Imagine

In the beginning of every school year we spend time talking about the expectations we have in our class. To make this easier we use the word “agreements” and involve the entire class in the process. We all “agree” on specific things like, walking instead of running in our classrooms. We like to think that the process of agreement making creates a classroom culture that everyone feels a part of.  Another important component of  creating this classroom culture is a strong foundation of kindness, and we all agree that treating each other with care and thoughtfulness is essential. It’s important because it’s how we ourselves would like to be treated. This art project was done collectively from start to finish. The children painted, drew lines, cut and punched holes side by side. We had conversations about friendship and the best way to treat our friends. We wrote what the children said about friendship on each strip of paper.  The children then used chenille sticks to connect all of the st

We explored shapes using our overhead projector. When we talk about shapes we are usually referring to circles, squares and triangles.  The children discovered that like lines, shapes are everywhere. Even our body is a shape.  Our Reggio inspired classroom believes that the environment is the third teacher.  This activity really allowed the children to physically interact with their environment.  Through the use of our overhead projector they were able to explore shadows, light, shape and color. 

Using our overhead projector the children traced shapes. This activity is rich with opportunities to practice both their fine and gross motor skills. With the use of chalk pastels they  traced  big, bright shapes while reaching tall and sometimes bending down low allowing for the use of many muscles big and small. The next step was to color in their shapes.  Cutting out the shapes, and stapling provided opportunities for small hands to build the needed muscles and coordination for future writing.  The shapes were stuffed creating colorful paper pillows.   You will find them happily hanging in our writing room if you would like to take a look. 

The journey has begun for our seniors in the preschool. Getting to do journals is a rite of passage in our class.  Juniors can’t wait to be seniors for so many reasons, the biggest being you get to do journals.  We start out slowly tracing “vertical” and “horizontal” lines.  We move on to curvy and wavy lines.  We are laying the foundation for all our future writing.  This group of seniors is well on their way to the exciting world that is our written language. 

This project was inspired by the book “Lines that squiggle” by Candace Whitman . If the straight line is the first step to understanding form, the next step would be lines that bend and curve. Yarn can provoke this understanding in a fun and very engaging way. It can start out straight and be manipulated to create so many different kinds of lines.   The children honed their cutting skills to produce yarn lines of different sizes.  When we had a big pile of colorful, squiggly lines we used tongs or fingers to dip pieces of yarn into glue.  The yarn was then placed on poster board.  It was a great way to segue from the straight line to lines that squiggle and curve.  Using clay the children used clay to create their own lines.  Exploring lines  has led us to the circle. One of our friends pointed out that a circle is a line that curves. We also realized that when two ends of a curved line meet it makes a circle. Lines that are straight that connect  make the letter A or any of the strai

Lines are the foundation for all form and shape. A line on a piece of paper becomes a tree, the bones in our body the side of a building. Lines on paper become a triangle, a triangle becomes an A. Lines are the beginning of all structure . This is why at the beginning of every year we start here.  Basic understanding of  lines and the hand eye coordination it takes to create a line is fundamental to all art and all writing. We learn to hold the paint brush and the pencil so that we can better control the line. The children’s lines become a language of expression . The first written language is art . Learning to write our letter language will flow from these lines on a child’s paper. The very same line that made the side of their house and the peak of its roof. A child needs time to develop this expression.  We never hurry through this step. This step is everything.