I thought your article about not using plastic bears for math was very interesting! I think it's a great read and for anyone in the process of purchasing materials for their preschool, they might agree and take a pass on buying the little bears. However, for those of us with a ton of these bears, they are good for many things. I have seen them used as loose parts - fried up in little plastic pots in the dramatic play area and used to create mosaics or other creations along with stones, gems & bark. Once preschool class used them to fill up trucks in a large block construction project and they penned some up as animals in their zoo. My favorite: the bears were used as 'currency' for a pretend store. (That was hilarious as they first said all the bears were the same dollar amount but then one child suggested the green bears should be worth more, because they looked green like a dollar.) ;)
While it's true, the actual math applications might be limited to matching, sorting & counting, the children have amazing imaginations to do all sorts of things with the bears we already have. So, great insight on how we need more real items and so much more variety for real-world math learning! If you're already stuck with a few buckets of these bears or other seemingly useless counters, rotate them in and out to keep them novel and see what the children do with them.
Thanks!
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Vicki Doehrer
Education Specialist
Columbus GA
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Original Message:
Sent: 07-01-2022 09:07 AM
From: Karen Nemeth
Subject: Loose Parts and Natural Materials
Pam Brillante and I wrote this article about meaningful alternatives to those omnipresent plastic manipulatives . "Ban the Bears! We Can Do Better in Preschool!"
What do you think?
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Karen Nemeth
Author/consultant/keynotes
Language Castle LLC
Allentown PA
Original Message:
Sent: 06-28-2022 07:41 PM
From: Donna King
Subject: Loose Parts and Natural Materials
I am soooo late in the game but found this! https://kodokids.com/
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Donna King
Professor of Human Development
Irvine Valley College
Anaheim CA
Original Message:
Sent: 09-23-2019 05:43 PM
From: Heather Ha
Subject: Loose Parts and Natural Materials
We have a wonderful couple of recycle centers in our area. I have a brand new building that we are opening with 8 classrooms. I have a partnership with two local recycling art stores searching for materials but I was wondering if there are places to order "bulk" materials as well.
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Heather Ha
PPPIF Facilitator
Program Manager
CHI St. Joseph Children's Health
Lancaster, PA
Original Message:
Sent: 09-23-2019 06:12 AM
From: Amy Latta
Subject: Loose Parts and Natural Materials
Find a reuse store using this link: https://www.artofrecycle.org/our_neighbors.html. I visit the one near me frequently for bottle caps, corks, and other odds and ends.
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Amy Latta
Lead NC PreK Teacher
"All that is gold does not glitter; not all who wander are lost." --J.R.R. Tolkien
Original Message:
Sent: 09-22-2019 07:28 AM
From: Heather Ha
Subject: Loose Parts and Natural Materials
I've seen a lot of Kaplan, Lakeshore, Community Playthings and Kodo, which are all great. However, I'm looking to make a large purchase of loose parts and natural material play items. I'm sure others are looking for the same. Who has some great resources to share?
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Heather Ha
PPPIF Facilitator
Program Manager
CHI St. Joseph Children's Health
Lancaster, PA
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