Wild Things

 Today, in Kindergarten, we read the classic book, Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak.

We spent a lot of time trying to infer what was happening in the story and what we thought the author was trying to tell us.  We also looked carefully at the different features each wild thing had.  Some had scales, some feathers, some wore stripes, and some had fur.  The kids picked their favorite wild thing and then we were ready for our project.

The kids made their own wild things with oil pastels.  This is only the second time we've used oil pastels in art, and the kids did a great job.  Getting just the right amount of pressure is always a challenge with oil pastels.  As kids were drawing, they naturally started counting and we heard things like, "My wild thing has two horns."  I pointed out that this was math conversation and to keep those numbers in mind as they were working because we'd be labeling our work shortly. (I love it when kids' conversations naturally lead where I'm about to take them!)

The labeling began shortly after kids finished their wild things. We counted claws, legs, teeth, stripes, feet, and many more features. Kids wrote the number next to the area they wanted to label and we encouraged them to use the beginning sound of the words to show which part they were labeling.  "5 C," for example, means 5 claws on that hand.

                                     

This is always one of my favorite lessons in the fall.  It incorporates using new materials (oil pastels), a classic children's book, art, math, and writing.  The morning class finished their wild things today and they are bringing them home. The afternoon class will be doing theirs on the next Friday they attend.  If your child is bringing home their wild thing today, please ask them about it!  Have them read you their labels and practice counting together.  It's a great book to keep in mind if you are wanting to take a trip to the public library too!