Chicks!

We had a visit from four little chickens. We got to hold them, see them eat, watch them try to fly, and even poop!  They like to stick together and were a little loud. The kids were very excited by our little visitors.

May Day

Planting Seeds

Creating Flower Gardens with Blocks

May Day Cards

Painting Flower Pictures

Bottle Babies

Over a year ago I created a Facebook group without ever realizing that it would turn into such an amazing resource for many educators. A year later there are hundreds of Early Childhood teachers participating in conversations and photo sharing from all over the world. 

One of the many things that I learned through this group was about "Bottle Babies." 

This is concept that can be found in a book titled The Out-of-sync Child Has Fun. An excerpt from the book can be found here. 

This great open-ended play resource was first introduced to the Facebook Group by another teacher named Lesley, who works at  Takoma Park Cooperative Nursery School and has been a huge inspiration of ideas. 

The idea behind the bottle babies is for children to have "heavy work,"which is great for developing motor skills and coordination. 

Although the book focuses on children with sensory processing disorders, these concepts are great for any child.

What kid doesn't love to feel strong and grown up? 

"Quick! Save the Babies!!!"

They are very heavy and carrying two can be quite a challenge.

The kids also love "collecting" objects and the Bottle Babies are a perfect opportunity for carrying, collecting, and pulling things around in the wagon.

Having a lot of the same material always seems to bring the kids together into more social and imaginative play.

You can see some other kids using 

Bottle Babies at the links below:

Pre-School Play

Learning for Life

Happy Hooligans

Hands.

Hands are the Tools of the Mind. ~ Montessori 

Simplicity.