It's OK to Be Different

Today our story for the day was titled It's Okay to Be Different by Todd Parr.  The story taught the children that it's OK to be in a wheel chair.  It's OK to feel embarrassed at times.  It's even OK to have big ears. 

During centers today the children worked on projects based on the theme Me and My Family.  At my center the children drew a picture of their family.  Some of the children even labeled their pictures with the words mom and dad.  With Mrs. Severson the children used pieces paper to make a collage that represented their house.  At the computer center the children listened to one of my favorite stories titled the dot.  Vashti, the main character, thinks she can't draw. No, Vashti KNOWS she can't draw! To prove her point, she jabs at a blank sheet of paper to make an unremarkable and angry mark. That one little dot marks the beginning of Vashti's journey of learning to believe in herself.

To end the day today we practiced our holiday program songs.  We also used Wiki Sticks to make the letter "M, m."  Wiki Sticks are made of yarn covered with glue.  They are sticky and bendable.  We used them to make four straight lines to make the capital M. Then we used one straight line and made two hills to make the lowercase m.  If the children can manipulate and touch the letters they are more likely to remember them verses just seeing them.