After being cut out, the children worked to assemble the collage, laying out each petal and pasting the pieces onto the canvas as if they were completing a puzzle.
After preparing the paper using Eric Carle's painting techniques and with the design templates completed for our flower, bee, and butterfly, we were ready to begin the process of transferring these drawings to our painted paper, and then onto the canvas. The PK drawings were copied onto a transparency to be used with an overhead projector. Through this process the images were enlarged and projected onto a large piece of tracing paper. The children worked to trace these images. Natural problem solving occurred as they quickly moved and adjusted their bodies to adjust for the shadow. This process provided both fine and gross motor challenges as students worked to combine whole arm movements with controlled fine motor tracing. During a group discussion, the children agreed that the canvas should be painted blue, as to represent the sky. Students mixed and blended various shades of blue acrylic paint and coated the canvas with large brush strokes. A few mixed in swirls of white and also used the opposite end of the paint brush to make swirls and scratches in the sky. With teacher support, the large traced flower and insects were traced onto the painted sheets of paper. After being cut out, the children worked to assemble the collage, laying out each petal and pasting the pieces onto the canvas as if they were completing a puzzle. This project took over three weeks from beginning to end. As it evolved, and the impact of each step became clearer to the children, their excitement and pride in their work increased. To imagine a flower was not only a journey of collaboration but also an exercise in creating a communal piece of art that required planning, revising, consulting, and cooperating.
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Upon returning from the Thanksgiving holiday, the PK children have been busy designing and building a bus to transport them around the classroom. The large classroom wardrobe has proved to have dual functionality, as the children discovered it could be pushed around the classroom and ridden inside. After observing the children pretending to ride a bus with their peers, we began asking questions to probe what exactly they knew about buses. The children shared their memories of riding a school bus last month for our field trips to the Children’s Theater and Lincoln Park Zoo. A few told stories of riding the white city buses to a friend’s home. They also expressed questions, such as “How many passengers can fit on a bus?” and “How do the doors open? Maybe there is a special button?” We decided to embark on an investigation of buses, researching with non-fiction books as well as first hand accounts from everyday bus transit riders: Ms. Fitzgerald and Ms. Wadington. Both teachers have been documenting their morning commutes, taking video and photographs of the interior/exterior of buses, bus stop signs, and even asking bus drivers our students’ budding questions. Each morning at Morning Meeting, we share more information and insight on buses. For example, through photographs inside the bus, students observed how passengers signal to the driver that they would like to get off, as well as what is available for standing passengers to hold on to so they do not lose their balance. With all of these features in mind, it was time to turn the wardrobe into a bus. During play and group discussions, the children’s bus schemas have focused mostly on city buses. However, when we began the discussion of how we could turn the wardrobe into something that looked more like a bus, the children unanimously wanted it to look like a school bus. We discussed the plan during Morning Meeting. There was a consensus among the children that this bus should be yellow and have polka dots and stars around it as decoration. We began by covering the exterior of the bus with yellow butcher paper. The children worked in pairs in the TinkerLab to tape the large paper around the bus. This portion of the project was done with very little teacher assistance, allowing the children to problem solve together the needed lengths of paper and tape. Our SK friends stopped by for a visit and to offer some advice and assistance. The next step was to add the polka dots and stars. Using large stencils, each student had an opportunity to paint shapes around the bus. View the time lapse video below to see just how the painting of the PK bus came to be! After the bus was painted it was time to add the finishing touches. From our research we learned that buses have handles for passengers that may need to stand during their ride. The children also insisted that bells be put on the bus so they can signal to the driver when they would like to get off. One student suggested we use jingle bells, and given the timeliness of the holidays, we were able to bring this design idea to life. Now that the bus is ready for transit, the children are eager to create bus stops, roads and street signs to navigate the classroom. This project and investigation has been sparked solely by student interest and ideas. There is intention and purpose built into their careful planning and it is here that meaningful learning exists.
