Lessons Kids Learn with Farm Pretend Play

It all started when I began preparing for my second child’s first birthday party.  We chose the farm as a party theme.  Then, I used the theme as inspiration in coming up with games and activities during the party.  Our guests loved the theme and the games.  But I guess our kids loved the theme so much that months after my second child’s first birthday party, my kids are still playing and enjoying farm-related games and activities inspired by the games we played at my son’s farm-themed birthday party.  You may click here to read about our farm-themed birthday party program in detail.  Our farm party theme turned out to be a seedbed of many wonderful pretend play scenarios and home school lessons.

The kids actually started learning about the farm even before our second child’s birthday party.  We had been reading books about the farm to them and they really enjoyed it.  Their curiosity about the farm was intensified when we started preparing the materials and props for our farm-themed kiddie party.  We bought plaid tops and farmer hats, plastic fruit and vegetable toys and baskets.  We made farm-related crafts and art projects.  You may click here, here, here and here to see some of them.  We sang and danced to the music of songs about farm animals.  I also taught my kids the barn dance.  My youngest son (the birthday boy) loved it very much especially the tap-tap-tap and clap-clap-clap portion of the dance.  My kids and I still use our costumes and props when we play at home.  It makes us enjoy our pretend play even more.

Here are activities/scenarios that they like to imitate and the lessons they learn while engaging in these activities.

Planting and Harvest time – Reading books about the farm paved the way for our discussions about life on the farm.  One of the things that I was able to discuss with them is the concept/law of the farm that when you plant, you harvest.  But it takes some time before you can harvest.  So, it would be good to be busy with something else while waiting for harvest time.  One time, we drew a farm scene in a manila paper.  My eldest son asked me to draw the vegetables in our vegetable garden.  He and his younger brother colored it.  Then, I scattered the plastic toys in the house and gave each one of them a basket.  They went around “harvesting” fruits and vegetables.  This was similar to the game we had in my youngest son’s birthday party where the kids raced to harvest farm produce.  Talking about harvesting and planting enabled me to introduce farm machines as well.  I read books to them showing these things.

Farmer’s Market – Through our farm pretend play, I was able to share with my kids that farmers sell their farm products in the Farmer’s Market.  They love this pretend play!  Since my youngest just turned one, he’s the customer most of the time.  My eldest is the farmer selling his produce.  Sometimes, he also pretends to sell other farm products like eggs and farm animals.  They use play money in their transaction.  My eldest gets to practice his Math skills in counting, addition and subtraction.  He also gets to practice his writing skills because he puts up signs in his stall.  He learns about the farm business as we play.  My youngest learns to identify objects through their pretend play and to differentiate between fruits and vegetables.  Sometimes, he helps his brother set up his stall by separating the fruits from the vegetables in the display.  We like playing “bring me” games with my youngest son, too.  We’re delighted every time he brings us the correct fruit or vegetable.

Restaurant in the Farm – This is also one of their favorites.  They pretend to cook the vegetables that they harvest from their farm.  Then, they pretend to make fruit shakes.  I teach them simple recipes as we pretend to cook dishes using their plastic toys.  It helps my eldest to become familiar with the ingredients of some dishes.  We use some of my youngest son’s books and pretend they are our menu.  This pretend play teaches them that when they plant, they will not go hungry because they can cook what they harvest.  Moreover, it influences their real food and drink choices.  Pretending to eat fruits and vegetables at play prepares them for mealtimes.  Kids also get to practice their Math and Applied Math skills in this activity as they pretend to run their restaurant.

Caring for farm animals – One of the games we had at my son’s birthday party is to ask the kids to help the farmer/birthday boy to gather his animals back in the farm.  Two teams raced to round out the animals and bring them back to the big red barn.  At home, we read more about farm life.  We talk about where the animals live on the farm, what they eat, what they do, etc.  We also color some cut outs or coloring pages.  Both of my kids loved imitating the sounds that farm animals make.  Sometimes, we imitate their actions, too.  Recently, we went to a zoo where they saw farm animals too.  They enjoyed that field trip very much!

I plan to bring them to a real farm this summer.  I’m excited to see how they would react as they see real farm animals in action and different fruits and vegetables that we usually talk about in our farm pretend plays.  I’m sure they will find that experience fascinating as well. 

