Christmas holidays will certainly have brought a large number of presents to our student's houses, so if you didn't talk about toys before Christmas, the right moment could definitely be now, when every child will be eager to tell everybody else what he found under his Christmas tree.
You can find high quality material about toys to download here:
In the file 'Little bugs story cards 1' you'll find the story of a clumsy elf who helps a young boy get a new robot. It's a story younger students can easily act out thanks to its repetitive patterns. In the file 'Little bugs flashcards 1' you'll find the flash cards which show all the toys mentioned in the story.
I printed a small card version of those flashcards so we could play several games with them.
One game I particularly like to play is 'The wind blows for…': Have your kids sit in a circle, let them choose a couple of cards and when you call out a toy saying, for example: "The wind blows for anyone who has got a scooter." those who are holding a card with a scooter on it have to swap chairs, as fast as they can. I don't usually remove any chairs because I want them to focus on learning and not on winning the game however, it might be an option to take into account if you're teaching primary students.
Another game the kids loved was this:
Call on one of the kids, let him or her choose a card, without showing it to anyone or saying what toy is shown on it (sometimes this is the hardest part, he,he,he!). The child then has to act out playing with that toy while the rest of the class tries to guess what toy he or she is playing with.
They loved it so much that they could happily have kept playing the same game for the whole hour!
As always I looked for some songs to help them quickly memorize the new vocabulary: this one is really simple and it's the perfect way to introduce the topic. The second song inspired me to come up with another guessing game: just take a small cardboard box and fill it with the cards. This is now your "toybox". Next, slowly take the cards out of it, one by one, while the children try to guess what toy you're taking out. Of course if you have the chance to use real toys instead, go for it!
The last one is a chant and you can make the most of it by using the expression 'have got' while playing "Go fish".
Interesting worksheets about toys can be downloaded here. I played bingo with my students and, of course, they won many sweet prizes.
Have a wonderful time heading back to school!
--> Quiero leer este post en español
Lucy
dedicates a lot of time and love to thinking about and writing the
posts she shares with all of you. Because she believes that a better
teaching is the key for a better future. If you find any help, value or
joy in this blog, please consider becoming a supporting reader. A
donation, in any amount, will be gratefully accepted.
As they say "Time flies when you're having fun!", and July has just flown away. I can't even believe it!
I had the opportunity to teach my own Summer Camp again in the same place as last year, with even more children aged 4 and 5.
This year we worked on holidays and I'm sure you've already guessed the topics: at the beach, under the sea and in the woods.
Let's start from the beginning: AT THE BEACH
First of all, I introduced the new vocabulary using this pack where you'll find flashcards and activities about beach items.
We played beach ball games and...
Simon Says at the Beach
Simon Says at the Beach is simply a game of Simon Says with beach theme movements like these.
Walk like a crab.
Snap like a lobster.
Swim like fish.
Roll your arms like a big wave.
Tip toe like you're walking on hot sand.
Dig in the sand.
Sand Bucket Bean Bag Toss: set up sand buckets and play a beanbag toss game.
What time is it Mr. Lifeguard?
This is a fun game to play outside. You can change the name to suit any
theme.
The children all line up against a wall or fence.
And one child, (Mr. Lifeguard) or the teacher faces away from the
children, a good distance away from the children.
The children yell, what time is it "Mr. Lifeguard",
Mr. Lifeguard answers 1 o'clock, and the children all take one step toward
Mr. Lifeguard.
The children yell again, what time is it "Mr. Lifeguard",
Mr. Lifeguard answers (fill in the blank) o'clock, and the children all
take same number of step toward Mr. Lifeguard.
This continues until all the children are very close to Mr. Lifeguard,
then Mr. Lifeguard will answer it's midnight, and chases the children back
to the fence or wall that they started at. The first person Mr. Lifeguard
touches will be the new Mr. Lifeguard.
Beach Hide and Seek
Play the game the same as above, except hide the beach object. Then
tell the children individually whether they are "hot" or "cold" to the
relation of the object. Allow the other children to have a change to
hide the object, and tell children whether they are "hot or cold". It may be a good idea to discuss the meaning of hot and cold before you
play this game.
Beach Shape Fishing Game
Tie 3 feet of string to a wooden spoon. Attach a magnet to the end of
the string. Cut and laminate many different colored, and sized beach
shapes from construction paper (not too big though). Attach a paper clip
to each shape. Spread the shapes on the floor and let your child try to
catch the shapes. Have them try to catch the red shape.. or the biggest
shape. For a twist, label the shapes with letters or numbers. Ask the
children to catch a specific shape, or ask them which shape they caught.
We sang these songs:
My Beach Ball Song
sung to "Mary had a Little Lamb"
Once I had a beach ball
a beach ball
a beach ball
Once I had a beach ball
Bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce
Beach Song
Tune: The Farmer in the DellSong - words by Laurie Patsalides
I'm walking to the beach; (Walk in place.)
I'm walking to the beach. (Walk in place.)
I think I'll find a shell in the sand. (Pretend to dig.)
I'm walking to the beach. (Walk in place.)
Repeat with different motions for physical activity (running, stomping or marching).
And every day the kids enjoyed a handicraft activity:
Sand Art
Allow
the children to glue sand to a piece of paper to create a beach scene.
Add white torn paper for clouds, colored torn paper for umbrellas.
Make your own Leis
Supply
the children with flower shapes, a hole punch and string. Have the
children punch a hole in the flowers and lace them onto the string for a
necklace.
Beach Towel
Have the children design their own beach towel with scraps of paper, ribbon, markers, crayons etc.
Beach Umbrella Art
Cut
out a beach umbrella shape and have your child decorate it with paint,
glitter, fabric, crayons, or whatever you can come up with.
Sunglasses Art
Cut out a sunglasses shape and have your child decorate it with paint, glitter, fabric, crayons, or whatever you can come up with.
I also showed them a book called "ToThe Beach!" written by Linda Ashman, which besides being a rhyming picture book, it is also really funny. The children couldn't stop saying "These people are crazy!"
Also read: IN THE WOODS and UNDER THE SEA
--> Quiero leer este post en español
Lucy
dedicates a lot of time and love to thinking about and writing the
posts she shares with all of you. Because she believes that a better
teaching is the key for a better future. If you find any help, value or
joy in this blog, please consider becoming a supporting reader. A
donation, in any amount, will be gratefully accepted.
