Beading is always a popular activity in the Haifa class, so this morning, when the children saw that there were beads at the art center, they were very excited! What they weren't expecting though was for the beads to have letters on them, and to have a challenge from their teachers to see if they could spell their name on the necklace.
Many of the children embraced this task. But once they got through their first name, it wasn't enough! Many asked us how to spell their last names as well, or familiar words like Mom, Dad, or the name of a sibling. We have full name cards in our classroom, on one side with all capital letters, and on the other with a mixture of both capital and lowercase. We used these tools to help the children spell their name if they needed assistance. Around the table, these cards spurred conversations about middle names, and if students had last names. Many of the children wore their necklaces and bracelets proudly, bursting to share their creation with lunch bunch teachers and parents. When Nathan finished his necklace, he exclaimed, "My mom is going to be so proud of me!" I think he's right, and his teachers were too!
While this was a very fun fine motor art activity, we were also working with our students on letter recognition in a fun, non-demanding way.
-Alison and Sauci
