Today I had the joy of taking a Story Time session and worked with a theme on birds. I chose three books, with a fourth back up just in case. The three I read today were:
- Hooray for Birds By Lucy Cousins
- 10 Hooting Owls by Ed Allen
- Wings by Paul Stewart
There was singing, some crazy dancing and lots of noise to be had. All in all a fun time together.
What I want to share about this session today is the art experience. I believe for preschoolers that structured craft stifles creativity. This means that I find it very hard to make the more organised crafts that are expected of me. Today I took a different approach and what resulted was some beautiful creative results and happy children and caregivers.
My example for the craft was a paper plate bird. When talking to the children about the craft I showed them what I made but I said to them that they can make it however they want to. I provided all the resources that I used and let their imaginations run wild. Here are the results:
This creation is a duck. This preschooler was convinced that this was all the duck needed and he proceeded to make duck noises…how wonderful. just before he left he decided to put a feather inside it for a tongue. I adore his interpretation and that he had so much to tell me about this duck. This was an opportunity for language development.
This little one did one almost identical to mine, however the love and care she put into it was beautiful. She was very proud of herself and had the hugest smile when showing me. At first she seemed a little shy but was quite chatty when telling me about her bird, and was building on her confidence at the same time.
The creativity and imagination that went into this one was lovely. This little person was a little bit older than the others and decided to make her bird into more of a picture. I noticed their was a lot of discussion happening with her mamma.
I adored the creativity that went into this bird. The preschooler decided that it would be fun to make a rainbow bird. Throughout our stories their were some lovely colourful birds. When talking about her creation we were able to discuss how three eyes are very cool because it is awesome to be different.
The last one I have to share with you started with a little girl not being sure that she could draw a rainbow herself. I was able to have a little chat with her about knowing she could do it and this is what resulted in, beautiful creativity and a little girl overcoming uncertainty.
Some more thoughts…
The art activity is such a big part of the literacy experience. It shouldn’t be just an add on at the end of a story time. I find it most successful when there is lots of discussion while creating and then the stories the children share with me about their creation. The joy that they share of their experience is so positive because they don’t even realise that they are learning, it is just a natural progression of their story time experience.
Please note I have done my best to protect the identity of each of the creators.
Little Big Reads 