Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Pumpkins, Jack-o-Lanterns, Trick-or-Treating: OH MY!

photo of: Pumpkins, Jack-o-Lanterns, Trick-or-Treating: OH MY! via RainbowsWithinReach

HALLOWEEN!!!
The thrill and excitement of the season is upon us! 
I am hoping that in the midst of the abrupt change of seasons (for some of us) that you are safe and enjoying all of the delight of the concluding of the month. 

Do you celebrate fall harvest? 
Do you have fun with Halloween? 

What could be simpler than a brown paper bag pumpkin? 

photo of: Classic Pumpkin in Preschool, from Paper Bag via RainbowsWithinReach

Leave well enough alone -- or embellish with magic marker details. 
These doozies are 'hanging on the gate!' 

photo of: Three Dimensional Paper Bag Pumpkins Displayed on Gate (Bulletin Board) Via RainbowsWithinReach

I can still remember the first time I held a 'little miniature pumpkin. 
They make me smile every season -- all over again!  

photo of: Mini Pumpkin Gourds for Halloween via RainbowsWithinReach

I had this pumpkin activity in last Friday's Fine Motor, but I think it deserves a repeat performance with the rest of the pumpkin clan. 

photo of: Pumpkin Pounding: Fine Motor Development (via RainbowsWithinReach)

In the same way that I've been talking about the fun and flexibility of creating your own monster with its unique details, designing your own Jack-o-Lantern opens up the floodgates of possibilities. 

photo of: Children's Jack-o-Lantern Faces in Elementary via RainbowsWithinReach

Here's the two dimensional version of the Jack-o-Lanterns on the Gate. 
This time the bulletin board is outside the kindergarten classroom. 
photo of: Pumpkins Sitting on a Gate in Elementary School via RainbowsWithinReach
Bulletin Board of "Jack-o-Lanterns" Sitting on a Gate in Kindergarten 

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Scarecrows in Kindergarten and Preschool

Scarecrow Projects in Early Education via RainbowsWithinReach
photo of: Scarecrows on Paper Plates in Kindergarten (via RainbowsWithinReach)


SCARECROWS!!! Kindergarten Scarecrows! 
Don't ya just LUV LUV LUV a 'craftivity' that involves a paper plate as a base?
These hay-for-hair, grand-smiling scarecrows were hanging from the ceiling last week in kindergarten. 
I got to spot them during my visit to Blue Heron Elementary outside Denver for my Author/Illustrator school visit! 

photo of: Paper Plate Scarecrow in Kindergarten via RainbowsWithinReach

LUV LUV LUV this mouth! 
What fun with the details..... that's how each scarecrow gets "personalized." 

photo of: Fall Craftivity for Kindergarten making Scarecrows via RainbowsWithinReach


Get thee some paper plates and strips of yellow construction paper for hair. 
Of course my favorite part are the individual mouths using magic markers. 
Some are scarier scarecrows!

photo of: Scare those Crows: Scarecrows in Kindergarten Craftivity via RainbowsWithinReach


photo of: Fall Scarecrows with Photographs (Fall RoundUP via RainbowsWithinReach)
And an anchor chart with proper scarecrow parts getting labels. 
You know you're in kindergarten when............... 

The scarecrow gets an anchor chart. 

photo of: Scarecrow Anchor Chart in Kindergarten via RainbowsWithinReach

Let's conclude with a couple of fall bulletin boards. 
Each of these next two images are preschool bulletin boards that feature scare crows!

photo of: Fall Preschool Bulletin Board in Preschool via RainbowsWithinReach

One final image: Scarecrow Bulletin Board!
Look at this idea from preschool. 
The children's photographs are the crow faces!!

photo of: Scarecrow Bulletin Board in Preschool via RainbowsWithinReach

-- Debbie --
Are you following my little store over at TpT? 

Pre-K, Kindergarten, First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth - TeachersPayTeachers.com

From now until Trick-or-Treat I have my new digital zip-file of "Monster Spray" 
It would be the perfect addition to your Halloween party!

photo of: "Monster Spray" Digital Download Mp3 + Pdf's from Debbie Clement
File includes the song in Mp3 format with some cute little pdfs for the lyrics in pocket chart format for the chorus! 


Friday, October 26, 2012

More Monsters! Fine Motor + Fine Art!

photo of: Fine Motor Leads to Fine Arts Part 34, "More Monsters" via RainbowsWithinReach

FINE MOTOR LEADS TO FINE ARTS!!
First off the good news: it's FRIDAY! 
Then even MORE good news: 
great ideas ahead in this, Part 34, of my Fine Motor Friday series

We've been talking here for a while about MONSTERS. 
I've been searching for monster-work to help launch the digital download of my children's song "Monster Spray" over at TpT. 

