Operation Playtime Day 2 of 12: Record a nursery rhyme or action song together.
When was the last time you sang a traditional nursery rhyme or song for children? ( No, Barney doesn’t count.) There are so many great fun ones out there that are useful to have up your sleeve when you’re standing in line longer than expected.
Ideas
Ones with actions & sound effects ( 10 fat sausages); unexpected actions ( sing a song of sixpence); national ones ( London’s burning); family ones. Ask your parents about their childhood rhymes especially if they lived or grew up in a different country/place. It’s fascinating to teach your child a song that your parents sang especially if you can get to record that memory forever. If the traditional rhymes don’t suit you try a modern action song( When all the cows are sleeping etc)
As well as the language, cognitive and concentration/memory benefits; singing songs is just plain fun. Everyone should have a song up their sleeve. Lifts the mood, distracts a child & brings a smile to more than just your face when you hear their version.
Some of nursery rhymes have some interesting meanings from history. Do you know what song you used to sing?
Share your new rhyme or song with your child.
Put your thoughts in a blog post and use that link, not your blog, into Mr Linky. We want to go right to your post
Add a comment here as well if you’d like.
Follow the other Operation Playtimers and comment on their #OPT post.
Hands up- how many of us have blocks at home….somewhere? Maybe you have family wooden blocks that your grandpa made;coloured blocks, wooden blocks or plastic blocks. If you don’t have blocks try cans but be extra careful of little fingers and expect dents.
Whatever you have let’s play!
Dust off your blocks
Find a suitable area so the blocks can stack and fall safely.
Ideas
Try something new. If you usually initiate block play by starting a tower or lining them up. Don’t. Instead assemble and bring your child to the blocks. Sit with him and wait and see what they do with it.For more about this approach read more about block play.
Established block players or older children extend the game into some pretend play scenarios. Give them scarves or other natural materials to encourage pretend play; perhaps read a book to inspire acting out of a scene. You may try acting out a scene with the blocks yourself if this type of play is new.
Kids love when we are silly. The problem here is that they may just copy and never try their own ideas. With time and more opportunities they will try experimenting often building from your scaffolded ideas. Maybe today is their first time of free playing with blocks.
Try asking questions, “Parents can instead ask questions- “What shape do you need? I’ll hand them to you.” or ” Tell me what you are doing?” ” Where would they sleep?” Here the parent is being the assistant not the director. The parent is deepening and not directing. ” Who should I be?” Let your child direct.” Overlooked creative toys II
Come back and tell us your experiences of using blocks. Share what you did. How did you like the free play? What do you need help with? What blocks do you have/prefer?
Put your thoughts in a blog post and use that link, not your blog, into Mr Linky.
Each day for 12 days I’ll share an unplugged play activity we can all try together. I’m looking forward to seeing some creative and fun ways your kiddos play. Take lots of photographs, vlog or blog about what you did and how it went. Celebrate and/or regroup with us. Share your experiences in the comments. Add your post to the Mr. Linky here each day using the posts title. We can all go blog hopping to support each others efforts.
If you don’t have a blog still join in. Send your item via email. I’ll add them for you. Or join in the comments.
If you stumble or Kirsty I’d really appreciate it. Those that tweet would love you to twit this. We’re using the hashtag #opt. Cheers very much ( as my oldest used to love to say- kind of stuck with us)
I hope you can join in the 12 days of unplugged play tomorrow.
Charge that camera. Get your game face on. Come play !
Christmas is over and the presents are all over the house. You maybe drowning in toys and bits of Lego. You may have even heard, ” I’m bored!”
Your New Year’s resolutions include spending more time with family but doing what?
In the last few years, I’ve been writing about spending time with your under 5 kiddo doing activities that are open ended, developmentally appropriate, spontaneous, creative, not necessarily craft based, doing it for the sake of it and not for a specific product, using exploratory play, encouraging no-battery play, and finding and using interesting items we have at home.
This style of play with wooden blocks, sheets for tents, can seem strangely old fashioned and slow in a world of DS, Wii, Educational Toys & DvDs.
I’ve tried to show there doesn’t have to be an either or. Just more of a balance. I don’t see the plugged toys having any problem with showing us their way but perhaps we all need a reminder about how important unplugged play really is with real examples.
Here’s that balance…………..
Join us for
Operation Playtime
- 12 days of unplugged play
20th January 2009
What I’ll do?
Each day I’ll be sharing a play activity you can adapt and try with your little one.
These are the activities you’ve read about and perhaps like me too, haven’t got around to doing them or certainly not as much as you’d like. Let’s carve out the time and try them together. The activity isn’t as important as how the children and you do it together. We can let them steer and guide us for this activity- within safe limits of course.
What can I do?
Join in. Post your experiences on your blog. Put aside worries about getting things to look and be right. The kids will love to do it with you. I’m sure you’ve seen through these posts here at play-activities. It’s not about achieving perfection but instead the process often for both of us.
Add ” Operation Playtime” badge to your blog.
Come back and add your post to Mr. Linky. Visit, encourage and be inspired by others who are participating. Tell us about your experiences- what was fun and not so fun and perhaps if you’d do it again. Take photographs and audio to share with us. We can cheer and help each other on. Bonus: We use the DoFollow plugin here so leaving a comment in the comments section provides you with incoming links from me.
Tell others. Share your play activities with your friends. If you use Twitter let’s use the hashtag #opt when talking about Operation playtime. You’ll need to be following @hashtags for this feature to work.
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