In the home, I like to follow a combination of Montessori, child-led, and open-ended play approach to encourage independence and imagination.
BUT, Winter + Pandemic= no where to go!
So, I’ve made a list of more parent-led activities that include all sorts of experiences such as literature, language, sensory, art, cooking and more. I set up an activity from the list the day before or during his nap based on his current interests. Some days we don’t do those prepped activities, because he is wanting to help around the house or really into independent activities.
Recently, my son has been interested in a book I got on Facebook Marketplace called La Surprise Du Hérisson. It contains more of an elementary-level vocabulary, but I paraphrase where needed.
Materials:
-Book La Surprise du Hérisson or a more simple winter clothing book
-His and my winter hat, mittens, and scarf
-Art project: glue, brush, pom-poms, pre-cut paper mitten (I used cardstock)
Vocabulary/expressions:
Le Bonnet: Winter hat
Les Moufles (F): Mittens
Une écharpe: A scarf
C’est quoi ça or Qu’est-ce que c’est: What’s that?
Art project:
Pousser: push
Les boules: balls
Le colle: glue
Le pinceau: paintbrush
Sur: On
Sequence:
1- When the book came to the hat, I carefully peeked out his hat from the bag for him to reveal it and questioned “C’est quoi ça?” This surprise factor was something he really enjoyed. I pointed to the hat in the book and said “Un Bonnet,” and then pointed to his real hat and repeated “un bonnet,” for him to connect the vocabulary. I repeated this with the words “les moufles” and “une écharpe.”
2. After the book, I put on my own hat, scarf and mittens repeating the words. I asked him if he wanted to put his winter clothing on, but he declined! I asked him to repeat the words by saying BYE-BYE as he put each article back in the bag. He enjoyed this part.
3. Then, I asked him if he wanted to make a craft: “Tu veux faire une moufle avec les boules et le colle?” He enthusiastically answered “OUI!”
4. The art project was fun. He loved painting on the glue and sticking the pom-poms on and saying “boop,” which is something I said once during a previous glue activity to help him remember he had to push on it. Kids are seriously sponges! I was able to brush up on my own French craft vocabulary as well.
All-in-all a successful 3-part activity. I’m usually not this ambitious, because I’m a firm believer in the simple activities being the most effective. Especially for little ones under 3. I was a special education teacher for 6 years, so I was definitely having fun setting up this activity!