Enjoy these third grade projects at Blue Heron Elementary in Colorado, hanging outside the Art room during my Author/Illustrator school visit this week.

photo of: Third Grade Monsters with Emotion via RainbowsWithinReach

It's so much fun to draw monsters. Since they are imaginary, there is no right or wrong answer and everyone's project is awesome! The more 'out there' you can imagine, the more fun the project and its end results. 

photo of: Third Grade "Monster" Drawings via RainbowsWIthinReach

The old art teacher in me just LUV LUV LUVs this project!

By third grade some children are having frustrations over their drawings not 'looking like' the subject. The more frustrated a child becomes the less likely they are to want to engage in the creative process. This is a brilliant project to ensure success from every budding artist developing both their fine motor skills and also their creative and artistic efforts. 

photo of: Monsters with Emotions in Third Grade via RainbowsWIthinReach

photo of: Monsters of Emotions by Third Graders (via RainbowsWithinReach)

Let's shift gears from the artwork of the 3rd grade to the YOUNGER set. 

While being hosted by our Colorado Clement family I got to make classroom visits to the preschool housed in Blue Heron. Ya just gotta LUV a seasonal project that gives golf tees, a hammer and a pumpkin to a young child! What an engaging way to wield growing control over those fine muscle motor skills. What an empowering activity! 

photo of: Pumpkin Pounding: Fine Motor Development (via RainbowsWithinReach)

In the same Bluebird preschool classroom I was overjoyed to see these bins of gourds being sorted by color family. 
Happy Harvest indeed. 
Just having a variety of fall produce to handle, explore and categorize is a great sensory activity. 
The color sort is just brilliant. 

photo of: Happy Harvest: Sorting Fall Gourds in Preschool via RainbowsWithinReach

I like to conclude my Fine Motor Friday installments with a reminder to have the children see YOUR writing around the room. Just like reading is encouraged by seeing others read, so is writing encouraged by observing all of the times when writing is necessary. 

Here's a super fun reading pocket-style, anchor chart from the kindergarten room..... just in time for trick-or-treating fun next week. I'm such a fan of seeing the sentences in the handwritten format. KUDOS!

photo of: Kindergarten Anchor Chart for Trick or Treating via RainbowsWithinReach


Are all of the children in your world gearing up for monster fun? 
What costume dreams are unfolding at your house?

Thanks so much for stopping by! 
I'm always grateful for your helping my efforts by pinning images that you have found helpful. 

-- Debbie -- 

Pre-K, Kindergarten, First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth - TeachersPayTeachers.com

Yes. It's true. 
I opened a 'store' at Teachers Pay Teachers! 
photo of: "Monster Spray" Digital Download Mp3 + Pdf's from Debbie Clement
My song entitled "Monster Spray" is in a zipped file in Mp3 format. 
***It will be on sale all weekend... starting tomorrow morning! 

Did you catch these earlier 'monster' articles? 
 My Monster RoundUP is one click away. 
That article has dozens of ideas from bloggers around the world! 
photo of: Overcoming Childhood Fears: Monsters thru Art, Fine Motor, Math and Science (Math RoundUP from RainbowsWithinReach)

A couple weeks ago I demonstrated a DIY Monster Puppet from upcycling 'trash.' 
Click back here to see that treasure. 

photo of: UpCycled DIY Monster Puppet via RainbowsWithinReach

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Trees 'Growing' in the Classroom: Tree RoundUP

photo of: Trees in the Classroom (RoundUP via RainbowsWIthinReach)

TREE ROUNDUP!!!
All sorts of trees created in the classroom.
I started this post because of these next two photos of  three dimensional 'tree' bulletin boards slash sculptures, that are part of a preschool classroom in Seven Hills School in Cinci. Once I built my little collage above as Pinterest bait, I realized that I had other 'trees' in my memory card. 

WELCOME to the 'tree' round-up 
from my various Author-Illustrator School visits around the county! 

photo of: Trees in the Classroom (RoundUP via RainbowsWIthinReach)
I want to live in the middle of this bulletin board: the sun is shining!