School is already over for most kids but it’s still possible for kids to keep on learning this summer.  These kinds of pretend plays can mean hours of fun and learning for your little ones.  Try them and have fun with your kids pretending to be on the farm!

Here are some of the books we have about the farm:

• The Three Little Pigs (with house and finger puppets)
• Clifford’s Animal Sounds
• Big Red Barn
• On the Farm
• Farm (Lift the Flap)
• Click, Clack, Moo, Cows that Type
• Animals by Brainy Baby
• Fruits and Vegetables Lovely Mini Padded Board Book
• Farm Animals (A Mini Magic Color Book)
• Farm cloth book by Fisher Price

* This was originally published at Smart Parenting Online. 

7 Benefits Kids Get from Pretending to be a Doctor

One of my eldest son’s favorite pretend plays, aside from his all-time-favorite of playing store, is pretending to be a doctor.  He would borrow some of the things we have in the house that he often sees in his pediatrician’s clinic or what he sees doctors use during our visits to the hospital (i.e. cotton balls, band-aids, digital thermometer).  Sometimes, he uses other household items and imagines them to be doctor’s things.  Recently, I bought him his own set of doctor toys to help him get into character during his dramatic plays. 

He used to pretend doctor before with me, his dad or our maids as his patients.  Since I have already given birth, his new favorite patient now is his baby brother.  He loves to imitate what their pediatrician would usually do during our visits to her clinic and do the same things to his brother.

I encourage pretend play a lot in our household because I recognize the many benefits that it gives to kids.  I was inspired to mentally take note of the specific benefits that kids get from pretending to be a doctor a few weeks ago while playing with my son.

Let me share some of them with you in this article.

1.     It allows the child to put himself in his doctor’s shoes, try out doctor duties, and consider the possibility of becoming one in the future.  When a child imitates what a doctor does to his patients, the child gets to experience being a “doctor” even for a few minutes or an hour.  His pretend play somehow transports him to the future.  It allows him to imagine himself as a doctor and carrying out doctor duties.  This kind of pretend play can actually be the child’s first step to walking towards his dream profession.  One of the questions I ask my son when he pretends to be a doctor is if he wants to become one someday.  He would always say yes.  I think it boosts his confidence as well that he can indeed become a doctor when he grows up.  I think he also likes what doctors do that’s why he likes to imitate them and become like them someday.      

2.     It makes the child more comfortable with visits to the doctor and the procedures usually done during these visits.  Although my eldest son is not afraid of going to his doctor’s clinic, pretend plays help him become more comfortable with whatever will happen during our next visits especially if he would have to undergo procedures he hasn’t experienced in the past.  Our pretend plays serve as simulations of what can or will happen next time we go to the doctor.  For kids who are afraid to go to the doctor, this kind of play can allow them to experience and realize that doctors are our friends because they help us to become well and that going to the doctor can be pleasant.  Therefore, they need not fear or cry every time.  This kind of dramatic play can help make kids become more cooperative next time they go to the doctor’s clinic when they simply need to drink a vitamin or medicine, or you need to clean their wound.

3.     It provides an opportunity for the child to role-play different medical scenarios including basic first aid and other medical emergencies.  Kids thus learn not to panic when these situations happen and learn how to handle them in the process.  Moms and Dads can use these pretend plays to teach kids what to do when they or someone else gets wounded, injured or sick.  That way, kids can learn the basic concepts of first aid or at least be oriented through play of what to do or whom to call during medical emergencies.  Knowledge of these basic life skills equips the kids even through play and lessens their fear of these medical emergencies since they somehow know what to expect and do during these situations.     

4.     It helps the child practice his communication skills as he pretends to talk to his patients.  Pretend scenarios give us insight into what the child understands about the situation he is trying to imitate.  His words and how he talks to the other kids or people he is playing with allows him to manifest his communication skills.

5.     Pretending to use doctor tools helps increase the child’s vocabulary as he learns the names of the different things used by a doctor.  One of the things I did with my son when I bought his doctor toy set is to tell him the name of each item in his medical kit.  I also told him and explained to him the different uses of his tools.  After some time of playing doctor and using his tools, I eventually hear him use their names as he refers to them during play.

