Goldilocks Live!

We have been reading a lot of Goldilocks and the Three Bears in our classroom. 

It started off when we read one version (as it has beds it in) when my class first started their fascination with beds.  A child announced that he had that story at home.  Another child chimed in and another, so I encouraged them to bring in their versions.  So many different copies poured in. 

We have been enjoying reading, comparing, contrasting the various illustrations and endings, foods and circumstances that create the basic premise.

This story lends itself so well to acting it out.  It is easy to remember and children love the lines and the various voices.  We did it in a controlled manor in small groups as an activity and now the materials (three bowls of various sizes, three chairs, three blankets for beds) are out for the children to use during free play every day.

I love to watch how they negotiate who will play each role, how they set up their stage, who becomes the director, how they portray the characters, and if the story follows the script or takes on a life of its own.  

 

I can learn so much about each child by being an audience member, and each child is learning so much by taking part in this kind of play. 

Do you have a story that you have read recently that your students would love to act out?  Give it a try.  

10 Minutes till Bedtime!

I just love this book by Peggy Rathmann

Every time I read it I see something new and so does every child who reads it!

It just brings joy to the reader. 

It also makes children feel like readers as they can remember the simple repetitive text, start to recognize the numbers on the pages and just LOVE to raise their voices as they begin to learn that larger print means the character is yelling!!!

These boys realized that we had more than one copy in our classroom, so they have been finding the copies and each other and reading them together in unison, helping each other if someone seems to be on the wrong page. 

They are having a joyful moment with books.

 I am watching their concepts of print-constantly assessing what they know and thinking about what I can offer them.  Their job is to learn through play, but mine is to continually monitor the environment and make it challenging and engaging.

But while I am doing that, I am laughing and smiling at those adorable hamsters!!

Validate their Voices!

Validating the voice of children is an important part of our documentation.  

We often write down what the children say as they play or as they describe their work to us.  We write down exactly what they say, how they say it, grammatical errors and all.  It is their “voice”.  When we read it back to them, their faces light up.  To hear their words read back to them, to know that their words have been translated into print, that what they said was listened to so carefully and recorded word for word gives them such confidence.  Part of our role as early educators is give children confidence as learners-to give their ideas and thoughts acknowledgement.

 

It is also very useful as an assessment tool.  If you keep a copy for yourself it can be used as a speech sample, to measure a child’s use of sentence use and structure, vocabulary development and understanding. 

I always keep a copy for my records and send a copy home.  This documentation accompanied the bed creations and elaborated on the constructions the children were making.  It showed the thinking the children were doing as they were creating.

  You can see how one child thought through her elaborate bunk bed creation while the other one was thinking of the fairy tale, The Princess and the Pea, as she was creating her bed. 

Usually, we just walk around with a clipboard and paper and ask the children, “How does your story start?” as we learned from the wonderful educator, Bev Bos, or “what do you have to say today?”   And then we start writing.