Today's read aloud was titled Farmyard Beat by Lindsey Craig. As soon as the sun goes down, the animals are up! ("Sheep can't sleep. Sheep can't sleep. Sheep can't sleep 'cause they got that beat!") Before long, there's a giant farmyard dance party, complete with funny animal sounds. But what happens when all the racket wakes up Farmer Sue? Everyone dances to the beat, “T-I-L-L… / … they fall in a heap! / Asleep!” We couldn't listen to this story without making a beat of our own. The children were each given a musical instrument to play while I read the story. They watched me, the conductor, for the sign that told them when they should play and when they should stop. They had wonderful self-regulation during this experience. To end the day we marched in our own band with the instruments.
Today the children visited the two centers that they did not get to on Tuesday. At my center the children played the Oink game. They were each given a recording sheet with numbers on it. They took turns reaching into a bucket and pulling out a card. If their card had a number on it they identified it and dotted it on their recording sheet. If they pulled out an Oink card play moved to the next person. This game taught us acceptance.
With Miss Sue the children went on a farmyard adventure. I hid farmyard animals around the room with letters or words on. The children were given a recording sheet and a clipboard. They went around the room identifying and recording the letters or words they found. At this point in the school year we need to keep learning, but we must make it active learning.
No comments:
Post a Comment