6.     Pretending to write on prescription pads enables children to practice their writing and spelling skills.  During one of our play times, my son got a pen and a small pad of paper.  He said he will write the name of the medicine and vitamin for his baby brother.  I took that as a cue and an opportunity to encourage him to write his full name as well with the word doctor before it just like in his pediatrician’s prescription pad.  He liked the idea instantly.  That has been our daily writing practice in the past weeks.  There are days when he would copy the word doctor and write it in his pad.  But there are also days when he would try to write words from memory aside from his name.  I also searched the web for coloring pages on doctors and printed some so my son can practice his coloring skills too.  You may click here and here to check them out.

7.     It teaches the child empathy for people who are sick or who are not well and encourages and inspires the child to do something to help them.  Through these kinds of pretend play, kids can learn to be extra caring and sensitive to the needs of people who are sick.  Moreover, it allows them to practice the ideal behavior around sick or frail people and in clinics or hospitals.

I plan to buy my son some children’s books about doctors too and maybe a small scrub suit or lab gown that he can use during his pretend plays.  I know that these would further enhance his imagination during his pretend plays.  If you happen to know some good children’s books from our local bookstores or stores that sell small lab gowns or scrub suits, please leave a comment so I can check them out.  Thanks!  Now, I need to get back to our clinic and be my little doctor’s assistant.

* This was originally published at Smart Parenting Online. 

Mateo's Construction-Themed Birthday Party

I'm still high from the success of Mateo's construction-themed birthday party last weekend! I continue to savor the experience by looking at the photos.

All my hard work paid off after hearing my son say that he enjoyed his birthday party and that it was his high point that day. I was also happy to witness him enjoy interacting with his guests and playmates.

I wanted so much to make his third birthday extra special and memorable because he will be a big brother soon. I'm now on my 38th week of pregnancy and I could give birth anytime. We scheduled his party during the weekend and a few days earlier than his actual birthday so that his playmates who go to school can attend and so that our close relatives and friends could also join us in the celebration.

Thank God for the internet and the abundance of ideas that inspired me in planning and preparing for this construction-themed birthday party! My husband and I didn't want to spend too much since I would be giving birth soon. But I also want to make my son's birthday celebration a very nice one even with a limited budget; thus, I chose the DIY route for most of the birthday decor.

Why construction-themed?

First, let me share why I chose this theme for my son's third birthday. I chose this theme mainly because Mateo likes construction trucks, particularly bull dozers, backhoes and cement mixers. It could be because he saw these trucks (bulldozer and backhoe) when we moved to our new residence last year. There was still a lot of construction going on in our subdivision when we moved in and these trucks were going around our subdivision often in the past year. His interest prompted me to buy him books about construction trucks and to point out to him other construction equipment. We would also count cement mixers whenever we see them on the road while travelling. 


Invitation

I made our own invitations. I drew inspiration from the many invitations I saw in the internet. I picked up the ideas that I liked and put them together. I used Power Point to do this invitation. Then, I sent the invitations through Facebook or email. I also sent text messages.


I typed our address on the Job Site column and
my mobile number in the Report To column.

I printed hard copies and placed them in envelopes for our neighbors and guests from the parish.

Decors, Games and Activities
 



Mateo sits by the construction area before his
construction crew (also the demolition crew) arrived.

Both of my sons enjoy playing pretend with their construction toys. They would spend hours imagining and building whatever they want to be part of their construction site or play area. Thus, I knew right away that one of the activities that I would include during my younger son's birthday celebration is letting the children play with construction toys. I planned to set up a construction area/site for them. Since my boys love playing with these toys, they have accumulated quite a number of toys that can be used for this purpose. I simply gathered their toys and added additional props and signs to imitate the safety signs in construction areas.

I bought a few additional toys for their pretend play like hard hats and belts that builders or workers use to carry their tools.
 

The birthday boy in the middle with his construction crew!

I printed this out to remind the boys who can already read
and their nannies/parents while they are at play.

The construction site was such a hit to the kids! The kids spent hours playing pretend during the party. There were even a few who almost didn't want to go home! The kids played there as soon as they finished eating.

I prepared a cartolina where our little guests can stamp their handprints and write their names as soon as they arrive in our party zone.

