Early Literacy Fun - Playing

Fred Rogers said that “Play is the work of childhood”. Through play children learn cause and effect, social skills, and of course hone their creativity and language skills. Dramatic play gives children the opportunity to practice their narrative skills as they play act different situations and characters - be it a princess, doctor or cowboy. Play can also help develop both fine motor and gross motor skills - and playing together helps to build those essential relationships between child and caregiver. Here are some easy ways to play with your child today!

• Create a dress-up trunk for dramatic play out of hand me down clothes and fun finds from the thrift store.
• Used canned goods to play store together. you can make a shopping list maybe even use an old checkbook to write a check for what you “buy”
• Building blocks are a fun way to discuss shapes, colors and learn about cause and effect. How high can you build a tower?
• Create a sensory bin out of a storage bin with water, sand or even cooked pasta noodles, plastic toys and items from nature to play with.
• Try this easy recipe for homemade play dough then use it to shape into letters or animals to spell words and tell stories.
• 3 cups flour
• 1.5 cups salt
• 6 tsp. cream of tartar
• 3 tbsp. oil
• 3 cups water
• Pour all ingredients into a large pot. Stir constantly over medium heat until a dough ball forms by pulling away from the sides. Knead dough until the texture matches play dough (1-2 minutes). Store in plastic container. Should last for at least 3 months.
• String Fruit Loops, Cheerios and Lifesavers on a string for a fun snack that also builds fine motor skills.
• Act out the story from one of your favorite picture books.
• Set up a scavenger hunt around the house and set out clues for the kids to find using shapes and simple words leading to a treasure or treat at the end.
• Play classic card and board games together like Old Maid, Uno and Candy Land.
• Make a game out of sorting recyclables or dirty laundry! The kids learn useful classification skills about colors and textures, and you get a little extra help with the housework.

Making Music

I wanted to highlight to Jazz inspired poetry picture books today. Poetry and Jazz seem to go together like peanut butter and jelly, and these two books are good compliments to each other as well. The first is I Live in Music by Ntozake Shange and the other is Jazz by Walter Dean Myers. Though not a book of poetry, a good prose book to throw into the mix is Song and Dance Man by Karen Ackerman. All three of these books, and their illustrations, speak to the way that music makes us feel more alive.

Putting together a dress up trunk like the one in Song and Dance Man is a great way to bring these books to life. Gather up some old clothes from relatives, garage sales and/or thrift stores, include shoes and accessories too. Put on some music, for these books I would recommend Putumayo Kids' New Orleans Playground CD and let your kiddos put on a show!

When I was little my sister and I had a dress up trunk of old dresses and costume jewelry that was given to us for Christmas by my great-aunt and great-grandmother. We occasionally added new pieces as old ones got worn out - but it was well used for many years. Creating a dress up trunk is not just an investment for one day's activity, but for years of pretend play!



As a side note: creating your own dress up trunk from used clothes is a lot more personal than just buying one of the pre-fab trunks or costumes that are available - and it is a good green option that cuts down on consumer waste!