Attn Playgroup teachers: need ideas

YALT

Sat, Dec 26 2009, 9:10 pm

I have a playgroup in my house for kids between 16-24 months. Until now, it was just this kid here, that kid there on/off, for the kids that age. Now I'll have 4 kids that age about 3x a week for 3 hours.
Included in that time is lunch.
I davven with them every day and they love it. They all do the motions. I
I'm trying to teach the younger 2 not to eat playdough, and then we can play with it more. (the older 2 love it)
I can't really dance much with them cuz 1 kid can't stand on her own yet. But we do a little like once a week for 2 minutes.
they color every day as well.

Questions.
-what are other ideas I can do with them?
-I can't teach parsha, since they're too young. The older ones can pick up things like colors, shapes, but I'd rather teach something more Jewish. Any suggestions?
-Where do you get your ideas for projects? (one of the parents davka wants that,and I'd like to try to accomodate) any websites? books? obviously, I'd have to make it more age appropriate, but all my ideas from a few yrs ago seem to have vanished. I need to start anew.

doodlesmom

Sat, Dec 26 2009, 10:42 pm

you can teach about weather
you can teach them life skills (such as brushing teeth, putting on a coat the easy way for older ones, washing hands, wiping face and nose) the moms will definitely appreciate that
Try singing songs with choreography, they love those, (head shoulder knees and toes, the wheels on the bus, 5 little monkey) etc.

Stayci

Sat, Dec 26 2009, 11:01 pm

There are many websites you can take ideas from. Google preschool activities or similar keywords and you will come up with loads of great websites. Kids also love reading books. Even better is when you read it to them. They can sit for hours while you read. You can read with props or act some parts out.

octopus

Sat, Dec 26 2009, 11:07 pm

even if you do the same songs and finger plays everyday, even the youngest child can join along! My dd was hand motioning along with the itsy bitsy spider at a VERY young age. It might not take up too much time, but if you can decide on what songs you would like to sing everyday, eventually the kids really join along. It must be so hard for you since there is a tremendous ability gap between a 16 month old and a two year old!

opinionatedbubby

Thu, Feb 04 2010, 2:32 am

Planning activities (lesson plans!) are my favorite part of my at- home gan, a.k.a.playgroup. When you're doing something fun, it doesn't matter if each child gets the point or learns something; some will, some won't. For instance, if you look at the pictures in a few books about hibernation, look at bear photos , then throw a big blanket over some chairs for a cave, and all the kids become bears and go into it and it's dark and screechy, well, it's an experience for all the kids whether they get the point or not.
The library is the best. Start with a n idea, called a theme, in teacher jargon. Do a subject based search, say, "trees" Juvenile literature is nonfiction, and get fiction books on the same topic. Obviously, you won't actually read the books to the kids, just look at the pictures and talk about them. then go crazy and act out the topic.
Yom Tov is the easiest. I mostly take all the yom tov objects and make big 6" or 8" cut outs from posterboard, add googly eyes and have these "puppets" do the talking.
The main thing is ,without totally ignoring the students' level, is to deal with real subjects, besides songs and fingerplays, so that you feel like you're stimulating their minds, not just babysittting.