Putting on a show

 In the last post Ollie wrote a story.  This is a brief note about what we did next - a puppet show.  Ollie and I drew characters from Ollie's story and Toby helped us by decorating the pirate ship and sticking on the lolly sticks (using double sided tape). 

We then set up a stage using a table cloth and two chairs and Ollie performed the story with help from Toby as I read it out.  Next the boys brought in their drums and keyboard and performed a musical interlude before returning with extra puppets made at play group  (lions, insects and a flamingo) and adding to the narrative.  Finally all the chairs were pulled out and covered in table cloths and blankets to form a tunnel between a pirate ship (a  table) and a desert island (another table).  The boys spent half and hour chasing each other around under the furniture before sharing a picnic in a secret cave (under the dining table).

The boys seem to really like it when we follow a theme in play.  Some days we might read a book together and then carry that into our play, making props and imagining the rooms of the house as different places in the story. By acting out favourite parts of a story and making drawings and toys based on it you are helping your child's comprehension of the book.  This helps children to connect enjoyable play experiences with reading and primes them to want to read for themselves because they already see that books can take them to imaginary worlds and exciting adventures.  The questions you ask and the comments you make can help to stretch their acquisition of everything from verbal descriptive skills to empathy 'In the book the pirate was eaten by the whale, where is he now?  How do you think he feels being stuck in the whale's tummy?  Blue whales normally eat little tiny sea creatures called krill?  Do you think the whale has a sore tummy after eating the pirate instead?'... This is a good opportunity to really listen to their thought processes too and validate their opinions and imagination.

Reading at bedtime is a lovely routine and it's a gift to able to spend that precious bit of time snuggled up reading to drowsy little ones, but it's also great for kids and parents to take reading out of the bedtime and into the light of day for a different experience of books.

Thank you cards - encouraging manners, creativity and literacy

 Now that the last of the Christmas decorations are away, and the food is all eaten up, here's a little idea to make sure that the good will of the season isn't forgotten just yet.

Ollie got a lovely robust children's camera for his fourth birthday and has been really enjoying snapping away, so when we decided to make thank you cards it seemed an ideal way for him to make use of some of his images.

Ollie selected the pictures he wanted to print the night before we made the cards.  I then helped him to cut them up with the kids scissors we got him as a stocking gift.  Ollie did the gluing (on to plain cards) and wrote the 'thank you' and his name on the cards.  For each card we talked about who it was for, what they had sent him and how much he had enjoyed the gift.  Breaking the activity up with other things over the course of the morning meant that he didn't get fed up of writing and he really seemed to get a sense of achievement over each card, running to show them off to Matt.

The following day we went to the shops to buy stamps, which Ollie stuck
on himself.  Both boys enjoyed putting them one card at a time into the
post box.  With the photos I made sure I didn't sensor what he wanted to print - there were lots of pictures of his knees and wellies, but I'm really impressed by the ones he picked out himself as his favourites.  As with all the activities on here, there's nothing complicated or ground breaking here, but I like the way that there were so many different skills woven into one simple thing.  We reinforced the importance of gratitude, the kind that makes your heart sing when you recognise and give thanks for the lovely people and things in your life.  We demonstrated that gratitude to the kind family members who gave him wonderful books, games and clothes.  We practiced reading and writing.  We created something and celebrated the images he had captured.  Most of all, we have another way to spend focused time together which is bread and butter to Ollie (while Toby was engaged in the equally important task of teaching Daddy how to build the most awesome train track ever).