Structured Play

Today I pulled out the paint for the first time. I tried to use nap time as a prep time to get everything ready so there would be no surprises when we started. (I should have known better!) I wanted to stamp the apple in both red and green because we see both colors in our Structured Play time. I wanted to do the stamping in our Structured Play area even though I was worried that maybe paint might get everywhere. To prepare I pulled out a piece of poster board that I had on hand as a safe guard. I thought I would keep the paint away from Jake and just pull it over when it was time to stamp. (Ha!)    I did the first two to model the process and he did the third. Looks great right? He really enjoyed it too! Then decided that he needed to get up and move around and as he stood-up he put his hand into my stamps. Then turned and put his hand on the wall. (Of course!)   Then I wanted to do the green stamping before he lost too much interest. When he saw me squeeze out the gre...

Some days are better than others and today was a better day! I decided to try the Sorting Game so I pulled the cards out. Jake was excited to see something new in our Structured Play area. I laid all the cards out for him to see and he picked one up and tried to eat it! (I know great start!) I tried to show, him by modeling, how to sort. He just kept 'eating' the apples. (Another great reason to laminate the cards!) Then throwing the apples. I finally gave up and just let him play with the pieces. (This is an important lesson in of itself, letting your child lead the way sometimes can lead to an even better lesson than you had hoped.) This is when it got good... As he was walking around and playing with the pieces he walked over to get a small red wagon. He plays with it all the time so I did not think much about it. He then proceeded to put the apple Sorting pieces into the red wagon.  I could not believe it!  When we went to the Apple Orchard we put the apples we picked i...

Things are going exceedingly well! I am very impressed with the progress we have made. Although I had planned on spending 5 to 15 minutes on Structured Play  we have been spending 30 minutes to an hour playing. The first day we started we actually spent an hour just exploring the Sensory Box .  I have really enjoyed every minute we have spent playing and exploring. Things have not always gone as planned and every day has not been the most successful but over all I am quite pleased. I have had to make a few changes as we progress but that is to be expected. I have also had a few pleasant surprises.  It has been exciting to see connections being made.

We took a trip to the Apple Orchard on Saturday afternoon. It was so much fun! I was really excited to see Jake make some connections from our Structured Play time.  Jake practically jumped out of the wagon trying to get the 'balls'. He was very excited to find the apples and place them in the basket.  Although there were apples on the ground he appeared to know that there were apples to pick in the trees. I can only hope this was from our Story Board time with '5 Little Apples'.  He placed most apples in the basket but of course had to take a bite or two to taste test the apples. Unknowingly, Tennessee does not have any red apples this year. I guess between the spring flood and the extraordinary heat the only apples that have survived were yellow delicious. I was happy to find these, though, most nearby orchards were closed completely. Plus these were sweet and scrumptious! 

Here are some pictures of our Structured Play area. It is a small corner in a spare bedroom. We have company about once a month but not consistently. This area is not aesthetically pleasing but it is doing much more so I let it go! (We rent and can't do anything to the house anyway!) The area is perfect because it has a lot of natural light, a built in bookcase and a window seat. Plus it is out of the way so we can go there just for our Structured Play time! Yes, the blue trim IS that obnoxious! It is not the picture! I have used the window seat as a shelf, it is perfect hight, for items I want him to explore. There is a basket of library books and a basket of 'game' pieces. The game pieces are the Matching, Sorting and finger puppets. The big comfy chair (one of the first major purchases I made after college, can't part with it!) would be idea for reading but Jake will not sit to read with me. Across from the chair is a dry erase board that has the flannel ...

For September I chose the theme of Apples, Red, and Circle. (I am not going to get into number are letters just yet.) I chose apples because it is harvest season. I chose red and circles because apples can be red and are fairly circular. You want your theme to naturally flow that way it reinforces skills over and over.  I have broken my plans into Literature/Music, Crafts/Games, and Dramatic Play. There are activities for each of the three sections. They do not need to be completed in any particular order and should be repeated multiple times (sometimes daily) to reiterate the skill.  September: Apple Theme Plans The Plans Document includes all of the activities as well as a book list. Included are; words to songs and story board stories. It is important to reiterate that the plans do not need to be completed in any particular order. It can be problematic to try to plan too much in advance. My suggestion is to have all supplies on hand, that way if your toddler'...

Puppets are an important learning tool for toddlers. First of all, toddlers are enamored with puppets. They know that they are not real people/animals but they see them move and hear them talk. They are a great way to tell a story, as well. On a day when you are losing, or never could get the attention of your child, you will still get Structured Play time. They also help teach your child to pretend and use an imagination. This is a very, very important skill that believe it or not does need to be modeled/taught!  Puppets can be traditional hand puppets, finger puppets,  or even  sock puppets. They can be store bought or handmade. Children really do not care they just love exploring and playing with them!

Sensory Boxes started off as Sensory Tables. They have been used in preschool and kindergarten classes as well as being use by Special Education professionals. They have evolved into boxes for smaller situations. They were designed to give students a hands-on approach to exploration. Children can see, touch, smell items at the table or in the box. The items usually follow a theme and work together. This exploration time is very valuable for children to freely explore common items that they might otherwise pass by or be rushed through. This free exploration time allows the children to really take apart items and disc o ver how they work or how they work together. It is suppose to be a fun exportation that can be very messy at times.  Sensory Boxes are also used to strengthen fine motor skills such as picking up, squeezing, pouring, and transferring items from one hand to the other.  There are many resources and ideas online to help facilitate t...

A Flannel, Felt or Story Board is a common tool used in preschools and kindergartens to tell a story. This is an excellent tool to use with children before/as they learn to write. (Or in my case talk) It allows kids to tell a story using important story elements while playing.  Definition:   a   flannel-covered   surface   to   which   other   flannel   pieces,   as   letters of   the   alphabet,   numbers ,  etc.,   adhere   merely   by   contact,   used  mainly   in   schools   as   a   visual   aid. You can find these boards in many stores and online. Or you can make one for a lot less money. I found a sturdy cork board without a frame for $9.99 on sale for 40% off at Joann's. I did not know what I was looking for when I went into Joann's but just looked around until I found what I thought could work. I then went over to the fabric section and p...

When It is important to use your time wisely! Do not choose your Structured Play time when your little one is tired, fussy, hungry or otherwise. Saying that, you should know that the best time might not be the same time everyday or even everyday at all. This needs to be a fun, one-on-one time so make sure there are no distractions. (Phone off) You should plan your Structured Play time for only 5 to 15 minutes at first. Then as things progress, adjust accordingly. Remember it is play time so as soon as your little one shows signs of loss of interest or frustration move on to something else. Do not push it! Where Ideally, you want to find a spot for Structured Play that is out of the normal path of traffic. It should be a spot that your little one does not solo play everyday. The rationale is that this spot should be 'special' for Structured Play . A time when little one gets to play one-on-one and receives full attention. Now that being said, I understand that thi...

When starting to teach your child the best place to begin is where their interests lie. Toddlers should start by learning to identify and more forward from there. They should work to:  Identify:  (In no particular order)            *Common household items            *Body parts            *Animals            *Shapes            *Colors            *Numbers            *Letters      Compare:             *Large/Small             *Clean/Dirty                *Light/Dark             *Wet/Dry              *etc...         Match Items that are t...