However, back to the point, enjoyment. I want them to go to school with joy in their hearts and to look forward to what each day holds. I think they key to that is preparedness. I bought a story book this week that details a day at kindergarten. It's a funny little piece from the 80s I dug up at the thrift store. It's a Scholastic book, so even before its time it is extremely politically correct. Do I point that out to the kids? Nope. They don't know what political correctness is and hopefully never will.....all of these thingsd are taught, I say...taught. We teach these ideas.
How do I manage to get off on so many tangents? Enjoyment. The only way kids can enjoy such a new situation is to be prepared. I'm going to try to prepare them in a myriad of ways. We drive through the school parking lot, we will tour the school at least 2 times before they go, we will visit their classroom and meet their teacher, and, from here, we will learn what we need to do to be comfy, cozy in a K setting.
That is what this blog is about.
One of this week's lessons....cutting and pasting. This isn't the first time we've done it and it will not be the last.
For this project, I simply drew some basic shapes on construction paper. I asked that the kids cut them out and then glue them onto another paper to creat a picture. They could use crayons and markers as well.
I am proud to say that Alya is really getting her cutting technique down. She seems confident with her instruments and seems to enjoy the effort and process. I doubted she'd envision her end project ahead of time...and, as usual, she did not...but I watched her work, and I liked what she did.
She carefully cut her pieces out.
Then she pasted them. After she pasted them she looked at her picture for a bit and then said..."CUTIES, cuties jumping out of a basket momma!"...sure enough, she'd managed a picture of cuties jumping out of a basket. She decorated her picture and titled it, and I hung it with pride in the hallway.
Ben....well, Ben on the other hand can manage any math, can read the newspaper, and can potentially perform basic surgery at this point, but Ben can't cut. I am certain he is going to need this skill to perform well in Kindergarten. I am also certain that if he cannot master it, he will crumble into a mess of insecure rubble at the floor of his classroom.
The problem is this....he cannot seem to get comfortable cutting with his right or left hand. Now, he is a righty (I think) as he uses his right hand almost all the time, but if you live with him, you notice he will pick up a pencil or piece of chalk with his left hand and write as nicely as with his right, he will hold a cup with his left hand, and he will do other things that make me question his dexterity. Scissors seem to be his arch-nemisis.
His picture was a hoot though....I'm sure he knew what to do before he began cutting. He made a picture of "mommy running"....he initially spelled running like this....runing...this is also hung with great pride in my hallway.
Now, let me aside a moment to mention my piece (which is not photographed) because I proudly glued and pasted rectangles and circles and some custom cut grass....because it is grass...and used black paper and a white glitter crayon and drew a fabulous sunny day and our family. When Adam saw it, he asked if Alya had done it. Therefore, it is not a share for you all. (I did hang it in the hallway too though ;)
After our project, the kid wanted to peel their own cuties and they snacked on those and yogurt before we had mac and cheese for lunch. It's simple. I know. But I think simplicity is the thing. I think they have to have the basics. Because, when they get to school, and the feel insecure and unsure but find they can do the tasks assigned them, hopefully they will feel joy and delight and be driven by creative mojo.
happy cutting folks.....
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