Washing Line | Big, spotty pants!

This week we've been reading Washing Line by Jez Alborough.  We thought we'd read this book following our very successful trip to the launderette with four 2 and 3 year olds to watch a couple of dirty rugs from our toddler group get a much-needed wash!  The launderette lady was amazing - didn't blink as the children looked inside all the machines and driers and even got out a train set for them to play with when they'd finished exploring "round and round".

So here's what we did...

We've been trying to introduce a little "storytime" before lunch for the six 2-4 year olds.  So they all sit on a little circle mat and kow they are going to hear a story and know there will be props to play with or exciting things in the bag.

We read "Washing Line" by Jez Alborough.  The elephant and his friends guess who each of the pieces of washing on the line belong to because of their shape or size, and then there's a surprise at the end.

The children joined in the conversation about the pictures, guessing who the clothes might belong to and anticipating what might happen next.  They laugh at the elephants big pants!

Then we set up a washing line with pegs and some little clothes and socks for the children to practice fine motor skills and talk about pegging out their own washing.

We used a mixture of dolly pegs and small size spring loaded pegs as the children range in ages from 2-4 years old and put them in a lovely inviting basket.

And I just found this link to a lovely windy washing colouring sheet from Jane Ray.  I wouldn't use it on it's own as I've never been a big fan of "sheets" but as a follow up for the older children as something to talk about and to encourage mark making, it would be great.

For more story ideas see my pinterest boards here

and the "It's all about stories" facebook page here.

And if you've got any ideas of your own to share why not comment here.

Enjoy!