By: Melissa Taylor

Melissa Taylor — Mon, 07 Aug 2017 17:38:40 +0000

In reply to Linda Mills. Oh, you sound like an amazing, passionate, & gifted teacher! Thank you so much for sharing your ideas. What fun!!

By: Linda Mills

Linda Mills — Sat, 05 Aug 2017 09:43:04 +0000

Hi Melissa. I am a retired Early Childhood teacher. I had used a similar concept in my class over the years called Take Home bags. The contents were based on the theme in the class and the children just loved them all. I would have 3 bags with always a book (fictional or nonfictional), a toy a soft toy, game, puzzle or diary with crayons and pencils included., that would go home Monday’s and Wednesdays. I involved parents as teaching partners. Let me give you some examples of our favourites.
1. In the first weeks of the school year, a bag went home with a Pooh Bear soft toy( class mascot), a story book based on on our little character and friendship and a classmade book,’Pooh Bear, Pooh Bear, who do you see?’. In this book there were photos of the children and teaching staff in the class. This certainly helped our little ones to settle in.
2. During our Feelings theme, the children took home a teddy who the children found lost and lonely in the playground one morning. In the bags were selected stories on Teddies. One of our favourites was’Dogger’ by Shirley Hughes.
3. During our Minibeasts theme Eric Carle was a favourite and so in our bags we would put one of his wonderful books, a bug catcher, a butterfly net, containers and microscopes. One year, one of our little ones brought in a chrysalis she had found and the children watched a butterfly hatch.
4. When we did the Dinosaur theme, we made two large papier mache eggs with a soft dinosaur toy enclosed in each. When the children arrived at school one day, the eggs had been discovered in the drama corner which we had set up as a paeleontologist’s camp. Oh, the excitement! They thought they were real. So we set some rules as how to care for them when we take them home, and the adventure began. In the bags were nonfictional books about dinosaurs and rugs to wrap the eggs to ensure their safety. The word ‘extinct’ did not exist at this time. The parents were wonderful support and they had many tales to tell about their egg sitting experience. So a class made diary was created to document each visit. Just before our specialParents’ Night the eggs ‘hatched’ and the contents displayed in a nest in the drama corner. The children thought it was wonderful and played with them until the change of the theme and yes we did discuss the word ”extinct’.
5. When we did the letter’s’, the children took home bags that had non fiction titles of the sunflower’s lifecycle, sunflower seeds, recycled planter container, potting soil mix, a miniature watering can, child size gardening gloves, a pop stick for digging and illustrated sequencing cards to show how to prepare and plant the seed. This activity was completed in class first as a group activity and then the children had the opportunity to show their parents what they could do. The children would show us photos of their plants as they grew and flowered.

So, these are just a few of the Literacy book bags that I used. We had baking themes, the five senses and even a physical activity bag. The children loved them and the parents often asked what was coming home next. We never lost any items and if we did the parents always replaced what was damaged or lost. I think in the 18 years that I taught Kindies, it may have only happened twice.

I miss teaching the little ones. Learning can be fun!

Comments on: Easily Make Your Own Literacy Book Bags

By: Melissa Taylor

By: Linda Mills