This week we sang a mixture of "Hello Neighbor" and "The More We Get Together" during circle. We practiced some bean bag greeting games. Some of the things we incorporated into our bean bag toss were our favorite food, greetings like "good afternoon _________", and our names. We are still getting to know one another so name games help to clear up any name confusion!
I read a book this week called "The Things I Can Do" by Jeff Mack. It's an amazing book about a little boy who is writing a book all about the things he can do. There are some funny illustrations (like the boy wearing underwear on his head) which cracked the kids up! We spent some time talking about authors, books, and how preschoolers ARE authors too! Here is the sequence:
Monday we introduced making books. Preschoolers used the stapler (ever so carefully) to staple three (or more) sheets of full sized white paper together. We talked about how their creation looked like the books we read in our classroom.
Tuesday we talked about the different topics of books. There are books about trains, dinosaurs, monsters, princesses, unicorns, plants, and many, many more. After we discussed this, we set out to think about what our own books would be about. Here are some of the topics kids chose to write about:
Princesses, family, friends, dinosaurs, a field of corn, dinosaur bones, unicorns, roses, candy, trucks, trains, and battles
What an array! So...we made our front covers and "wrote" our titles.
On Wednesday, we remembered what our book was about (preschoolers did so much better at remembering than I thought they would!). Then, we worked on the inside of our books. I taught a mini lesson on drawing people. We talked about how people have a head, body, legs, arms, hands and feet. Then we talked about adding details to our drawings like earrings, a scarf, clothing, etc. After we completed our books, each student was asked to read their book to a teacher.
On Thursday, we read our books for a second time.
Here is the 4-1-1 on bookmaking in preschool. We want preschoolers to see themselves as writers, readers, and illustrators. It builds their confidence, and let's face it...throughout school students are asked to write a lot, and I want them to have confidence and to learn that writing is a creative outlet. I will continue to encourage children to write books about events in their lives, something they seem particularly interested in, something funny that happened in class (like when Mrs. Reid says the wrong words to the circle song). An important aspect of the book making process is just when the kids think they are done...I ask them "Please, read me your book." This one simple sentence can go a LONG way with preschoolers. I never ask kids to tell me about their book or read their words for them. Remember, I want them to think of themselves as writers and readers. I also keep in mind that not all books are stories. Some books are lists, some books are facts about a certain topic, and then yes, some books ARE stories. Watching the children read their books was inspiring, so if you need some sunshine in your life, ask your preschooler to read their book to you! (They are going home next week)
Next week, we will be learning more about Fall.
Thanks for reading and enjoy the weekend!
Mrs. Reid
