Our community journal has been getting a lot of attention this week. It has found a home on our new writing and drawing center on the left side of the room. Beautiful frames with the children’s artwork sit at the desk with only two chairs, encouraging a more peaceful area to concentrate. Children have been learning to share space and work together while drawing at the same time on opposite sides of the book. The conversations and social interactions that been based around the book have been wonderful.
Some new materials, including open frames and wooden curtain pieces were also explored this week. We are excited to see how many ways we can build, imagine, and create with them! We noticed many children quietly counting the rings as they stacked them.
In small groups, some children acted out our ladybug story. We harvested mud and leaves for the ladybug’s spots, then decorated the ladybug on the sidewalk as we told the story together. Look below the photos for a text of our original story!
Tell the story at home and see how much your children remember!
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Once upon a time, there was a teeny tiny ladybug. Every morning when she woke, she would stretch her wings and look in the mirror …
I’m so beautiful, with my all my wonderful spots.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 black spots.
Then one morning, she woke up, stretched her wings, looked in the mirror …
Oh no!! Where are all my beautiful spots?! I must go find more spots.
She walked off into the forest and soon she walked into a patch of black, gooey, sticky mud. She stuck one leg into the mud and put a tiny dot her back. Then she added another dot and another and another.
When she got, home she looked in the mirror …
I’m so beautiful, with my all my wonderful spots.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 black spots made of sticky mud.
That night while she was sleeping it began to rain and all of her spots washed away. When she woke up, she stretched her wings, looked in the mirror …
Oh no!! Where are all my beautiful spots?! I must go find more spots.
She walked into the forest and this time she walked past a tiny tree with tiny black leaves. She picked one leaf and stuck it on her back. It made a perfect little black dot. She picked another and another and another.
When she got, home she looked in the mirror …
I’m so beautiful, with my all my wonderful spots.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 black spots made of tiny black leaves.
That night while she was sleeping the wind began to blow and all of her spots blew away. When she woke up, she stretched her wings, looked in the mirror …
Oh no!! Where are all my beautiful spots?! I must go find more spots, but this time I must make sure they won’t disappear.
She walked into the forest and passed the house of an artist. When she walked inside she saw jars of black paint and little tiny paintbrushes. She dipped the paintbrush in and made a tiny black dot on her wings. She painted another and another and another.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 black spots made of beautiful black paint.
That night while she was sleeping the wind began to blow and the rain began to fall, but nothing happened to her dots. When she woke up, she stretched her wings, looked in the mirror …
I’m so beautiful, with my all my wonderful spots.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 black spots.
And that is the story of ladybug who lost her spots.
To follow up on the using natural materials for art, we harvested more mud the following day to paint with and used grass to draw on Friday
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We also explored how the texture of clay changes in the water. In a sensory table outside, the children mixed and mushed clay between their fingers as we talked about bear caves.
Have a wonderful weekend! See you next week for more exploring!