Friday's Fine Motor Fun

FRIDAY!!!! DID SOMEONE SAY FRIDAY!?!?!
Fine Motor leads to FINE ARTS, Part 14
Welcome! Or Welcome back!!

Today let's get started with a look at the 'fun' in fine motor development!
Let's provide materials for children that work those fine motor muscles -- while at the very same time allow them to 'play' with the fine arts -- simultaneously. 


Look at these materials!!! Color. VIVID COLOR!! I LUV COLOR!!!

Open-ended possibilities for building.

INVITING!!!! 

Explore. 

Consider.

Squeeze. 

Push. 

Construct. 

Sculpt.  

Build!!!!

Gears turning. Pieces working together. Team work, too!

These gears are on their second generation of finger-fun. 

The girls LUV'd them and now the WonderPeeps do too!

How about all of those patterns and shapes? 

Great opportunity to explore the world thru its common pieces.

It's always great to get to my Author visits in time to see what's been happening before my arrival. 

I LUV LUV LUV'd seeing this bulletin board response to Eric Carle's classic, 

"The Tiny Seed."

LUV seeing the integration of the Art with the writing!!! 

This is the perfect blend of Fine Motor with Fine Arts!

These were HUGE in real life!

The blue background was that huge oversized paper on a roll paper. 

Four Seasong: Collaborative kindergarten bulletin board for study of Eric Carle's "The Tiny Seed" 

The bulletin board above and the 'classroom' book below are both observations of my Author visit to Darby Creek Elementary in Hilliard, OH to their kindergarten department. 

WOWOWOWOWOWOW!!!!!

How cute is this Yankee Doodle class book?

I have oodles of photos of class books created together. 

I'll be sharing various projects over the weeks ahead.

LUV this one with child's name + drawing!

Kindergarten bulletin board of pastel drawings for celebrating marvelous moms!!

These are 'marvelous-Michigan-moms' on the kindergarten bulletin board in the hallway in Taylor. 

Now watch as this VPK child in FL makes her mark on the  changing seasons!

The little artist working on this picture had the typical top and bottom of her page filled: clouds across the top and four lone short flowers on the bottom. 

I wandered by and asked her, "what will you do with the middle?" 

I LUV'd checking back to see how she solved my dilemma.

REMEMBER!!!!! 

Always have the children see YOUR writing: 

both the process and the finished product!

what

To see the first 13 articles in this continuing series just click here. There's lots more in store, so be sure you come back next Friday as I'm busy editing pictures like crazy -- from this wild month filled with 'end-of-the-year' programs. I've been presenting all around the midwest!! 

-- Debbie -- 

Zoo and Jungle Animals

LIONS + TIGERS + GIRAFFES -- OH MY!!!!!
Look what amazing jungle/zoo animals I've seen recently making my rounds of school visits. LUV LUV LUV these bulletin boards!!

I've written here before regarding my delight at finding 'lion' craft and Art projects..... after all I AM the LION LADY!!! Click back to this heart-warming story about a young boy with special needs and my participation at his birthday party. The earlier post has oodles of lion artwork using paper plates and handprints among other ideas. 


[Spoiler alert? Stop now. Read no further. His first spoken word is the roar at the end of my original children's song, "Lion Prowl." ] 


These lion beauties were on display in Taylor Michigan earlier this week. My sweetie Mrs. Fesler-friend and her peeps created these amazing lions in anticipation of my music-lady arrival. That's a lot of work for the preschoolers to cut the lion's mane all around the piece of construction paper. BRILLIANT!!!! What a delightful welcome for the LION LADY's return school visit!! LUV going back to make visits to schools I've visited in the past. I think this was my 4th visit to their school district in my 15 year rainbow-hurrah of travels. 

One of the traditional spring field trips many plan as their culminating adventure is the outing to the zoo -- so I thought I'd gather up several zoo-ie artsie projects into one post. Just as applicable if you're thinking jungle theme. These next couple of collages are the work of the early elementary students at Garden Elementary in Venice, FL. Do you remember my Author Visit in their midst a couple of weeks back? It was my last palm tree, author-visit before we headed up north.


