The Cave Painters

Hello!

My class of grade 02 were fascinated to learn about the lives of early humans. In every class they flaunted their research skill by sharing something new they found out about them. Well, this topic excites me too so I grab every chance to try out new things with my class. 😄

While learning about the lives of early humans, we looked at a few cave paintings and tried reading them to gather more information about the cave people. It was interesting to see the young ones use their imagination and share their understanding of the paintings. Some of the points that they reflected upon were: types of animals that the humans hunted, types of tools and weapons they used, fire used not just for cooking meat but also scare away wild animals and many more such facts about early humans' everyday life. 

I thought it to be a good idea to have my students make their own cave paintings followed by a peer interaction on what they can gather by looking at each other's work. 

The materials needed for the activity are very easily available and it can be conducted online as well. You will require:

1. a white A4 sheet

2. brown paint

3. pencil

4. cotton

I began the activity by showing a few more samples of cave paintings to my students. This helped them know more about the cave people. They took ideas from the samples and created their own drawings. Once they completed drawing, they diluted the brown paint and used some cotton to dab over the entire sheet making sure not to leave any white spaces. Then using a paint brush, they painted their drawings and kept it for drying. Once it dried, they outlined their drawing again using a pencil. Some of them even used a pen. Finally, we crushed the paper giving it a shape of a ball and opened it to what looked like a cave painting. 

Below are some of their work.

It was not just fun to make these but the peer interaction after the activity helped us reflect on our learning about the lives of early humans and appreciate each other's efforts.

Creating Earth Inside Out!

Hello!

I started teaching about the 4 layers of the Earth to my grade 02 students with the help of a visual aid. However, soon I realized that the topic was not very appealing to them. They had to be able to make connections with their learning and also apply their understanding. 

While looking for activities to make the topic more engaging I came across the idea of making a model of the 4 layers of the earth from inside out. I thought it to be good for my class as the students were already aware about the layers and their characteristics by now. This activity would help them to apply their understanding in order to build the model. 

Let's look at the materials required:

1. hard kneaded dough (size of a tennis ball)

2. paint

3. butter knife

We began by revising about the 4 layers - the inner core, the outer core, the mantle and the crust. We also discussed how each layer is different from another. Other details like - the hottest layer, the thinnest layer, the thickest layer and so on were vital points of discussion as students had to create the layers according to their characteristics. 

We divided the dough ball into 4 parts depending on our understanding of the layers. The inner core - thick and small, slightly bigger rolled out ball for the outer core, mantle much bigger since it is the largest layer and crust slightly smaller size as it is the thinnest layer. 

Next, we added some thick paint to each layer depending on the heat intensity and rolled the dough again into circles. Our pale dough balls were now looking colourful. We used red for the inner core, orange for the outer core, yellow for the mantle and blue and green for the coolest crust. 

Now that our layers were ready, we started building our Earth inside out. Before we wrapped the layers one on top of the other, we flattened out the outer core, mantle and crust. We used our palms to do so; however, you can use a rolling board and pin as well. We wrapped the outer core around the inner, followed by the mantle and finally the crust. Our planet was now ready to be sliced through to discover the 4 layers inside it. 

Please note: Students may slice using a butter knife or a knife under adult supervision.

My students loved the activity and developed a better understanding about the layers of the Earth. I hope you too can try it in your class. 

I did the activity with kneaded flour dough since I wasn't sure if all the students will have play dough. Flour is mostly available at home and it is easier to arrange in the current Covid situation. If you want you can even used play dough for the same.

Weaving a Nest!

Hello!

While learning about birds and their nests in Pre Nursery, we came across one of the most interesting birds - the weaver bird. Interesting because of the way it weaves its nest. To integrate the topic with Art, my teacher partner and I decided to help students weave a nest. Considering the age levels, 3-4 years, the activity had to be interesting yet simple. While looking for ideas, we came across a simple way in which kids could weave a nest using wool. 

Let's look at the materials needed:

1. wool

2. dry leaves and twigs

3. flour dough or play dough to make the eggs

4. some cotton

We began by showing the kids a video of weaver bird weaving his nest. We discussed how carefully they do it to ensure it is safe and warm for the eggs to mature. Students were able to build a connect between humans and birds and understood that they provide similar love and protection to their young ones. 

The activity focused on helping children develop their fine-motor skills. We began by taking some wool and gently weaving it around our thumb and little finger in a criss-cross way. It took some while for the young ones to understand the technique; however, with some help they were mostly able to do it. 

Once the weaving was done and the nest looked warm enough for the eggs we carefully slipped it out of our fingers and placed it on our tables. Students covered their nests with some dry leaves, hair, twigs and cotton to keep them warm and strong. Once the nest was ready, we took some play dough and rolled them in an oval shape to make the eggs.  

Students then placed the eggs carefully in the nests and completed the activity. This lesson gave us a chance to learn about different types of birds and their nests and the materials they use to build them. 

Here are some of the pictures of the nests weaved by 4 year olds in my class.

P.S. Weaving activities are very good for developing the fine-motor skills of a 4 year old. If you are a parent then work on similar activities with your child at home to better develop the hand-eye coordination.