October 25th

Today we didn't have a chance to do art due to trick or treating, but I can just recycle that lesson plan for some other time. I feel that yesterday went well. Having only 4 children yesterday worked out well because there was one child per teacher and I was able to spread myself out between children a little more being the 5th. I was actually really surprised by Gavin yesterday. I was not sure if the leaves would really do anything for him. He notices leaves outside if I bring one over and hold it in front of his face. He normally tries to take it from me, so I hold it tight and he rips off little pieces one at a time. He was actually my inspiration for the art. I was happy he held his attention as long as he did. I dropped some leaves in front of him and let them float down, along with crinkling them near his ear and that all seemed to catch his attention. After he left, I helped Michael glue and tried some of the same sensory tactics as I did with Gavin. Looking back, I probably would have taken out the glue and just allowed the children to freely explore the leaves. I feel like most of the activities I make up involve glue, so it is beginning to become too repetitive. Also, I probably should have planned the activity for when the leaves were freshly fallen from the trees. I planned on pointing out the different colors of the leaves for the children, but the only leaves I could really find were all brown instead of multi-colored like I had planned.