WASHING LINE FUN!

Compared to when I was a little girl, very few people hang out their washing to get it dry. In England we would forever be pegging it out, dashing outside to bring it in, and waiting for the next dry spell of weather. In our school, we realized that hanging items of clothing on a line was a very popular activity, in part because it was such a novelty; but there are lots of learning opportunities too! All you need is a rope that can be attached to something sturdy at each end and some pegs. Make sure the line is at a good height for your child. Remember to supervise! There is potential danger with a rope.

Here are some ideas for washing line activities for you and your child to enjoy together.

· Clothes pins (pegs) require a lot of manual dexterity, so I would suggest starting with simple pieces of fabric that can easily be draped over the line, so that children can concentrate on manipulating the peg rather than keeping the fabric from sliding off. Stay away from shiny fabric for this reason.

· When your child is competent with the pegs, get out lots of mittens and gloves and start pegging. Discuss whether to hang from the wrist or fingers.

· Start with small mittens at one end of the line and peg big ones at the other end.

· Think of other criteria and group accordingly, such as by color, pattern or fabric.

· An older child may be ready to find pairs and hang them together.

· An alternative to actual mittens and gloves is to make your own out of construction paper or card. I would recommend laminating construction paper to make it be a little more substantial for young children to handle. They will last a lot longer too. If you make your own, you can control the sizes and colors and perhaps make sorting easier for your child.

 · Use words such as big, bigger, biggest; small, smaller, smallest; phrases like let’s compare; how can we tell which one is bigger; let’s measure etc. You and your child will come up with your own ideas for sorting and matching. If you like, you could share them with me on the web site!

Enjoy!