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.
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.
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.