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Classroom Obstacle Courses
Yesterday I posted tips for one of my favorite rainy afternoon activities – fort building. Today I’m sharing the activity that I keep in my other pocket – obstacle courses. The trick to a good obstacle course is to include elements that will be challenging, but not so difficult that the children can’t do them. When I create an obstacle course I use items that are already in my classroom, but I try to think of ways that they can be used differently – chairs become tunnels that they have to slither through, pillows become stepping stones, and rulers are for jumping over. This gets the children excited about the…
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Fort Building!
I mentioned earlier this week that the weather around here has been crummy – that’s kind of how spring goes in Ohio. It’s either still cold or raining – either way, we don’t get as much time outside as I would like. This makes everyone a little cranky, and some afternoons are just difficult. When those days happen I throw the plans out the window and we build forts. The children love, love, love this, and I know that they are still using problem solving and social skills, so it’s a great team building activity. Since these afternoons are somewhat spontaneous, there are a few things that I try to…
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Treat yourself!
I just got back from vacation – and I’m sure many of you are in the same boat – after time off it’s doubly hard to go back to work and get into the groove. A while ago I stumbled across a tip that has worked wonders for lifting my spirits, and I wanted to share it as we dive into the rest of the school year. This tip is all about treating yourself – recognizing (and doing) those little things that brighten your day. Oh, and best of all, I made a little freebie to go with it! It’s very simple, but it makes a huge difference. Just take…
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April Currently
It’s April (and it’s snowing here, but we won’t go there…) here’s what I’ve been up to lately: Listening: I’m working at Starbucks right now and listening to their playlist – I’m not a fan. I have a pretty wide range of taste when it comes to music, but it doesn’t include jazz. However, I refuse to bring my headphones when I work away from home because I am terrified that I will start singing along and make a complete fool of myself! So for now, Starbucks jazz it is. Loving: Right around the middle of March I refuse to wear a coat if at all possible – the calendar…
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Fun Fine Motor Products
My favorite thing about fine motor activities is how simple they are to set up. Just a few easy materials can make for a great learning experience. Some of the best fine motor materials are things that you already have around the house – clothespins, tongs, spoons, shoelaces, and rubber bands. All of these can be used to encourage a variety of fine motor skills, but it’s still fun to add specialized products every once and a while. Here are some fun fine motor products that your kiddos would love (all links are affiliates). Hand tongs! BBQ Grill game Nuts and Bolts building set Trail mix stringing set Pop Beads…
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Weaving activity
Did you have one of these as a kid?! I did and I absolutely loved it! I introduced it to my preschoolers a while back and they were surprisingly good at weaving the loops back and forth. We’ve done weaving before, in fact for a while we had a large loom like this one from Melissa and Doug. After a while, the big loom wasn’t enough of a challenge any more. So when I spotted the smaller ones I thought I’d give it a shot. I honestly thought it would be a disaster, so I purposely picked a day when I didn’t have very many students so that I would be…
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DIY Geoboards
Geoboards are one of those amazingly simple things that can keep children occupied for an extraordinary amount of time. They inspire exploration of geometric shapes, as well as persistence and fine motor practice. Geoboards are also easy to make yourself, so with a few simple supplies you can add a couple of these to your classroom. Here are a few DIY geoboards that I rounded up, choose whichever works best for your budget and your students! A board and nails (and a tutorial) from Little Bins for Little Hands Cork board and push pins – from An Every Day Story A CD case and clear screw fasteners – from Left…
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Stringing practice
Stringing takes some serious fine motor skills, not to mention coordination. Have you ever stopped to watch a child who is just learning how to string struggle to get both of their hands to do different functions at the same time – it’s one of those things that we take for granted as adults, but it is really really hard to learn, and it’s not easy to explain the process to a child because we don’t have to think about doing it ourselves. Stringing is a simple activity that is easy to prep, but it helps to change up the materials so that it always seems new and interesting. Here…
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Friday Freebie – Fine Motor Resource
Happy Friday! I have the perfect freebie to go along with all of the fine motor information that I’ve shared this week! This AMAZING Fine Motor Parent Resource pack is from Ashley Reed. It is a set of fine motor activities that parents can easily do at home with their children using materials that they probably already have. What a great way to share learning experiences with families! If you’re looking for other fine motor activities, check out the rest of this week’s posts;Stringing PracticeDIY GeoboardsWeaving ActivityFine Motor Products
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Awesome Markers
I have this problem… I LOVE art supplies. Markers are my weakness, mostly because I refuse to use a dried out marker, oh, and because I love markers that have a perfectly new tip. I’m the teacher who hoards a box of markers so that they are always in new condition when I need to use them. So it should come as no surprise that I love shopping for markers – any kind of markers. Here are some fun products that would be great for the classroom! All links are affiliates. Super Tips – These are the best markers! They have a fine tip, but you can also draw with the broad…
