Transitional Materials

During the first weeks of school, I place several activities on the shelves that are usually familiar to the children. These activities allow the children to get started on "works" with very little help, freeing me to give lessons with other more involved activities.

Dominoes can be used for matching, and as a one or two person work.

Simple foam puzzle with numbers 0-9.















Fabric matching game for one or two people.















This tracing activity requires the child to grasp the knob and follow the path. There are 3 different boards.














Wedgits are a great building game. The cards take the children through progressively more difficult building combinations.














This peg board can be used in a variety or ways. The children enjoy making patterns, and even building towers.














This texture matching game is most fun when wearing a blindfold!















The children can create various pictures by matching the corresponding wooden shapes onto the correct spots.















This is a similar work, but the shapes are magnetic, and the designs are a bit more complex.














Although this is a simple block sorter, I find that the children get good grasping practice which strengthens their hands.















I generally have some sort of lacing activity available right away. The up and down motion of lacing prepares the children for the "in/out" motion of weaving that will be introduced later in the year.














Most kids have had experience with magna-doodle type toys. This small version is great for drawing and also a good size for practicing letter writing later on!



These activities are just a few examples of what to have on the shelves during the first weeks. Some of these will be very popular and can stay out throughout the year. Others will become less popular and can be phased out as the interest dwindles.