Last Saturday Idid a workshop for Kids Country Child Development Centers near Cleveland. What a fun group!!! What happy teachers! You’ve probably seen the magnet thatsays, “If momma ain’t happy – ain’t nobody happy!” Well, if teachers aren’t happy, then how can they make theirchildren happy?
They invited someof their kindergarten students to introduce me. Talk about charming! The children sang “The Fifty States” taking a deep breath between each chorus. Can you believe those five year oldscould learn the 50 states in our country? Only with a song!
Sheryl Herter andJami Eshelman shared this idea to encourage kindess in their classroom. They cut two hearts out of paper. One heart gets wrinkled up as theydescribe things children say to each other that hurt feelings. Once the heart is all crinkled up theytry to smooth it out. It remindsthe children that once you say something unkind you can never take itback. They hang up both hearts asa reminder to think before they tattle or say hurtful things.
Beth Moreharttold a story with a coffee filter. Fold the coffee filter into fourths before you begin.
This is a storyabout a family of Eskimos who lived in a house made of ice. They were snuggled in their igloo andthey wanted to watch the snow falling outside so they cut a little door out oftheir house. (Tear a door.) They couldn’t see the snow very well,so they cut a window out of the side of the house. (Tear a window.) Then they decided to cut another window out of the other side. (Tear another window.) It was getting very cold so they builta fire. And when you build a fire,you know you need some place for the smoke to escape, so they cut a hole in thetop. Then they went outside andwhat do you think they saw falling from the sky? (Open up the coffee filter and throw it in the air tolook like a snowflake falling.)
Ann Maleckyshowed us how to make a slice of pizza out of a lunch bag. First, crinkle up the bag and then“sculpt” it to look like a slice of pizza. Children will enjoy decorating their pizzas withconstruction paper and they can even write a “how to” recipe. Perfect for singing the “PepperoniPizza” song!
