One day, among the dollar shelves in Target, I found a colander. I grabbed it; after all, who knows what you could use it for in the classroom. (I only seem to buy these types of things for my classroom, not for the "real" use.)
Here are five ways to use a colander in your classroom.
1. Use it in the home center.
Of course, we added the colander with our other "extra" cooking items. We have some play dishes that we use all the time. But sometimes we add additional items to enhance our cooking play.
2. Use it in your water play.
We love to play in the water. We use measuring cups and bowls and other things to scoop and pour water. Often we will add the colander - to make rain, of course.
3. Build with it.
Add it and a few other kitchen items in the blocks center. Kids can explore how to incorporate them in their structures.
Raid Your Kitchen to Build
4. Explore sculpture with chenille stems.
Chenille stems will fit perfectly in the holes of the colander. When I offered these to my kids, they didn't use them in the expected way. They created other types of structures and sculptures with blocks, too.
"Can We Use These?"
Colander Sculpture (TinkerLab)
5. Sift sand.
I found smaller versions of a colander to use with our sand play. But the larger one would be fun, too. This is sort of like the "real use" of a colander. However, kids would still love doing it.
New Tool from the Dollar Store
Now that I'm thinking about colanders, I'm wondering about pouring paint in it and letting it drip onto paper...or pressing play dough into the holes to make designs...or maybe sewing through the holes with yarn and plastic needles...or....
How have you used colanders in your classroom?
