Kids Clothing Learning Theme

Having a kids clothing learning theme was important to us because of the practical life application is has. Now that my daughter is talking and signing more, she can communicate just what she wants or doesn’t want. And, as the weather changes, she can tell me if she is hot and wants shorts rather than pants. Beyond just communicating, learning about kids clothing is a daily vocabulary builder and something that is included in almost all books.

We also had a lot of fun incorporating more and more signs this week which has helped us communicate better when getting dressed, undressed, and ready for bed. It’s truly beautiful how empowering a growing vocabulary and both visual and spoken language can be for all of us, especially young learners.

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Supplies and Books for exploring Kids Clothing

Our absolute favorite book from this week is called Porcupine’s Pie and is a cute story about counting clothing and a porcupine making a clothing pie. There were lots of other books on hats and even some dollar store board books for our busy bags on clothes.

Another really awesome book is called “Socks“. I don’t know about you, but I have not met a kid that doesn’t love socks and this is just a fun book to have in your home! Our clothing learning theme truly would not have been complete without it.

There are lots of fun toys and games that explore zippers, buttons, snaps, clips, and other clothing fasteners. There are even some great resources beyond just toys that can enhance the learning experience. You can Shop Signing Time for great videos and vocabulary cards to help teach your children sign language. The signs for different articles of clothing was actually one of the very first episodes that my daughter truly engaged in the whole episode and all of the signs she still regularly uses.

We also played with several great toys that showcased clothing and how we wear it. One of the toys was a magnetic clothing set by Melissa & Doug. Grandma had this toy at her house and it was a hit! While it’s the same concept as paper dolls and dresses, this was much more functional for my learning toddler. Melissa and Doug also has a great puzzle with a bear that includes buttons, zippers, and other clothing fasteners that one might encounter. This provides great motor skill practice while learning about and manipulating clothing!

We also have a woodkins lift and lay doll that is such a simple, but fun toy. A small piece of cloth gets laid under a flap that presses it over the rest of the body. It came with a sleeping face and an awake face, so we used this a lot to talk about pajamas and day clothes… and really clothes for different occasions. They also have some that are fairies, hula girls and more, and even have a great book
about getting dressed for the day.

 

Get a FREE PRESCHOOL CLOTHING PRINTABLE DOWNLOAD! It is three pages of exploring basic clothing concepts, coloring, and drawing. Just click on the link to immediately download this resource.

Kids Clothing Activities and Games

• Clothes Line Sorting Games – Set up a “clothes line” in your living room or outside that is the height of you child(ren) and print off some examples of clothing, their names, etc..
  • Attach examples with clothes pins and your child must match the word with the picture.
  • Younger preschoolers and toddlers can also participate by matching the particular clothing with the season or weather when they would wear it. In this case, you would hang pictures of a sun, rain, snow, etc. on the line and the child would sort and match say a rain coat with the rain drop image.
  • ESL Printables actually has a collection of clothing images and worksheets that you can choose from if you cannot find your own images that you like!
• Work on observation skills by playing Laundry Learning games by matching socks and stacking piles. This is also a great way to work on vocabulary and incorporate other themes (like textures!). For instance “Can you find the fuzzy sock?” Plus, what better way to incorporate learning and chores? 😉 PLUS, this was even more fun as a companion activity to the book Socks.
• Play Clothing Bingo like this cute download from Peonies And Poppy Seeds. You can even make it more interactive by making the bingo card a scavenger hunt guide! The first to find them all wins!
• Make your own Fine Motor & Clothes Fastening Board like this really cute example from Craftulate.
• Pull out old costumes, crazy clothes that you probably never should have purchased, fun hats, and lots of scarves. Play a great, but simple game of Dress up.  Even make it a competition to see who can wear the most clothing at once!
• Put together busy bags
  • Print out this great resource on getting dressed from Carrots are Orange
  • Play with  clothes pins for a different spin on the clothing theme and for a fun, relevant busy bag.
  • Make Happy Hooligan’s a button snake activity for fine motor skills and button practice.

• Play house and work on practical life skills. You can get a toy iron and ironing board, cook with an apron, and more.
• Focus on supporting your child’s independence by providing them with a dressing basket like this one from Carrots are Orange

Other Information

For us, modesty is something we want to instill in our kids. It is not necessarily a moral value for us either, but a valuable lesson in social etiquette and professional wardrobe and behavior. Though my daughter is only 18 months, I know that she sees EVERYTHING. I want to model for her not only how to conduct herself, but also how appearances matter in the real world.

Our Bible Verse for the week Colossians 3:12 “Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” We talked about what it actually means to clothe and what it means to wear those characteristics ( i.e. they are seen, they are felt, etc.)

If you enjoyed this post, you may also like other learning themes! Click the images for more fun ideas.