Blog
Name Rocks
Mon, 23rd Apr 2018Thankyou to Shaney Hyde from Sorrento Pre School for ths fantastic contribution!
"A play based approach to self registration-A morning ritual"
I thought I'd try this idea for term one. Each child's name is painted on their own rock.
A photo of their face will be glued on the back to reinforce name recognition (& varnished for durability)
Children arrive each morning and find their name rock. They place it in the basket that's labeled "Who is here today?" (A beautiful natural woven basket that looks inviting)!
The teachers each have a rock too so it reinforces a sense of belonging as a whole group for both educators and children.
In term two (or maybe earlier depending on how children are responding ), I'll introduce name/shape matching.
A piece of fabric laid on a table ( or floor). I've outlined each name rock by drawing around them onto the fabric in permanent marker with their name written inside the corresponding shape (pictured)
Children find their rock from the basket and place it on the matching name /shape
I chose to use a fabric piece so it can easily be folded up and placed into the basket with the rocks for easy pack up and storage purposes!
I painted my rocks blue (blue wombat group) so children can see at a glance that they belong to the one group. It's kind of special belonging to a group!
Children can play with their rocks throughout the session too once everyone's arrived. They could use for placing their rock on block constructions they've created for ownership etc.
*I'm sure the children will invent many other uses for their name rocks during play. They will gain a sense of responsibility and looking out for each other by making sure all the rocks go in the basket at the end of each day ready for the next kinder day!
