All it took was one antiquated piece of office equipment to rustle up a whole unit on "How We Work!" I was hopeful as I wiped and wisked the dust from this old pal that it would offer us many opportunities for conversations, imaginations, and some well planned play. It certainly did NOT disappoint! The anticipation was palpable as each child spotted the new addition to our play space and immediately rushed over to push the buttons, explore the handset, turn it upside-down and backwards, and inspect every square inch. Thankfully, with each push of the number it had not lost it's ability to beep appropriately. The beeping, of course, was like a reward all it's own. The children could not wait to have another, and another, and another turn. This prompted LOTS of singing of our favorite turn-taking song from Daniel Tiger, You Can Take A Turn And Then I'll Get It Back! (click on the title and it will take you to the song :)) On a side note: Moms and Dads, Daniel Tiger is a spin-off of Mr. Rogers and is a PRECIOUS animated show that deals with age appropriate social/emotional issues for preschool children (and the songs are GREAT!) We introduced lots of vocabulary words such as office chair, desk, taking notes, secretary, answering calls, please hold, boss, employee, team, meetings, and so much more. It also gave us a great opportunity to explore the roles of, and take turns understanding what those words meant to the children. From this we also began discussing money. On their own, they began mimicking conversations about stopping at the store, going shopping, earning money, "not having enough money," and "be quiet! I'm on the phone!" The chatter was continuous and the topics discussed were so grown-up I just had to giggle. Trash To Treasure...Exploring The Old Fax Machine...Think Tank...After making an "office" (tent) for a "private place to work" (they notified me that this as MUST!), they sat down outside of the "office" and you could have heard a pin drop. The concentration and imagination going into each line written was amazing. They certainly worked those little fine motor skills happily all while fully engaged in play. After several minutes I asked them to tell me about their "work." They had a variety of stories, shopping lists, plans for the day, pictures, and things they were going to spend their money on. Certainly a very worth while unit study...all thanks to a little creative venture into "adulthood..."
I wish you well and I hope you get to play today. -L
1 Comment
Wendy Farrell
4/7/2014 02:47:39 pm
I LOVE this post. It made me smile and giggle. So sweet and you captured it beautifully!
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Life is made of moments..."There isn't anything more full of hope, joy and peace than a child's smile... It captures the mundane and makes it extraordinary." - LaDonna Woolsey I am a Mother Goose Time Blogger. I decided to become one after trying their products because I they are comprehensive and serve my mixed age group well. I do receive products to review from Mother Goose Time and do so with my own honest and thorough opinions. For more information, please contact me at [email protected]
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