Materials
- stuffed bear or doll
- doll clothing (or infant-sized regular clothes) for a variety of weather conditions (raincoat, boots, hat, scarf, mittens, shorts, T-shirt, sunglasses, and so on)
What to do
1. Getting ready to go outside can be a difficult transition as children and teachers try to figure out what to wear. This activity lets the children decide ahead of time what the weather conditions are and ends last-minute decisions.
2. Show the stuffed bear or doll to the children. Let them touch and explore it as you tell them about the activity.
3. Tell them you have noticed that they often wonder what to wear when going outside. Explain that the doll or bear is your new "Weather Buddy." Explain that each morning, one child will be chosen to dress the bear in clothing that is suitable for that day's weather.
4. Show the children the clothing. Hold up each piece and talk about it. Ask questions about each piece, such as, "When would you wear this sweater?" Say, "If it was very cold and snowy outside right now, what would our Weather Buddy wear?" Let the children pick out the appropriate clothing and help dress the bear.
5. After the bear is dressed, ask the children if they think it would be okay for the buddy to go outside in the cold and snow.
6. Repeat step 4 for another weather condition. Continue until you are sure the children grasp the idea of the Weather Buddy.
7. Remind the children that you will assign a child to dress the Weather Buddy each morning. Make sure they know they will all get a turn.
8. When ready to go outside, ask the children to go and look at the Weather Buddy to check and see what kind of clothing they need to wear.
More to do
- Art: Let each child make her own Weather Buddy paper doll. Take a photo of the Weather Buddy dressed in shorts and a T-shirt. Print one photo for each child on 8 1/2 " x 11" card stock paper. Help them cut out the photo. The children can then make clothes for their doll or cut out clothes from magazines. They can pretend to dress their own Weather Buddy by taping or gluing the clothes on.
-Virginia Jean Herrod, Columbia, SC
Instructions
Use the following ideas to get the children's attention and quiet them down.
* At circle time, take out an old phone and start talking into it. Children will
quiet down to hear what you are saying. Talk about what is going on in
the room, for example, "We're going to hear a story, clean up for snack, and
go outside."
* Use puppets to "whisper" in your ear to quiet the group.
* Add a few marbles to a bottle of clear shampoo. Turn the bottle over and
see if everyone can sit quietly before the marbles reach the bottom (they
move slowly through the shampoo).
* Ring a very soft bell or chime and speak in a very soft voice to settle the
group down.