My blogging buddy Joanna Davis of "Our Arts Lately" fame, was the one responsible for orchestrating my visit to their K-5th grade building. YES!!! I got to work with each and every grade level -- all the way up to the super-mature 5th graders. These triangular tigers were hanging in her Art room as we went dashing thru to the music room and they add to the theme here today. 

Joanna and I first met out here in the big cyber-world as blogging buddies and over a wack-doodle set of serendipitous circumstances (I am a member of her grandmother's quilt guild up in the great woods of northern WI during our summers in Door County) we've come to be supporters of one another's work. Joanna had her students create these delightful giraffes below in anticipation of my arrival in their sunny midst in response to my second picture book, "Tall Giraffe." 


Take a minute and look at the details of the 'borders' of each of her student's projects. LUV LUV LUV the patchwork borders around the tall giraffes. 

Here are some 'stamped' giraffes from up north in Michigan. Easy peasy art for the wee hands in preschool. Isn't it awesome to see what a difference a few years makes in the giraffe interpretations and capabilities? 

Look at these simple paper plate zoo creatures from an earlier article here, from one of my music-lady visits in FL last winter. Simple zoo art projects for your youngest of children.  

Zebras on paper plates

Giraffes on paper plates

Here's one final jungle/zoo image from just yesterday and my whirlwind of fun through-out the Bryan OH community. This is one of the classroom doors I saw as I went 'zipping' about at Lincoln Elementary. (Subtle reference to my Bryan library hostess the marvel: Mrs. Zippay. Teeheehee. Get it?) 

I just this minute popped over to check in on PreK+K Sharing and see that my other dear friend from the road, Carie has a whole tradition of extensions for their very own zoo trip. You must hop over to see their tables covered for individual zoo creations and while you're over there wait till you see their end of the year auction item to raise money for Relay of Life. Collaborations are the best!!!! 

LARGE Zoo Drawings on Tables

Here's also to your enjoying this week's amazing contributions at the Kid's Co-op!!! Tons of articles for you to explore over the weekend.  

-- Debbie -- 

'Graduation' Bulletin Board Crossword

TRANSITIONS AND FAREWELL!
The end is in sight. The school year is winding down in earnest.

Graduation Bulletin Board: Create a Crossword Puzzle (from the names of the graduating students!!)

How clever is this idea for a kindergarten graduation bulletin board? Obviously it could be adapted for any grade level with a diligent teacher. I saw this in the hallways over at Laurel Elementary in Indiana last week.  

The poster below is from their 100 Day Celebration (click here for some other 100 Day ideas) and still hangs in their over-sized classroom. I think you can tell that these are treasured little K-kiddos. I LUV the use of the individual photos in both the bulletin board and the little medallion ribbons in this poster.

Have you ever seen a 'triple tiered' classroom? What I'm about to show you is truly outta this world. I've never seen anything like this before in any of my Author visits. You're probably not gonna believe it. I'm only going to share it with you if you promise not to have a temper tantrum. It has a loft, which is oh-so-cool to be sure, but have you ever seen a sunken reading corner with a faux fireplace in a public school classroom? Seriously!

LOFT AND FIREPLACE!!! All in the same kindergarten classroom!! Are you ready for the great reveal? Here..... we..... go!!!

I told you I'd never seen anything like it before.... if you could have one or the other, which component of their room would you choose? The loft or the sunken reading corner? Eeny, meeny, miney, moe!!

As we come down the homestretch toward the end-of-the-year I thought you might appreciate seeing a couple of keepsake projects that I saw up in Michigan just yesterday. These photos are from my visit to Taylor, MI as the "Music Lady" sharing my songs and picture books with their preschool children. I've made visits here numerous times over my 15 year tenure -- so its a lot like going to visit old friends. 

Look what I saw, drying on the racks: 

Here's another project that will be making its way home soon. KEEPSAKE!

