1 Well worn
ADULT-LED
Foster children's interest in clothes with an amusing tale aboaut getting dressed.
Planned learning intentions
* To know that books are pleasurable, fun and informative
* To know that pictures are important and will help them to retell a story
* To know that stories can be changed
Adult:child ratio 1:4
Resources
There are various children's stories about getting dressed such as Buster Gets Dressed by Rod Campbell (Macmillan Children's Books, 3.99), Freddie Gets Dressed by Nicola Smee (O'Brien Press, 3.99) and a personal favourite, but with only limited availability, is How Do I Put ItOn? by Shigeo Watanabe (Red Fox, 4.99), featuring a bear who doesn't know the order in which to put on his clothes. Collect items of clothing to tie in with the story of your choice.
Activity content
* Tell the story in an animated way. Be the characters. Ask the children how you should put on the clothes. Enjoy the humour of the stories and encourage the children to suggest other clothing that the characters could put on.
* Encourage the children to take turns in choosing clothes to put on and to recall the character's actions.
* Provide enough time and resources for the children to explore putting on and taking off clothes independently.
Stepping stones
* Children with little experience will enjoy the story, and may choose to try on some of the clothes. They may need assistance from a peer or from an adult.
* Children with some experience will enjoy being able to dress themselves independently in a variety of garments. They will attempt to do up fastenings such as buttons and zips.
* Children with more experience will be able to dress themselves and do up most fastenings. They will enjoy showing how skilled they are, and may offer advice and assistance to others.
Extension ideas
* Introduce other items of clothing and ask the children how and where they think the bear might put them on.
* If possible, tape the story in different languages for the children to access independently.
* Provide opportunities for the children to dress and undress independently, for example, before going outdoors.
* Encourage the children to create their own storybooks about getting dressed.
* Take photographs of the children as they put on different clothes. Make a book of the photographs and scribe the children's comments about dressing under the pictures.
2 Matching set
ADULT-LED
Reinforce children's learning and understanding of numbers and matching using a dressing game.
Planned learning intention
To count reliably to six and recognise numerals 1 to 6
Adult:child ratio 1:4
Resources
A large die; four baseboards sectioned into six (number the sections 1 to 6 and glue a picture of an item of clothing in each section); a set of six cards per child, with each card containing a picture of clothing that corresponds with those on the board.
Activity content
* Talk about the pictures and numbers on the boards.
* Explain the rules of the game. Children will take turns to throw the die, count the spots, find the number on their board and choose the card to match the item of clothing on their board.
* Enjoy playing the game with the children.
Stepping stones
* Children with little experience will need help counting the spots on the die and recognising the numerals. They will enjoy taking part in the game, but may need encouragement to wait their turn.
* Children with some experience will enjoy playing the game. They will attempt to count the spots on the die and will recognise most of the numerals.
* Children with more experience will be able to count the spots on the die or will recognise the number from the pattern of spots. They will recognise numerals 1 to 6 and will be able to understand and explain the rules of the game, help others and play the game independently.
Extension ideas
* Provide other tabletop games involving number recognition and counting.
* Use pictures from old mail order clothes catalogues to make sets of cards for playing snap or pairs.
* Take time to sit and read the mail order catalogues with the children.
Talk about similarities and differences in the pictures and children's likes and dislikes in clothes.
* Use other tabletop games such as Pix & Mix People (see Resources, page 16).
3 Try it on
CHILD-INITIATED
Encourage the children to develop their own interests and ideas by providing a range of dressing-up items in the imaginative play area.
Resources
Dressing-up clothes of different sizes and materials, and with different fastenings such as buttons, zips, toggles, laces and Velcro; dolls'
clothes, dolls and teddies.
Play suggestions
* Provide a good selection of clothing, including brightly coloured and flamboyant clothes, so that the children can take on a wide variety of roles and characters and try many different combinations of clothes.
* Encourage the children to fasten the clothes they try on and to help others to fasten their clothing.
* Make available shirts, jackets and trousers, so the clothes provided will engage the interests of both boys and girls.
* Be sure to provide dressing-up materials for outdoor play so the children can, for example, dress as pirates when playing with boats; dress as mechanics when playing with cars; don boots and waterproof coats when camping, or put on sun hats and sunglasses when having a picnic.
* Encourage the children to dress the dolls and teddies, and to join in imaginative play activities such as picnics.
Possible learning outcomes
* Explores a range of clothing and practises dressing and undressing.
* Gains increasing independence when dressing and undressing.
* Demonstrates a sense of pride in their achievements.
* Engages in activities requiring hand-eye co-ordination.
* Works co-operatively.
Extension ideas
* Organise dressing races. Ask the children to see how many items they can put on by the time they have counted to, say, 50. Alternatively, use sand timers to see if they can put on a given number of items before the sand runs out.
* Practise dressing and undressing for PE activities. Show them how to sort clothing which is inside out, to fold clothes and to put clothes in piles.
Introduce prepositions by asking the children to, for example, put their shirts on top of their jumpers, their socks inside their shoes or their shoes next to each other.
* Provide activities and materials that encourage the children to use different fastenings, such as Fastening Skills Animals (see Resources, page 16).
