There is so much to discover within ourselves!
“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood” – Fred Rogers
Materials
- Large Paper and sellotape
- Peg or Rubber band
- Crayons or Pencils
Learning Goals
- Engage, explore and experiment in their environment and use new physical skills including skills to manipulate objects and materials
- Learn about the natural environment and its features, materials, animals, and plants, and their own responsibility as carers
- Gross Motor Skills: Using arms and legs to draw, develops strength in the whole body
- Balance Development: Moving both arms/legs at the same speed encourages body balance
Process Description
Step 1
Secure the paper to the floor with sellotape (or similar), so that the paper does not move during the activity.
Step 2
The child lies in the middle of the paper (on the back or tummy) and holds a pencil in each hand. Both hands are moving up and down beside the body to draw bows.
Step 3
The child can use a different colour and move downward or around the circle with the whole body or turn on her/his back and draw more bows
Step 4
Pencils can be fixed to the child’s legs with a peg or a rubber band and the same movements can be done with both legs together.
Adaptation
When music is played as background to the activity, the movements can be adjusted to the tempo of the music.
Reflective questions
- What could have been better?
- How did I scaffold children’s learning?
- Could I have adapted the learning opportunity to reflect all children’s needs, abilities and interests
Looking and responding
Start by asking the children to describe what they see. Draw attention to details. How do they feel when moving and drawing? How do different movements affect the shapes they draw? What was easy about this work? What would you like to do next (time)? How will you do that?
Bibliography
- National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA, 2009) Aistear: The Early Childhood Curriculum Framework. Dublin: NCCA.
Author Bio
TeachKloud is a cloud-based management platform for early childhood educators and parents!