First things first: let them play! I have learnt this. If I want to sneak in a little structured learning I have to let exploration happen first. Here is the exploration:
What is under here mummy?
Anyone for tea? Cheers!
A tower
New York Statue (Daisy’s words)
Genuine statue (again her words- don’t know where that came from!!)
Getting bigger…
and bigger.
I incorporated the sneaky learning by colouring a piece of card with crayon. I made boxes that were the same colour as the shapes under the memory caps.
On the other side of the card, I added a 1-12 grid.
The colour matching activity was not a hit so we ignored that and flipped over to the numbers.
This had more interest. We discovered a fun way to stack the blocks. Yes, I was joining in at this point.
Math:
- Discuss shape properties
- Counting
- Sorting and making patterns
Art
- What makes a statue? What do we like to look at statues? Those shapes go together well, why?
This post is part of a special blogaversary link party “Add A Little Learning To Your Play” blog hop
Congratulations to Jillian A Mom With A Lesson Plan, one busy year!
Here are the participating blogs:
-
- Deborah @ Teach Preschool
- Rachelle @ Tinkerlab.com
- Jamie @ Hands On: As We Grow
- Rachel @ Kids Activities Blog
- Valerie @ Frugal Family Fun Blog
- Bernadette @ Mom to 2 Posh lil Divas
- Miranda @ Mangoes and Chutney
- Jane @ Mama Pea Pod
I love, love, love the way you added to this toy. What a creative way to change a one use toy into an open ended opportunity. So glad you were able to join the link up!
Thanks Jillian. It was an honour to be asked! Congrats again!!
Your comment that at some point you were participating – well that is the key to any good game or learning opportunity. That is what makes it a wonderful learning opportunity – a parents real presence. Loved it.
So true Home School Coach. Sometimes I have to sit on my hands to stop myself playing too much!! Thanks for reading!