I-Spy
We’re in our third week of school and things are progressing nicely. My new students are getting the hang of things — they’re learning how to carry chairs, roll floor mats, sit properly, walk gracefully, ask for help, and so on. We’ve done lots and lots of groups, especially I-Spy. This game is great because it teaches new children the names of objects in the environment and it is a way for me to help all my students become aware of the sounds that make up different words. It’s also my secret weapon. Whenever things get crazy — which seems to happen quite a lot during the first few weeks — I’ll swoop in with a game of I-Spy and then send the children on their way.
Here’s how it works:
I’ll bring a tray to the floor mat and ask the children one by one to bring an object to the group. I’ll ask one to bring a jug, another to bring a pencil, etc. When we have gathered about five objects we’ll start the game.
Instead of saying, “where is the jug?” and having all the children point to it, I ask one child where the jug is. When it is an older child’s turn I’ll ask something like, ‘I-spy something that starts with the sound “juh.”‘
The children love this game!
What kind of Ā group activities are you doing in your classrooms?
