PJ Day!

Today we did an author's share for our Fairy Tale re-writes.  Groups of 3 children met together to hear each other's stories.  They also gave one piece of feedback to each group member.  Writing at this age is very much about the process and less about the end product, though kids work hard to polish up their best stories before bringing them to the larger group.  It is gratifying to see them use craft from all the fairy tales we read in their own stories.  Whether it was including magic, or starting with "once upon a time", we consider this borrowing from professional writers' texts as evidence that our writers are growing in their craft.

Check out the pictures below and ask your child about their rewrite!

Pumpernickel Puppets

 

Today, the kindergarten, first and 1-2 classrooms had a special presentation by Pumpernickel Puppets. First graders and the 1-2s enjoyed the puppet show, "Sir George and the Dragon." After the performance, the puppeteer demonstrated how the different styles of puppets worked, as well as how students could make their own puppets out of recycled materials. Ask your child which puppet was their favorite!

Check out the pictures below!

For more information, check out their website: Pumpernickel Puppets

Characters Portraits

This week, for a fun project during our unit on Story Elements, the 1-2 kids used paint pens and wood slices to create a portrait of a favorite character from a Nursery Rhyme or Fairy Tale. These are strung up and hanging at the top of our newest bulletin board display. 

We have also been discussing character portraits through descriptive language to paint a picture of a character's traits using evidence from the tale to support our thinking.

Check out the pictures below to see Red Riding Hoods, Big Bad Wolves, Little Pigs, Gretel, Cinderella, Goldilocks, Foxes, Bears, Gingerbread Boys and Girls among the faces. 

Fairy Tale Plays

 This week, our outdoor classroom space was transformed into a fresh air theater! Groups of kids are working together to use the landmarks and resources of our outdoor classroom as the setting for a fairy tale play. You will see the clever use of tables, picnic benches, walls, drainpipes, trees and other features as stand ins for the bridge that the three goats need to cross or the door to knock on for granny's house.

We are a bit of a shoestring operation, so kids have had to learn how to use facial expressions, gestures, and self-narration strategies to communicate what their character is doing or feeling in the story. For example, to clue the audience in on what Little Red Riding Hood is doing, he or she might say, "That looks like a nice wolf! I think I'll go say, 'hi!'" [walks to the wolf]. The billy goats might say, "There's no more grass here to eat and we're hungry! The grass is nice and green across that bridge." [gestures to the 'bridge']

Check out the pictures below and have your student tell you about their play!