Educational creativity

Changes, Changes is a book by Pat Hutchins This book has no words and I was amazed at how it kept all the children's interest.  We predicted what the people would build next.  At the end of the story we recalled all the different things that were built.  They did great with it.  Some even asked to read it again.  Since we share all our books from Creative Curriculum with another class, we had to give the book up for the day. I decided to let the children make their own structures like in the book. Like the book states, plans change. My lesson plan shows the intent of the activity below. First, we worked together to watercolor paint a large piece of paper.  I then cut out shapes from the paper, and I added some other paper scraps from other cutting projects.  Next the kids were asked to glue some shapes down to make something.  I recorded what they made on each page along with their name. We turned it into a book we will keep in our library....

     I bought these triangular make up sponges to make the DIY dot painters like Teach Preschool has done.  But, they were not big enough to fit the containers I was going to use.  Oh well.  We just used them to paint with instead.  My kids get a lot of watercolors with paint brushes.  They need a new medium to keep them interested in painting. Some kids used only one color. Some kids used many colors to make patterns. Some kids used many colors and layered they paper with so much paint it made the neatest textured painting. Some kids used the sponges on the skinny side and others used the fat side.  I have found that painting with the strangest things make the neatest looking product and provide the best process oriented artwork. If you want to learn more about process versus product artwork, you can visit this previous post .

Building, Buildings, and more Building      I have been excited to start this theme of buildings, since I have 13 boys.      I took pictures of the familiar sites around town, then printed them big enough to fit on our cardboard blocks.  How's that for environmental print.  Some pictures I made big enough to cut in half or forths to encourage children to build the buildings and not just build to knock down. Add some helmets, tools, and vehicles and you have a construction zone the kids will want to visit. One little boy carried this fire station around all during center time because his dad works there.  So make multiples if you want to encourage sharing.      My classroom is lacking car, trucks, or anything with wheels.  This will not do, so I made vehicles the same way I made the building blocks.  Luckily, there was some construction vehicles right outside my ...

I love going to the Dollar Tree before going anywhere else to find supplies for school. Here is one I found this weekend. Bendaroos, also called stikki wikkis, can be used to make things or used as a more educational activities. You can use them to have children trace their names.  They stick to most hard surfaces. Let the kids outline shapes.  Slip a drawn shape in a page protector. I have used them with my Handwriting Without Tears letter cards to let them form numbers. One Little girl made a pattern on the blocks that were also on the table. I've seen these used on big books to circle sight words or letters the class is working on.  Just try to find a creative way to use them.  It's great when you can find them at such a great price.

The Three Little Pigs We read The Three Little Pigs story by .  It is a little long for three year olds but if you get the kids to chant along, you'll keep their attention. There are lots of versions of this story out there.  These 2 came with the Creative Curriculum. The True Story of The Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka is about the nice wolf who comes to borrow a cup of sugar and sneezes to start a horrible misunderstanding The Three Little Javelinas   is a Mexican version where the bad coyote chases the pigs.  It is a very long story. If your looking for the best read aloud, look for a book with some of these qualities. a positive attitude - many versions have the pigs being eaten, which can be scary for young children and the idea that the mom would make her kids leave their home might cause some questions. Rhyme and repetition - children will chant along with a story that rhymes and repeats, which means they will be more interested in the story a...