If you ever wondered why I like invitations to visit schools, I hope these images give you a glimmer of why I get so excited to travel! Hope these shots offer some inspiration!!

-- Debbie --

Small Hands for Hope

Welcome to my little corner under the rainbow!!


One of the very best by-products of my 'working' to grasp the enterprise of blogging and getting my little reflections connected to the wider world, is the fact that I am now networking with other bloggers on projects near and dear to my heart. I am now collaborating with fellow bloggers on an absolutely AMAZING project on behalf of the American Cancer Society. 


As some of you may realize I am a 'survivor' myself. I just eclipsed my five year milestone from my first diagnosis of early stage Breast Cancer. Indeed In that five years I have been diagnosed a second time and I'm already two years beyond that diagnosis, surgery and its aftermath. Every day that rolls into a week and then a month is a thrill. Stacking up those months one on top of the other is a celebration in itself!

Collaboration of bloggers, working together for cancer research!

MaryAnne of the incredible blog, MamaSmiles has just reached her THIRTY year anniversary(!!!!) of her own diagnosis of cancer as a child. She had the brilliant idea to gather up a bunch of us (bloggers) and in the process has created a project entitled, "Small Hands Creating Hope." Dozens of bloggers have gathered together to create images and projects that are intended to offer hope in the face of a cancer diagnosis. 

I contributed my WonderBoy's rainbow painting to the collaborative effort, (up at the top of this article) as rainbows speak deeply to me of the conversion of where the dark clouds and storms of diagnosis and treatment intersect with the brilliant light and hope for the future. I'm all about the instilling of hope that the rainbow signifies. 


[WonderBoy's pastel and watercolor painting was the title page of his kindergarten project in the tradition of 'Brown Bear, Brown Bear' entitled 'Rainbow, Rainbow.' You can see that project in its entirety in this earlier post.]

Rainbow Construction Paper Images Bring Encouragement in the face of Cancer

MaryAnne has assembled all of the blogger submissions into an eBook format -- which will be emailed any where in the world for a contribution of $15.00 to the American Cancer Society. Many of the projects created by the small hands of the contributing bloggers children involve the image and creation of butterflies. Additionally many have included a tutorial on how to create similar images and efforts with the children in your life. 

Doing battle with Childhood Cancer, Up Close and Personal Reality

The issue of childhood cancer is indeed up-close and personal to me, as the next-door neighbor child of our WonderPeeps is currently doing battle with the beast. I wrote about his trials in an earlier post here entitled, "Things I'm not Thankful For." His spirit and that of his family is the very definition of heroic. There is so much research still needed. This is where you can make a difference. 

Here's all the information connected to your participation and support of this humanitarian effort.

(If you donate but do not receive this email for any reason, or if you have trouble with the download, email smallhandsproject at gmail dot com.)

MaryAnne at Mama Smiles compiled this book as a way of celebrating thirty years of cancer survivorship! We are hoping to raise $3000 by July 4th, and we are running a blog hop from May 14th until July 4th to celebrate and raise funds so that, in the future, thirty years of cancer survivorship will be the norm, not the exception! Learn about each of the bloggers who participated in the book by visiting each blog on their assigned dates – a few bloggers will be running celebratory giveaways, too!

14 May Mama Smiles
15 May Artsy Craftsy Mom and Rainbows Within Reach
16 May B. Inspired, Mama!
17 May Rainy Day Mum and Imagination Soup
18 May Inspiration Laboratories
19 May Experimenting Mom
20 May Outlaw Mom
21 May NurtureStore
22 May Living Montessori Now
23 May Mess for Less
24 May Having Fun at Home and CraftoArt
25 May Mama Mia’s Heart2Heart
26 May Angelique Felix and Sense of Wonder
27 May Sun Hats & Wellie Boots
28 May Duck Duck Octopus
29 May Smiling like Sunshine
30 May Mommy with Selective Memory
31 May One Perfect Day
1 June The Educators’ Spin On It
2 June Kids Stuff World
3 June Rainy Day Mum
4 June Teach Preschool
5 June Dirt and Boogers
6 June Creative Connections for Kids and The Golden Gleam
7 June Montessori Tidbits
8 June Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas
9 June The Iowa Farmer’s Wife
10 June Scribble Doodle and Draw
11 June Learn with Play
12 June Kitchen Counter Chronicles
13 June CRAYON Freckles
14 June Glittering Muffins
15 June Wise Owl Factory
16 June Crafty Maa
18 June Lessons Learnt Journal 20 June Growing a Jeweled Rose 21 June Growing Play 23 June JDaniel4′s Mom

