So far my new "Imagination Station" program has been relatively successful, more so than any other programming for the preschool age group, and this month we did a "Farmers Market" theme.
Program: Imagination Station – Farmer’s Market
Ages: 2-8 (most participants ranged in age from 2-5 this month, plus one older child around 9 or 10)
Number: Could accommodate up to 15 children; actual attendance was 7 children & 5 adults
Budget: About $5-10, as most items used were non-consumables that we already had or could borrow
Skills & Concepts: Imagination, creativity, expressive language, socio-emotional, fine motor, functional print, early literacy, family literacy
Stations:
- Dramatic Play
I set up our versatile market stand with shopping baskets, bushel baskets, and all of our play fruits and vegetables. I added a table with all of the play food breads, and another with dairy products and artificial flowers.I created several different shopping lists based on color, where they grew, or ingredients for a specific dish. I also put out play money but I did not have time to create a price list (I think that is more appropriate for elementary ages than preschool anyway), so they could just make up their own prices. [Creativity, imagination, expressive language, functional print, socio-emotional skills, vocabulary, background knowledge] - Fruit & Vegetable Stamping
You could use a wide variety of fruits and vegetables for this activity, but I kept it relatively simple and just used traditional carved potato stamps and added bell peppers, lemon, and celery. I cut them the night before to let them dry out a little bit so they would hold the paint better. I put out about five different colors of washable tempera paint, brushes for applying paint, pieces of heavy paper, and markers for writing names and adding any other details. I also provided aprons to help keep paint off of clothing. [Creativity, fine motor skills, spatial awareness, colors] - Reading Nook
Since I had not had much luck getting people to check out the books I'd been pulling and putting on display, I decided to try creating a cozy reading nook to see if that would encourage them to read together. I put a soft rug down on the floor and added cushions for more comfort. I put a few books on display, and put the rest in two piles on the rug. [Print awareness, print motivation, family literacy] - Magnetic Letters
I got out the magnetic letters and spelled out "Farmer's Market" on the magnetic board, and put the bin with the rest of the letters on the floor under it. [Letter recognition, print awareness, functional print, fine motor]
How It Went
I had a slightly smaller group than last month, but overall it went well. The kids *really* enjoyed shopping! So much so that the market was pretty well cleaned out in just a few minutes it seemed. Some of the kids were good about putting things back to shop again, but a couple of the younger ones had a harder time with the idea of giving up their baskets loaded with goodies. I announced that I was setting a timer for 5 minutes, and then we were all going to pretend to be the farmers and put everything back so they could shop again, which worked well. I enjoyed talking with them about their favorite fruits and vegetables, and one child was very proud that she had bought a basket full of healthy foods. Some used the prepared shopping list, some did their own thing, and some did both.
The produce stamping was also a hit; children and caregivers both appreciated the opportunity for painting away from home. We found that less is more in applying the paint to get good clear prints with details. Some of the kids also painted just using the brushes after doing one with the fruits & vegetables, and one younger child decided to paint his face!😂
My only disappointment was that once again, the books I had selected and displayed were once again largely ignored. I had hoped creating a cozy reading nook rather than just a display would encourage caregivers to look at books with their child while there, and hopefully check out one or two, but this did not happen. Instead, they used it as a play area, and the cushions I put out for sitting on were used for jumping on or building with, while the books were ignored 😢. I am really having a hard time engaging this community in reading and supporting early literacy development with their little ones, and I don't know what to do about it. I've never had this problem at any other library I've worked.
What I Would Do Differently
It would have been nice to have even more play food and shopping baskets, but we don’t have the budget or storage space right now. I think I might try a slightly more structured approach next time, with “assigning” (suggesting with provided name tags, but not pushing) roles such as shopper, farmer, baker, etc., so we have both sellers and shoppers rather than all shoppers, then switch. At the very least I would try giving each child a shopping list as they arrive so everyone isn’t just grabbing everything in a frenzy reminiscent of the recent pre-snowmageddon panic 😂.
Up next month at Imagination Station......Pizza Parlor!🍕
If you have any suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments.
