Marking to the Drum
Marking to the Drum
Today we read the book ” The Line.” We learned that sometimes books don’t have letters that make words. Sometimes the marks… or illustrations tell the story.
We made marks to the beat of a drum. If the drum beat was slow we marked slow. If the beat of the drum was fast.. we marked fast. If the beat of the drum was light we marked lightly. If the beat of the drum was strong we made strong and deep marks.
We do we do activities like this you might ask? Well, the first intention of the plan is to get writing tools in their hands often and through playful experiences . Secondly, It teaches how important it is to listen. This little activity also teaches impulse control. Impluse control is hard for some adults. It is hard for many preschoolers. When the beat stopped we stopped marking. That was even more difficult when we were marking really fast. Sometimes children need to be taught at hard stop or no. Can you think of times you want your child to understand no means no? What if they were running into the street and a car was coming? If you never had a time that NO means NO.. they will continue to run. That would be devastating to say the least. No becomes increasingly important. We practice that in real time here. If me ( the teacher ) says no and they dont stop – this early in the school year I give grace one time. If after the second no or stop a child continues I will talk about how important it is to stop and what my expectations are. Usually that is followed by ” You seem really excited and a little wound up. Let’s choose a more calm activity like a puzzle or coloring until we can get control. You were asked twice. Let’s regroup.” Sure.. Some feelings have been hurt by me saying no – Im not usually the ” NO lady,” but the redirection is always kind and with good intentions. All that to say – as we set boundaries I may not be your childs best friend but I promise they are loved. By January only one stop or no will be given without redirection.
Raise your hand if you think this skill is more important than knowing letter sounds when you go into kindergarten?
See.. its never JUST about one thing. There are always multiple levels of learning taking place.