Webbing Activity

This exercise is designed to assist those who are involved in the early childhood setting (including staff, senior volunteers, parents, and student teachers) in creating activities for the classroom. The "Web" begins with an interest expressed by a child or group of children as a topic that comes up in an intergenerational conversation.

Give this interest a title and write it into a oval drawn on poster board (or chalk board). Create additional ovals with a line connected to the original one. For each of these ovals, write in topics which the group feels represent natural extensions of the original topic.

For instance, a child's interest in a senior volunteer's shoes might stimulate a webbing process that goes from "shoes" to "shoe fashion" and "foot health." Then discuss ways to expose children to more information and experiences related to shoe-related topics, such as a visit to a shoe repair shop. Add additional ovals as needed.