5 Ways to Use Jingle Bells

Do you like jingle bells? One of the benefits of working with preschoolers is that we get to play with jingle bells all year long, not just in December! Here are a few ideas to use jingle bells in the classroom.

1. Play them.
Of course, string the jingle bells on chenille stems and make homemade instruments. My kids love to make these. They love to use them as much as purchased instruments.

With younger preschoolers, stick several in a empty plastic bottle and seal the lid. It's a great bell shaker instrument. And so simple to make.

2. Spy them.
Speaking of bottles, make great "spy bottles." Fill small bottles with shredded paper, sequins, jingle bells, and other various small items. Challenge children to find the bells (and other specific items) in the bottle. (We made these as gifts for our kids - they can play spying games at home.)

Or make this great discovery bottle from Preschool Inspirations: fill the bottle with mineral oil and jingle bells and use a wand magnet with it.

3. Practice number skills.
Provide bells and other items to string on a chenille stem or length of yarn. Add numbered cubes and a key. Kids can roll the numbered cube and add the specific item.

This activity was planned for first graders, so we used two cubes. For younger kids, use only one cube and adjust the list. Kids can practice their subitizing skills (recognizing quantities without counting) and counting skills.

4. Paint with them.
We love to paint with balls and marbles in an oatmeal box. Change this up a little and paint with large jingle bells. You have some sound in addition to the physical (rolling the box) and creative (painting).

Another way to paint with them is this idea from No Time for Flash Cards: Tie jingle bells onto paintbrushes to add sound to your easel painting.

5. Quiet them.

This STEM challenge from Little Bins for Little Hands is wonderful. Kids explore how to put a jingle bell into a plastic ornament with other materials in ways that will make it quiet. I think this would be a great fun exploration experience. And so counterintuitive to what we do with bells.

What fun ways have you used jingle bells?

"I'm Still Crafting Here"

This summer I'm reading and commenting on the book What If Everybody Understood Child Development? by Rae Pica.

Chapter 25: In Defense of the Arts

This chapter just made me sad. And a little angry. (Well, maybe a lot angry)

Rae tells of a school that canceled a kindergarten show to focus on "college and career ready" activities. The principal/teachers' letter defending the action does nothing to make the situation better. The core of the letter seems to be that canceling the show allows focus on lifelong skills (through becoming strong readers, writers, coworkers, and problem solvers). But I guess the part that really irritates me is this ending: "We are making these decisions with the interests of all children in mind." What? Definitely not the interests of all children. (I might say that the interests of all the children are being underserved by canceling the show, but that's me.) As Rae responds: "Are there not children with the potential and passion to go on to become brilliant chefs, landscape designers, master craftsmen, and architects or to become writers, painters, choreographers, composers and actors? What will happen to their potential and passion when given no soil in which to grow?" Amen. (Go read all of Rae's response to the letter in this chapter. It's great.)

I hear about schools and administrations that cut down time for art, music, and other creative subjects to focus on "academics." It's more important they often say. We have limited time. 

Yes, we have limited time. But at my last school, kids spend 2 hours a week in these subjects - 1 hour in art and 1 in music. We can't even allow a fraction of the time to be focused on these more creative pursuits?

I think about my class of second graders that I had. In that classroom, I had students that were great artists. In fact, they often wanted to draw more than anything else. Some of these student were ones that struggled in other areas of school. I tried to find ways to incorporate their strengths in what we were doing--drawing vocabulary words, listening and responding to music in different ways (drawing writing), offering drawing as an option for responding, drawing math problems, sometimes assigning a drawing to everyone as part of what we were doing. While this was not great arts instruction, it was a way to help some of my kids be as successful as possible, recognizing strengths.

Maybe my life as an early childhood educator influenced this approach. In my preschool and kindergarten experiences, we always had art and music and dramatic play as options for learning and exploring. In my church kindergarten class now, there are several ways to explore and express each week. Just this past week, I watched a boy cut and glue paper strips to create his own ideas. He worked for a long time. He started to take his creation to the "take home" table. I pointed out a separate piece he had worked on and asked if he was taking that, too. He turned back to the table and worked to incorporate that into his creation. Then he began to add more to what he had done. As we talked about it, he said, "I'm still crafting here." 

I worry about those kids who relate to music or art or acting or dance. Where are the places that they can excel, that they can be the best and use their strengths? Are we pushing out those opportunities in the name of academic success? Maybe we should use them to enhance academic success. 

Or maybe not. Art and music and drama and dance are valuable pursuits in their own right. We should pursue these to help us think creatively. We should do these things because they are fun. And they can help make well-rounded people for the future of our society.

Some links from the book---

• The Value of Arts in Education
• Why Arts Education is Crucial, And Who Is Doing It Best
• The Importance of Art in Child Development

And a few more ---

• Transformation Through Arts Integration
• The Motive for Making
• The Importance of Making Cool Stuff
• What Do We Do Here?

Teaching in the Digital Age, Chapter 4

I'm learning more and more from our book study blog party. Chapter 4 focuses on using audio recordings in the classroom. Deborah at Teach Preschool did a great job reviewing this chapter. Deborah focused on creating a listening center, a great way to implement using audio recordings.

Brian Puerling (author of the book) makes a statement in this chapter that I think sums up his approach and viewpoint on technology in the classroom: "The use of technology was a single experience among many ways to contribute to the understanding of a particular concept."

As I've been reading more and more about technology in the classroom (both in this book and in other sources), my own viewpoint is taking on the same tone. Technology can be a tool in the classroom, but it should be only a tool - one of many ways to explore and discover a concept. Like with other tools, the child should explore and discover in his own way and the teacher should use technology when it makes sense and in conjunction with other tools. I'm continuing to think about how to do this in my classroom and in my context.

Right now, I haven't been using audio recording as a tool. But Puerling has made me want to explore this. Here are a few ideas that resonated with me.

• Record kids as they are doing activities. Then you can use the recording as a "time machine" to go back and experience that again. Kids can talk about what they did and extend the learning by building on what they did before.
• Listening to kids and their explorations can give insights to the teacher. Just like I review photos and see things I missed before, I could review recordings and catch things I had not heard before.  I hear some great things each week from my kids. But I'm also missing some great things (either by forgetting them or not hearing them in the first place).
• Record guests in the classroom so kids can revisit the experience...or learn what they missed the first time. You can get more mileage from a classroom visitor than just the "in person" visit.
• Recordings can be used to "publish" learning. Just like creating books publishes learning in picture or written form, recordings can publish songs and stories in audio form. I'm thinking of ways to record kids telling stories, singing songs, and using instruments.

I'm learning a lot and seeing technology in a different light through this book. Here are some links to bloggers' comments on other chapters.

• My reflections on chapter 1 and on chapters 2-3.
• Pre-K Pages - Chapter 1; Chapter 2; Chapter 3
• Dr. Jean - Chapter 2
• Look at My Happy Rainbow - Chapter 3
• Teach Preschool - Chapter 4
• PreKinders - Chapter 1; Chapter 2; Chapter 3
• Follow the book study blog party at Preschool Spot

"That's a Girl Thing"

This week I put out some rhythm instruments and streamers with the CD player. My wife contributed the ribbon streamers from her choir cabinet. I thought we'd have some fun moving and playing music.

Two boys were playing some instruments, talking about what the different things on the table.

"That's a girl thing," one boy said, indicating the streamers.

I was surprised at the comment about the streamers. I didn't say anything about it; in fact, I'm not sure they even knew I overheard their comments.

A few minutes later, I moved closer to the table and we talked about what they were doing. They wanted to change in the music currently playing on the CD. (It wasn't fast enough for them.) After a few technical comments about the player, we turned back to the other items on the table.

I watched and comments on the instruments they were using. I indicated the streamers. "You know what these are?" I asked. "These are streamers that you can move to the music."

"What?" Both boys were immediately interested.

"You can hold the ring and wave them to the music," I said. "You can wave them fast or slow. You can match the music."

Someone elsewhere in the room called my name and I stepped back from the table with the music. One boy picked up the ribbons and tested them out. Then each boy had one in each hand, waving them frantically.

They waved the streamers for a little bit and then moved back to investigating the instruments.

I don't really know what prompted the girl comment. Now, I'll admit that the rings were sparkly and some of the ribbon was shiny. But I never said anything about something being "boy" or "girl" things. In fact, I usually don't hear anything like that about materials in our room. We had tools out in the room, too, and nobody said anything about those being "boy things." (Exception: pink paper or markers - those are always commented on as girl things. Sometimes I use a pink marker to disprove the whole girl-centric comments about pink.)

We're going to use those streamers a few more times. And I'm sure - boy or girl - each child is going to have fun waving them.

Literacy Ideas from the Blogosphere

One thing I love about teaching young kids is that reading/writing/literacy are a part of all we do. My kids print words when we're playing grocery store. We add random letters (or meaningful letters) to drawings. We jot down ideas on clipboards as we play and explore. We increase our vocabularies as we talk about what we are doing.

I was looking back at some of the blog ideas I've saved (on Evernote, not Pinterest!) and discovered a few that are great literacy ideas. I'm looking for ways to incorporate these ideas into our classroom.


Totally Tots: Eye Spy Letters
This idea is great for recycling and repurposing. I like discovering different versions of the same letter, an important reading skill. (It's still an A even if it looks different.) I could also see creating whatever words I wanted on my computer. Using different fonts would give you the same effect. (And who doesn't have used folders lying around. Check out a friend's office if you need some donated!)


Pink and Green Mama: Letter Writing Center
We have a writing center. I can see this becoming part of that...or its own center...or as a substitute for our general writing center for a time. Everything about this center is great–the letter-addressing sample, the photo address book, the cool stationery, everything. And I think using the priority mail box as storage container is genius! Understanding that writing is meaningful and useful is part of literacy learning. And sending letters to communicate with others is a great way to develop skills.


Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds: Journals with 3 Year Olds
These journals look like so much fun. The simple line-drawn shapes as starters. The free availability so kids can use them anytime. The freedom of expression. Experimenting with writing and creating marks on paper are important steps in literacy development. I think I need some journals. Now.


Delia Creates: DIY I Spy Books
My kids always seem to enjoy the I Spy books from Scholastic. I've often thought about making my own but never done it. This post shows that it can be done. And learning visual discrimination is an important skill for reading and writing. Maybe I'll gather some of that stuff I have and begin to create some for my class.


Child's Play Music: Water Play, Music Play, & Children
This post blew me away and I just had to share it (just in case you didn't see it). Wait, you say. This post is about music...and about science. But auditory discrimination is important for learning language. Language is key to literacy. (See, I can make it work!) If you want to enhance literacy with this activity, encourage kids to write or draw their observations as they experiment.


A few more links to add to your collection - wherever you keep it. Now I'm off to find some metal bowls to add to my stuff!

Favorite Things: Bean Bags

I've used bean bags in various ways over the years. For the past few years we haven't had many bean bags or used them much. Then recently I purchased this set from Discount School Supply.

Photo from Discount School Supply

I bought them just for fun. First we used them for a game.


Put colored paper in the game mat.

Label bags with matching colors. In the bags put whatever you want the kids to choose. We were choosing letters to spell friend.

Toss the bean bag and draw from that bag.

Repeat - toss, draw, match.

After a while, the boys wanted to just toss. I made a "target area" with some cones.

We enjoyed this game for a day.

But the best things we've enjoyed is using the bean bags when we're together as a group. Sometimes we use the great oldies rock songs on the included CD. Sometimes we play other games as a group. Sometimes we just shake the bean bags to the beat - these bean bags make great shaker sounds when you shake them.

I have rediscovered the joys of bean bags...and these have become my newest favorite thing.

What's your favorite way to use bean bags?

A Happy Surprise

Today we were going to make shakers (instruments). I didn't have the needed containers; I decided to take a chance and see what was in the resource room. We looked through the resource room and only found some Tic-Tac breath mint containers. We took them back to the room and removed the labels.

The kids scooped rice and sealed the lids with colored masking tape.

They used more tape and stickers to decorate their shakers.

What a happy surprise! I would have never chosen these containers except by necessity and availability. But these are some of the most successful shakers I've made. And they don't make too loud of a sound, so parents are happy, too!

Now I'm off to the store to buy lots more Tic-Tacs so I'll be ready for next time.

Palm Sunday

We celebrated Palm Sunday this week. Here are a couple of the activities we did, both using tape!

We made palm branches to wave.

We used green construction paper strips, green tape, and thin dowels.

Ms. Cindy showed how to tear a small length of green tape and attach a couple of strips to the tape, leaving part of the sticky tape uncovered.

Then wrap the tape around the dowel. Make several layers to create a palm branch.

We had fun waving the palm branches to music.

Even if you don't celebrate Palm Sunday, these can be fun to make. Use other colors for colorful streamers or even pom-poms.

We also made shakers.

We used Crystal Light containers, construction paper, stickers, thin masking tape, and rice.

First we decorated paper with tape and stickers. (Cut the paper to fit the containers before you start.)

Some of us made scenes with the tape.

We wrapped the paper around the container and taped the edges (or something used a glue stick).

We put some rice inside the container and glued on the lid.

We enjoyed shaking the shakers to music (and using other instruments!

Shakers are fun to make and fun to play. Use any container with a lid. You can decorate the container directly with stickers and tape instead of using the paper. Fill with rice, beans, aquarium gravel, plastic beads, or anything that will make noise. 

You've Got the Power

My wife helps lead a preschool choir at our church. Recently she took several recycle/repurpose items to create some "environmental instruments" to use with the other rhythm instruments. She took some paper towel tubes, plastic plates, and some paper wads; children took pairs of each item to tap together and create some different rhythm sounds.

Another teacher remarked that she had brought trash for the kids to use...and her tone was an unfavorable one. Kids immediately began calling the items "trash," especially the paper wads. They used them reluctantly and quickly moved to change to something else when the time came. Weeks later, they still refer to the items as trash and want to quickly trade whenever they can. Last week, while one child was tapping the paper wads together, another child said, "He's got the trash!" The first kid immediately dropped them and wouldn't play until he moved to the next instrument.

We, as teachers, have the power to influence the kids in ways that go beyond learning. Our reactions, comments, facial expressions, and words can impact how kids feel about what they are doing and even how they feel about themselves. How I wish that teacher had enthusiastically said, "Look at what we can use as instruments. We can use things that normally would be thrown away to make rhythms and music." I think then the kids would be excited to use "trash" as instruments.

This made me think of the Spiderman quote: "With great power comes great responsibility." If an idea seems unusual to me, I should help explore it (not dismiss/reject it immediately). I shouldn't try to impose my interests and tastes on the kids. I need to help them explore a variety of ideas and develop their own unique interests and tastes.



Photo from Flickr.com
Photographer: toastforbrekkie

http://www.flickr.com/photos/toastforbrekkie/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0