A Game to Teach Preschoolers How to Use Classroom Materials

At the beginning of the year, setting expectations around proper use of classroom materials is essential. Demonstrations of how to use and care for various items can help empower students to be responsible and knowledgeable school community members. But instead of a dry lecture on the rules, at The Co-op School in Brooklyn, New York, preschool teacher Eddie Laguna uses an engaging game called Silly Shop to keep his students on track when it comes to using objects in the intended way.

To play, Laguna pretends he is the shop owner. Prior to the start of the game, he has pulled a few items to the side. The items are things he wants students to know how to use correctly. A student comes into the store and chooses an item, and when Laguna is checking them out at the register, he pretends that he knows how the item works. The catch? He comes up with a giggle-inducing ridiculous use instead of the real one. For example, he pretends a floor sweeper is a giant toothbrush, or a glue stick is a deodorant. Students then jump in to demonstrate the correct use of the item.

“I just really like the fact that the kids become teachers,” says Laguna. “I get to take that teacher hat off for a second and just be a silly, goofy person. They respond really well to that.” And since Laguna is a pre-K teacher, it also serves as a great way to get students to practice using their words to articulate their thoughts.

Silly Shop can also be an effective teaching tool for later in the year, to remind the students what to do when a classroom tool or material is not used properly. “If they’re ever using items in an inappropriate way or a way that they’re not normally supposed to be used, we can kind of take that and revisit it in a fun way,” Laguna explains. “It’s really nice to see them so excited, and it really helps our classroom management.”

For more information about Silly Shop and two other games that allow young learners to use their imaginations while reinforcing classroom norms and concepts, read Child’s Play NY founder Jocelyn Greene’s article for Edutopia, “3 Improv Exercises to Use as Guided Play.”