Pegkin Final Week

Our Pegkin Project has offered a wonderful opportunity to get to know some of the children and families better.  Throughout December families have volunteered to take a plain peg doll home and turn it into whatever they wished.  When they brought it back to school, they shared it at circle time.  If they hadn’t created a story for their Pegkin then I asked them several prompting questions to get them started.

Here are the remaining Pegkins that arrived this past week.
             
Pegkin #15 Fionna - she is the Queen of Winter. She makes icicles on the trees and
                 helps the rivers freeze over.

      
Pegkin #16 Fluttercone - she guards the trees in winter and sprinkles sparkles of
magic across the pinecones. So this winter when you see the trees shine white,
          covered with snow, think of Fluttercone.

              
Pegkin # 17 was lost so we had a last minute replacement that the children
 quickly named Strawberry. A sweet little feltkin that is from the garden.

              
Pegkin #18 Mr. Smee - he is a rescue pirate and he rescues presents and gives
them to people who doesn't have as much.  He likes to play in forts and his
                  sword is called Corkscrew.

          
Pegkin #19 Holly Jolly - she likes playing around and eating noodles. She has a
          big heart and likes to sing Christmas songs.

      
Pegkin #20 Princess Phoenix Bird - she lives up a tall cedar tree in a big tower
that she flies down from. Princess Phoenix Bird is four hundred years old. Soon
she will crack open the baby Phoenix bird eggs. They will already be able to fly
and have magic. They help people start their camp fires because they have fire
                   magic on their wings.

        
Pegkin #21 Ocean Fairy – the family collected seaweed from the beach and
dried it to make his clothes and hair.  They found a poem on line that suited
                          their pegkin.

Ocean fairy of the blue-green seas,
sits upon the beach watching the falling leaves
she is prettier than the light of day
to all she gives her sweetest ways
She fills life full of her sweetness
and the breezes her pretty cheeks caress
the fishes and birds of the sea
always trust her and me
Because we're gentle friends and love Nature's colours so bold
We will feed the birds and all the animals outside in the cold,
And she will let the wings of her imagination carry;
And she will always be my Ocean Fairy.
~Marian~ 

      
Pegkin #22 Princess Jane – The child told her mom the story of Princess Jane and
her mom wrote it down in a book.

      Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess. Her name
      was Princess Jane.She loves to help clean up her bedroom
      and her playroom. She loves her familyso much.
      Princess Jane likes to eat corn, celery, cucumber and rice
      pudding. And roast beef, sausage and onions.  She likes to
     play with her friends Lisa, Miss Hiss and Tapoe and Gerina.
    They are all princesses as well. Jack the King is also her
    friend.  When they all get together they like to have parties.
    They have ten birthday cakes, lemon, lime, strawberry,
    blueberry and raspberry. They play ring-a-round the
    salsa.  They live in a valley with big fields of grass to play
    in. There are no flowers, plants or trees to get in the way
    of their playing.
                                    The End

          
Pegkin #23 Goggle the Scarecrow - she likes to draw and to climb trees. She
        is scared to go in rooms without her parents.

         
Pegkin #24 King of the Moon and the Stars - he lives on the moon and likes to
play with the stars. His favourite is a shooting star.  His house is round and
                    made of moon rocks.

              
Pegkin #25 Dr. LaLa - she works with little children in Pegkin Land.  Dr. LaLa
has two children, a boy and a girl, Derek and Lauren. Their favourite thing to do
is jump on Graham and Nat's trampoline.  They can't fall asleep at Christmas
because they are so excited. They hope they'll get all the presents that they want.

   
                      A warm welcome to our new peg dolls.
          A big thank you to the creators for making new toys.
And especially to their grown ups who encouraged each child’s creativity
    and individuality as well as promoting their child's storytelling skills.

     We are off for our winter break and will be back in two weeks.
              Wishing you all a safe and happy holiday.

Candy Cane Cookies

Our final snack before Christmas was to make candy candy sugar cookies.
    
The dough was ready for each child to have a ball of red and white.
      
    The children followed the recipe and rolled their balls into ropes.
 
After twisting the ropes together and curving the top we put them on the pan to bake.
 
