Out with the Old
& In with the New
For the month of September our classroom displayed a plastic calendar I had purchased at the store. We noticed that students paid little attention to this calendar and did not interact with the numbers or dates. We were wondering if replacing the store bought calendar with one created by the children would change this. When children participate in a project from the very beginning does it have any effect on how they use and interact with the material?
Painting the October Calendar
In hopes of encouraging the children to refer to the numbers on the calendar, to observe number patterns, etc. we invited the children to paint October’s Calendar. The children chose fall colours (reds, oranges, browns, yellows) and painted leaves with watercolour paints.
"Don’t Forget the Numbers."
Once the calendar was dry a few SK students worked together to include the numbers on the calendar. The group of SK students was very excited while writing out all of the numbers for the month of October.
To complete the project, the children wrote a sign for October. The children helped each other sound out all of the letters to spell the word, October.
Displaying the Final Product
The children took down the store bought calendar and replaced it with their beautiful October calendar. The result was a group of very pleased SK students who took great care and precision in displaying their calendar and sign followed by a few moments to admire their hard work.