V is for Valentines
V is for Valentines
Today was really a hodge podge of activities since we had missed so much this week with the snow.
One of the fun things planned was each child outlining his own initial with sweet tarts and then counting how many sweet tarts it took . The smart teacher that resides deep within me decided that our first day back from four days home was not the day to have a sugar over load. Maybe we will try that another day.
We did however make a collage with the letter V. When I put the letter outlines on the table each of the children walked around saying ” But where’s my letter ?” I don’t think this would have happened if we hadnt had Violet in our classroom. They thought the papers were Violet’s .. all of them.
Earlier in the week I send some pictures of our children playing in the block center to a friend from ASU. She is helping write materials for Arkansas Children’s Week . The theme is construction and block play. This morning she sends me these pencil line drawings ( computer generated ) of a few of my pictures. She wondered what would happen if both pictures were introduced to the children at one time. What would they think ? Would they notice the lines of the blocks more readily ? At circle time I introduced the pictures. For a time they just sat and looked without talking . You could tell they were really trying to process . Finally some things I heard were ” they are the same !” and ” this one of for a kid to color.” One of the children also took the papers from me and suggested that possibly someone traced the picture on the back. He turned it over to show me how it would be done. We will continue to observe these pictures this week to see what happens. One day I will put them in the art center. I wonder what will happen if I put them on the light table ? Sparking a child’s curiosity is one of the greatest goals as a teacher. I hope I am never the teacher that just puts information in. Sometimes it is difficult for me to sit and listen and wait – especially when it is quiet. I want to help. But my help might hinder the direction their little brains have started to travel .I am thankful for friends that challenge me to think outside the box when I teach.