Building Ourselves A Book At A Time

You can find magic wherever you look.

Sit back and relax, all you need is a book!

~ Dr. Seuss ~

Each day, in the wonderful world of kindergarten, we all stop to read books.

Now, don't get us wrong. We read books all day, whenever we want. 

But right after lunch, with content bellies and bodies, we all read.

We read with friends.

We read in groups.

We read the story of pictures and find letters whose sounds we know.

We read on laps and beside each other.

We wait with anticipation for 'our book' to be next.

We discuss and ask our capable friends questions.

We relax and excitedly share new-found knowledge. 

 

We discover that all the pictures start with the same sound.

We have conversations and make plans to follow our interests.

We help each other and learn the important skill of listening.

We reach for our favourite book, discover more, and explain.

We learn the conventions of book reading.
Left to right.
Pictures match words.
The cover gives clues.

We gain confidence and view ourselves as readers.

We point out the silliness in our story.

We point out the silliness & the sounds.

We grab both copies of our favourite and invite a friend to join us.

We form rich relationships with reading buddies (and teachers and reading).

We re-tell stories.
Another convention of book reading.

We become familiar with font and print for different purposes.
More conventions of book reading.

We let book reading carry us into revisiting our day and connecting our memories.

We reach for our favourite book and listen to our friend's discovery.

We match our book with the one we wrote to match it.

The more we connect with books, 
the more we develop a rich relationship with reading,
the more we value the joy a book spreads,
then
we become lifelong book lovers,
then 
our vocabulary grows like a pumpkin gains speed rolling down a hill,
then 
the more words we know, the more words we will know and understand,
then 
emergent literacy will have led to early literacy and lead us confidently on the path to effective literacy.

But... for now, we'll just call it our after lunch book time.

Sew Creative!

Our designers and sewers continue to be very busy as they create the latest fashions 
and make things for their homes.

 

It takes concentration to work out the details of creating with fabric.

 

Nancie inspired us all! She modeled the apron/skirt she sewed all by herself!

Leah continued to choose fabric after fabric, laying out her quilt/skirt and placing each new piece very carefully. She sewed along the edges, making sure the right sides were together, then opening the seam after she finished each one.

Isaac decided to make a pillow. Then everyone decided to make a pillow!

 

The fashion industry is just waiting for our kindergarten friends to hit the scene!

 

Another 'Creation by Nancie'. Her purse will be a wonderful accessory to the skirt.

Morgan just loved the purse she made! She worked for a long time to make sure she sewed the stitches close together and along the edges. She carefully chose the strap that her purse would have. All the teachers want one just like it!

 

So much to sew...

So little time!

The Open Art Studio

As teachers, we value our open art studio as much as the children do.

The opportunity for undirected activity in the art studio gives the children the ability 
to explore vital parts of who they are.

Community          Culture

Confidence           Critical Thinking

Observation          Revision          Problem Solving

Emotion          Intuition          Creativity

Observation          Revision          Problem Solving

 

 Mia drew a picture. She coloured with crayons...then decided to do more.

 

 Quietly working away, Mia moved her drawing to the floor and began to choose pieces of clay from the open materials. She chose a light peach colour and took small bits, pushing them and smoothing them to show her skin colour. Then she began to choose colours for the clothes. Mia took time and considered her drawing, adding details with clay to the things she had drawn.

 

 Once she had finished, Mia returned to the table and began to colour blue 

all over the page. She glued on a flying creature, which she created with 

card stock, marker and clay.

 

 Mia's finishing touch was a string. She had made a kite!

She wanted it to fly. Her kite seemed quite heavy.

It was decided that Mia's picture was just perfect for a frame, 

to inspire other friends while they create.

 

Celebrating the children's choices and processes lets them know that their creativity and ideas are valued.

Encouragement (rather than praise) will give valuable meaning to the learning that is happening. 

Things you could say:

"How did you do this?"

"You seemed to be having fun."

"You were really concentrating."

"What an interesting way to use..."

Talk about the shapes, colours & marks you see.
"What I notice first about your drawing is . . ."

"Isn't it interesting how you've used lots of . . . " 

Promote self-evaluation
"Have you put in everything you want to show?"

"Do all the parts of the picture look like they belong together?"

"Which of your paintings from today do you like best, and why?"

 Encourage effort, enjoyment, & risk-taking.
"It's fun to try it different ways."

"We learn a lot from our mistakes."

"Can you think of other ways to use this tool?"

"Let's try anyway."

"It's okay to get dirty."