Dječji vrtić Osijek

The talking apple: The doll from the orchard Apple puppets are a fun and creative activity that can be done with children, especially during the autumn days when apples are in season. The goals that we want to cover with this cooperation are: – strengthening family relationships and education through creative play. We adapted the goals of cooperation with parents in making apple dolls in the nursery to the developmental needs of the youngest children. The activities are simple, but at the same time they provide an opportunity for learning, fun and emotional bonding. 1. Development of sensorimotor skills • Encouraging children to explore the textures of natural materials such as apples, seeds, leaves and twigs, which stimulates their senses (touch, smell) and develops sensorimotor skills. 2. Strengthening emotional connection • Enable parents and children to spend quality time through the joint activity of making dolls, which helps to strengthen emotional connection at an early age. 3. Development of coordination and fine motor skills • Although children in the nursery are very small, they can participate in simple activities such as placing seeds on an apple or adding parts with the help of their parents, thus developing fine motor skills and movement coordination. 4. Stimulation of speech and language development • While making dolls, parents and educators can encourage children to name the parts of the doll (eyes, mouth, hands), repeat simple words and sounds, which contributes to the development of speech. 5. Development of attention and concentration • Activities such as attaching simple parts to the doll (eg twigs as hands or leaves as hair) help develop the child’s ability to direct attention and concentrate, albeit for a short time, appropriate for their age. 6. Encouraging creativity and imagination • Even in the youngest, creativity can be encouraged through freely decorating dolls with the support of parents. Children can choose the colors and materials to use, expressing their individuality. 7. Connecting parents with the educational process • Involving parents in the workshop helps strengthen their role in the child’s education, creating a positive relationship between parents and educators. For the purpose of better and easier cooperation with parents, we will share instructions with all parents that will make it easier for them to make it. After making the dolls together with the children, they will bring them to the kindergarten, where we will display them at a community exhibition in the kindergarten hall, which will be used to mark Apple Day in our kindergarten. How to make apple dolls: Required materials: • Apples • Toothpicks or wooden sticks • Natural materials (leaves, twigs, dried flowers, corn silk) • Materials for eyes and mouth (buttons, seeds, rice, beans) • Cutting knife (used by an adult) Production steps: 1. Preparation of apples: • Choose medium-sized apples that will serve as the “heads” of the dolls. The apple can be left whole or can be shaped with a knife to make a simple face shape (cut out for eyes and mouth). Older children can help with shaping, while younger children can use other materials to decorate. 2. Adding eyes, nose and mouth: • Use small seeds, beans or buttons for eyes and nose. Attach these parts to the apple with toothpicks. Mouths can be made from scraps of paper, fabric, or even by cutting small indentations in an apple. 3. Hair and clothes: • Corn silk, wool, dry leaves or any other natural materials can be used for hair. You can use wooden sticks or toothpicks to attach fabric or paper as simple “clothes” for the doll. 4. Adding arms and legs: • Toothpicks or twigs can be used for hands and feet. Simply stick them into the apple to give the doll a basic body shape. 5. Decoration: • Children can decorate the dolls according to their imagination, adding leaves as hats, drawing additional details on the apple or decorating the doll’s body with fabric and paper.