Art

Developmentally appropriate art is creative and process-driven. It's open-ended. There is no desired "product" or "outcome." When children create, they create for the joy of creating. It's important to make sure that you offer children the materials and time to create, but that's about all. They don't need help, they don't need to see an example, and they definitely don't need something drawn for them to color or paint. The best art activities you can provide are those that allow children to create what *they* want to create... no models to try to copy, no intended outcome.

"All children are born artists. The problem is to remain artist as we grow up." ~ Pablo Picasso

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More examples of print in the classroom

Here are two of my little friends sharing a book :) I wanted to share this picture because you can see some examples of print in the classroom (if you click on the picture it gets bigger). The kids were really interested in "The Eensy Weensy Spider" and we played some word games substituting different verbs for the word "climbed." If you look closely at the white easel to the right of the picture you'll see a sentence that says, "The eensy weensy spider ______ up the water spout." As we read the poem they would take turns calling out a word (jumped, ran, danced, etc) to fill the blank. I would write the word down on a piece of paper, hold it up to the blank, and we'd all "read" the sentence together. It was very informal and fun, and if someone wasn't interested they didn't have to participate. This was a way that I differentiated instruction for some of the kids in my class that were a little further along in their literacy development.

You can also see a green piece of paper below the "X." This was a sheet of paper with pictures and words that illustrated our group/circle time promises. I would just quickly grab the paper and hold it up if I had a little friend who was being disruptive and the visual was usually enough to remind them of the expectations.

This is a picture from my old classroom :) I posted the alphabet on the whiteboard, and we added each child's name, as well as words the children were interested in. This was our "word wall."

The children loved to use the dry erase markers on the whiteboard. To the right you can see the picture schedule (turquoise paper). You can also see some environmental print (McDonalds and Dominos) that I printed from Boardmaker - I laminated them and then put magnets on the back. The kids loved "reading"and playing with them.

Moving through Learning Centers Independently

Children need to be able to navigate through the classroom independently. This is one example of a center management system that allows children to independently determine whether or not a center is full. There are many ways to do this - I used velcro and sticks. After Winter Break I removed the pictures of the children so they could focus on the letters in their names. By then they all knew their own names or at least the first few letters, so it was a smooth transition. Each of my centers had one of these, and the sticks were returned to a central location in the classroom after centers.

As you can see, I had a large space for art, so I was able to have five children in art at one time. You can see from the black velcro dot that there is one space left. This was a very successful system and the children were able to learn and understand it within a few days.




Below are some pictures taken at a classroom in Harnett County. This teacher uses a similar design and said that she's had great success with it.

As you can see above the sticks "live" on the green poster board. There is a photo of each child, along with velcro. The sticks are placed there by the children when they are done with center time. In the picture above you can see that this teacher uses little people figures. There is velcro on each "person" for the children to hang their sticks.

Sweet Poem :)

If I Had My Child to Raise Over Again

If I had my child to raise over again
I'd finger paint more, and point the finger less.
I'd do less correcting, and more connecting.
I'd take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes.·
I would care to know less, and know to care more.
I'd take more hikes and fly more kites.
I'd stop playing serious, and seriously play.
I'd run through more fields, and gaze at more stars.
I'd do more hugging, and less tugging.
I would be firm less often, and affirm much more.
I'd build self-esteem first, and the house later.
I'd teach less about the love of power,
And more about the power of love.
-Diane Loomans

Welcome!

Hey Everyone :)
I'm setting up this blog as an online resource for you. I will be posting pictures, videos, links, and other resources to help you reach your goals. On the right side of the page you will see a list of widgets -- there are links to important websites and resources so make sure you check it out!

This site is different than our google group. You can comment on this site, but unlike our google groups site you won't be able to have an online "conversation" here. This is more of a storage place for resources.

I am excited about the possibilities of using technology. Please think creatively with me and send me suggestions for what you would like to see, and what would be most helpful to you! I am open to ideas - my goal is to help you reach your goal!

Enjoy :)