RainbowsWithinReach: PreK Best Practice

Making my "Music-Lady/Author/Illustrator" visits post-Pinterest makes everything so much more fun!!!!! It's year #15 for me as a consultant-on-the-road: have guitar will travel. I have always murmured to myself upon seeing some spectacular idea in action, "Wow, that's awesome! Wish others could see that idea!!!" And now with the great pinning potential -- I can share the specifics of what I observe on the road with the wider world!! (Click here to see my 7,600+++ pins on my 49 boards. LOL: yes, I'm addicted.)

How simple and effective is Mrs. Maynard's photo-name-match game pictured above? She photographs the kids and mounts the photos to magnetic backing. Does the same with the children's names. Then they can 'play' at matching names to their friends!! Talk about community building! Talk about print rich!! Talk about environmental, real-life use of print!! The kiddos were loving showing me how to play. They even demonstrated their photo stances -- to prove their identity.

Here's the mature PreK class around the corner working on their fine motor signing-in-process. The table had four chairs, four sheets of paper and everyone's name already lightly written on the lined paper. Everyone I heard was excited about finding their name and 'signing in'. There was a whole lot of happy chatter among those working on the task. Since its October they were all very familiar with this station -- set up among all of the other choices to get the day underway.

Bill Martin must be over-the-moon thrilled to 'know' his legacy lives on!! Look what a 'staple' dear ol' BROWN BEAR has become. Here's an expansion and adaptation for fall. After the children color their scarecrow, they were directed to imagine what the scarecrow might see and draw that in place.