We have been exploring shapes all around the classroom. For our latest activity, we used this amazing frame to help us explore rectangles…
If you have followed us for awhile, you will know that our children really enjoy writing and drawing in our salt trays. Salt trays are such an excellent way to work on pre-writing and fine motor skills. And it’s also lots of fun. I think the secret to making the most out of salt tray play is to be creative. We like to change up the medium and the tools that we offer to make it a new and interesting experience from time to time…
Deborah purchased this inexpensive frame at our local Wal-Mart. It is made of a nice, lightweight plastic. The frame has clear plastic sheet that makes a nice smooth, reflective surface. The overall frame is just big enough to cover one of our small tables…
This was a great size because it allows several children to work around the table at the same time…
Typically, when we explore salt trays, the children get their own individual box or tray to play in, making it more of a parallel play activity. But I just love how this large frame, with all of its rectangles, invites several children to enjoy this creative process at once. They can work together to create a design…
Or they can work alone in their individual frames…
The children used the frame for practicing drawing rectangles…
Because it was around Valentine’s day, we also had some heart shaped cookie cutters out for the children to make prints in the salt. Having the cookie cutters out seemed to encourage the children to draw their own hearts too…
But the children didn’t limit themselves to just hearts and rectangles. We saw a lot of really cool designs. Salt trays are such a great way to practice writing, but this frame really made it more of a unique process…
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I love your website, thank you so much for sharing, it is very inspirational to me and my class always loves your fun and educational ideas. Where do you get all of your great ideas?
Hi Anne,
I have been teaching so long that many come from my past experiences and others are inspired by children’s books I read and others are inspired by watching what my students love and enjoy doing.
I could see doing this with dry erase markers as well. Nice idea thanks!
I love this! I have one of those I am not using, thanks for the great idea 🙂
Integrate it into a lesson plan and share it here, Amanda! Would love to see what you come up with!
That makes a neat and interesting “container” for the salt. I like Carrie’s idea for dry erase markers as well.
Wow, this is really creative! Pinning it! 🙂
WOW! What an awesome idea!