Sock Ideas

All these ideas have come from the members of childfun!!

For craft maybe try placing socks on the children's hands and have them try to paint that way using brushes or even just 'finger painting' with the socks on for a textured look. Fold socks and use them to toss into basket or hoop for a game. Bounce folded socks on a play parachute. Practice tossing overhand, underhand.

Balance folded socks on head for relay race.

Use many different patterns of socks mixed together and have children find the matching pairs.

Make sock puppets

Quiet Feet by Jean Warren
Hickory, dickory, dock,

Let's put on our socks.
{Pretend to put on socks}
We'll walk around
Without a sound,
{tiptoe}
When we put on our socks

One thing that I do with socks in my classroom is put them into out sand table. The kids love to shovel sand into the socks. We use adult sized tube socks.

Sorting Math Idea

Hang a clothes line and add clothes pins and a basket of pairs of socks have the child match the pairs and hang or order from small to large or group colours together as they pin to the line. Be sure they remember to remove them all before they leave for the next child.

Make sock puppets with the children.

Have each child bring in a sock from home, either plain white, or coloured, or designed. Then provide various decorating items for the children. Such as buttons, sequins, pom poms, yarn, pipe cleaners, wiggly eyes, felt scraps.... When all the puppets are made, have the children name them and during circle time, each child can introduce their puppet. Puppets do not need to be limited to people, the children should be encouraged to make what ever sort of puppet they wish, a dog, bunny, mouse, elephant, or person.

Use various pairs of socks for a matching game.

Have each child put an old sock over their shoe and in the spring/summertime go on a sock walk outside. When you return, take off the socks and discuss what stuck to the sock as you walked along. Also, you can try putting the sock in a plastic bag and wetting the sock...if you happened to have stepped on a seed you may have something growing from the sock.

Sock art

Give each child a piece of construction paper. Let each child finger-paint the whole piece of paper. Allow paper to dry. Then cut two sock shapes out of each child's paper. Hang socks on wall or bulletin board.

Song

Stockings on
(Have children take shoes off and follow you around the room singing this song)

Deedle, deedle, dumpling
Shoes all gone.
We went to town
With our stockings on.
Shoes all gone,
Stockings on.
Deedle, deedle, dumpling,
Shoes all gone.

MATH/COGNITIVE

Make a file folder with socks with different patterns. Make two of each pattern. Glue one on the file folder and leave the other one out for children to match.

Seriating . . . bring in socks of all sizes and have the children order them from biggest to smallest.

Matching real socks. Hang one sock from a matching set up on a clothing line. Have children match the other socks to the clothing line. Then, let them put them on the clothes line. This is also good for fine motor skills.

DRAMATIC

On a nice summer day, let children wash socks and hang them up. They could be at a sock factory or a launderette. This would be fun as the children can wash with soap, rinse in water, and hang to dry.

Set up a sock puppet theatre. Use puppets that were made in class or ask parents to help each child make and bring in a sock puppet. This encourages family time at home and self-expression in the classroom. The children can talk about how they made their puppets, who helped, etc.

CREATIVE

Make sock puppets. Seeing how sewing is not a good option for young
children, you could help them select buttons, etc. for their puppets and help them glue them on with a hot glue gun. Do not leave them unsupervised.

CREATIVE WRITING

If children are old enough to write on their own, help them make a 'MISSING SOCK' story. If they can't write, help the class make a collective story. You could start off the first part of the story and let each child dictate and draw a picture for their own page in the book. Put it in a binder or put it together in a presentable format with cover, title page, etc. and keep it in the classroom. Let the children take turns bringing it home as well.

GAME

Give each child one sock. Hide the matching sock around the room. Have the children go on a scavenger hunt to find their matching sock.

SONG

Instead of singing, Who Stole the Cookie from the Cookie Jar, turn the song into, Who took the sock from the sock drawer?

Have a Crazy Sock Contest Day...

Make Sock Puppets out of Old Socks (Tube Socks)
Use Old Buttons for Eyes...Yarn for Hair...

Math....Provide different coloured, sizes or style of socks to Match...Place socks in a small Laundry Basket or storage.....

Sock Toss....have the Children toss socks instead of bean bags....

Have a Sock Hop....provide music from the 50's for children to dance too...

Art....Sock Painting....Provide Old Socks for the children to wear...Place a Large tub with paint (tempera paint and liquid soap) Big enough for the children to stand in...Put butcher paper down on the ground (This activity might be best to do outside on a Nice Day) have the children paint a picture in their stocking feet...Provide a tub of soap water to wash the feet off after finish painting....and a tub to put the painted socks into....

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