Montessori Kid'Studio Activity Pack: "First Days of School"
Are you looking for quick & easy Montessori Art and Music Activities for the first days of school?
Here are two of my favorites...
"Back to School" Is A Great Time for Basic, Easy Art & Music Activities
"Torn Paper Art Activity"
When little ones are becoming oriented to being in a Montessori setting, offering engaging music and art activities can be an educator's secret to easing the anxiety for children and the adults in the environment.
During my decades of teaching Montessori Preschoolers, I have seen so often that the first days of school can be a bit stressful for not only the children, but also the parents, families and even the teacher. When there are simple, quick, and easy activities in all the curriculum areas that are available to the children right away, these activities can be inviting to the child that is experiencing fear of the unfamiliar.
"Torn Paper Art" at its most basic level, requires the most basic of skills on the part of the child.
Tearing paper takes away the requirement of being able to operate scissors.
Tearing paper is actually an appropriate way of releasing strong feelings!
Tearing colorful paper into large or tiny bits can be inspiring for the child to create a work of art by dropping the torn paper scraps onto an art canvas and arranging them into something interesting.
Or, the child might simply enjoying collecting the torn paper scraps into an envelope to take home, or into a basket to carry over to the collage tray on the Art Shelf.
If the children want to create a "Torn Paper Artwork" the teacher can add a glue stick and a piece of art paper to the activity tray.
And, torn paper has been used in famous art by accomplished artists in the world of art. It is not just an exercise for children to pass the time while reducing stress in the child. Tearing paper can sharpen children's small motor development, especially if the child is creating a particular shape while tearing. (ex: tearing a square shape or a circle shape) Older children may want to draw out a picture on art paper and then fill in the shapes in the picture with torn paper bits. I think one "teacher trick" to engage the children with "Torn Paper Art" is including colorful paper for the child to tear. Using scraps of wrapping paper, construction paper, child-painted paper, foil or tissue paper...these all invite the child's discerning eye.
"Steady Beat Music Activity"
Another basic and fun activity that can be quickly introduced to children during the first Circle Times of the new school year, is another of my favorites, "counting out the steady beat of a familiar song." Instead of singing the words to "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star", children can count it out: 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4...etc. If you add a "chopping motion" with the hands, even children who are shy about singing, will invariably participate in this engaging way to explore a basic concept in music, "steady beat."
Need a Lesson Plan or even an Instructional Video for setting up "Torn Paper Art Activity" or "Steady Beat Music Activity"?
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Thank you very much for visiting my Blog today. I hope you found some fun ideas for your group!