They are given IDs after this so they can enter the construction site. ;)

 

I printed construction-themed coloring pages to keep the kids busy while waiting for the games to start and after eating. I got these free printable from this website.

I printed a maze sheet that kids can answer. I got this from my son's construction activity book. And I brought out these books for the kids to read. 

 

I only planned three games for the party. These were: construction tools relay game, pin the nail to the hammer and trip around the construction site.

Here are the mechanics for the games:

Construction tools relay:
 

1. There should be two teams composed of 2-3 players. The members should line up and take turns doing the tasks.

2. Their task is to first wear the hard hat, then wear the belt with tools around their waist, unscrew the washer from the screw, put the screw and washer back to the aluminum foil, go around the chair, take off the hard hat and belt, put these back in the other chair, go back to their teammate and tap their teammate to do the same series of tasks.

3. The first team to complete the relay wins the game.

Pin the nail to the hammer:
 

1. I printed a hammer clipart and glued it on a colored paper.

2. I also printed nails and cut them out.

3. We blindfolded the kids and gave each one of them a nail that they can stick to the hammer photo.

4. The kid who is able to stick the nail closest to the hammer wins the game.

Trip around the construction site:
 

1. I printed out photos of construction trucks and nails.

2. A photo is taped on the backrest of each chair that will be used for the game.

3. We taped photos of nails on two chairs so that every time the music stops, two kids will be out of the game.

4. There will be the same number of chairs as the kids participating in the game.

5. Music like the birthday song would be played for this game.

5. Kids will dance around the chairs while the music is playing and will stop to sit on chairs when the music stops.

6. The kids who happen to sit on chairs with photos of nails will be out of the game.

7. Two chairs with photos of construction trucks will be removed for the succeeding rounds.

8. When only 3 players are left, there should be two chairs with nail photos and one chair with a construction truck photo. 

9. The kid who ends up sitting on the chair with a photo of the construction truck is the winner.

One of the table centerpieces that I made.
The nail print out for the trip[ around the construction site is in one of the chairs.

We were not able to play this game anymore because we started late. The kids came in later than expected. By the time we were done with the first two games, the kids (and adults) were already hungry. We proceeded with the singing of the birthday song, blowing of candle on the cake and the prayer before meals.

The signs at our gate.

The sign under our Christmas tree.

The sign at the bottom of our stairs to discourage our little guests 
from going up the second floor.

I was able to get permission from the site engineer to make the bulldozer pass by our house on the afternoon of the party. Unfortunately, the bulldozer had a flat tire. Mateo was not able to ride it to go around our subdivision that day. Hopefully, it would be fixed in time for his actual birthday.

Party zone set up at our garage. Kids coloring construction-themed coloring pages
while waiting for their playmates.

                 
I ordered yellow balloons and rented tables and chairs from a party supplier in our village, the same supplier I got from last year's parties. We had a hard time searching for plain black balloons. Thank God that we found some a week before Mateo's party. We just gave them to our balloon supplier days before the party so they can inflate them for us.

Party Food and Drinks

I didn't want to stress myself too much so I relied on my past experience and food suppliers. I did not cook anymore. We simply ordered food to be delivered for the party. The only food we prepared were the fried chicken and egg sandwiches for the kids (cooked by our helper) and the rice. I asked my brother to cook beef caldereta just like last year.

We bought fruit juices for the kids and ice tea sachets, which I asked my helpers to prepare the night before the party. Then, we put them in the refrigerator overnight.

We ordered spaghetti, pancit and pork barbecue from Amber and roasted chicken from Chooks-to-go. 

For dessert, we bought cassava cake, popcorn, M & M chocolates and ice cream in cups. We also made peanut banana wrapped in whole wheat tortilla.



I ordered cake and cupcakes from the same supplier where I ordered our cakes and cupcakes in our past birthday celebrations. I just made and printed my own cupcake toppers similar to the table centerpieces that I made.

I made the food and drink labels and the happy birthday banner to match the construction theme. 

I was lucky to find paper plates and cups that matched our party theme. I also bought black plastic spoons and forks to match them.

