Song Props in Preschool

One of my favorite parts of being a preschool teacher is the singing.  In what other educational setting can you sing basically all of your instructions?  In fact, most everything that you want to tell Little People can be sung to the tune of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" or some other traditional tune.

We do a lot of other singing, as well.  Starting a song is one of my favorite ways to capture their attention and transition to a new activity, and of course we have Music and Movement time at the end of every day.

Lately I have been enjoying using new song props with some of our favorite songs.  I keep the container of them by our stereo, and we used them in several different ways.  One way is for me to  hold and move them as we sing together. I find that it's always more meaningful when singing a counting song to be able to hold up the speckled frog props in your hand (after several of them jumped into the pool where it was nice and cool) and say, "How many frogs?  Are left?  Yes, three are left.  Let's count them together. One, two...three!"

I also occasionally let the Little People hold the props and "act out" the song as we sing.  If we're singing "Five Green and Speckled Frogs", I hand one to each participant.  When we get to the point when one frog jumps, I say, "Johnny jumped into the pool", and off Johnny goes, jumping onto the carpet.

A negative to using the props is that if you have a large class, it can take a lot of time to do the song enough times to let everyone get a turn to hold a prop.  However, I had an epiphany on this lately when I realized that it doesn't  _have_ to be five little monkeys swinging in a tree.  It could be ten monkeys - or twelve.  That way, lots of Little People can hold the props, and you might only have to do it twice to given everyone a turn.  Another possibility is to line up 12 on one side of the carpet and 12 on the other, and then I call two names at a time (one on each side of the carpet) jump in the middle of the carpet (aka pool).

Of course, you can use any kinds of props for these songs.  I know they are actually puppets and cute little props made for most of the popular songs.  However, they can be quite expensive, so I started making my own.  I just put a set of them in my Teacher Stores.

Here's what is included:

Five Green and Speckled Frogs

Five Little Ducks

Five Little Monkeys (There is no alligator in this picture, but one is included in the set.)

As you can see, I like to put laminate mine and put them on popsicle sticks for easy holding.  I used glue dots to put them on, because they stick very, very well.

If you are interested in these printables, you can find them here.

My Thirty-Cent "Who's Next" Chart and a Free Printable

Did anyone else catch the clearance at the Target Dollar Spot last weekend?  I did, and believe me, I could have spent a lot more time in those aisles than I did.  School-themed Dollar Spot items at 70% off?  Yes, please.

One thing that I just could not stop putting in my basket were pocket charts.    I just love pocket charts in general, and love them even more at $.30 each.  I could have bought one for each of my students at that price, had there been enough.

Even there was not enough for all of the students, I managed to snag five or six, and completed my first Pocket Chart Project this past week.

I was needing a chart to help show the Little People when their turn was coming up at the easel or at the art table.  I wanted the cart to be skinny and long, so only one name would fit in a row.  That way the waiting list would only contain single names, all in only one long column.

Since my Target pocket chart was not this shape, I decided to cut it in half.  I admit that I was a little nervous about this, but figured I could take a chance since it cost so little.

Here it is in its new, halved state:

Obviously, once I cut it in half, I had open ends along the cut line.  In other words, anything put in those pockets could clearly slide out:

For a very short time I considered how I could sew up these open edges, but then decided that was ridiculous and pulled out one of my Teacher Must-Haves:  the colored masking tape.

I then took my two halves and placed one above the other, making one long chart.  I arranged the two pieces carefully so that the pockets would be evenly spaced.

I then turned the chart over and taped the two halves together on the back with the tape.

After I turned it back over, I used more tape to bind the long edges of my new chart.  I did this by placing the tape halfway off the edge of the front and then folded it over to the back.

I did this on both sides (even though one side was already secure and sewn up).

This gave the the size and shape that I wanted.  I then took it up to school and used Velcro (another Teacher Must-Have) to put the chart to a door in our room beside where we paint:

At the top of this chart I placed the "Who's Next" sign that I made:

I had already made my student name cards, so I just pulled those out and today began teaching the Little People to find their name card and put it at the bottom of the list when they wanted a turn at the easel.

