Using your " I's " outside

3 Ways to Enhance Outdoor Time

Investigate, Interact, Imagine

Investigate: Look at things often overlooked. Ask questions about the environment then seek answers. Spend time observing plants and trees over time, or bugs in their natural habitats. Let children experiment with what water does to sand and how the wind blows maple leaf pods. Ask "What are you experiencing with (each of your senses)?" as they explore.

Interact: Kids need to expend energy, and groups of kids are great at encouraging each other to do just this! You can often observe groups of children making up or playing games which are full of movement and action (gross motor development). Practice the fundamentals of sports with a few of the neighbor kids or teach them one of the games you used to play at recess when you were younger. The neighborhood park can be a comfortable place to practice early social skills.

Imagine: It takes time for children to conjure up imaginative plots and story lines. Give time to develop imaginative play. Set out a box of simple props or costumes OUTSIDE and they'll look at them in a whole new light! If children have a good thing going, give them time to play out the scene without interrupting.*

*I can remember having quite long periods of time outside with the neighborhood kids where we'd have to entertain ourselves and the longer we had it seems the more creative we had to be to occupy that time!

Galloping

Back in my kindy days, I remember the teacher asking me to perform developmental tasks and making check marks in little boxes on the page. One of these was galloping. Have you taught your cowgirls and cowboys to gallop gallantly?

Gallop: An exaggerated slide step composed of a step and a leap.

Cues:
*Take a big step forward
*Keep one foot in front of the body at all times

Galloping Chant

(Preschoolers gallop quickly at first then slow their ponies down)

Galloping, galloping, galloping.

How fast my pony can go?

When he's tired we'll come home.

Slow, slow, slow.

*Variations: Challenge children to gallop forward and backward, in different pathways, and at different speeds.

Dance a Part

Switch on the music and listen to the rhythm. Tell children to dance to the music using one body part at a time. Finger, hand, knee, face, shoulder, leg, toe and so on! This will help sync your preschoolers thoughts and actions, providing for more control over body movement.

Body Pretzels

Print out a set of body part flash cards at ESL-Kids.com. Or make your own! An experience to see just how flexible the human body is. Can it twist like a pretzel?

Parent
1. Divide the cards into two piles. Upper body and lower body.
2. Shuffle each pile and turn face down.

Child

3. Draw one card from each pile.
4. GUESS...can I touch those two body parts together? Make a prediction.
5. Test your guess. Was your guess correct?

*Extension: Serve pretzels for snack.

Sensational Scarves

A scarf is a simple prop that encourages movement. Scarves are available for purchase on a number of children's stores. I suggest checking your local thrift store. They are light and showy. They flow with ease through the air as the mover prances and dances. It encourages crossing the midline. So many play possibilities!

Abracadabra! Scarf Magic!

Repeat the Beat

Snap, clap or pat a simple beat and ask your child to "repeat the beat." Start simple and increase difficulty. Mix snaps and claps and lap pats.

*Variations: Use a drum to pound out a beat that goes with the syllables in names of people you know. For example, Tyler would be clap-clap. Adrienne would be clap-clap-clap: three quick claps.

Dancing Garden

Use creative movement and guided imagery to introduce or review the concepts of plant growth.

1. Show the child some seeds. Talk about what seeds need to grow. All seeds store a little bit of food inside them to help the plant start to grow. Once the plant is in the sunlight, it can make much of its own food through photosynthesis.

2. Ask the child to become a seed, forming their body into the tiniest body shape they can create. What kind of seed are you? What plant will you become?

3. Lights off! Seeds grow underground in the dark. Explain that when they get food and water that they will grow in slow motion.

4. Give child a piece of fruit to eat to eat when it starts to rain.

5. A plant mister or spray bottle with water on mist becomes the rain. Encourage them to grow in slow motion, sprouting as they eat the food stored in the seed.

5. Turn on the lights. Now the seedlings don't need their stored food anymore. They soak up the sunlight and photosynthesize. Oh, but the plants can't make their own water so they might need a little more rain.

6. When the plants are grown, find out what each child is. What would happen with no sunlight? No rain? What do people need to grow?

WORDS YOU CAN USE: Seeds, plants, grow, nutrients, shape, slow motion, photosynthesis, rain, sun

Crossing the Midline - Exercise Those Brains!

Physical activity is what gets blood flowin' and brains a goin'. Imagine a line going from the top of your head, down the center of your face, down through your belly button, the entire length of your body. That's the midline. Since the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body and vice-versa, when arms and legs cross over, we are forcing both sides of the brain to communicate.

When children need their brains energized or refocused, do an activity in which they cross the midline.

Crawling- The kind babies do where the hand and opposite leg move together.

Windmills- Spread feet apart. Extend arms. Bend over at waist and tap right hand to left foot. Raise back up and tap left hand to right foot.

Elbow Tap- With arms at sides, raise one leg up and touch it to the opposite elbow. Switch!

Dance- With streamers or ribbons.

Dance Moves- Mark the children's midlines with painter's tape and challenge them to come up with a dance move that crosses the body.

Simon Says or Follow the Leader

More: http://make-the-grade-ot.com/Midline%20Crossing%20Activities.html

Cinco De Mayo Maracas

A maraca is an instrument used all over Mexico that is shaken to create sound. They are usually played in pairs ie. maracas. They're simple to make and a fun addition next time you "dance it out!" Dancing is a stress reliever so get right in there with the kids and join the fiesta. You'll both feel better for it!

Seal uncooked beans or rice, beads, small pebbles, seeds, shells, or buttons inside of

1.) Two paper or plastic cups taped together.

2.) A film canister.

3.) Two small paper plates stapled together.