 

Loot Bags
 

For the loot bag contents, I relied on my time-tested treats for kids just like in the previous parties I organized. I simply added a yellow face towel for our little construction crew and gold chocolate coins as part of their payment for helping Mateo complete his construction work.

 

I just used brown bags and decorated it with labels and used yellow and black yarn to tie it. Mateo gave these away to his construction crew before they went home.

Outfits

I was lucky enough to find a shirt from Mothercare that had a backhoe printed in front of it. It was perfect for Mateo's party theme. He wore blue denim and grey shoes to match his shirt. My husband, eldest son and I also dressed up as close to the party theme as possible. It was a good thing that I got a hard hat as souvenir in one of the conferences that I attended last year. I wore that while facilitating the games.

 

It was a simple and intimate birthday celebration but it was an event that we all enjoyed! I enjoyed planning and preparing for it and I enjoyed looking at the result of all my hard work.

This was one of the reasons why I postponed finishing and launching my latest book ideas and my online training program. I believe that my work goals can wait. But making memories with those precious to me cannot.

Hope this post would inspire you in case you are also preparing for a construction-themed birthday party for your little boy. 

   

Letter of the Week Activities with the Letter B

It has been a B as in beautiful week with the letter B for me and my sons last week!

 

Let me share with you the activities that we had.

 

1. Finger-painting of letter O by Mateo - We always kick off our Letter of the Week Activity with finger-painting by my 2-year-old son. It's very simple but effective, relaxing and therapeutic.

 

 

2. Painting the Life Cycle of the Butterfly - I already had this idea right after we bought a copy of the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar. But I had to postpone it for some time when I have decided to do Letter of the Week activities with my sons. Having the letter B as our Letter of the Week was just the perfect time for it.

This was made by Mateo.

 

 

Here's how we did it step-by-step:

     a. I folded a bond paper into 4 parts/quadrants. Each child was given his own bond paper.

 

     b. I painted my son's hand with green paint using a brush.

 

     c. Then, I helped my son press his hand on the first quadrant of the bond paper.

 

     d. Next, I helped/guided my son as he dipped one finger on green paint again and made a series of dots that are joined to each other like a caterpillar.

 

     e. After finishing the body of the caterpillar, I helped/guided my son in dipping another finger in red paint and in making a head for the caterpillar.

 

     f. While waiting for the leaf (hand print) and the caterpillar to dry, I helped/guided my son again in painting a cocoon using his fingers. I helped/guided him in dipping his finger on brown paint and pressing it on the bond paper to form the pattern of a cocoon.

 

     g. We cleaned his hand/fingers first before painting them with his chosen color for the wings of the butterfly. I used a paint brush to paint my sons' palms.

 

      h. Then, I helped each child press his palm gently on the last quadrant. You can use both hands/palms to stamp hand prints for the wings or you can just use the same hand to do that. If you use the same hand though, you need to coat the same palm with paint again before pressing it the second time. 

 

       i. I waited for the paint to dry to add details to the caterpillar, an egg on the leaf hand print and additional colors and the body and details on the butterfly.

 

       j. Once dry, I helped/guided my son as he dipped his finger on white paint and pressed it on the green leaf.

 

       k. I assisted my son in drawing the eyes, smile and antennae on the caterpillar.

 

       l. I helped/assisted my son in finger-painting the body of the caterpillar and eventually finger painting and drawing the additional details.

 

This was made by Yanthy.

Note: My eldest son worked independently on this art activity. He would simply watch what I was doing with his younger brother whose hand I am holding/guiding most of the time. I asked him to imitate what I was doing and I would just intervene if necessary. ;)

 

I explained our art activity briefly, relating it to the story in our book. We capped our painting activity by singing the butterfly song that we learned from one of our helpers. It's actually spelling out the word BUTTERFLY. :)

 

3. Making a Bulldozer Toy Out of Paper Cut-out - I recently found and bought a book from the Book Sale that's about Diggers. It's an activity book about construction toys and areas. I was delighted when I saw it because I know that my sons would like it. In one of its pages, there's a bulldozer toy that can be cut-out and formed. I proceeded to cut the parts of the toy after we finished our painting activity on the life cycle of a butterfly. The boys were very happy to play with the paper bulldozer as soon as I finished it. 

