Providing a strong literacy foundation is of primary importance to the early childhood teacher and using loose-parts supports an active learning environment. A variety of loose parts materials can help children bring stories to life. Simply fill a basket, box, plastic shoebox, or any container with a children’s book, puppets, rocks, felt pieces, and other loose-parts props that relate to the book. Then, children can re-create the story using the loose parts in the basket or make up a new story with their own imaginations. The activity below uses loose parts with Laura Numeroff's classic book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. Get the book—Loose Parts Learning in K-3 Classrooms—for more on implementing the loose-parts mindset and loose-parts activities in each of the STREAM disciplines.
Materials
- If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff
- Felt
- Glue
- Milk Carton
- Straw
- Unbreakable mirror
- Child-safe scissors
What to Do
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff is an engaging book to use. In the story basket for this book, include felt and other materials for the students to create their own mouse. Also include props for retelling the story, such as a milk carton, straw, napkin, mirror, and so on. Additionally, the items in the basket could be to support oral language and vocabulary development and storytelling skills.
