Preschool Passion Projects

The children who have opted out of the extra Judaics class have been busy following their interests and working on passion projects. 

Each Thursday from 9:10 to 10:10, these children participate in a special project time, which we are calling Preschool Passion Projects. Each child participating in the Preschool Passion Projects will be able to plan and implement a project of their choosing. Due to the smaller group size, Maria and I will be able to give each child a lot of individual attention and support them as they work on their project.

Day 1

During our first project time. We met as a group to discuss our Thursdays together, share interests, and brainstorm projects. An overarching interest in photography emerged, so we are purchasing a camera for the group. Afterward, each child drew and wrote their project plan, then met with us individually to finalize their plan and materials list.

Here are their plans:

Two children are designing and painting race cars. Then, they are going to create a race track to race their cars. They would also like to create a stop motion video of their race.

One child is planning to create a book of princesses. She is going to draw the princess and use a variety of scrapbook materials for her book.

Another child is planning to create a butterfly garden diorama that she can play with.

One child is planning to build a castle using cardboard and sparkly paper.

Another child is planning to create a book about princess costumes using photography.

*These projects may evolve and change as the children work on them.

Day 2

Day 2 of the Preschool Passion Projects was a success. Each child got started working on their projects. Here is what they accomplished today.

Two children created racecar designs. While working on their designs, they had in-depth conversations about the Indy 500 racetrack. Then, they used magnatiles to work on track design ideas. Hopefully, their wooden race cars will arrive by our next meeting, and they can begin painting.

One child drew her first princess, Princess Fiona, for her book. She was very focused and worked the entire hour drawing.  She plans on adding it to some of the special scrapbook paper next week.

Another child worked with Ms. Maria to create tissue paper flowers for her fairy garden. She also created two butterflies out of cardboard.

One child made an architectural design for her castle. She made several different versions of castles, and then chose her favorite for her castle plan. Then, she practiced cutting cardboard with the box cutter. She is excited to begin the actual construction of her castle.

Another child began designing her own dresses. She looked through dress templates and patterns. She worked with fabric on wood mannequins to create two dress designs. Additionally, she designed a dress on paper.

Day 3

Today was our third day of the preschool passion projects. Mrs. Berg, the school librarian, brought the children books about their topics for them to research.  The children enjoyed looking through the books and referring to them as they worked on their projects.

 

Two children painted tiny race cars that they plan to use for their stop-motion video. They have racecar kits arriving today, which they are excited to build soon.

The child, creating a butterfly fairy garden, looked at photos of fairy gardens for inspiration. She drew lots of mushrooms and trees that will be laminated and added to her garden.

The child, working on dress design, created a stunning gown for her wooden mannequin. She then photographed the mannequin. 

The child, creating a princess book, was excited to use a variety of scrapbook materials to make her first page. She finished that page for Princess Fiona and began drawing Cinderella.

The child, creating a cardboard castle, worked one-on-one with Ms. Maria to design and begin cutting the castle. She also spent some time looking at real blueprints from an architect that Ms. Krysti brought for her.

The children are looking forward to continuing their projects next week.

Indiana Learning Foundations

APL3.1 Demonstrate development of sustained attention and persistence

CA3.1 Demonstrate creative expression through the visual art process or experience

ELA3.1 Demonstrate mechanics of writing

PHG3.1 Demonstrate development of fine and gross motor coordination

CA3.2 Demonstrate creative expression through visual art production and presentation

ELA2.3 Demonstrate awareness and understanding of the concept of print 

ELA2.4 Demonstrate comprehension