 

 

4. Reading books about Things that Start with the Letter B - Aside from reading the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar, we read books about bulldozers, buses, bees and stories from the Bible. As usual, we used props (their toys) as we read the books.

 

 

5. Serving and Eating Food that Start with the Letter B - Some of the food that we had starting with the letter B last week were the following: banana with peanut butter wrapped in tortilla, beef balls, eggnog biscuits which my sons imagined to be hosts (Body of Christ during their pretend play of the Holy Mass), and bangus or milkfish sinigang.

 

 

6. Bible Verse Writing Activity - This is part of our Catholic ABC Program. Aside from the art and reading activities that we have each week, I make sure that I introduce a Bible verse to my sons, particularly to my eldest son. I use this activity as an opportunity to practice my eldest son's listening, writing and spelling skills. Last week, our Bible verse was taken from John 6:51.

 

 

7. Playing with Toys that Start with the Letter B and Pretend Play - The boys played again with their construction toys that start with the letter B (bulldozer, backhoe, bike). After tracing his finger on the letter B puzzle mat, I removed the letter B and filled it with my son's building blocks. Both of my sons love playing with building blocks! They can play with these toys for hours, imagining scenarios and creating them using the building blocks. They also played bowling , basketball and my younger son played with his smaller balls.

  

Aside from their favorite pretend play with building blocks (wherein they pretend to have a parking lot/building), they also pretended to celebrate the Holy Mass. My eldest son pretended to be the priest most of the time, doubling as musician/pianist and choir sometimes. My younger son pretended to be a reader (lector/commentator), parishioner or Mass-goer, choir member and sometimes priest also. He enjoyed pretending to receive Holy Communion (he liked the eggnogs!).
 

My eldest son pretending to be a priest giving Holy Communion to our helper.

My toddler pretending to carry the Bible
during the entrance procession at the start of the Mass.

 

8. B as in Bethlehem Craft - This craft activity is in line with our Bible verse for the week as well. I learned while I was researching for the most appropriate verse for our letter of the week that Bethlehem means house of bread. That discovery affirmed my plans to make our DIY Bethlehem/Nativity décor. I recommend that you read this interesting article about Jesus as the Living Bread that came down from heaven and how perfect that He was born in Bethlehem.

 

I did the same DIY Bethlehem décor/craft using popsicle sticks with my toddler which I did with my eldest son last year.

 

Let me share the steps as well for this craft:

 

     a. I simply asked my son to paint 6 popsicle sticks with green paint.

 

     b. Then, I asked him to paint 1 popsicle stick with white paint, guiding him to leave a space for the face of Baby Jesus.

 

     c. We set aside these popsicle sticks to air-dry.

 

    d. I then painted cream colored paint to serve as faces to the yellow and blue popsicle sticks as well as the white popsicle stick. I let these air-dry once more.

 

     e. While letting them dry, I drew and cut out a star from a scrap of bond paper.

 

     f. I asked my toddler to squeeze silver glitter glue all over it. Then, we let it dry once more.

 

    g. When all the popsicle sticks were dry, I glued them to form a stable and inserted the sticks that represent the Holy Family. I broke the sticks that represent Mama Mary and Jesus so that they would be shorter than the stick that represented St. Joseph.

 

    h. When the faces that I painted were already dry, I drew the details using a sign pen. I also glued the star on top of the stable.

 

We hanged this décor in our Christmas tree afterwards.

 

This year, I did a different Bethlehem craft with my eldest son. I asked him to paint a milk carton with brown paint so we can use it as stable for our toilet paper tube characters in our DIY Nativity set. My toddler also helped out in painting the parts of the manger for this set. Then, I took charge of making B as in Baby Jesus out of the other half of the toilet paper tube we used for the manger. I used left over yellow paper to cut out the hay for the manger.

 

 

9. Flag-making Activity - My sons made the flags of Bahrain and Bangladesh.

 

 

It has been another B as in busy week for us but it was fun-filled and blessed especially since our week was capped with the All Saints' Day party of our homeschool group where my sons came as San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila and St. Dominic de Guzman.

 

My two sons as St. Dominic de Guzman and San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila.

 

Today, we kicked off our new letter of the week - the letter C! Watch out for my post where I will summarize and enumerate our activities this week!