In order to follow up on the prior week of making caterpillars, we made the project about butterflies for the day! The kids were all excited about decorating their butterflies. To make sure we incorporated an educational lesson, we spelled out the words “butterfly, caterpillar, wings and antennas”. In addition, we taught the preschoolers what the word symmetrical meant as well as different shapes they could use to decorate their butterflies.
By showing the children visually first what the word meant, how to spell it and then how to draw the shapes, it helped engage the students as well as help them to make connections. We found this tactic beneficial for not only the preschoolers, but the older children as well. We also encouraged the students to raise their hand to spell a word out for the class and we would then write it on the board. Even if a child did not spell it correctly, we would guide them and by doing this we were able to not only engage the students, but also boost their confidence. The children were practically jumping out of their seats to be the one to spell it on the board.
It was really great to see the transition of confidence in some of the kids that in the beginning of the program were more quiet and to themselves and by the end be the ones eager to spell out the words. This particular project was really great for all the ages and seemed to be a common favorite for all the classrooms.