Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Arts and Crafts

Hi Fellow Teachers,

As we continue to read Bible Stories to our preschool students, I think we need to collaborate together to think of science activities, and arts and crafts activities which will enhance our students learning. As I think about the story of Noah and his Ark, I think we can educate the children about the properties of water- specifically about floating.

Here is a sample idea of an activity you can do with your students to make the story of Noah and his ark more meaningful.

Materials:
1. water table or water in a large enough container so children can place objects into it.
2. different objects: wooden block, ping pong ball, feather, spoon, paper clip etc....
3. chart : Float vs Does Not Float

Procedure:

There are various ways to do this activity as you can do a whole group activity, or peer groups. Essentially, you would like to inquire to see what the children will think will sink or float. Make sure to try different objects to show them that some things float and some things don't float/sink.

you can tie this into the story about Noah and his ark, because his ark floats on the water. Given the developmental age of these students, the focus should be more on which objects float and sink as opposed to the science behind it ( i.e. displacement of water).

Please let me know your thoughts about this activity. If you try it with your students, please let me know what work and didn't work. This way we can work together to create effective lesson plans.

Please feel free to post your own arts and crafts ideas!