Pokemon Party!

There is something about planning things that I LOVE to do! Even better when I get to collaborate with others for it. My boys are in the middle of a string of birthdays. My now 5 year old wanted to have a Pokemon party--of course we love nature, outside, and loose parts, but they do watch television, read books, and have toys/games. Anyway, I remember my students way back when I taught 4th grade almost 20 years ago in Japan loving Pokemon as well--it has really had some staying power!

For the invitations, I just found an image online and put the party information on top. These were easy to text or email to mommas. :-) 

The Button Box

Don't you love buttons? I recently found this box of buttons for $5 at a garage sale--it was even all sorted and separated in little baggies. I thought we'd explore a bit as we read The Button Box (again) and we started opening a few buttons and putting them in a divided, recycled cookie tray; however, children had other ideas and I'm pretty open to following their lead.

Soon all these little baggies of carefully sorted buttons were in one big pile. And then we started sorting again! We found buttons that had four holes or two holes or just a shank.

The Button Box shows a boy opening his grandmother's button box and sorting through the treasures. It also shows how buttons could come from shells, wood, deer antlers, and more. He makes a string and button toy, counts his "gold" as he puts them back, and then ends with a little history on buttons. I also played with my grandmother's button box. Do people still have button boxes? I hope so! Our button box actually had antler/bone buttons, too. So neat to see the connections from the book! 

We found some that the boys looked like eyes and separated out the shiny ones! 

Some ideas to extend the buttons from the book: 

Sort, count, create pictures from buttons, puppet eyes, etc. 

Sort by:

-Flowers

-sparkly

-cloth

-metal

-leather

-shoes

-family connections

-shiny

-rainbows

-wooden

-seashells, sand, wood, antlers

Ask, “Are they alike?”

As children get older you might chart types of buttons even, bringing in a math component if they are interested. I was surprised even my 8 year old and almost 11 year old were enjoying these as well. My youngest (almost 5) spent over an hour with these today. I'll leave them out this week for them to peruse as they'd like!

Interested in Loose Parts and Books? Find my list here! 

Buy the book "The Button Box" here! (aff link)

Here is a video of the book. Here are some other extension activities as well. 

How do you all use buttons? 

Nature Preschool Planning in an Outdoor Classroom

In many types of spaces, we do a little planning for our learning experiences. I have heard many say to "just let them play"; however, most spaces also need to meet learning standards and such. Even in an emergent learning setting, a little planning can help us pull things together for success. I have used a planning sheet similar to this for the last 5 years I have done a nature preschool group. I also use a similar approach to event planning using an outdoor classroom.  Our basic rhythm for our group is to have a gathering activity (or more), craft/art, a story time, hike, wash hands, edible craft (snack), and then open options centered around our areas of the outdoor classroom. We try to do as much as this outside as possible, but do have some moments inside as well. Below is a very sketchy example of seeds. Children are free to participate or not and we follow the children's needs and interests, as well as any seasonal or unexpected finds when we are outside. We may not get to all of these options and it is okay if the children do not do each option. Having a variety allows the needs of all children be met.

Since I typically do programs at a place where other activities are happening, I schlep a lot of stuff around. This helps me remember everything I need. See some examples of the results of this under "Nature Preschool" on the blog.

I use a few resources to help in planning:
Growing Up Wild
Environmental Experiences for Early Childhood
Pinterest Boards:
Spring
Fall
Winter

Here are a few examples of how our activities turned out. Honestly, there is usually enough that could work for a week at a time; however, we just had one morning a week for a couple of hours.
Oh Deer!
A Natural Holiday
Spiders
Exploring Trees
Sensational Senses
What's Bugging You? 

Here are some events planned using a similar sheet:
Fairy Wings and Wild Things
International Mud Day

Find the planning sheet here. Let me know how you use or modify it--I love seeing how others use similar stuff!

Joyful Noise: A Book Review

Don't you love finding something at a garage sale? I stumbled upon Joyful Noise recently. The mom said she loved it in her classroom when she was a teacher. Note the Newbery Medal? I like Newbery books! It also is all nature based, with poems that are meant to be read by two people. As I read through the book, I wanted to hear what these would sound like when presented by two people. Of course, I took to Youtube! Here is one rendition of the poems.

Texture Balls

So, I drool over those ceramic sand balls--such pretty designs and so aesthetically pleasing! I really like the sets that Montessori Restore designs. She is great at creating loose parts sets, typically on the higher end, beautiful, and carefully curated.  She is very intentional and up cycles many items and works with great artists for others. Take a look at her work at her Etsy shop or her Facebook page.

30 Plus Ways to Approach Loose Parts Play!

The term “loose parts” has grown in popularity recently as educators and parents have rediscovered this timeless approach to play. Loose parts play can be as simple as finding a stick and using it in play or it can take a more complex approach to open ended landscapes. The term “loose parts” became popular with the Theory of Loose Parts by Simon Nicholson.  He advocated for movable items in outdoor play settings in his work as a landscape architecture. Today, the term is fairly ambiguous with some guiding principles: open ended materials and lots of options. See a post about quotes about loose parts here and the basic premise and resources here.

Role of the Educator in Loose Parts Play

I met Chris Kiewra last year at the Leadership Institute National Conference, one of the collaborations Nature Explore puts together with the Outdoor Classroom Project. She is delightful and I was delighted to see this new research in the recent copy of IJECEE from the Natural Start Alliance I picked up at the International Children and Nature Network Conference.

What is the role of educators in loose parts play?

Caring, observant adults who support creative play and learning are an aspect of creativity that Kiewra and Veselack (2016) report, sharing a few key characteristics:
a. open-ended questions that further scientific inquiry
b. ensure long blocks of time for deep exploration
c. keen observers of children’s play to see and document learning
d. close observation of children’s explorations
e. strategically support children’s processes and thinking to enhance learning
f. physically in proximity of children
g. offer observations
h. follow children’s lead without taking over
i. trust children to make decisions
j. dialogue with children to promote taking other perspectives and learn about problem-solving
k. facilitate and scaffold children’s learning
l. model and support a sense of wonder
m. set up learning areas in outdoor classroom
n. make sure an abundance of loose parts are available
o. provide learning support materials (clipboards, paper, pencils, other loose parts)
p. freedom and flexibility to use spaces and materials in unintended areas or manners

What is our role as educators in promoting creative or loose parts play?

“The teacher’s role is critical to supporting children’s skill development in self-initiated experiences in a Nature Explore Classroom. The teacher needs to be physically in proximity of children, offer observations, ask thought-provoking questions, follow children’s lead without taking over, and trust children to make decisions.” (Veselack, Cain-Chang & Miller, 2010)

“Teachers bring a selection of equipment and play matierals outside from storage sheds and classrooms daily based on several factors: teachers’ observations of and response to children’s needs; children’s articulation of their needs or initiative in bringing items outdoors themselves; staff members consideration of the weather and other factors.” (Kiewra & Veselack, 2016)

Great article! Research coming out of Natural Start Alliance 

Read the full article here. Join us for discussions on the topic in Loose Parts Play on Facebook!