Posted under Games
I’m busy planning my son’s 5th birthday Dinosaur party. It’s in less than two weeks and hopefully the new baby won’t make a surprise entrance before then! But last year, Ned had a truck-themed do. This was another game we played. My husband drew seven truck-themed pictures (keys to start the truck, lunch for the truck driver to…
If you are looking for some Easter fun beyond scoffing chocolate, why not play Easter Bingo? All you need to do is to make up some bingo cards with Easter-themed words on them, one card per player. Be sure to have one word on each card that is exclusive to the pack, ie: not appearing on more than one board…
I love Christmas. I love the decorations, the lights, the Christmas cheer and the Christmas spirit. I could watch my favourite film of all time, While you were sleeping, over and over and over again. I love dressing up in red even more often than I already do. I love Christmas trees and pantomimes and parades. I love relaxed social…
Posted under Games
Something new! Oh, what fun!! MamaMoontime readers often ask me for audio and video footage of games, songs and stories I share. Now, I can do it! This is my favourite Jacaranda song. Every year, when the jacaranda trees bloom in these parts, this song jumps right back into my head. I dare say I’ll probably be singing it in…
Posted under Games, Party, Play activities
This is my new all-time favourite of things to do with little children…. A Crystal treasure hunting game!! Small circular carpet mats were placed on the table and in the centre of each mat sat a small pile of tiny stones, an upturned clam, paua or pretty shell, and a little pair of tweezers. The object of the ‘game’ was…
Posted under Games
This little bare branch tree has been sitting on my nature table for the past few weeks. You’ll see that there are lots of paper ‘blossoms’ loosely attached to tree. Each one of these has a little ‘action’ task on it- perhaps to ‘Jump up and down, like Kangaroo brown’, or ‘side step, side step, back and forth you go’,…
Posted under Games
Sometimes, a game can be as simple as being given a choice to pick a movement or sound, such as in “Old Macdonald had a farm” (eg horse, cow, duck). I like this one. (I collected the words from somewhere?? and just added my own tune). One child chooses a movement, and we all follow along. Once a child has…
Posted under Games
Winter is here! So I’ll take this last chance to show you our late Autumn nature table. Fallen leaves are in abundance, and autumn leaf fairies are flying about, almost ready to return deep underground for their seasonal sleep. I love this time of year. I’ve had the best four nights of sleep in a row- tucked deep within the…
Posted under Games
Here are some games you might like to try! (Also, great for use in family day care, childcare, preschool and the early classroom years at school) Why not use a game to make your way from dinner to the bath, or lunch to rest? The fun of the game, especially when played at the same time each day for a…
Posted under Games, Storytelling
Planting the Magic Rainbow Seed Circle February 2011 Movement is a key element of helping children and adults to switch on their memory, and also aids in building the synapse pathways in the brain. Movement suggestions are in bold. Props: A plain silk ribbon attached to a wand stick is wound up, and tied with a rubber band. A bunch…
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Happy Valentine’s Day!! Our Valentine Tree. Actually, I was going to use a real branch. But I bought these ‘sticks’ on Saturday for another project to come, and when I was about to pull them apart, I saw that I had actually purchased a cone shaped trellis! Wonderful!! The love notes hang around the tree, ready to be given to…
Posted under Games
We recently had a chance to make up our own game. This one, by Jana and Kellie, was the favourite of the night. You might like to use the tune to “In the Springtime Garden” from the Wynstone’s series as they did, or make up your own tune. In the springtime garden Where we sing and go Butterflies…
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This is my little friend, the crab. He has been visiting us here the past two weeks and we have sung about him in our morning circle storytime. Click Click Clack, Along the Track. Click Click Clack, Forward and Back. (This past week, little Ned has spent time everyday saying his “click click clacks” and walking the side by side steps. How…
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Here is another game we play at Moondew. We use two of these little fleece birds. (Tomorrow, I will post how to make these) They hang on a string, which is attached to a wooden rod or skewer stick (with pointy bit cut off) I hold one, and give one to one of the children. This child follows my lead….
Posted under Games
I am a big believer in rhythm, as I know it works. But sometimes, mama’s who lead the rhythms may get fed up with the routine of always having Monday as housework day, Tuesday as Playgroup day, Wednesday as cooking day and so on. One way to break through these challenging thoughts (and parenting fills us with challenging thoughts) is…