Skip to main content

Writing Wheel

Get the Book

The GIANT Encyclopedia Of Learning Center Activities For Children 3 to 6

Buy the Book
The GIANT Encyclopedia Of Learning Center Activities For Children 3 to 6

Materials

poster board

scissors

permanent marker

pictures of a particular subject

(books, family, animals, food,

holidays)

brad fastener

poster board arrow

paper

Instructions

1. Take the children on a walk to a neighborhood garage sale. Encourage the
children to look at all the items on sale and talk to the people having the
sale.
2. Tell the children they will be having their own garage sale. Ask parents to let
the children bring in one or two items that they are absolutely sure they no
longer need or want. Ask the parents to contribute one or two items also.
3. When the items arrive, ask the children to sort them into different categories,
such as stuffed toys, dolls, cars, action figures, books, women's clothes, men's
clothes, children's clothes, and so on.
4. Let the children decide how much each item should cost. Keep the prices
extremely low (between a penny and a quarter).
5. Help the children use stickers and markers to create a price tag for each
item.
6. Arrange the items around the room according to the categories they were
sorted into.
7. Ask the parents to give their child a dollar's worth of change. Make sure they
have at least one quarter, one nickel, and one dime. The rest of the dollar can
be in pennies.
8. Create a "Garage Sale" sign using markers and craft paper. Hang the sign on
the classroom door.
9. Encourage the children to browse through the items for sale. Give them a lot
of time during the day to browse the sales items and make their purchases.
They can buy any item they choose as long as they have the right amount of
money. Give LOTS of help with addition and subtraction. Use the actual
money to demonstrate these principles.
10. Be prepared for children who want to take back the things they brought.
Explain that they can certainly buy back their own items if they wish.
11. After the children have finished shopping, invite other classrooms to visit the
garage sale. Give the visiting children a few coins so they can purchase
something.
12. Continue the garage sale until all the items are purchased or the children's
interest wanes. Give the remaining items back to the children who donated
them or give them to a local charity. You may want to keep the women's and
men's clothes for your dress-up center.
13. Collect the money the children spend on the items so you can give it back to
the parents at the end of the activity.
More to do Hold a toy drive. Encourage the children to bring in new and gently used toys,
which they can donate to a local children's charity.
Outdoors: In good weather, take some tables outside and turn your garage
sale into a yard sale.

Elevate your lesson planning: Download this easy activity today!

Make the most of your instructional time with this fun and adaptable activity. Crafted from our experts in early childhood theory and best practice, this downloadable resource offers play-based activities that will help your students reach learning objectives.