NNCC Keep Gift-Making at Child's Learning Level

KEEP GIFT-MAKING AT CHILD'S LEARNING LEVEL

National Network for Child Care's Connections Newsletter

Rose-Marie Smith, M.S.
Early Childhood Educator
School District of University City, University City, Missouri

Copyright/Access Information

During the holiday season, we tend to schedule gift-making activities for children. Sometimes, we plan gifts that are difficult for children to make, and we end up finishing them. One way to avoid this problem is to have children make simple gifts that share their daily learning experiences with their parents.

Here are some ideas to try:

Children's handprints can be a beautiful reminder of how little they really are. At the same time, this can be a way to show parents how much children learn through "hands-on" experiences.
Have children cut out pictures from old magazines and paste them on construction paper to form a holiday collage. This can remind children and parents how important it is to learn to cut and paste before they learn how to write.
Copying songs or finger plays for parents allows them to sing songs and do finger plays with their children.
Have the children make drip paintings with eye droppers. Use food coloring and water on coffee filters or paper towels.
You can take photographs of children playing with such materials as goop or play dough. Use the pictures to decorate a piece of paper with the recipe on it.
A holiday picture pasted on construction paper and then cut into irregular shapes can become a puzzle. This activity shows parents and children how easy it is to make puzzles at home.
Use a video camera to make a tape of the daily activities. With this tape, you can start a video library. The tapes can be loaned or copied so each child and family can have a recorded memory of his or her time in your home.
With each gift, include a letter that describes what the child learned from making the gift. Let each child sign the letter with a picture or name, and wrap the gift in paper which he or she decorated. We want to help parents feel the joy of receiving a gift made with their child's hands, heart, and mind.

DOCUMENT USE/COPYRIGHT
National Network for Child Care - NNCC. Part of CYFERNET, the National Extension Service
Children Youth and Family Educational Research Network. Permission is granted to reproduce
these materials in whole or in part for educational purposes only (not for profit beyond the cost of
reproduction) provided that the author and Network receive acknowledgment and this notice is
included:

Reprinted with permission from the National Network for Child Care - NNCC. Smith, R. (1991). Keep gift-making at child's learning level. In Todd, C.M. (Ed.), *Family day care connections*, 1(2), pp. 1-2. Urbana-Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Cooperative Extension Service.

FORMAT AVAILABLE:: Internet
DOCUMENT REVIEW:: Level 3 - National Peer Review
DOCUMENT SIZE:: 25K or 2 pages
ENTRY DATE:: February 1996