Clothing

CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK, MONTH, YEAR 

Coloring getting dressed chart

For each theme, we provide a tool that was created in response to a special request we have received. (Open coloring getting dressed chart) Print for each child. Use the chart daily to help children enjoy getting dressed. Every time you go outside, invite children to color one box once they are dressed. At the end of the week, use the chart to congratulate children for their efforts.

I am learning to tie my shoes
(Open poster - I can tie my shoes) Print, laminate, and display at children's eye level. Provide children with shoes and shoelaces so that they may practice. We have prepared a diploma you may reward them with once they succeed. (Open diploma - I can tie my shoes)

CIRCLE TIME

We have prepared an imaginary game to begin each day. (Open thematic letter - Mrs. Sock) Print the letter and place it in an envelope. Leave the envelope in an easy to find location within the daycare. Have children find it and read portions of the interactive story to them each day.

Surprise suitcase-Clothing
To introduce the theme, set a large suitcase on your daycare floor. Add clothing items that are suitable for different seasons: hats, boots, coats, bathing suits, shorts, scarves, mittens, etc. Let children manipulate the contents of the suitcase. They will enjoy emptying and filling the suitcase repeatedly. During circle time, encourage children to associate each clothing item with the appropriate season.

AREA SETUP

Thematic poster-Clothing

(Open thematic poster-Clothing) Print, laminate, and display where parents are sure to see it.

Stickers-Clothing

(Open stickers-Clothing) Print the illustrations on adhesive paper and use them to create a collection of original stickers.

Educa-theme – Clothing

(Open educa-theme-Clothing) Print and laminate the various elements representing the theme. Use them to present the theme to your group (and children’s parents) while decorating a corner within your daycare.  

Educa-decorate-Clothing
(Open educa-decorate-Clothing) Print, laminate, and cut out the items. Use them to decorate your daycare walls and set the mood for the theme.

 
Transform your dress up area into a clothing area. For this theme, you will need used items of clothing such as: shirts, robes, socks, mittens, scarves, sweaters, dresses, belts, tuques, gloves, etc. Ask parents to contribute to your clothing area. They will be happy to provide items they no longer need at home. Use cardboard boxes to sort clothing by season or style. Hang a clothesline in the daycare. If you wish, you may hang clothing for a different season each day. Children will enjoy creating their own outfits. This is the perfect time to practice dressing up in winter clothing. For younger children, be sure to give precise instructions.

VARIOUS WORKSHOPS

Have fun with these wonderful workshop ideas provided by Caroline Allard.

Construction and building blocks:

• Add pieces of fabric to your usual blocks.
• Empty spools of thread are great for making original constructions of all kinds.

Drawing:

• Clothing stencils for tracing and coloring.
• Different types of fabric may be used for painting (paint with them rolled up, scrunched up, etc.)
• Yarn may also be used for painting or collages.
• White t-shirts (from the Dollar store) and crayons children may use to draw on them.

Role play:

• Your kitchen corner becomes a laundry room. If you do not have a toy version of a washer and dryer, make your own using cardboard boxes. Provide a pile of clothing and children will love washing it!
• A small toy iron and an ironing board are great fun too!
• Hang a clothesline in the daycare and provide clothespins. Children will love hanging their laundry to dry.
• A toy sewing machine or an old sewing machine which no longer works.

Manipulation:

• Memory game with clothing pictures. You may even make cards shaped like sweaters or pants.
• Memory game, lotto game, or any game involving clothing. You may associate a theme about seasons to the clothing theme and explore how our clothing needs vary according to the seasons.
• Modeling dough and cookie cutters with various characters.
• Lacing games for young children.
• Weaving games adapted for children.

Reading and relaxation:

• Books about various professions, invite children to observe the different uniforms.
• A clothing-themed poster.
• Large blankets for added coziness.
• Song box containing clothing-related songs.

Sensory bins:

• Water table with dolls and doll clothing. Children may wash the doll clothing and hang it to dry.
• Container filled with sand or cereal and figurines representing different professions requiring uniforms.

Science or kitchen corner:

• Die pieces of white cotton using different items children know (red cabbage, mustard, frozen blueberry juice, etc.).

ACTIVITY SHEETS

(Open activity sheet - Clothing) Print for each child.

PICTURE GAME

The pictures may be used as a memory game or to spark a conversation with your group. Use them to decorate your daycare or a specific thematic corner. (Open picture game-Clothing) Print, laminate, and store in a "Ziploc" bag or in your thematic bins.

WORD FLASHCARDS

The flashcards may be used to spark a conversation with your group or in your reading and writing area. You may also use them to identify your thematic bins. (Open word flashcards - Clothing) socks, sweater, pants, shirt, tie, dress, skirt, pajamas, belt, shoe, jacket, sneaker

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND MOTOR SKILLS

Stamped pajamas

(Open stamped pajamas) Print pajamas for each child. Invite them to use small stampers (various shapes) and different colors of ink pads to create pajamas with original designs. Children could also press their finger on the ink pads and fill their pajama top and pants with colorful fingerprints.   