Do your part and make a difference. Please contribute and receive dozens of creative and uplifting projects and ideas in the process. When you donate your minimum of $15.00 you will also receive the possibility of a purchase of a softback version of the entire project at production cost. All that will come to you in the emailed eBook version.

                                      -- Debbie -- 

**The rainbows+ butterflies in my post today are from the spring Art show at Scioto Darby Elementary in Hilliard, OH.... which I was able to photograph during my recent Artist in the Schools visit. 

Graphic Organizers for Elementary

Graphic Organizer Approach to Student Reports on Inventors: Elementary School Display

Did someone say graphic organizers? 

Based on the popularity of my earlier posts containing examples of these kinesthetic-wonders....... 

I was THRILLED to see these examples in the hallway. 

The reports on iconic inventors presented in three dimensions were so much fun to see proudly displayed during my Author-visit to Kirkersville Elementary.

What an awesome way to extend learning across domains! 

The inventors weren't the only portrayal using this graphic organizer style. 

Facing them across the hall were a whole bulletin board of 'porcupine' foldables.

Bulletin Board of Student Graphic Organizers on subject of Porcupines

As I attempt to figure out what to share/report as we come down to the conclusion of the school year,  I thought seeing this student work could perhaps inspire one final project.

Here are my first two blog posts on graphic organizers, just click through to see the TON of Dinah Zike examples I saw on display at these reading conferences: 

Tennessee International Reading Association

Illinois Reading Council

Graphic Organizer for Sequencing in Stories

I hope that these examples of student work jump start your imagination in offering your students (or the children under your roof) ideas to get creative with the material that they are learning!! Here's to creativity in education!!! 

-- Debbie-- 

Be sure to come back tomorrow for a profusion of butterflies + rainbows in support of the amazing project

SMALL HANDS CREATING HOPE which launches today!!

My Home, My Heart of Rainbows

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY DAY!!!
My heart is full. My heart is blessed. My heart celebrates!
Spring + mothers + daughters + grand-mothers + grand-daughters + colors + delight + generations: the season of blooming, the season of growth, the season of love, the season of joy. 


This day of gratitude. This day of reflection. This day of LOVE!

I am one of those most-fortunate-of-all sandwich-generation women. 
My mommy is alive and well this day AND I am mommy to two glorious women AND beyond all techno-color dreams, I am GeeGee to the next generation as well: a mini-tribe of seven all told!! 


Oh. Be. Still. My. Heart. While. I. Happy. Dance!

My childhood was filled with the moments of Halmark Cards commercials: rolling sugar cookies together in the kitchen, being taught to embroider cross-stitches onto yellow gingham in a taught hoop, creating poetry notebooks on the theme of tranquility as an awkward adolescent. I was blessed with all of those daily memories. 
They brightened my perspective. They colored my days. They were my world. My twinkling childhood.

My mommy = three parts cheerleader*
My mommy = two parts champion*
My mommy = one part counselor*
***The proportions of this equation could be adapted on any given day.To this day she remains all three!!

"To those to whom much has been given, much will be demanded." 
(Luke 12: 48 substitute: expected, required depending on version.)


It is therefore my responsibility to pay my childhood forward. Pay it forward through my own daughters. Pay it forward through my own grand-children. Pay it forward to all the children I am blessed to meet in my travels..... whether interacting for an hour or an afternoon.


So I 'scrumble' my pippys. (Scrumble: to chase in gales of laughter followed by snuggling and tickling.)


