Backlog of Play Trays

 
 I'm so far behind on posting about our Play Trays.  The one above
was created by my previous practicum student, Nicole.  It was from
way back during Dr. Seuss week.  Under each flap is a picture with
words that rhyme, eg. cat, hat
     
 Rhyming logs - this was quite difficult for the children. I believe if
we used objects rather than pictures they would have had more fun
in learning about rhyming.

 Easter eggs with upper case letter on one side and the matching
lower case letter on the other.
 
 Water colour paint blocks for mixing colours.

A garden kneeling pad with coloured swords to poke and match.

 Cauldrons with gold coins from St. Patricks Day.

 Little green leprechaun hats to stack.

 Peg board with shapes to creates pictures.

An old favourite, a barrel of monkeys.

A variety of mazes.

Corks and a decorative hot pad.

Cookie cutters to match to their own stamp.

Beans to scoop on to an egg tray.
        
Animal paper clips and a wire rack.

Spinning tops, great for fine motor.

Stacking bowls.

Animal finger puppets.

Ladybug counting and matching on leaves.  Gigantic checkers
for stacking and sorting.
     
A seed pod with beads.
 
Flower shaped cookie cutters that all fit into each other.
 
    Hair clips to clip on yarn.

Playground Play

 
We’ve been playing outside everyday the last two weeks.  The
weather has been so nice that it didn’t make sense to be inside
for gym.

On Friday I borrowed some new activity baskets that our primary
teachers put together to enhance the children’s play on the
playground.
  
In February one of our grade 1 teachers attended a workshop
on outside play put on by Sandi from Rubber Boots and Elf Shoes.

Sandi talked about ideas that she uses with her students to enhance
their play on the playground.  By using simple materials, some are
recycled, the children become more involved in pretend play.

 
I borrowed a bin of pool noodle swords and a bin of capes.

 
Quickly the children got off of the climber, put on a cape
and picked up a sword.  What fun it was to have a sword
fight with their grown ups.
     
We introduced a courtesy rule to keep everyone safe;
ask a friend if they want to have a sword fight before
hitting them. 
 
They quickly discovered that our playground has a very big
field for running and chasing each other.  And a hill for
challenging ourselves to climb and slide down.
  
I couldn’t resist accepting a challenge from this young man.

 
As we ran around the grass field, the swords turned into horses
that we could ride with our capes flying high behind us.

A few other bins the primary teachers have put together include;
  
cars and trucks, ribbons on rings, bubbles and chalk,
 
pots and pans, and dinosaurs.
The teachers have done a fabulous job and I can't wait to use
a few more bins.