Today as I experimented with the chart I moved the names up to the top as the Little People each got their turn, setting the "already painted" names aside for my reference.  However, that was a lot of chart maintenance when I really needed all hands on deck with the painting itself.  Therefore, I came home from school and made these little "Had a Turn" cards to slip in the pocket over or beside each student's name cards so I wouldn't have to adjust them each time.

I also made this "Last Person for Today" sign, so that when I see that our center time is running out, I can prepare those down low on the list for the cruel fact that they won't get a turn today.

I plan to scaffold this process by later only providing name cards with no pictures, and then will provide blank papers where they have to write their own names.

Would you like these printables?  You can download them for free here.

Sorting Collections in Preschool

Today I am continuing my discussion of four types of math activities that I want to increase in my classroom.  They are:

1. Using Math Mats
2. Grid, Line and Path Games
3. Sorting and Classifying
4. Graphing

The book that I mentioned the day before yesterday as a great resource for Grid, Line and Path games is also a wonderful resource for Sorting and Classifying.

I love that this book calls these types of activities working with "collections".  This word alone makes me want to go and find some yard sales right now to increase the types of things that I have available to sort in my room.

Here is the book:


I've always been a big fan of sorting, just for the myriad of learning experiences it provides students.  With sorting  the Little People can work with concepts of size, shape, color, textures, and all kind of other classifications - just with one box of fun things.

After reading this book, I have decided that good sorting activities come from three important elements:

1) Interesting Collections

Here are some Collection ideas:

2) Interesting Collection Containers

Here are some container examples:

3) A grown up to sit by and comment on/discuss how they are working with their collections:

Tell me how you decided to group those hats together.
Which group will the silver key go into?  What about that small black key?
Tell me about this group.  Will you put more into this group?  
Which group has more - this one or that one?

I think this third element is very important.  While I think that young children will naturally learn math concepts through independently exploring collections, I think it is this adult-child interaction that will take this learning much further.

Hopefully as I increase the collections that I offer the Little People and make them readily available to them I will see some of this learning first hand.

As always, I'll let you know.

One of those Basic Preschool Truths...

Today I am interupting my discussion of math ideas to bring you this Basic Preschool Truth:

I just made up this little sign to post in my classroom to remind myself of this truth on days like today.  You know, days when you find that the Little People will not stop talking/wiggling/spinning/socializing/fussing/lying down on the carpet.  When you feel like you've had enough of all of this inattentive behavior and you have decided that it's time they listen, and listen well.   That you will just wait until they are quiet.  Or perhaps you will just give them all the look and call them out one by one until they all settle down and sit meekly and quietly on the carpet.  Because they should, and they just need to learn that sometimes you just have to stop talking and sit quietly.

Yep, I had one of those days.  One of those days when I begin to wonder if there's a full moon or a cold front moving in, or if perhaps all the Little People ate sugar cubes for breakfast.  One of those days that I actually start to think that perhaps this is not the right profession for me, or if I perhaps am growing too old and feeble or just plain irritable to do this job.

Yes, that's the time that I need to see this sign.  I need to read it and decide that instead of trying to "make" them listen, I am instead going to start singing a song.  Or start reading one of their favorite books.  Or ask them to "Quick!  Touch your head!  Touch your back!  Touch your belly button!" until they are 100% with me.

Because while it is true that kids do eventually have to learn to sit still and listen,  trying to "force" 17 preschoolers to do this on the fourth week of school is kind of like forcing tadpoles to stop swimming and hop on land like frogs are supposed to.

So I will post this...and I will pay attention to it.

Grid Games in Preschool

In my goal to promote more "in action" math activities in my classroom, I have decided to increase four main types of activities in my classroom.  They are:

1. Math Mats
2. Math Grid, Line and Path Games
3. Sorting/Classifying Activities
4. Graphing

Today I'm going to talk about Grid, Line and Path Games.  In short, these are simple games that promote counting, one-to-one correspondence, identifying numbers, and counting concepts.  

