Half

Round

The Kodo Classroom At Kodo we know that children’s physical development is just as important as their cognitive development. Indoors or outdoors, Half Rounds will invite playful, interactive movement. Use the Half Round indoors for gross motor development. Children can climb over, sit on, tunnel through and rock in them. Perfect for a sing along and act-it-out version of Row, Row, Row Your Boat, Rub a Dub Dub, The Motor Boat Chant and The Slippery Fish song. Flip it over like a tunnel and cover with a silk cloth or ordinary bed sheet, add a couple of flashlights, dim the classroom lights and let the discovery begin. Your kids will soon be pretending to be nightcrawlers, beetles, moles and snakes as they scoot, crawl and slither through it. Adults can set up the Half Round as a slide by propping up one end on a stack of mats or cushions. Outdoors, position it on a grassy slope or mound of sand. Sliding down a Half Round is wonderfully fun but must be supervised by an adult. Try incorporating a half round into your next impromptu obstacle course. Offer a basket of balls along with the half round for an interesting exploration of path, trajectory, angle and motion as balls travel up the sides of the half round as it is rocked. Notice if children try to control the ball’s speed or path by rocking fast or slow. Questions to think about: How does changing the way you rock the half round, change the way the ball moves? Where in the community would you find a structure similar to the half round? Perhaps on a construction site, community skateboard park or natural landform. Try other materials in addition to balls. What properties does a material need to work well with the half round? Use the Half Round for:

• crawling, tunneling, sitting, climbing, rocking
• as an imaginary boat, rocket and more
• tunnels for toy trains or cars
• caves or hidey holes for stuffed animals
• a space for collecting all sorts of things
• cradles for baby dolls
• bridges for toys and people
• quiet spot for infants
• reading nook for preschoolers

The Half Round is perfect for preschoolers of any age and is certain to engage, delight and inspire creative movement and dramatic play.