Mystery Project this week turned out to be an illustration for one of the poems we’ve been learning for Halloween. This particular type of activity happens many times a year. Although it might look like an art project, I don’t really consider it one. The purpose of these projects usually revolve around math concepts and visual-spatial skills. Our five pumpkins sitting on a gate introduced the words horizontal and vertical. We also practiced cutting circles from squares by cutting the corners off and then removing any “pointy parts”. To make the gate posts and rails, we folded rectangles in half and cut along the folds. This required the children to use both small motor skills and coordination to match up the opposing ends and create an even fold.
As you can see from this project, many little learning goals are accomplished in the activities we do each day. If ever you are wondering what your child might have learned from a project, ask his or her teacher. It can be surprising how much thought, planning, and skill go into what appears to be a simple task. Even after years of teaching young children, I am still amazed at the workings of the young human brain.
For anyone who is interested, here is the ubiquitous pumpkin poem:
Five Little Pumpkins
Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate
The first one says, “Oh my, it’s getting late!”
The second one says, “There are witches in the air!”
The third one says, “But we don’t care!”
The fourth one says, “Let’s run and run and run!”
The fifth one says, “I’m ready for some fun!”
So, Ooooooo went the wind
And out went the light
And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight.