We hosted this week’s playdate, and I stepped out of my comfort zone to prepare the Practical Life stations for the first time. I’ve been opting to read stories to the children each week, and I think I should start trying out more of the other segments too, as it’s a good learning experience for me. Sometimes, I wonder if I’m the one who benefits more from these playdates than Noah does!
I set up the Invitation to Play area the night before, and tried to modify it slightly, from the previous two sessions which we hosted. I recently borrowed a couple of books from the library, so I decided to lay those out instead, together with the farm animals sound puzzle, and Leapfrog Farm Animals Mash-up Kit which the children enjoyed the last time.
Books
Farm Animals Sound Puzzle
Leapfrog Farm Animals Mash-up Kit
We started off with the Good Morning song, and the mums sang, while the children waved happily at each other.
Good morning!
Mummy L introduced a range of farm animals to the children, then got them to match the animals to the corresponding cards. We then sang the Animals song, before naming each animal as she put it away.
Farm animals
I read That’s Not My Lamb, and got the children to touch all the different textures, since they really seemed to enjoy that last week.
That’s Not My Lamb
Next, we worked on our Sheep craft, and I think the mums loved the sheep more than the children did!
Making the sheep
All done!
I served up a simple snack of peanut butter biscuits, raisins, and raisin bread, and got Noah to pray aloud. He was really shy, and I think no one could actually hear what he said, but it’s definitely a start.
Praying
Snacking
Mummy J read a Chinese story with cute pop-ups, which captivated the children.
Chinese
I had five Practical Life stations for four kids, but because some stations were more complex than others, there was still quite a bit of waiting time.
Sorting and identifying farm animals from the sensory bin
Animal jigsaw puzzles
Lacing
Latches Board
Skills Board
Next, we tried to teach the children how to “Orh Pay Som” to split into two groups for the Big Muscles Activity, but Noah couldn’t seem to grasp the concept. Anyway, the other kids managed to do it, so it didn’t really matter, and we were able to carry out the Bottle Caps Relay quite well.
“Orh Pay Som”
Bottle Caps Relay: Red Team
We ended off our playdate with two action songs, ‘God is so Good’, and ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’, as well as our usual Goodbye Song. Mummy E taught us the Chinese version of the first song, and got the kids to wave their sheep/lambs for the second one.
Singing
I was just sharing with the other mums that I think our playgroup is an ideal size, and that any more than six children would be too chaotic. As it is, our four little ones were very busy running around the house after the session, while the mums had a short chat, and it would have been difficult trying to get say, ten children, to calm down. I’m really in awe of preschool teachers, who handle a lot more children in their classrooms on a daily basis!
*******
If you’ve enjoyed reading this post, do like my Facebook page to get updates. You can also follow me on Twitter (@GrowingwtheTans), Instagram (@GrowingwiththeTans), and Dayre (@GrowingwiththeTans), for short updates on what’s going on in our lives. Thank you! 🙂
Comments