Don't these two images just make you want to move to Cinci and attend school at Seven Hills? Of course the fact that this first bulletin board has a 'calico' background just makes my quilting heart smile!! How cheerful is that? The acorns across the bottom are the letters of the alphabet. Sorry I don't have a close up to share on that attention to detail! KUDOS for extra-clever use of a theme. 

photo of: Three Dimensional Tree inside a Preschool Classroom Corner via RainbowsWithinReach

If you look carefully in the upper right hand corner of the above picture, you will see the border of individual paintings each child created by painting over the two words: "Be Kind." I had those featured in an earlier RoundUP here on kindness, generosity and emotional intelligence. 

This same classroom that is obviously going 'green' has an entire 'slab' of actual tree bark mounted between their glorious windows. Yes. I literally HAD to touch it. What an imaginative way to bring the outdoors into the classroom. 

photo of: Slab of Tree Mounted in Preschool Classroom (via RainbowsWithinReach)

Same room. Look at this stack of 'loose parts' that can become a part of all sorts of learning opportunities.
Block center. 
Cars and roads over mountainous terrain. 
What sorts of art projects can you imagine? 

photo of: Slabs of Tree Bark in the Preschool Classroom for Loose Parts via RainbowsWIthinReach

So now that I have your attention let's see what other 'trees' I have to share. Hope that they inspire your own efforts to integrate science, nature and art within your setting.... whatever the age of the children. 


photo of: Tree Mural in Preschool Classroom (from Tree RoundUP via RainbowsWithinReach)

photo of: Tree Changes with the Seasons in the Classroom Setting (Tree RoundUP via RainbowsWithinReach)

This Texas tree follows the unique contours of the room's architecture without missing a beat. Don't ya love how the posters are hanging right at child's height with details of the season and tree's growth? 


photo of: Fall Colors on Tree Created by Painted Handprints from Tree RoundUP at RainbowsWithinReach

The display of fall colors above is from a visit I just made to Montgomery, Texas. I LUV LUV LUV the collaboration of all of those painted hands for the leaves. I was there to give a seminar to the area child care providers from across the county. 

photo of: Tree in the Classroom (via RainbowsWithinReach)

Here's a tree painted on the classroom wall. 
I'm willing to bet that the adornments change with the seasons. 
It's part of the scene at Otter Elementary in Elgin, IL. 

photo of: Tree in Preschool Classroom via RainbowsWithinReach

photo of: Tree for Apple Matching in Preschool (via RainbowsWIthinReach)

photo of: Apple Tree Handprint Bulletin Board for Back-to-School (Bulletin Board Round-UP via RainbowsWithinReach)
Handprint Apple Tree Bulletin Board 
I just smile ear-to-ear at that poem, handprint, Apple Tree bulletin board. Worth integrating into this tree RoundUp, for its use of onomatopoeia in early childhood alone! 

Next up Chicka Chicka bulletin boards from WI, OH, FL + CO! 


photo of: Monkey Theme Chicka Chicka Classroom Door Decoration (via RainbowsWithinReach)
   

photo of: Bulletin Board "Wall" for Chicka-Chicka Boom Boom
Chicka-Chicka Boom Boom on the Wall 

photo of: Bulletin Board for Chicka-Chicka Boom Boom (from Bulletin Board RoundUP via RainbowsWithinReach)
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Bulletin Board 



photo of: Chicka-Chicka Boom Boom Letters on Trees (via RainbowsWithinReach)

photo of: Chicka Chicka Tree in Colorado Kindergarten (Tree RoundUP via RainbowsWithinReach)

photo of: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Quilt in Kindergarten (Tree RoundUP via RainbowsWithinReach)
Chicka-Chicka Quilt in Colorado Kindergarten Room

While roaming Otter Creek hallways I saw these 'Spanish' trees-of-all-seasons created in the elementary school. They are made with colored tissue paper and each student has a tree for each season, mounted on their own piece of standard size construction paper.

photo of: Trees by the Season in Elementary School (via RainbowsWithinReach)

photo of: Trees by the Season with Colored Tissue Paper (via RainbowsWithinReach)

photo of: Autumn Trees with Mosaic Construction Paper (via RainbowsWithinReach)


photo of: Bulletin Board Apple of our Eye (Back to School Bulletin Board RoundUP via RainbowsWithinReach)
Bulletin Board: Apple of our Eye

photo of: Apple Trees in Elementary School (Tree RoundUP via RainbowsWithinReach)



Right this minute in 'real time' I am in Colorado, visiting our CO Clement family. These are the trees growing in the rooms of the Bluebirds and Ducks. I got to make a visit to my favorite Bluebird yesterday! 


-- Debbie --