Monday, October 29, 2007
Music - Lullabies
If anyone has a new baby brother or sister, we could teach these in the music center so they will learn new songs to sing to their little baby brother or sister.
1. Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
2. Hush Little Baby
3. Golden Slumbers
4. Bye Baby Bunting
There are so many others as well, any ideas?
Blocks Centre - Ideas
For the block centre, arrange theme days. Change some blocks, add new blocks, this pushes them in a direction, vbut lets their minds go free from there. Some examples include but are not limited to Farm Day, Transportation Day, Zoo Day, Camping Trip of Blocks and a Circus made of blocks.
Farm Day
- Various Farm Animals
- Trailers
- Trucks
- People
- Tractors
Procedure: Have the toys out for the children but not set up. Let the children set it up in the way they see it in their minds.
Transportation Day
- Trucks
- Boats
- Planes
- Cars
- Blocks
- Bikes
Procedure: Have the children set these up as they see fit. Its all about the childs point of view.
Zoo Day
- Animals
- Blocks
- People
- Trees
Procedure: The children can make a zoo, again do not set up anyuthing and let their imaginations go. They can put animals in and around the zoo that they would normally see there. Teach each child the names of each animal. They can make pathways around the animals, people walking around the cages and trees all around.
Camping Trip With Blocks
- People
- Animals
- Trees
- Cars
- Lots of blocks
Procedure: Have this theme on a camp day. The children can build a cabin for the people out of blocks, one that they would like and dream of. They can make a place that they would like to be. Let them tell stories later on about previous camping trips.
A Circus Made Of Blocks
- Animals
- People
- Clowns
- Blocks
Procedure: Start setting up some of the center as a circus. have the beginning made as a circus ring. Then watch the child's imagination work as they see various ways they can change it and set it up.
Winter Activity - Winter Picnic
This is a fun activity that children will love and you can do it anytime of year. Just remember if switching the seasons switch the type of foods you will be giving to the children for a season appropriate activity.
Needs;
- Blankets
- Warm foods
- Warm clothes
This is an activity you can do anytime of the year. You can do it in the summer with cool foods instead of warm foods. If you decide on doing this in the winter, try not to pick a cold day. Listen to the weather and try to do this on a nice day. Get the children dressed warmly and set off on your picnic. It can be in your backyard, the playground or even a park.
** Remember, a childcare worker must dress in warm clothes like the children.
Winter Activity - Snow Castles
Needs,
- Snow
- Buckets
- Warm clothes
Make castles like you would with sand at the beach to change a summer activity into a winter one of making snow castles in your backyard.
**Remember, if we expect the children to dress warm, a childcare worker must be dressed similarly to the children.
Children's Activities - Intro
Children's activities, I've learned a few tricks over the years of working with children. You need to keep a child interested and that might mean many different types of activities. Crafts and cooking are definitely some good options, however with how short a child's attention span is, it's nice to have a wide variety of options available to pull from.
It's also nice to have educational value in the children's activities you do with them. Most activities can have some type of educational value in it for a child. A childcare center should have different sections for each educational purpose. Around the home you should also have all these areas to choose from as well/. There are 8 different sections a childcare center should have which include Active Play, Art, Blocks, Music, Language Arts, Math, Dramatic Play, and Science. So here is a few of the children's activities that I've learnt and done with children over the years.