October 21st

   Overall, I feel that this week went really well for me with art. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to switch the trick or treat bag activity in for the bingo dopper/water activity. I'm glad I did the trick or treat bag activity for several reasons. First, it will be just in time for trick or treat on tuesday. Second, I was able to modify it for the better (I feel) because I had the last activity from tuesday with the gluing and coloring scarecrows fresh in my head. On tuesday, I saw that the children went straight for the glue, and I wanted them to color a little first before they used the glue. If any of the children tried to color after using the glue, it never turned out good because the glue was too wet. My solution was to hide the glue and tissue paper for a few minutes and bring it out as a "surprise" for the children. I feel that this worked well, and that the overall project was a success. The only thing I would have changed would have been to have the children open the bags while they were still wet so that the bottoms were not stuck to the rest of the bag while the bag was still folded.
   I actually feel like today went well too. All of the children seemed really interested in the sensory experience that the tin foil provided, and their responses ranged depending on the child. For instance, Michael stayed at the table during the whole time we had for art playing with the tin foil. He used the scissors a lot, and I helped him hold the regular scissors. Towards the end of our time, Michael said he had an idea. I asked him what it was, and he told me he was going to make a tractor. I prompted him with questions like, what do we need to make a tractor? He responded wheels, so I asked him how many. Gavin was also very engrossed in the art. The tin foil instantly caught his attention and he stayed in his seat and remained engaged for a lot longer that I thought he would. He explored the foil, shook it, and I helped him rip it. I am glad that he was able to be so engaged in my art lesson.