And I 'count' my pippys. (Counting: child lies down as tall and straight as possible as we count together how tall they've grown since our last counting.... inching from bottoms of toes to tops of extended hair.... great for snuggling, tickling and numeracy.) 


And I sing and dance and laugh with the children I meet on the road. What a glorious road it is!

Traveling to new places is always an adventure and a thrill. These photos of this incredible work are a result of my Author visit last week to Laurel IN. Every visit is driven by one personality that contacts and coordinates, orchestrating our fun. 

In this case my travels were the brain child of Alta-the- Amazing. In our whirlwind up and down the sprawling elementary halls with my camera clicking at mach-speed, Alta hugged me saying that my visit was a jewel in her professional crown. It was at that point that she mentioned being 75 years old, with fifty years of 'professional' experience teaching children!!!! She has brought much color into the lives of children. In fact she fills the world with color!!


My blessed life has graced me with years with my mom-the-mentor and amazing experiences being a mom, too. There are many who have had those relationships interrupted or who have always longed for a healthy relationship to a 'mom' in their lives. It's people like Alta, who give their lives to EVERYONE's children that make our planet such an improved place. 


Since I've mushed this post together with the colors of those perfect preschool neighborhoods with an ode to my mom and a nod to the Altas me meet along our own roads, I think I'll digress just a tad further. Where do I get this 'call-to-color' of mine?? 

While on the adventure to Laurel we spent the night in the village of my childhood home: Batesville, IN. While taking in all of the sights of my formative years we made a stop to St. Mark's and made ourselves at home. I wonder if those years of singing in this sanctuary had anything to do with my love of color?


Yes. I am a P.K. in addition to the other alphabet soup of letters on my resume. [P.K. = Pastor's Kid.] That's a lifetime of being surrounded by stained glass. Walking back into the sanctuary of so many years ago -- I was literally transported by the colors of my childhood. 


This is the very spot where I learned, "Jesus loves the little children. All the children of the world. Red, and yellow, black and white. They are precious in his sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world."

We are who we come from. We are where we grew up. 


May this day be filled with bringing colors of joy to the lives you touch. Who are the 'moms' in your world? The women who love and support you when the times are tough? When the going gets rough? Are you fortunate to have those connections biologically? Or have you been graced with moms-relationally? Are you blessed to still be able to say thank-you to that person or persons? 


Go help the village where you find yourself this week and contribute your own unique color to the children in your life. 


                                         -- Debbie --




  

Mother's Day LOVE

Finger-print flowers on ceramic tiles -- made in kindergarten for Mother's Day gift!

Yesterday I made another of my Author school visits -- this time to visit the kindergarten students at Darby Creek Elementary. They were carefully wrapping their ceramic tiles, embellished with painted finger-print flowers, for tomorrow's Mother's Day unveiling. The white square ceramic tiles made a lovely back drop for their individualized spring blooms. 

LUV the way that these turned out.

Do their tiles remind you of the images I shared here earlier?

Finger print bookmarks for Mother's Day 

Their tiles are a more 'permanent' variation on the bookmarks I saw earlier in the week in Indiana. {Another example of great minds thinking alike.} 

Here's yet another idea for Mother's day and combining the painted handprint with a heart into a flower. 

[We've made a quick hop up to the Cleveland area to visit with family and this is young Michael's preschool present for his mommy. It's a secret. Don't tell.]

The clever idea here is that each of the two pieces, art and poem are mounted on a piece of craft foam -- which gives it a framed sort of 'permanent' feel. Two thumbs up for presentation. 

I realize that these are just a tad late for you to replicate for tomorrow, but I thought I'd get everything cataloged together in this week's efforts of reporting from the road. 

Be sure you come back tomorrow. The images I'm cropping are simply stellar. 

                                               -- Debbie -- 
Here are the first three installments in my Mother's Day series: 

Mother's Day Piggy-back song, photo magnet
Mother's Day Fingerprint Bookmark and poem
Mother's Day Edition of Fine Motor Friday with MY poem for Art

Mother's Day Keepsake