In the spirit of October and all things spooky, scary, and creepy, Pre-K 108 will be listening to books with the same theme. This week, we’ve already spent two days listening to Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds and illustrated by Peter Brown. Creepy Carrots is about a young Jasper Rabbit who has had more than his fair share of carrots in Crackenhopper Field. Things start to turn creepy when the carrots stand their ground… The pre-k students really enjoyed listening to Creepy Carrots. After listening to the story, our kids had the opportunity to make their own Creepy Carrot in the art center. We used recycled paper rolls and masking take to craft the carrot form. Strips of green construction paper were stuck in to represent the stem. Afterwards, our kids used orange paint to give the carrot its color. As they waited for the carrots to dry, the next step was to make the carrots CREEPY! They used their fine motor skills to make cut the carrots’ eyes, mouth, eyebrows, and teeth. Making these creepy carrots allow our students to make a special connection to the book and the characters. Not only do they get to enjoy a wonderfully written book, but they can also create something from the book that they can be proud of. Mr. Andy worked in groups of four with the students as they made their creepy carrots. Students were introduced to the materials and shown how to properly use scissors, glue, and markers. When they were done, they were shown how to put things back. The time spent in small groups is more meaningful. Children who need attention are getting the attention they need. If a child needs help properly holding scissors, in a small group, the right grip is shown and they can practice it right away. Stay tuned next week as things may get a bit SLIMEY!
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Now that we are over a month into the school year, our pre-k students are starting to get the hang of things. They know the routine and schedule of the day. Any slight changes to it, they won't hesitate to let you know that something has changed. The year kicks off with a lot of Mo Willems read alouds. His books are very easy to keep up with and fun for children to interact along as we read. There are three series of his that we are focusing on; The Pigeon, Elephant and Piggie, and the Cat the Cat series. The characters are engaging and memorable, therefore it's fairly easy to introduce the different thinking maps through Mo Willems books. We introduced the bubble map to find words to describe the Pigeon using the two Pigeon books; The Pigeon Needs a Bath and The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog. As I read each book, I point out certain actions the Pigeon does. As a class, we do our best to find words to describe his actions. We also discuss the physical features we notice about the Pigeon to add to our map. In our frame of reference, the way we knew about the information on the map are written in two different colors. The blue indicates the information that was teacher assisted. The red indicates information the students came up with on their own. Although it is early in the year and a select few participate in the making of this map, all students can enjoy a wonderful story about the Pigeon and his quirkiness. After creating the map, students had the choice of going to the art center where they would make their own paper Pigeon. Four students chose the art center where the teacher drew the different shapes that formed the Pigeon and the students were responsible for cutting them out and pasting them together. Below are photos of the art center work from today. Other children will have the opportunity this week to make their own Pigeon. We continue to have students join the art center to make their own paper pigeon. Many of our kids have fallen in love the ambitious bird and are eager to make their variation. One student insisted to make another to take home.
In a small group, this is a great way to introduce our art center materials to our students. For a project like this, our students are handling scissors, glue, glue sticks, and markers. They learn how to use the materials with care and learn how to put it away when they're done. For me, I can see where students are at with their fine motor skills. I can demonstrate and practice with kids how to properly hold a scissor when cutting paper. They'll learn the importance of capping materials such as glue sticks and markers while working towards making something they are genuinely interested in. |
CategoriesAuthorCurrently in my eighth year of teaching Pre-K at an early childhood elementary school. Archives
October 2022
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