I was excited to download this great freebie from Deanna Jump last week. It is a very cute emergent reader that my kids just loved! I decided to make copies for each student, and we turned it into a multimedia art project. I want to share how we used this book, in case any of you are looking for ideas for this week.
Deanna’s original freebie is a 11 page booklet with black outline graphics on each page. I decided to assign a different medium to each page. The kids used markers on one page, crayons on another, construction paper, colored pencils, glitter, watercolors, soft pastels, twistable crayons, star stickers, and glitter glue on other pages. Using different art tools (several of which were brand new to my students!) was a method of keeping them engaged and excited on each page. It also provided the added bonus of having different ways of building fine motor skills. Squeezing glitter glue bottles is a very different strengthener than peeling and placing stickers, which is different from coloring with markers. Markers, crayons, and twistables all require different pressure when you use them. My kids even got cutting practice!
Because I only have a certain amount of each type of tool, I decided to create an anchor chart of sorts for my kids. I explained how to use the different tools, and then I set up the chart. I told my kids that they could work on any page, in any order (except the glitter glue cover had to be done last.) I then let them go to work. At any given time I had kids painting, working with pastels, cutting and pasting – etc. They were completely engaged, and worked independently for almost an hour!
This book has wonderful content to begin with, and was a super fun project. Thanks Deanna for sharing!
What a great activity for kids to lose themselves in before the Winter Break.
Thanks! My kids really did lose themselves. They absolutely loved spending time and working with their hands with new tools. I think it was really soothing for them!