I am creating a quick video with each directed drawing I do for Colors! You will be able to find these videos here. I do a quick job teaching the shapes, or lines on how to easily draw the color item. Feel free to re-watch or pause the videos as much as you’d like. When I’m in my classroom I talk through how to do it, then I leave the picture up on the board for students to reference. If they are having difficulties with the drawing, I will talk them through it, but at NO point will I take their crayon/pencil and do it for them. I celebrate effort… the goal (no matter what it looks like) is that they TRY!
Here’s our first color: Red – Today you will learn how to draw a delicious Red Strawberry!
Our next color: Orange – Today you will learn how to draw a juice Orange slice and whole orange!
Our next color: Yellow – Today you will learn how to draw a whole Pineapple!
Our next color: Green – Today you will learn how to draw a Kiwi, both the inside and outside!
Our next color: Blue – Today you will learn how to draw blueberries with their smallest detail.
Our next color: Purple – Today you will learn how to draw a bunch of grapes on the vine.
Our next color: Pink – Today you will learn how to draw YOU blowing a giant bubble!
Our next color: Black – Today you will learn how to draw a Blackberries on a long stem.
Our next color: White – Today you will learn how to draw YOU eating a marshmallow.
Our next color: Brown – Today you will learn how to draw a pretzel. Who will you share it with?
Our next color: Gray – Today you will learn how to draw a Bunny. Will your bunny have a friend or will it be eating a carrot? You decide!
After you little one is finished with their drawings/writing. Encourage them to add details – drawing more of the same fruit, or something eating the food, or a table/plate that food sits on, or a rainbow! What you want is to continue to have your little ones increase the amount of time they spend writing/drawing. This is called increasing their stamina. When we do this in class I set a timer for the students and say, “There is NO. SUCH. THING. as I’m done” you keep working until the timer goes off. You will need to remind them a MILLION times about things they can do, things they can add, reminders to put their name at the top, etc. Day 1 (Red day) I would set a stopwatch to find out how long your little one lasts, then increase the time by 30 seconds every day until they get to 12. If they struggle on any given day, that’s ok! There are many days you begrudgingly get out of bed and don’t feel 100% into your work… the same goes for kids! Pause the timer, reset them by doing a GoNoodle, or bringing them away from their work, talking about what is bothering them, or what they are struggling with (“I noticed you’re not as attentive to your work as you normally are, is there something you need to talk about that is bothering you? Are you (insert behavior here: tired, fussy, hungry, etc)? Sometimes little ones just need a minute to regroup, and then they can get right back at it. On those days, its ok to call writing time over, set the paper aside and then come back to it later. In my room, if the student doesn’t complete their work, that’s ok, but they do need to finish it before they can do play time. That might be a rule that works for you too. Be patient with them, this is all a new experience for everyone! 12 to 13 minutes is my goal for stamina in my classroom. It does take us WEEKS to get to that goal. There are many days that I say, ok we are still stuck 7 minutes, let’s try to focus on working the whole time! Then I add the time to the timer, let the kiddos disperse to their spaces, then reiterate the expectations before I say ready, set, go and start the timer…. They don’t realize it… but many of them had already been working for 1 minute (or so) while the remaining kids were getting their journals, getting to their spaces, etc. This is a simple trick I use to help increase their stamina as well as reinforce the importance of getting started right away!
If you’d like to check them these videos and more on my YouTube channel click here.
If you have any questions, or additional tips/tricks, please leave a comment below!
Kinder Kid at Heart 