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Treasure Hunting!

Anytime we can combine play with learning I get really excited. Mother Goose Time was full of play opportunities this week with the Alphabet Island theme. We learned all about Volcanoes, Treasure Maps, Caves, Water Falls and Coconut trees. Also our Make and Play projects got a lot of use this week.

I think our favorite day was the Treasure Map day. Now that summer is upon us and the weather is getting warmer it is nice to have such a fun playable curriculum. There is just enough structure to help the day run smoothly, but it is also flexible enough that if we want to have a lazy do nothing but eat cookies and play kind of day we can do that too.  Most kids love treasure maps and mine were excited to start their adventure for the day. They dove right into the make and play project which was making your own treasure map!



I had an opportunity to do a little map lesson while they were making them. We talked about different kinds of maps, and map keys, as well as directions such as north, south, east and west. we also looked at some maps from different places that we had around the house. See, learning disguised as play! After thoroughly discussing maps and looking at a few zoo maps we were ready to go on our own treasure hunt using our maps. I got a couple little containers and put some gems into each so they could have treasure to hide. They spent most of the morning hiding and finding treasure. They drew several different maps and took turns hiding treasure for the other to find. I am planning on making a big map that will take them around outside of our apartment so they can practice following a map. I just need to think of a fun treasure for them to find.



Eventually this led to them locating their spy glass and captain hats from other Make and Play projects this month. Pirates are intriguing and a great source of dramatic play, we've been using these props a lot this month. I love that the props that go along with the theme, they are so much fun and really add to the kids creativity.

Next week is the wrap up of Alphabet Island and I am planning a Luau to close the month. We are really excited to learn about Island Dancing and Music next week.


*Mother Goose Time has generously provided this curriculum to us in exchange for our stories and honest opinions*




   

Comments

  1. UnknownJune 30, 2017 at 4:59 AM

    That looks like it was a lot of fun. I imagine you will see them expand on this play theme throughout the summer. Thank you for sharing.

    ReplyDelete

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