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Jack-O-Lantern Play: Loose Parts on a Mirror

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Hi everyone!  I’ve noticed a lot of focus on Halloween in the last week.  In our home, we are slowly warming up to the upcoming holiday.  Lil is both concerned and intrigued by all things spooky, so I have had to be very selective about how we “Halloween” craft and create.  One of my favorite activities in the classroom was to draw on mirrors so this little project came about easily as I was eager to play with mirrors!  It’s something fun and seasonal, but certainly not spooky! 🙂

Jack o lanterns with a mirror and loose parts - Happily Ever MomWhat you’ll need:

  • Mirror
  • Dry erase marker (easily “erases” from mirrors as well!)
  • Loose parts (We got our pumpkin jewels at Michael’s Craft Store)
  • Baby wipes or window cleaner (Baby wipes are nice for children to use, but they will leave streaks on the mirror.  Make sure to end the play with a nice window cleaner!)

I drew three simple pumpkins on our mirror and placed the pumpkin jewels and tongs on the mirror as well.

Pumpkin sorting on a mirror - Happily Ever MomI was curious to see what my daughter would do with this.  She started right away by filling up the bottom pumpkin with jewels.  You can see the beginnings of her collection in the photo.  She told me, “We have to fill it up, Mom!”  She went to work quickly by using both the tongs and her hands to fill the bottom pumpkin with jewels.Placing loose parts with tongs - Happily Ever MomAfter she had filled the pumpkin, we noticed the outlines of each pumpkin.  We alternated turns by placing pumpkin jewels along the line and, at one point, we saw a repeating pattern of two colors.  We talked about how the colors repeated, but then the focus shifted back to going around the entire pumpkin.  I love little moments like those.  Simple and fleeting, but such an opportunity for learning!

Making a border around the pumpkin - Happily Ever MomWhen we used all of the pumpkin jewels to make an outline, I posed the simple question: “I wonder what these pumpkins would look like with faces?”  Lil got to work immediately.  She made very a large smile on the first pumpkin.  Next, she tried to make a “boo” face as she called it, but she got so scared that she quickly turned it into a smile!  I couldn’t help but chuckle – Halloween should be an interesting night for her!

Jack o lanterns mirro and loose parts - Happily Ever MomI loved how sweet these little pumpkins turned out.  But, once Lil heard that we could erase the pumpkins with a baby wipe, the pumpkins quickly disappeared!

Erasing the pumpkins with a baby wipe - Happily Ever MomShe experimented with drawing on the mirror by drawing her own pumpkin patch.  When she was satisfied with her drawing, she asked me to draw some new pumpkins.  I put some numbers in the pumpkins and she began sorting on her own!  She is really drawn to sorting and counting, so this was perfect for her.

Sorting loose parts - Happily Ever MomShe counted each one to make sure the jewels represented the right number.

Counting loose parts - Happily Ever MomI was amazed that she “knew” what a group of jewels should look like in relation to each number.  In other words, she placed six jewels on the number six without counting.  Visually, she knew what a group of six should look like.  Then, she counted to make sure she had gotten the correct number – and, she did!

Numbers, pumpkins, and loose parts - Happily Ever MomThe last thing that we did was to sort our jewels by shape (the basics of classification!).  And, then we counted the number of jewels in each group.  I love that she predicted that the larger pumpkin jewels (the ones on the right) would be the largest group – this is so typical of a three year old.  I love watching textbook development in my own child.  When I told her that the smallest jewel (the one on the left) had the highest number of jewels, she was astonished.  Did I mention I love witnessing children learn?!  Awesome!

Sorting by shape and counting the total - Happily Ever MomSorting by shape - Happily Ever MomOur play was so dynamic.  It evolved organically as we interacted with one another and learned together.  I was also able to observe Lil’s interests (numbers and sorting) and her persistence and engagement.  I was really amazed with how long she played with this.  I look forward to setting it out again and watching how she will play differently, or perhaps, similarly.  Such a simple activity yet there are so many ways to learn and to play!

Your Turn!

Do you use mirrors for play?

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About the author

Katie Joiner Katie Joiner is a happy work-at-home Mom. When she's not busy saving her cats from the kids and trying to figure out what's for dinner, she can be found taking photos, laughing with her kids, and figuring out whether or not she can sneak in another Starbucks. Kids 7, 4, & baby <1. Come over and say hi at her FB page, @Happilyevermom, or , her favorite spot, Pinterest.

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By Katie Joiner October 15, 2013

Comments

  1. Dyan says

    October 16, 2013 at 6:22 am

    What an awesome activity! Pinned it a few timeas 😉

    Reply
  2. Lisette Martin says

    October 16, 2013 at 10:32 am

    Great idea! I love this, I’m totally putting this activity out today for the girls! 🙂 Thanks!

    PS… I love those wooden tongs! Where did you get them?

    Reply
    • happilyevermom says

      October 16, 2013 at 2:04 pm

      Thanks, Lisette! I hope they enjoy it 🙂 I actually go the tongs at a local kitchen store in Trukee, CA outside of Lake Tahoe! But, I just looked on Amazon and they have very similar ones there – I’ll add it to the post!

      Reply
      • Lisette says

        October 18, 2013 at 11:01 pm

        Sweet! I’ll have to check amazon! For some reason I always check there last and I have a prime membership so it should be a first on my list to check!

        The kiddos loved doing this! Thanks again for sharing 🙂

        Reply
  3. Capri + 3--Theresa says

    October 21, 2013 at 1:36 pm

    I love the idea of making jack-o-lanterns with a mirror and jewels. Thank you for sharing on Artsy Play Wednesday.

    Reply
  4. crayonboxchronicles says

    October 23, 2013 at 9:43 am

    Hi Katie. There are so many wonderful things going on in your activity. Love the fine motor and the natural play with loose parts. The pumpkins are super cute too! Plus, the clean-up lesson – very clever! Thank you for sharing on our page. 🙂

    Reply
  5. Katie says

    November 12, 2013 at 7:20 pm

    This is wonderful! I love it and can’t wait to try it out :).

    Reply

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