"No running"
"No fighting"
"No smacking faces"
So we got the "No's" covered, but we didn't answer the question: how do we play with sticks? The kids were at a loss. They knew what NOT to do with them, but were uncertain what TO do with them. So to start them out, I just let them choose one stick and I listened to their conversation:
"Mine is bigger than yours."
"Yours is the biggest."
"Mine is bumpy. It has bumps."
"A stick is a tree."
"I can hit mine on the table."
This is when a chorus of stick songs broke out. On their own, the children were able to figure out something they could do with the sticks. After the impromptu jam session, we went around the table to let each child "perform" a stick rhythm and we all tried to copy it.
Next, we decided that sticks were good for making pictures.
The kids took turns putting down one stick to make a picture on the table top.
After our guided play with the sticks, the children were eager to get their hands on more sticks and create on their own. Some of them created small structures on their own, while others worked together to build larger structures on the ground.
Others, however, preferred inspecting the little creatures living in the bag our sticks live in. I see mini-beast houses in our future!