Grid Games:

A grid game is a grid or array of objects on a paper that serves as a game board.

Materials Needed for Grid Games:

· A laminated game board for each student (Here are some examples of boards:)

Apple Grid Games

Bird Feeder Grid Game

• A 1-3 spinner or die (a spinner that has the numbers 1, 2 and 3, or a die that has the numbers 1, 2 and 3. ) You can also use a 1-5 spinner or a 1-5 die depending on the needs of your students.
• Coordinating cards or manipulatives for tokens (Good tokens can be any kind of erasers, counters, or small toys that go with the theme of the game.)  Here are a few examples of cards that can be used with the above grid games:

 · Basket to hold manipulatives

Instructions: To play the game, students roll the die or spin the spinner.  They then take the number of cards or other manipulatives that they rolled and put them on the grid.   As they do, you promote learning by talking about what they have done:

"Which apple has more worms?"
"How many worms do you need to put a worm on every apple?"
"This row of apples is almost filled up.  Look, you only have two more apples with  no worms."

Varying Game Levels:  A simple version of the game would be that students place one card or manipulative on each picture on the grid as they roll a certain number on the die or spinner.  When a player gets all of his pictures “filled” with one manipulative, they are done (or they win).

To make the game more complex, let players place their manipulatives/cards on the pictures as they wish (not necessarily one item per picture).  Allowing them to play this way will make the game more complex as players create, quantify, and compare sets of items as they put the them on the grid pictures.  It will also provide opportunity for them to sort the cards/manipulatives in different ways as they play.

Game difficulty can be also adjusted by changing type of die.  (You can use a die/spinner with either dots or numerals depending on the needs of your students.  You can also use die/spinner with more or less numbers, such as one with only numbers 1-3, or one with 1-5 on them.

Student can also use two dice together to encourage addition skills.

Line Games and Path Games:

Line and Path games are basically what you think of when you think of board games.  The students continue down a path as they roll dice or spin a spinner.  

Here are some examples of Line and Path Games:

With a line game like the one above, players start on the tree and use a die or spinner to advance down the line.  When they reach the basket, they get to collect an apple game token, and then can go across again.  This simple game is best for beginning counters.

With a continuous path game like the one above, the players begin on the "start"  space and use dice or a spinner to determine how many spaces they can move.  Every time they land on a basket, they get to collect an apple token (which are placed in a basket in the middle of the game board before the game begins).  

For more about Grid, Line and Path Games, I would recommend the following book:

More Than Counting: .

Whole-Math Activities for Preschool and Kindergarten by Sally Moomaw and Brenda Hieronymus.

Math Mats in Preschool

Lately I've been thinking about some of the more basic math skills that we work on in preschool:  identifying numerals, counting objects, and basic numeration concepts.  These are some of the most basic building blocks that math development is based upon.

While I usually do lots of activities that assess these skills (such as playing a Number Bingo game), it seems that sometimes I don't use enough "in action" activities.  What I mean by this are activities that allow me to sit alongside the students as they count, group, and explore objects as they develop these early math skills.

To this end, I've decided to increase four types of activities in my preschool classroom.  These are using math mats, using grid and line games, sorting objects and graphing.

Today I'm going to talk about math mats.

Math mats are helpful learning tools for allowing children to practice counting, identifying numerals as well as creating and comparing sets in a variety of settings.

Here are some specific skills that can be developed with Math Mats:

Quantifying:  Quantifying opportunities will abound when a child is given access to a math mat and interesting manipulatives.  Provide each child with a math mats and a container full of corresponding counters, erasers or the provided printed cards.  Ask children to put a certain number of manipulatives on each board. Check their counting (for assessment) and work together to correct if necessary.   Another possibility is to let them play with the manipulatives and put them freely on the board as they wish and then lead their learning with appropriate questions:

Oh, there are a lot of fish in your ocean.  How many fish are there?

Are there more farm animals on this board, or on that one?

How many more dinosaurs do you think will fit on that ship?  Let’s put them on and see if

they fit.

