We started our week with Donald Crews' Parade. The children loved to making connections between the event depicted in the story and ones they have been a part of themselves. After one reading the children already knew what they wanted to do, have their own parade!
On Tuesday we brainstormed. They took what they already knew about parades and added that to what we learned when we read Balloons Over Broadway, the true story of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
We had a good list of what a parade needs and plenty of ideas about the roles we each would play.
On Wednesday we worked!
N's favorite part of the parade is the fast race cars, so he built one!
Some see us playing. I see us using numbers in a real world application, honing in on fine motor skills, cutting strqaight lines in a purposeful way...
helping a friend, problem solving, creating, engineering, growing, learning.
Next, the beauty queens got to work making sashes and crowns.
Every queen needs her title, so this little one crowned her self Blueberry Queen and sounded out those words with ease.
The marching band needed a leader with "a stick". We made the most of this teachable moment and helped our drum major design a baton and of course a feathered hat.
This member of the band designed her own functioning guitar!
Every band needs a leader and ours was led by the Color Guard and a flag.
On Thursday the queens finished decorating their cars.
Our drummer made his drum.
And it was show time!
The queens waved,
The race car raced.
The horses pranced,
The Police Chief kept us safe,
And the Street Vendors kept us full!
We had a memorable day in preschool, and a terrific day in and out of the classroom.