What a great first week of school! In just four short days, we have become more comfortable in the classroom environment, as well as begun to develop budding relationships with one another. The first few weeks of school will focus greatly on classroom routine. Understanding routine does not only involve remembering to wash our hands and put on our school shoes, but also understanding how to engage with classroom materials, how to transition along with the group, and how to participate in clean up. Once the foundation of classroom routine is set, the possibility of experiences are endless. Take for example, Indoor Exploration time. This is a time for children to explore the classroom environment, build in the construction area, investigate new materials on the light table, explore the impact of water on sand, take on the role of mother in the dramatic play, and more. This is also a time for us as teachers to work with children in smaller groups, and capture their understanding of the materials they engage in. For example, this week, children took to the dramatic play environment to begin cooking meals for one another. As an observer, I was able to question where the children were eating. This led to the idea of a restaurant, which led to multiple roles of chef, server, and customers. Our server used mock handwriting to imitate an adult’s writing and two children had the notion to create signs for the restaurant. A few girls were intrigued by beadwork this week and were eager to create necklaces and bracelets. When it was time to leave for the day, they decided the necklaces needed to be kept in a safe spot to return to the following day. A proposal was made to hang the necklaces from the bike wheel that hangs from the ceiling. The children have embraced the provocation to create a classroom chandelier. We will follow up this inquiry next week by providing the children more intricate beadwork. It is through these types of play and observation that we will capture our children’s developmental progress. Another important routine that was focused on this week is Morning Meeting. Once everyone arrives, we gather at the carpet to begin each day. We believe that beginnings matter, therefore, setting the tone for the day is an important value in our morning routine. This is why we take the time to greet each child by name. This week, we sang a song that required keeping a rhythm and saying our name when it was our turn to do so. This required attention, active listening, and the important self regulatory skill of waiting. As children become more confident in our greetings, they will individually greet each other by name, possibly with a handshake or high five. Ask your child to share the name song with you from this week. Next week, we will learn a new greeting, as well as introduce new materials that will be available during Indoor Exploration time. Over the past few weeks we have spent countless hours preparing the classroom environment for our PK students who we eagerly welcomed on Monday. After each piece of furniture was moved, each material placed, we found ourselves coming back to the same question, “Is the space inviting?” This required time, reflection, and getting down on our knees to walk around the classroom and observe through the eyes of a child. In our work with Educational Consultant, Ashley Cadwell last summer, he encouraged us to design a space that brought rich normality to the environment. While one can interpret this in many ways, we understood this to mean a classroom that feels like home. While some standard classroom furniture (a shelf for blocks, cubbies, tables and chairs) is present, these are not the pieces that should draw the child in. A wicker table and chair set, passed down over the years, provides a space to taste the delicious cake that a friend made in the kitchen. A netted curtain sectioning off a cozy nook with soft chairs invites a child to grab a storybook and travel to a new land. Mirrors are placed throughout the classroom, allowing children to watch their creations and investigations unfold. Viewing your tower from multiple angles as you build provides important perspective to the building process. Soft lighting from table lamps in addition to natural sunlight cascading in through northerly windows imparts an uplifting mood for classroom dwellers. Large letters flank the wall overhanging the construction materials. Each letter represents a first initial of a PK student. As our children grow into their 4th year, each child will design and adorn their letter to their choosing on their 4th birthday, breathing life and color into this wall installation. Two cork panels wrap the walls in the classroom, eagerly awaiting documentation of the learning process. Finally, a large bicycle wheel hangs flat from the ceiling over a round table near the art easel. As a base for a chandelier, the wheel will serve as a provocation for creating beautiful materials and design to hang down from the spokes. This is all just the beginning. We are ready for the children to act on this environment and watch as our classroom evolves. |
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June 2015
AuthorsMeg Fitzgerald is the lead teacher and Madeline Wadington is the Apprentice teacher in the PK classroom at Bennett Day School in Chicago, IL. Categories
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