Fine Motor Skills:

Throughout our Zoo Theme, we have been practicing our fine motor control through a variety of cutting, tearing, and folding activities. A few of these activities include cutting zoo-themed paper in our sensory table, accordion-folding paper to form elephant trunks, and tearing construction paper pieces to make tiger habitats. These cutting, tearing, and folding activities are important to our classroom because they provide the opportunity for children to develop finger, hand, wrist, and arm muscles (and in turn, develop hand-eye coordination and eye-muscle control). This development helps children to distinguish letters, form letters, track print across a page, and more. In sum, fine motor activities promote reading and writing readiness!

Process Art:

Throughout the school year, you may have noticed that a lot of the artwork that we do in our classroom does not produce “cookie cutter” results. In fact, the work that your child is doing, often yields very abstract art and is much for meaningful to them! We tend to shy away from “product art” and instead like to focus on “process art”. In process art, there is no right or wrong way to make artwork because the end product is not the focus. Instead, during process art activities, we are more concerned with the actual process of the formation of art or the doing of art. Art should be a creative act that allows the children to try new things, test out different techniques, experiment with ideas, and use their imagination. In short, process artists believe it is the creative journey that matters!

Keep an eye out for some of the process art we have recently tried in our classroom: marble rolling, marblization, sponge painting, bubble wrap printing, painting with combs, and more!

Upcoming:

In response to the childrens’ love of the story Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, next week we will begin an Author Study on Mo Willems!

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