It was a challenge for some to wait for them to be baked before eating them.
       

Gingerbread Play Dough

You’ll find gingerbread play dough in many centres at this time of year.  A basic recipe of flour, salt, water, oil and spices make it ready in minutes.  But what’s
           special about this dough is the attraction it is to many people.
               
I believe the scent of the play dough, a very homey scent to many, is what draws
                           young and old to play with it.
             
Whole families have sat around the table rolling out the dough and making
                                cookies together.
      
By providing tools that are real or very similar to ones found at home adds
                        authenticity to the activity.
         
Conversations happen around the table just like the dinner table at home.  We are learning about each other; what we like and don’t like.  Gingerbread play dough is
                                  a great language prompt.
            
      I slipped in a bit more literacy by adding a poem on the table.

Night Elf Play

          
You’ve seen our Pegkin tree house and all the peg people that are playing there but I’ve yet to share our night time elf play that is just off to the left side of
                  the tree house in the above picture.
   
I painted the inside of box green on the bottom and blue on the top.  Then poked
                    mini lights through the top and back.
 
Furnished it with small wooden chairs, backgammon pieces, wooden spools, jewels
                                         and trees.
            
                                And of course the elves.
     
              This weekend I found glass trees and a picket fence.

     The children do play with it but not as much as the tree house.
       
                                  It is always busy.

Christmas Collages

At the art table this morning we made collages.  That was a new word for the children and a great way to talk about different symbols of the season.
         
Each container had garland, tinsel, pom poms, bows, felt pieces, ribbons, musical notes, and cut-outs from old Christmas cards.  The instructions were to add pieces that remind each person of Christmas.

      For some it was Santa Claus, candy canes and stockings.
     
                 For others it was the birth of Jesus.

      
         And others spent the time practicing a new skill.
            
            
What I enjoyed about this activity was that it provided another opportunity to talk with families about their traditions at this time of year.

Tinsel Decorating

              This week our sensory tub is full of tinsel garlands and
                          small wooden tree decorations.
             
    But it didn’t stay in the tub. The children were inspired to decorate.
  
       The children began decorating the house area with the garland. 
                     Through the chairs and into the sink.
 
         Over and around the table.  And even to the gingerbread play house.

I wonder how many of the children helped decorate at home. 
They seemed to have some experience. 
They definitely had the interest.

Pegkin Project Week #2

This past week we met 8 new Pegkins and introduced a new tree house.
                      
Pegkin #6 Addi - she likes the colour pink and to play with Adeline's toys.  We missed meeting her last week because of a snow storm.
                     
Pegkin #8 Softness - she's very soft and dressed in Christmas colours.  She has glittery wings so she can fly.
                    
Pegkin #9 Feather Deather - she lives in Featherland.  She has feathers and can fly to the moon. Feather Deather has a dog and likes to play fetch.
                    
Pegkin #10 Jingle Bells - but we call her Jingles for short.  She likes to dance and sing Jingle Bells so we sang the song for her.
                    
Pegkin #11 Jesse - she looks just like her creator. She likes rainbows and Christmas.
    
Pegkin #12 Delfie – he is wearing his button blanket and cedar hat.  He loves to drum and dance.
              
Pegkin #13 Ella – is all the way from Mexico. She loves to play soccer and do homework. Her favourite food is pineapple and she loves to drink milk and apple juice best.  She loves the colours pink, purple, blue and anything that sparkles and glitters.
                 
Pegkin #14 Prince George - the King of the Sea. He lives in a house made of seaweed and he keeps a lookout for sharks and humans.  He was created by a child that is now in Kindergarten.  His family likes to collect treasures from the ocean so that is why he is made with sea glass and shells.

Our new tree house.

I’ve been inspired by several different ideas on wonderful blogs and have wanted one for my program for years.  My very handy and willing husband helped me create this tree house. 
  
I finally had the wood needed, thanks to families donating it, and explained to my husband what my vision was and he started building.
            
The families love it.  There is constant activity around both tree houses.  Through exploring and inventing they have been imagining different scenarios with the Pegkins.
           
 
                           But more on that in another post.