Line Them Up

Ages 2.5 – 5 years

Get Ready: Go outside and collect sticks of all sizes

Get Set:  Lay the sticks out on the floor or on a tray.  Talk to your child about the different lengths, different widths.  Talk about ways to sort them and line them up in different orders.

Sit Back and Watch Your Child Go:  Experiencing nature in this way increases curiosity and strengthens discriminatory skills – making comparisons and seeing similarities.  

Want to amp up the learning?  Ask your child to explain the way she has placed the sticks.  Add the skill of number sense by providing number cards and have her count that many sticks.  Encourage her to use the sticks to create a pattern – with younger children draw a pattern on paper for them to copy.  Enlarge vocabulary by using descriptive words such as thick, thin, longer, shorter, straight, curved

Get Creative:  Use glue or tape to create something with the sticks!  Take a picture of it or set it on a shelf as a stick sculpture!

As your child grows: read books about trees.  Talk about how tress grow, why trees are important, how we use trees in our society. 

Your child will love: hunting for & exploring the differences & similarities of the sticks

You will love: seeing her enthusiastic interest and watching what she does with natural materials