Carnegie Mellon University Children’s School December 2018 .

Carnegie Mellon University Children’s SchoolDecember 2018Green Room NewsletterStorytellingWhether they are told live, read aloud, listened to on a recording, or watchedon a stage, stories are captivating for young children. They can help themlearn new words, introduce them to other cultures, teach them lessons, andsometimes help them navigate difficult times.Our Favorite ThemeBooksCircle time is a great time to hearstories that help friends learn moreabout our theme. This month ourfavorite books were:Abiyoyo, by Pete SeegerAbiyoyo Returns by Pete SeegerConejito: A Folktale from Panama,by Margaret Read MacDonaldThe Little Red Hen, by variousauthorsHumpty Dumpty, Little MissMuffet (and other Nursery Rhymesby Mother Goose)Mango Monkey Says Our wise puppet friend visited the friends thismonth with his friends Shy Squirrel, AndyAlligator, and Sal Snake to talk aboutgiving. We shared the book, Give A Little Love byLizzie Mack to remind the friends that givingsomeone a present helps both the giver andreceiver to feel good. In the short story, a littlegirl carefully chooses just the right balloon to giveto each of her family members. The friends helpedMango Monkey brainstorm all of the things that apresent can be, both things you can see (like aballoon) and things that you feel (like a hug). Thenthey talked about why people give, such as for aspecial day like a birthday, or because someoneneeds something. The conversation wrapped upwith looking at some of the beautiful paintingsthat the children made for their families. Wetalked about how carefully they worked and howit will feel to them to give the special gift, andhow it will feel to their family members to get it.Everyone agreed that it will feel good all around!

Week 1StorytellingHumpty Dumpty and Little Miss MuffetMother Goose Nursery Rhymes serve as anintroduction to the rhythm, texture andflexibility of language for the young child. TheNursery Rhymes Humpty Dumpty and LittleMiss Muffet were a good start for thechildren to understand the“beginning/middle/end” of a story because oftheir simplicity. We made Humpty Dumptyfinger puppets, tested different ways of howto let a hard-boiled egg fall off a wall withoutbreaking, and made egg salad for snack. Thechildren built their own spider props forenacting Little Miss Muffet on the stage. Eachfriend drew their self-portrait on a stage forthe December locker tags and practicedsequencing several stories with three parts.Atticus and Singmake spiderpuppets.Emma gets readyto test a softsurface for heregg to fall on.Week 2StorytellingAbiyoyoKipton plays the part of the boy whoplays music to make Abiyoyo tired andfall down. Matteo and Gwen areAbiyoyo. Maggie and Rowan get readyto make Abiyoyo disappear with theirmagic wands. “Zoop, zoop!”Fairytales and Folktales often convey moral andspiritual values that transcend time and culturalboundaries. Joy and goodness rule, and a “happilyever after” ending is usual. The “Once upon atime” beginning of these tales is the cue for thechildren that the story is pretend. There is a giantand a magic wand in the stories of Abiyoyo andAbiyoyo Returns, by Pete Seeger. Those do notexist in real life, but it is fun to pretend. All thewhile, children are learning that teamwork andkindness are what truly work to solve theproblems in the story. Pete Seeger added arepetitive musical line to his story that was easyfor the children to remember as they enacted thestory on the stage. We practiced playing guitarsand xylophones to the music, and made puppetprops for the shadow screen and stage stories.

Simon displays hismonster puppet.tArchie plays Abiyoyo’smusic on the xylophone.Gwen and Nicolas use shadowpuppets to tell the story of Abiyoyo.StorytellingWeek 3Favorite TalesFelix and Nalu work on their originalstorybooks.Poppy finger paints withFlorescent paints by blacklightin the Make Shop.The final week of Storytelling was full ofcreativity as the friends used storytelling cardsto create their own tales, and illustrated anddictated an original book. Circle Time storiesincluded Conejito: A Folktale from Panama, byMargaret Read MacDonald. Conejito is a rabbitthat must make it past a lion, a tiger and a foxto get to his aunt’s house up on the mountain,and then back down again. He tricks them withhis clever words, and with the help of his aunt,gets home safely. The many Spanish words, alittle song Conejito sings, and the interestingillustrations made this story rich and engagingfor the children.Brandon, Matteoand Maggie makeup a puppet playwith MangoMonkey andfriends.Maggie, Marina and Slavaexplore the Glow-In-TheDark Jelly Marbles.

Peter, Nalu andSimon prepareGlow-in-the-Darkslime for theblacklightexperience in theMake Shop.Make Shop ExperiencesThis month in the Make Shop, we focusedon Light and Color. The room darkeningcurtains were hung and we brought outtwo old Overhead Projectors. The friendsexperimented with placing various colorfultranslucent materials on the projectorsurface to create colorful designs on ascreen. Next, blacklights were set up, andthe children painted with florescentpaints and played with glow-in-the-darkplay dough and slime that the GreenRoom friends made. We added glow-inthe-dark Jelly Marbles in a small watertable for some sensory fun.Aras exploresthe shadowsand color madefrom placingobjects on anoverheadprojector in theMake Shop.Music ExperiencesFriendsget readyto playthe drumsand singthe storyofGoldilocks.with Mrs. HraberMrs. Hraber integrated music into ourStorytelling theme this month. Thechildren told the story of Goldilocksand the Three Bears throughsinging, playing instruments anddancing games with the parachute.Center Spotlight:The Dramatic Play CenterCenterSlava and Nicolas bringapples and pumpkins up anddown the tree house usingthe pulley systems.The Dramatic Play Center in the classroom invites thepretend play that is essential for young children. This monththe center transformed from: a home setup; to a world ofcastles, knights, horses and royalty; to a forest of treehouses and small woodland animals. The children made upstory after story with the available props. In addition, thenearby Block Center was the Green Room Stage for enactingthe Nursery Rhymes of Humpty Dumpty and Little MissMuffet and Pete Seeger’s tale of Abiyoyo. With minimalcostumes and props, children recall the words and actions ofthe characters to become them on the stage. They practicewaiting for their part and being comfortable in front of agroup.

Birthday Celebrations and Special VisitorsEmma’sparents visitand share astory forEmma’sbirthday.Moses’ dad reads a story to theCircle Time friends to celebrateMoses’ birthday.Miss Debbie, the Librarian from theCarnegie Library told the story of TheMitten by Jan Brett.“Our” Officer Campbell spentmany years at CMU helping theChildren’s School family staysafe. Each year, he broughtpolice officer friends with himto do a presentation abouttheir job. The friends used hisfavorite color blue to create asplatter painting for OfficerCampbell upon his retirement.

Our Month in PhotosKieran drawshimself onthe stage forhis LockerTag.Marina puts together astory sequence with abeginning, middle, and end.Jamie Ann cutsout the pages tomake a book ofNursery Rhymes.Poppy mixesthe ingredientsto make GlowIn-The-DarkSlime for playunder theblacklights inthe Make Shop.Mio chops hardboiled eggs for theEgg Salad snack.

Our Month in Photos

Our Month in Photos

Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes serve as an introduction to the rhythm, texture and flexibility of language for the young child. The Nursery Rhymes Humpty Dumpty and Little . costumes and props, children recall the words and actions of the characters to become them on