MAKE IT APPEALING !!!!

What an eye opener I had the other day. I was invited for tea at the home of 2 little pre-schoolers.

Mummy had to go along with the idea as it was the 3-year old who had invited me. No kettle was boiled for tea nor any lounge visited. It was straight to the bedroom for “tea” and “cake”

AND a thorough “show and tell” of every single item in the room.

BUT THEN THE TREASURES  APPEARED!

Under the bed was every conceivable type of BOX CONSTRUCTION. A number of constructions lovingly collected over a period of time.

I suggested getting an orange bag and recycling it all.

Bad idea!

• Every box construction had a purpose.
• Every box construction was something.
• Every box construction had a “creature” in it.
• Every box construction was part of a long long long game.

I was amazed and in awe of how much thought was in all those old box constructions.

NEVER AGAIN WILL I UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER AND VALUE OF THIS FANTASTIC CREATIVE ACTIVITY THAT IS AN ABSOLUTE NECESSITY IN ANY AND EVERY CREATIVE ROOM.

I am one to always promote using available resources. Tap into the children’s creativity. But this experience awakened my thinking again. The idea as for how some children can “CREATE” and be 3-year in the active play and free play zone while other children are brainwashed and fed adult stuff that rarely leads to this incredible imagination from some silly old boxes that didn’t quite make it into the orange bag for recycling.

Next time you set up your box construction area remember that a young child will visit to make and create and begin an everlasting fantastic game…..

A FEW IDEAS OF WHAT TO COLLECT TO CREATE AN EXCITING BOX CONSTRUCTION AREA IN YOUR CREATIVE SPACE.

Grocery boxes. Egg boxes. Meat trays. Ribbons. Brown packets. Milk tops. Milk cartons. Shoe boxes. Stickers. Yoghurt tubs. Marge tubs. Beer boxes.

AND the list is endless…. don’t forget the scissors and glue

MOST IMPORTANT : Remember that you are creating an inviting and appealing “set up” that just screams ….COME AND ENJOY!!!!

An example  of a traditional dice is a rounded cube with each of its six faces showing a different number of dots (pips) from one to six. When thrown the dice comes to rest showing on its upper surface a random integer (number) for one to six.  Each value being equally likely..

Each value being equally likely?

What does that mean early childhood thinkers?
We can do so much with a dice ………

• We can make our own using a sponge
• We can make our own using a sugar cube
• We can make our own because we know that the opposite sides will add up to seven
• We can make our own out of a cardboard box

Apart for the importance of teaching young children the correct procedures in rolling a dice (not out the window!) in a game such as Ludo or Snakes and Ladders ……..  There is so much more fun that we can have with a dice or two in our hands.

A dice is so valuable to a teaching lesson

1. It has six sides
2. It is a cube
3. The opposite sides add up to seven

• The opposite side of one is six
• The opposite side of two is five
• The opposite side of three is four
• The opposite side of four is three
• The opposite side of five is two
• The opposite side of six is one

We use a dice for playing games or any game that requires us to move on because of a designated number

Thinking caps on!!

• Each child has a dice, rolls it  ….What is your number?
• Each child has 2 dice, rolls them….. What do they add up to?
• Each child has a dice, rolls it…. Find someone with the same number?
• Each child has 3 dice, rolls them… What do they add up to?
• The teacher has a dice, rolls it …. the child with 5 does the weather
• The teacher has a dice, rolls it …. any child who rolls the same number can go out to play. (put your dice in the box on the way out)