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Handwriting has never been easy to teach to kindergartners, but it is in the Common Core Standards that they learn how to print letters correctly. Each year I have tried through the traditional ways of working on fine motor skills the first half and then formal handwriting sheets the second half of the year. It never worked so this year I tried something new... An inquiry about lines! I asked the kids what kind of lines they knew of. At first they drew straight lines, but then started to expand the types of lines they made! We read some books and watched some videos on YouTube that showed us different lines and also gave them names. I put out provocations for them to explore lines in many different ways and see what they noticed and what connections they made. I put out invitations for them to use lines to make letters, shapes, designs, pictures and numbers: They explored! They are doing activities to build strong finger muscles to help with handwriting and explore lines at the same time! Our clay is quite hard and they have to work it to soften it up. Plus, manipulating the pipe cleaners helps work those fine motor skills! Through this simple inquiry, the kids are much more aware of the different types of lines and how to make them. They are recognizing them in letters, shapes, numbers and pictures. So far, I am seeing an improvement compared to previous years in their names as they try to form the letters the correct way. More are pulling down vertical lines rather than pulling up when making letters but for some this is a hard habit to break! We will keep working on it in developmentally appropriate ways and we will see as the year goes on if this knowledge of lines will help them with the common core standard of writing letters correctly! Here are some other things the kids have been doing in our room during this inquiry! Dots! We celebrated International Dot Day and celebrated creativity! Ken Robinson said that creativity is as important as literacy and I cannot stress enough how true that is! Employers want creative and critical thinkers so these skills need to be emphasized! Here are some pictures of some invitations to be creative and our final display of creativity! In Literacy, we have been focusing on letters and letter sounds. They have been using their names and the names of their friends to help them to recognize letters and their sounds. The invitations at the beginning of the year focused mostly on exploring letters and names. Working lavender into this play-dough also made this a great sensory experience as they used it to explore letters and try to spell their name and friends names. They have been working on the concepts of print as they learn letters and sounds through letter books. They have been practicing starting in the right place, pointing to the words and going in the right direction when they read. When they partner read, one is the reader, the other is the helper so they have to listen and watch closely, then they switch roles. In math we have been exploring numbers counting objects and matching them to the number. We also have been exploring measurement. In math we are also exploring shapes and their properties. In science, they have been working on looking closer, wondering and documenting what they notice. I set out invitations for them to explore and practice these skills. It has been a very full first month! It is amazing how far the kids have come! Stay tuned to find out what the kids are creating for our math area!
Use this process art activity for children that uses salt, glue and watercolor paint for a super STEAM science and art project.
Provocations can be overwhelming. Let's take a look at some simple ideas for literacy provocations found in a Reggio-Inspired Preschool.
“Put simply, provocations provoke! They provoke thoughts, discussions, questions, interests, creativity and ideas. They can also expand on a thought, project, idea and interest.” By far…
Playdough is always a favourite in my classroom. It's ideal to use that interest for reinforcing educational skills and concepts. That’s the beauty of a play-based classroom. You can teach phonics and consolidate phonemic skills through the provocations and learning invitations you provide. Playdou
This is a gallery-quality giclée art print on 100% cotton rag archival paper, printed with archival inks.
It's been a while since I've posted a project - it always seems to be that I'll have a couple of weeks where we are "in process", then sudd...
Be inspired to set up invitations to play and learn using simple materials from nature with this collection of photos and ideas from early years educators!
Children stick paper collage material and yarn to sticky contact paper to make colorful and playful works of art that can be hung on the wall.
Inquiry stems from questions and the focus of this bumper provocation pack is to develop conceptual thinking and questioning skills in your students. The art of the provocation is where we bring the magic and wonder to the inquiry. This big bundle is packed full of images that all relate to the concepts within the IBPYP theme of Who We Are. This resource is exactly what is going to save you time as you are equipped with highly engaging images that will stretch the children’s thinking, develop skills and invite their curiosity into the inquiry all through carefully guided thinking routines and graphic organisers. (UK & USA spelling) These are digital and printable, making it so easy to adapt to your planning. Win-win! •With over 70 ready-made provocations that will engage so you are absolutely set to pick and choose for multiple related concepts within Who We Are. •Over 45 high engagement images that link to the related concepts within the IB PYP theme enabling greater understanding of the big ideas and connecting with ANY unit of inquiry for the upper grades. •21 concept based images/quotes with guiding questions, ideal for using with whole class discussions. (Identity, community, self, beliefs & values, relationships,health, mindfulness etc.) •9 different thinking routines/graphic organisers that enable a progressive development of the ATL skills together with easy differentiation. •Blank templates for each graphic organizer to add your own provocation materials. •Self-assessment & student reflection of skills included This bank of high interest material will keep your inquirers thinking and wondering throughout the entire inquiry, as you integrate it into your learning experiences, use with on-going reflection and even assessment of skills. You will find skills focused graphic organisers, supporting visible thinking routines and for implicit skills practice of: •Observation •Making connections •Using our schema •Analysing data •Literal thinking vs. inferential thinking •Synthesising •Formulating questions •Accountable talk •Collaborative thinking You may also be interested in my complete units of inquiry, providing transdisciplinary activities for all of the themes. Take a look here or look at the store of my website for a larger selection. You can find many more inquiry based tips and tools in my store an on my blog, PYPteachingtools.com. ENJOY! Susan Powers
Geometric Art
