I have begun making take home activity bags. I am SO excited to have the families use these bags. This is a great opportunity for parents to get involved early in their child's education!!

Each bag is based on a different book. Inside, there is a parent letter, a list of contents, and instructions for using all the materials in each bag. The materials in the bag are taken straight from my curriculum. Basically, I have things in the bag (based on the theme of the book) that would be used in the different centers in my daycare. The activities in the bags cover fine and gross motor, literacy, early math, rythm and rhyme, color and shape recognition, alphabet skills, and more!

The themes I have so far are: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Barnyard Hullabaloo, Commotion in the Ocean, Growing Things, and Wet Paint. Types of activities vary by bag but as a whole include: coloring, painting, file folder games, lacing, matching, scarves, music cd, books, playdough, cutting and gluing, etc. I am providing everything that the parent will need (other than a cd player).

I will begin letting the 5 I have made so far go home next week. These are parent-checkout items. By checking out a bag, the parent agrees to replace any damaged/lost items at their expense.

I will keep you posted on how this goes, what the kids think and what the parents say!

I was wondering, does anyone else have any experience with something like this?

This is a great idea! The parents in your group are so lucky to have you!

Cool idea!. Nice for mom to be able to sit little Jane down at the snack bar or table and do an activitie with her while getting dinner done or a before bed routine. Helps Mom and Dad reconnect and feel like they get to be part of the teaching in the day!

I have decided to take Joyce's suggestion but take it one step further.

I have a set of the Grolier Disney Small World Library. It's a set of 28 books featuring the Disney characters going to different countries such as Switzerland, Japan, Peru, Russia, Spain etc.....I am putting together activity packets including a book for the children to take home to share with their parents. Each packet will have one of the Disney World books, an activity worksheet and an information sheet on the country that Mickey and his friends had visited.

This will help the children learn about the different countries of the world and get the parents involved.

Thanks Joyce for the help!

Jeanne