.

It's a car! 4 chairs and a steering wheel. My steering wheel is a steering wheel cover. It's just like I bought it at the big box store - on a circle that looks like a steering wheel. I added a little tape to keep it from sliding off. Don't have a handy steering wheel? Use a paper plate. Cut it to look like a steering wheel. Or just use it as is.

My children love this. Every group I've taught loves this.

They pretend to drive to all kinds of places - the store, Chuck E. Cheese, Disney World, grandma's house.

This car is definitely powered by imagination. I usually don't add many other items. Sometimes I put purses (from the thrift store) nearby. Sometimes I add our regular dress-up clothes (also from the thrift store). Sometimes the baby doll and diaper bag. Sometimes a small suitcase to suggest a longer trip. 

But usually just the chairs and steering wheel.

It's a versatile vehicle. Sometimes it becomes a sports car, with seats for a couple of friends.

Sometimes it grows to be a minivan...so everyone can ride at the same time.

Add this magical mode of transportation to your classroom. Then sit close by and listen to the conversations and interactions. I guarantee you'll be driving with imagination in no time.

Let's Go Camping

It's Scott from Brick by Brick. I love to repurpose materials—use materials in ways different from their intended purpose.

Dramatic play and pretend play are key ways for young kids to learn and play. And it's a great place for repurposing items. 

I have a tent but I never go camping in it. We use it in our classroom. We set it up in a corner. (Well, it takes up more than a corner.) We play in it. We read in it. We enjoy using it in lots of different ways.

Sometimes I limit the number of kids at a time. This allows for more play and less "wrestling" (just to move around). Placing a sign on the tent helps reinforce literacy, using writing in meaningful ways.

Don't have a tent? Repurpose a flat sheet and a table. Drape the sheet over the table and you have an "instant" tent. (This is also easier to store and takes up less space in the room.)

Need a campfire? You can repurpose for that, too. A rack from the kitchen storage area, a few twigs or pieces of kindling, a few blocks (or rocks), and some tissue paper create a great campfire.

Add a few pots and pans from the kitchen center (or your own kitchen) for more play.

Have a good time camping this winter...in your room.

Play Is Where Learning Begins: WOYC

Hi! I'm Ayn and I am a Ga. Pre-K teacher, serving 4 and 5 year olds in an inclusive setting. I share my classroom adventures on my blog, little illuminations.

April 6-12 is NAEYC's official "Week of the Young Child". The theme this year is "Early Years Are Learning Years". 

shared from the NAEYC website: http://www.naeyc.org/woyc

The purpose is "to focus public attention on the needs of young children and their families and to recognize the early childhood programs and services that meet those needs". (NAEYC 2014) There are also several sub-themes, but today I'd like to focus on "Play: Where Learning Begins". 

Teachers and parents often ask what they can do to help celebrate WOYC. The answer is fairly simple! Provide lots of open ended opportunities for play, exploration and investigation! Children learn through play. Trial and error is an essential part of development. 

Provide opportunities for sensory exploration. 

Children will draw, write letters or their name, just about anywhere! 

Children learn about balance through play. They discover how their bodies move in space and how objects in their world around them react to their actions. 

This little boy filled dishes with sand and placed each one, precariously balancing on the last. 

When the tower would begin to wobble, he'd take each dish down, trying to get the balance just right. 

Finally, the tower stood tall!

These boys poured sand down the slide over and over again. They tried a variety of different ways and even used damp sand and very dry sand, sometimes trying to catch the sand at the bottom. At one point, they even attempted to slide with the sand!

In addition to open ended play, we often provide a game or two during our outside play. This helps children learn rules, social interactions and turn taking, in addition to the gross motor skills that these games often develop.

Pretend play is one of the ways children relate to the world around them. Provide lots of opportunities for children to explore family and occupational roles.

Allowing for free play with toys and materials as "loose parts" enhances creative and critical thinking skills. I remember in my first years teaching hearing other teachers tell children, "That's not how you play with those materials. Play with them the right way or you'll have to put them away." This was not just one situation or just one teacher. It was common practice. I cringe now when I think about those words and the creativity it stifled!

One of the greatest things about this type of play is the dialogue that goes along with it. I hear wonderful stories with intricate details about the loose parts play.

"This is a skyscraper. It has 17 floors!"

"We're making shapes!"

"This is my church!"

A movie theater

Another movie theater, by a different child, on a different day.

A pet village

The party at the top of the tree from "Go, Dog! Go!"

An elaborate marble run.

Here's a sign that even the children understand that play is important. This little tableau was made by a group on the playground early in the day, right in the middle of the playground. I took this picture late in the day, after several groups had come and gone. Every group left it be ---- without children or adults asking them to. 

Music, movement and dance are  great ways for child to learn and express themselves!

NAEYC is hosting a "Week of the Young Child Music Fest" Google Hangout April 9. You can find more information here. Also on that page is a list of resources about how children play with music. The article, "Young Children and Movement: The Power of Creative Dance" is by our very own Connie Dow! It is a GREAT resource!

I'm proud to say that I am a part of a weekly blog hop called "Just Playing?", hosted by Amy of Child Central Station. For great pictures and provocations of children at play, stop by Child Central Station or little illuminations on Thursdays to see how children are learning through play. Don't forget to check out the links at the bottom to see posts from other bloggers participating in the blog hop! We also have a Pinterest board of all the "Just Playing?" posts!

Follow Amy @ Child Central Station's board "Just Playing" on Pinterest.

1-2-3-4  PLAY MATTERS!!!!!!!

Stop by and visit me anytime at littleilluminations.blogspot.com or visit the little illuminations fanpage on facebook! And be sure to check out PreK+K Sharing EEE!