3-Day: Brown Bear, Brown Bear....
This week was all about Eric Carle in 3-Day! Not only did we read a number of his books, we also talked about Carle’s painting technique and the bright colors he uses in his illustrations.
On Monday, after reading The Mixed Up Chameleon, we looked closely at the pictures in the book and noticed that the colors often have scratchy lines running through them. We wondered what Eric Carle had used to make those lines, and thought perhaps forks might work. Children mixed colors at our art table and then used forks to make their own scratchy lines in the paint. Their works of art are on display in our classroom, and look really beautiful. We also furthered our discussion of color through color mixing inside large plastic Ziploc bags. We got to see how orange, green and purple are made without ever getting our hands messy!
On Wednesday we read Eric Carle’s Little Cloud and used puffy paint (shaving cream mixed with glue) to dab white clouds onto blue paper. Many children even described the clouds they made and gave their paintings titles similarly to how Eric Carle did in his story. We are continuously impressed at the creativity of your children, and so appreciate their developing ability to articulate thoughts about the world around them. We also sculpted and mushed cloud dough (conditioner mixed with corn starch) with small figures of people and animals in them, and Emily and I observed how much stronger everyone’s hand and finger strength has become over the course of the year. This will help them immeasurably next year as they move into 5-Day and start the process of crafting letters on paper. We also started to practice our last-day poem, which makes us both happy and sad at the same time!
On Friday we finished our Eric Carle study by reading Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? Children made their very own brown bears using brown tissue paper, paint, and googly eyes - they were pretty adorable. We sang the song below, and hope your children will reenact it for you at home:
Song: Teddy bear, teddy bear, Turn around!
Teddy bear, teddy bear, Touch the ground!
Teddy bear, teddy bear, Jump up high!
Teddy bear, teddy bear, Touch the sky!
Teddy bear, teddy bear, Bend down low!
Teddy bear, teddy bear, Touch your toes!
Teddy bear, teddy bear, Turn out the light!
Teddy bear, teddy bear, Say good night!
Finally, we wanted to make sure you know about The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, in Amherst, MA (carlemuseum.org). It’s a wonderful spot, and your children would certainly be expert tour guides.
As we wind down our year, we will be visiting the 5-Day class next week so that 3-Day children can get a sense of what exciting things are waiting for them in September. They will have a chance to play in the 5-Day room and sit in on a bit of a typical classroom meeting. We hope this visit might help to alleviate any anxiety your children might be starting to feel, and also give them a chance to ask any questions that arise before the summer is upon us.
On Monday 3-Day will be having Outdoor Classroom! Our whole day will take place on the Bowen playground. We will focus on the natural world outside and make our day very special. Please drop your child off at the playground gate. We will be waiting for them!
Have a wonderful weekend!
-Karen and Emily