The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything with Props

I love telling the story of the Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything.

It is repetitive and full of sound effects to encourage audience participation.

In the past I've used big pictures to tell the story but this year I wanted something to leave out so the kids could actually build the scarecrow at the end.  After talking to a colleague I was inspired to make these boxes.

I left them with the book lying on the floor and it wasn't long before a family started using them.

As mom read the story the children would find the pieces.  

Look how the children are moving closer to the book to get a better look.

And the boy holding the box is moving it back and forth saying 'wiggle wiggle'.

The pictures are tacked on to the boxes with velcro.

The same for the boxes with the gloves, they have extra velcro on the side of the box.

Thanks Ellie for the idea.

 

Painting Jack O'Lanterns

This week we've used a variety of materials to paint jack o'lanterns.

First we painted on tin cans.

Then we tried tape painting.

Tape is used to cover the areas you want to remain the colour of the paper.

Paint over the whole paper including the tape.

When it dries, remove the tape.

And finally today we painted rocks.

 

Spooky!

Look Who's Looking

It's me!

What fun we've been having trying on glasses 

and pretending to be someone else,

 with springy eyes,

 a big nose,

 or a nose that changes colour.

Or glasses that make our eyes look really big.

"Are you a superstar?"

"No, I'm a mom." was her response.

Parents too took turns.

I wish I had a video of the children's responses.

Lots of giggles.

Even the principal was encouraged to try on a pair.

I found it interesting this week, that the children are more interested in bits and pieces of dress up instead of a whole costume.

They're not into the ready-made-look-at-me-"I'm a princess or a dinosuar" kind of dress up.

Or maybe they are attracted to the glasses because they are usually an "out of reach, please don't touch, they can break" item.

Pumpkin Patch Storytime

It was a beautiful day to visit the pumpkin patch.

As families arrived I recruited a few parents to participate in the story I would be telling.

After everyone picked their pumpkin from the field they came back for a snack and story.

The story is called The Big Pumpkin that I did last week.
Today I thought of having costumes to identify the characters but instead I made picture cards for the participants to wear around their neck.
It was a lot of fun - the parents really got into their roles.
Here is the video, sorry that the sound isn't the best so if you want to know the story go back to this post.

We are so lucky to have this wonderful farm open to the public.  

The children also fed the chickens and had fun playing in a hay maze.

Shannon, the owner, does a fantastic job decorating for the season.

When the children were leaving they received a copy of the poem "Five Little Pumpkins Sitting on a Gate" with five coloured chips, a crayon to decorate the chips and a gate.  Now they can retell the poem at home.

 Shannon, thanks again for a fabulous day at your pumpkin patch. 

See you next year.

What is this called?

"Maureen, What is this called?" was the question I heard the most often today.
And it revolved around this...

Gak, Slime, Oebleck! Whatever you call it, it is a lot of fun.
It's an easy recipe of 1/2 Tbsp borax diluted in 1/2 cup of water.
Then mix 1/4 cup of white glue with a 1/4 cup of water in a separate container.
In a ziplock bag mix it all together (you can add food colouring at this time).
Add 1/2 cup of cornstarch to the bag and continue to mix.
Dump contents on to table and continue to knead.
WARNING: it will be wet at first but the more you play with it the less sticky it will become.

The first few children that saw it were quite hesitant about touching it with their fingers and used different tools.  But as more children discovered the fun it began to be pulled, stretched, poked and patted.

It was a very popular table all morning.

 We added googly eyes and different moulds.

How many children can you fit around a table?

As many as will fit!

Scarecrow - how do you feel?

Every year this scarecrow, that stands at a toddlers height,

gets a new head and comes in to play.

 Each day his face is transformed into a variety of emotions.

Sign of the week - pumpkin

This week's sign is 'pumpkin'.
Hold your left fist in front of you.  With your right middle finger and thumb, flick the back of the left fist.

Our fingerplay for the week is Five Little Pumpkins.

Five Little Pumpkins
Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate,
The first one said, “Oh, my it's getting late!“
The second one said, "There are witches in the air.“
The third one said, "But we don't care.“
The fourth one said, "Let's run and run and run!“
The fifth one said, "Isn't Halloween fun?“

Then Woooooo went the wind
And OUT went the lights.

And five little pumpkins rolled out of sight