Recognizing Numerals: To provide opportunities for children to recognize numerals, provide number cards or dice.  Children sit with several math mats, as well as a handful of corresponding manipulatives.  They will also need a set of number cards (cards with numerals 1 - 9 on them).  To work with the math mats, they place a number card beside each math mat and place that number of manipulatives on each board.  As another option, the math mats can function as game boards.  Students work in small groups, with every child having one of the same math mat.  Children take turns rolling a die or spinning a spinner, and then place the corresponding number of manipulatives/cards on their mat.

Writing Numerals:  A step further in the developmental numeration process is to provide students with pieces of paper or sticky-backed notes to write down the number of how many manipulatives are on each board.

What kind of mats can you get?  Well, all kinds, really.  You could actually find mats for every theme that you study.  Here are a few pictures of mats from sets that I have created for my classroom. (You can find all of these sets for sale in my Teachers Notebook and Teachers Pay Teachers store - click on each picture to see the complete set.) :

Circus Math Mats

Beach Math Mats

Farm Math Mats

Tree Math Mats

Birthday Math Mats

Dinosaur Math Mats

Apple Wagon Math Mat

What kind of manipulatives, you ask?  Oh, the possibilities are endless.

One of the most available are erasers:

However, there are plastic counters, small toys, unit blocks, etc.  You can even use printed cards, although the Little People definitely seems to like the three-dimensional objects better.

An additional bonus to these math mats is that they double as playdough mats.

Which makes them even better for the Little People, in my opinion.

For more information on these mats, I would recommend Developing Number Concepts, Book 1: Counting, Comparing, and Pattern" by Kathy Richardson.  

Tomorrow:  Line and Grid Games.

Like Ducks in the Wind

Have you seen this video?  I first saw it as the "Play of the Day" on Good Morning America this week.  As you can see by the title, it shows a family of ducks crossing the highway in full traffic.  Take a look:

Yesterday I thought of the video and the tiny little ducklings being scattered by the wind of the passing cars, and thought - hey!  I've seen that in real life - at school this week!

It true.  I was the mother duck and the Little People were the blown-around ducklings. All because of Picture Day.

I have fussed about Picture Day before.  No matter how much we prepare, it always ends up as a crazy day.  However, we always just gear up as the day approaches and do our best to make it go smoothly.

One of the most precarious parts of the Picture Days in the past is that the Little People have had to stand and wait on the school stage until it was their turn to get their picture taken.  And as any preschool teacher can tell you: Little People + School Stage = Potential Trouble.

However, this year we arrived at the school commons area discover that the photographers had been given the cafeteria itself to work in, and all of the kids were eating outside.  This at first seemed to me to be an excellent idea.

However, I forgot that this new batch of Little People had never experienced Outside Lunch before.  They were unsure what we were doing, where we were going, and who all of those big kids were milling around the commons area.  Add to this several upper grade music and band students returning to their classroom and taking their lines precariously close to my little row of ducks Little People.  This was perhaps their first "blow by" on the highway, and they scattered a little bit, but managed to all arrive at our lunch table.

Now, if all we had to do was to make it to our lunch table, we would have been fine.  It would have been like a video of the duck family crossing a sidewalk with a few people walking by, or perhaps a bike.  However, we had to get to five different destinations:  to the lunch table to put our lunch boxes down, into the cafeteria for pictures, out of the cafeteria and back to our table, and from our table all the way to the playground.  Each destination had it's own traffic of class lines (beep!  beep!) and random elementary students (zoom!  zoom!).

The only time we really had trouble was on the way to the playground with two more band classes.    One Little Person started gazing around and blew into the midst of them - but fortunately they shooed her back over to us.

Finally, we staggered into the playground area.  We closed the gate behind us - and latched it.  I felt windblown, harried, and a little bit crazed as the Little People were finally able to run free.

But perhaps like that mother duck, I also felt a huge sense of accomplishment.  We did it - pictures were taken, lunches were eaten, our end destination was reached - successfully.