Your Little Friend in the Classroom

Welcome to the Little Friend Hotel where each room is custom designed to suit Your Little Friends' needs. 
Mrs. Donald, a fellow kindergarten teacher noticed that her class was stuffed animal crazy.  She decided to plan an entire unit where the kids would design, create, and expand upon their own stuffed animals.  She chose the Your Little Friend doll from the Sewing School as the basis and the kids took off.
To get everyone started, she traced the doll pattern onto muslin and let the kids personalize their dolls with fabric markers (an idea borrowed from the Stuffie project).  Next, the kids cut out the doll and traced the pattern onto felt and sewed and stuffed it.
After that, the kids took over creating special worlds for their dolls.  The blocks disappeared and a hotel was created. 
Little Stuffies, clothes, and accessories were stitched and crafted.
Those that didn't have a room at the hotel, found a little place to "camp" in the classroom.
The kids play with the dolls during the day and use them for various classroom activities.  Before leaving for the day, the dolls are lovingly tucked in for the night in little beds.
A variety of reading and writing activities have revolved around the Little Friend dolls.  One of my favorites is the "Who Am I?" sheet that each kid filled out for his or her doll.
It's exciting to see how a project from Sewing School can find its place in the classroom!

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