16 Clever and Cozy Ways to Use Stuffed Animals in the Classroom
Tell the truth: You honey stuffed animals now only as much as you did when you were a child, right? Well, nosotros exercise as well! So nosotros've rounded upwardly all the best ways you lot tin employ stuffed animals in the classroom, for learning, behavior management, and just plain fun. Now yous tin continue building your stuffie collection, guilt-costless!
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1. Curl up with reading buddies.
If you've got stuffed animals in the classroom, they make perfect reading buddies! Whether kids are snuggling with them while y'all read aloud or cozying up with one as they read on their ain, a reading buddy makes story time special. Tip: If kids are nervous about reading aloud to other people, take them read to their stuffie instead to build confidence.
Learn more: Stories by Storie
2. Create a class mascot.
If class pets aren't your thing, try a course mascot instead. Choose a stuffed animal for your grade to care for, sending it home with a different student each calendar week. Include a journal for each child to write nearly their experiences with the mascot during their time with it. This fosters a sense of community and sneaks in writing practise. Bonus tip: Endeavour this with older kids and incorporate social media too!
Learn more: Scholastic
iii. Send home an adopted reading pet.
This idea combines reading buddies with grade pets to give kids a focus on reading at dwelling house. Purchase enough small stuffed animals for each child in your course to "prefer" one. Ship them abode with your students and tell them that to keep their pets happy, they need to read to them for twenty minutes every night. Every so often, have kids bring their pets in and share their favorite stories and experiences so far.
Learn more: Teach Junkie
4. Encourage them with behavior buddies.
Stuffed animals in the classroom are such a fun way to encourage skillful behavior! Choose 1 child each day to reward with a "brave bear" or "listening lion" stuffie. They go to proceed the animals at their desk for the solar day and then take the certificate home to testify their family. Kids love to become in on this past nominating each other, too. See how one teacher does it at the link beneath.
Larn more: Teaching With Crayons and Curls
5. Gloat with a Birthday Bear.
Kids want to feel special on their birthdays, and then allow them go on the Birthday Bear at their desk to gloat! (For kids with summer or holiday birthdays, employ their half-altogether instead and then no one is left out.)
6. Control a loud classroom with quiet turtles.
Turtles have a reputation for beingness shy, hiding in their shells when the world around them becomes too noisy. Use a blimp turtle to reward kids in your classroom who are being serenity; let them keep the turtle at their desk while they piece of work. You lot can even create a whole herd of mini quiet turtles with pom-poms and felt. (Notice more creative means to quiet a communicative classroom here.)
Learn more: Miss Giraffe
7. Use stuffed animals equally manipulatives.
Stuffies are a creative way to teach sorting and graphing. You can also use them with x frames and number lines.
Learn more: Hanging Effectually in Primary
eight. Make them office of a rubber infinite.
Sometimes kids need a place to cool off, calm down, and only experience safe. A soft cuddly friend can go a long way toward helping them feel ameliorate once more.
Learn more than: Pocket of Preschool
9. Teach good behavior with stuffed animate being fourth dimension outs.
Instead of putting kids in time out, put their stuffies at that place instead! Have each child choose a stuffed animal to concur during a given activity (story fourth dimension, watching a video, etc.). When the child misbehaves, put their stuffed fauna in fourth dimension out. The student tin get their animal dorsum by explaining how they should have behaved: "We take to exist tranquillity during story time and not talk to our neighbor." Notice out more about how this works for i instructor at the link.
Learn more: Blog Lovin'
10. Endeavor a Tattle Tiger.
When y'all just can't take one more tattle ("Gina bankrupt the purple crayon!"), redirect kids to a Tattle Tiger. They can either whisper their problems to the tiger or write them downwards in the notebook. Just be sure they know to come to you directly if they or someone else is being hurt.
Learn more: Glyph Girls
11. Host a teddy behave picnic.
A teddy bear picnic is the old classic use for blimp animals in the classroom. Invite every student to bring in their favorite bear (and proceed a few extras on mitt for those who forget), then plan a twenty-four hour period of activities effectually them. The link below is full of terrific ideas for writing, reading, learning, and playing with teddies.
Learn more than: Mrs. T'southward Showtime Grade Class
12. Build a classroom zoo.
Acquire virtually existent animals and their lives by using stuffed animals in the classroom to create a zoo. Teach kids about the animal's characteristics, where they live, and what they consume. Grouping them together past blazon and create a zoo "display" for each. You can even invite their families to come up visit! Get more ideas at the link.
Acquire more: Kindergarten Kindergarten
13. Teach reading strategies.
Teach reading strategies similar skipping or chunking by tying them to specific stuffed animals in the classroom. Bring them out to remind kids while they're participating in guided reading.
Learn more than: Hanging Around in Main
14. Set upwards an animal dispensary.
Hit the link below to learn how to make DIY pet kennels from storage cubes and wire grid panels. So add some dr. toys and a white glaze to encourage artistic play. Maybe y'all'll inspire some future veterinarians!
Larn more: De Su Mama
fifteen. Explore Stem concepts with stuffed animals in the classroom.
In that location are so many ways to learn about STEM using stuffed animals! Explore concepts like predicting, measuring, estimating, and more. Here are all the details.
16. Enhance funds to symbolically prefer a pet.
If you're upwards for coordinating a class fundraiser, have your kids collect money to symbolically adopt a pet. These programs apply your money to support the animals in the wild, while y'all receive a kit in return that normally includes a blimp animal. Your grade can larn well-nigh that animal and the protections it needs. Practise this each year with a new class, and you'll build an incredible collection over time!
Looking for more ideas to become kids reading at dwelling? Try these 18 ways to get kids to read more.
Similar stuffed animals, fidget toys can help kids continue their absurd in the classroom. Here are 22 instructor-tested, child-canonical fidget toys to effort.
Source: https://www.weareteachers.com/stuffed-animals-in-the-classroom/
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