Sticky striped sweaters

(Open striped sweaters) Print a sweater for each child. Provide stickers in a variety of shapes and colors and let children press them on the lines to create original stripes. If you wish, create a sweater of your own and encourage children to replicate it on their printed sweater. Children will also enjoy taking turns leading this game and creating a sweater that their peers must replicate.

My suitcase guessing game

Fill a suitcase with different colors of clothing items and accessories. Children observe the contents of the suitcase momentarily. They then take turns sliding their hand in the suitcase and feeling around, without looking. They must try to identify a clothing item. Let each child ask 2 questions. If a child cannot identify a clothing item, his turn is over. If a child does correctly name a clothing item, he can become the leader of the game and answer the questions asked by the next player.

Modeling dough activity placemats-Clothing

(Open modeling dough activity placemats-Clothing) Print and laminate. Let children pick a placemat. Provide modeling dough. Encourage them to use the dough to fill or reproduce the shapes that are on their placemat.

Playing cards-Clothing

(Open playing cards-Clothing) Print and laminate the playing cards and hide them throughout your daycare or yard. Divide your group into two teams. When you give the signal, children race to collect as many clothing items as possible. Set a timer.

Laundry duty
Divide the group into two equal teams. Provide each team with a laundry basket with clothes inside. Each team begins at its start line. One player takes an item of clothing and goes to its finish line to hang it on its clothesline using clothespins. The first team to finish wins.

I can dress myself
Collect shoes (with laces), blouses (with buttons and snaps), coats (with zippers), and other items for your group. Encourage them to develop their ability to dress themselves.

Hat memory game
(Open memory game - hats) Print twice and laminate. Glue the illustrations to the tops of frozen juice cans. Place them face down on the table to play.

Indoors and outdoors
(Open game - Indoors and outdoors) Print and laminate the two illustrations representing indoors and outdoors. Next, using the illustrations from the word flashcards, ask children which items of clothing are worn indoors and outdoors. Have them associate each word flashcard to the correct illustration using adhesive putty.

Pile of clothes
Place a large pile of clothes at one end of the daycare. Children run to the pile, put an item of clothing on, and run back to the start line. This is an excellent way to help children practice dressing themselves. If the item of clothing has buttons or zippers, children do the best they can.

Colorful feet
(Open - colored socks) Print the socks. Give each child a sock, making sure to give two children a sock of the same color. Call out a color and an instruction. For example, you may say, "Red socks meow like a cat." or "Yellow socks jump like frogs (a rabbit, or a kangaroo)".

A pair of socks
Use the colored socks (Open - colored socks). Glue them on cardboard and laminate. Like the traditional memory game, have children turn over two cards and attempt to find socks of the same color. Store this game in an empty shoe box and leave it in your quiet corner.

Clothespin race
Hang a clothesline between two chairs or walls. Give each player ten clothespins in a bag or container. When you give the signal, players attach their clothespins to the clothesline using only one hand.

Shoe hunt

Have children remove their shoes and place them in a pile. When you give the signal, children run to the pile and try to find their shoes as quickly as possible. Variation: You may have children put their shoes on and tie them too.

Fashion show
Organize a fashion show with clothing you made with the group during the theme. Name your show "The (daycare's name)'s collection". Invite children from other groups or parents to attend your fashion show. If you decide not to make the items of clothing in the arts & crafts section, you may invite children to wear their favorite piece of clothing or use clothing from your dress up box.

Fashion models
Children are two by two. One plays the role of a fashion model while the other is the fashion designer. Children select clothing items from your dress up box to create outfits for their model. Have the fashion designers present their creations to the group.

The clothing wand
Touch a child with your wand on his sweater, pants, socks...Have him name the clothing item you touched. Make the game more difficult by having the child name the color of the clothing item as well.

COGNITIVE ACTIVITIES

Counting clothespins

Set several paper drinking glasses (different colors) on the table and write a number from 1 to 10 on each one. Fill a bin with tiny clothespins (same colors as the drinking glasses). Children pick a glass, name the number that is written on it and press the corresponding number of clothespins on the rim.

Clothing number line

You will need 10 pairs of white socks. Purchase tubes of puffy 3D paint and use them to write numbers 1 to 20 on the socks. Set all the socks in a laundry basket. Invite children to hang them on an indoor clothesline in numerical order. If you wish, you can repeat this exercise using winter hats or baby sweaters purchased at the dollar store.

Pajamas with designs

(Open association game-pajamas with designs) Print, laminate, and cut out the pajama tops and bottoms. Press a piece of Velcro (male side) behind each piece before setting them in a plastic basket that looks a lot like a miniature laundry bin. Press 2 pieces of Velcro (female side) on several large Popsicle sticks, one in the upper portion and one in the bottom portion. At the bottom of each stick, draw a design that is printed on one of the pajamas. Children pick up a stick, name the shape (design) that is drawn on it and search for the corresponding pajama top and bottom. Once they find the pieces, they press them on their stick. If you wish, draw 2 different designs on certain sticks to create mismatched pajamas.

