The Caterpillar and the Polliwog

I’ve mentioned before that I belong to a storytellers group and we get together once a month to share stories.  This month, Jenny shared a story from an old book that she had created into a felt story. 
       The Caterpillar and the Polliwog by Jack Kent.

It was a great choice to use to finish up our study of butterflies and frogs.
To make the felt board I coloured copied some of the pictures from the book, laminated them, then attached a magnet to the back and I was ready to tell the story.

Below are the highlights of the story.
        
Down by the pond there lives a caterpillar who was very proud of being different. 
She bragged to her friends “When I grow up, I’m going to turn into something else.”
 
Her friends weren’t too impressed by the caterpillar but the polliwog thought it
was great and wished that he could change into something else too.  The fish
reassures the polliwog that he will change too but doesn’t tell him what.
 
On her second time around the pond the caterpillar brags to the polliwog that she
will change and the polliwog replies that he will too.  That stops the caterpillar in
it’s tracks and feels a little sad that she isn’t the only unique creature.  When the
polliwog is asked what it will change into, he doesn’t know but decides to be the
same as the caterpillar.  So he watches while she spins her chrysalis and waits for
her to come out.
 
All the time he is waiting he is changing.  The polliwog is very excited to see the
butterfly emerge and begins jumping up and down like a frog, “I was so busy
watching you, I didn’t notice what was happening to me!” he says.
      
As a new caterpillar crawls by bragging that he will turn into something else
the frog doesn’t pay attention.  He is too distracted admiring his reflection in
the water.  “I am, you know, a handsome frog!”

Releasing Our Tadpoles

We’ve been watching and learning about frogs for several months.
 
         We’ve been reading lots of books,

             and feeding the tadpoles,
         
         and watching them grow their legs.
        
       But now it’s time to release them back to their pond.

At the pond we had one more look before setting the tank into the water
to help the temperature adjust.

            Then we said good bye and let them go.

Five Green Frogs

As we were studying frogs and watching our tadpoles grow we
played with the old rhyme “Five Green and Speckled Frogs”.
     
At the flannel board the children could retell the rhyme and
move the frogs on and off the log.
     
   
We played with the rhyme on the carpet using stuffies and a piece of driftwood.
          
         We played with the rhyme at the water table.
    
On one side held 5 little frogs on a log and the other side held rubbery frogs
with 'plastercine-made' tadpoles and water beads.
      
   The frogs hopped on and off the logs and rocks,
        that were added on the second day.

We pretended the water beads were the frog eggs.  The clear beads are hard
to see in the water so the children were surprised when they reach into the
water and felt the beads.

The Legend of the Golden Snail

                 
"The Legend of the Golden Snail" by Graeme Base is a book I read when we are studying snails and pirates.  It is about imagination, challenges, helping others, adventure and more.
                  
 
Graeme’s illustrations pop off of each page in beautiful deep colours.

But what I really like about the book is that it contains a book within a book.  When you open the cover you will find a miniature version of the bedtime story that the main character is read and that begins his adventure.
   
I found a real shell that matches the one that Wilbur, the main character and his cat, eventually find.  I painted it gold and will use it as a conversation prompt when we read the book in September for "Talk Like a Pirate Day”.

Magnets at the Easel

Have you visited Deborah Stewart’s blog Teach Preschool? 
        I follow it faithfully.  
She is very creative and is constantly thinking of new ways
to provide activities for the children in her care.

One activity that caught my eye was her magnetic easel
          and handiness with a glue gun.
 
My easels are wooden so, on them, I placed a metal bulletin board,
             from IKEA.  
Then I glued magnets to the back of milk jug caps and green tongue depressors.

The colour and shape of the milk jug lids lend themselves to building flowers.  
         Single or in a bouquet, they look beautiful.

What other ways have you used your easels?

Pro D Day

At the end of May school districts around the province hosted professional development day for StrongStart facilitators and Early Years Coordinators.  Our school district hosted for the North Island.   It was a positive and enjoyable opportunity to get together and share what’s been happening at our centres.

Each district brought display boards which gave us a glimpse into what has
been happening in their programs.

Some districts brought sensory bins or activity kits

that they have to put together to share at each of their district centres.

             
           Some brought their inviting literacy kits.
     

We had opportunity to talk about certain topics such as;
"What is a vulnerable family?"
"How do we connect with families in need and encourage them to participate at a StrongStart centre?"
 and
"In what ways are we ensuring that programs are welcoming and accessible?"
    
We also spent time discussing the Ministry of Educations program reflection
tool called Reflecting on Quality.   It is a self reflective tool for each of us to use to really think about our program, our centre.  Is it meeting the needs of the families that attend our centres?  Does it meet the goals of the Early Learning Framework?

     
In between discussions we got up, sang songs, played with scarves,
had fun and got to know each other better. 
It is just as important for us to play as it is for children to play.