- blocks
- browsing boxes
- chart paper
- "Library Cards" box
- markers
- borrow
- librarian
- library
- return
MA Standards:
Speaking and Listening/SL.PK.MA.1: Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners during daily routines and play.
Head Start Outcomes:
Approaches to Learning/
Cooperation: An interest and engagement in group experiences.
Social Emotional Development/
Social Relationships: The healthy relationships and interactions with adults and peers.
PreK Learning Guidelines:
Language: Observe and use appropriate ways of interacting in a group (taking turns in talking; listening to peers; waiting until someone is finished; asking questions and waiting for an answer; gaining the floor in appropriate ways).
Health Education: Practice independence and self-help skills.
EEC:
PW45: The older toddler develops self-help skills.
Build a Library
© Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Early Education and Care (Jennifer Waddell photographer). All rights reserved.
Tell children they are going to build a library with blocks. Talk about different things that they have seen in a library. Record children's responses. If children have difficulty thinking of "buildable things," ask questions such as,
- What are all the books put in so you can look at them easily? (shelves)
- Where do you go when you are ready to borrow books from the library? (librarian's desk)
- Where do you sit if you want to read a book? (chair, bench, table)
Have children decide which items they are going to build in their library. Add browsing boxes and books to the Block Center.
Then, encourage children to use their library cards and pretend that they are at the library. Review what people in a library do. Model how a librarian helps children find good books to borrow and read. Say, Can I help you find a book? What kind of stories do you like? Here’s a great animal book. I think you’ll like it. Have children role-play how to choose, check out, and return books while using their block structures as part of the process.