Educ-pairs-Clothing

(Open educ-pairs-Clothing) Print. Children must color identical pictures using the same color or draw a line between them. For durable, eco-friendly use, laminate for use with a dry-erase marker.

Educa-symmetry-Clothing

(Open educa-symmetry-Clothing) Print. Children must color the picture on the left (black and white) to make it look exactly like one on the right (color).

Educ-trace-Clothing

(Open educ-trace-Clothing) Print for each child. Children must trace each line using a crayon of the corresponding color and then color the object at the end of the line using the same color.

Educ-differences-Clothing

(Open educ-differences-Clothing) Print and laminate for durable, eco-friendly use. Children must find the differences between the two pictures and identify them using a dry-erase marker.

Educ-shadows-Clothing

(Open educ-shadows-Clothing) Print and laminate for durable, eco-friendly use. Children must draw a line between each item on the left and its shadow on the right.

Puzzles-Clothing
(Open puzzles-Clothing) Print, laminate, and cut out. Children must assemble the pieces to recreate the scenes.

Hat memory game
(Open hat memory game) Print and laminate 2 copies. Cut out the cards and arrange them in rows on the table. Children take turns turning 2 cards over. The goal is to find matching hats.   

MORAL AND SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

Game-Button chutes

(Open game-button chutes) Print, laminate, and cut out the cards. You will need 2 cardboard tubes with a lid (for example Pringles boxes). Wrap the tubes with colorful paper and cut a slit in the center of each lid. Divide your group into 2 teams and give each team a tube. Purchase a bag containing bold-colored buttons (dollar store). Give an equal number of buttons to each team. Children take turns picking a card, taking the correct number of buttons of the illustrated colors, and inserting them in their team’s candy chute. The first team to have dropped all its buttons in its chute wins.

I dress myself

Provide shoes (shoelaces), blouses (buttons, snaps, hooks), coats (zippers), etc. Let children explore and manipulate the items to provide them with the opportunity to develop their fine motor skills.

CULINARY ACTIVITIES

Create your own clothing items in cookie dough. Once cooked, decorate as you wish.

ARTS & CRAFTS

Models-Clothing

(Open models-Clothing) Use the models for various arts & crafts and projects throughout the theme. 

Puppets-Clothing
(Open puppets-Clothing) Print the puppet models on heavy paper. Have children cut them out and decorate them using a variety of arts & crafts materials. Glue a Popsicle stick behind each one to turn them into puppets.

Crafted clothesline
Have children cut out clothing items they have colored (Open coloring pages theme - Clothing). Using clothespins, they may hang them on a clothesline. This activity may be done throughout the theme.

Mrs. Sock snake
Make a snake out of an old sock by stuffing it with newspaper scraps. Close the end with a piece of string. Glue wiggly eyes, a tongue, stripes, spots, or patterns using felt. You may even add tiny bells to make a rattlesnake. Have fun naming the snakes.

My silly shoes
Use two empty Kleenex boxes per child to make silly shoes. On either side of the opening on the boxes, make holes using a hole-punch to thread laces through. Let children decorate their shoes using art supplies.

My shoe
Have children bring an old shoe to the daycare. They paint and decorate their shoe. You may add eyes, feathers, buttons, etc. Display them on a shelf for parents to admire.

My sweater
Make holes for each child's head and arms in a brown paper bag. Have them decorate their sweaters using fabric and ribbon.

My pants
Using a large roll of paper, measure each child from his waist to his ankles and cut out both the front and back of a pair of pants. Staple the contour of the pants and cut a slit between each pant leg. Staple again. Have each child draw details on his pants.

My coat
Use garbage bags. Make holes for children's heads and arms. Next, make a slit for the head at the bottom of the coat. You may make fasteners out of pipe cleaners to tie the coats. Children decorate as they please.

My hat
(Open model - hat) Cut out the pieces. Staple to assemble.

COLORING PAGES

(Open coloring pages theme-Clothing) Print for each child.

SEQUENTIAL STORY

(Open sequential story - Clothing) Print, laminate, and cut out. Children place the illustrations in the correct order.

SONGS & RHYMES

The Clothing Pokie
by: Patricia Morrison

Sung to: The Hokie Pokie

You put your socks in
You take your socks out
You put your socks in
And you shake them all about

You do the clothing pokie
And you turn yourself about
That's what it's all about

You put your hat in

You take your hat out
You put your hat in
And you shake it all about
You do the clothing pokie

And you turn yourself about
That's what it's all about

You put your mittens in
You take your mittens out

You put your mittens in
And you shake them all about
You do the clothing pokie
And you turn yourself about

That's what it's all about

You put your sweater in
You take your sweater out
You put your sweater in

And you shake it all about
You do the clothing pokie
And you turn yourself about
That's what it's all about

Hat, sweater, pants, and shoes

by: Patricia Morrison sung
to: Head shoulders knees and toes

Hat, sweater, pants, and shoes
Pants and shoes
Hat, sweater, pants, and shoes
Pants and shoes
And belt, and scarf, and underwear
Hat, sweater, pants, and shoes
Pants and shoes

Have fun!

The Educatall team