I’ve been collecting books all summer, in preparation for our farm studies. I started pinning them yesterday. There are just a few books on there right now, but I’ll be adding more as we use them in the classroom.
So many books, so little time.
In our kindergarten curriculum we’ve been learning concepts of print, finding the cover, author, illustrator, title page, etc, of the books we read. We’ve also been focusing on main idea and supporting details, non-fiction text features, and making connections. I love the conversation I hear when the kids are at our Farmer’s Market in the classroom! Kids are using their everyday experiences and the information from the books we have read in class to make decisions about their play. Our market and book collection has been a fabulous addition to our classroom!
Now, you may be thinking, “Well, that’s great that your kids are having such a good time, but I can’t afford to buy a big piece like that for my classroom or home.”
Something very simple, like this PVC pipe lemonade stand would be great to use as a farmer’s market!
I made our lemonade stand last summer, and customized it to be the same width as a small bookshelf we have and our card table. The kids can set the card table behind it when they have a lemonade stand and use the bookshelf when they want a market. Add cute little baskets and you’ve got yourself a farmer’s market! The sign was made with chalk cloth, so kids can erase it and make it fit with the theme of their stand.
It’s a very simple project promising hours of fun!
Best of all, our farmer’s market playtime connects to math, literacy, and healthy living.
Happy playtime!
