Written by Ana L. R.
Book: A color of his own by Leo Lionni
N was the only child for the preschool morning session (PSM). He was present at the last PSM too. N has a vast amount of vocabulary, especially for a 2 year old. So he is able to express himself and communicate easily.
We started our session by looking for books with insects and reptiles. N leafed through the pages and loved looking at the bees, beetles, butterfly page…the butterfly cycle was illustrated on the page so I explained the cycle.
We then spoke about lizards. He told me that he has seen them in the garden and on the walls. By then a big, black, harmless ant got his attention and we followed it while I explained that the ant was searching for food….we decided not to kill him because he had his family waiting for him.
Next we went out into the compound for a walk. N enjoyed the stepping tiles along the path we jumped on each one. Then we identified the different trees Jackfruit , bora, mango , coconut. N was curious about the bora tree, so I explained the green boras were raw and the brown ones were ripe…but of course we can’t eat it. ..he pointed out to the baby jackfruit and asked me about it…after I told him it was a baby Jackfruit..he said ahh so the baby jackfruit will eat food and become a big jackfruit … we noticed the colours around us and played a game of point the colour …brown for mud and trees , green leaves, blue for sky , white for the sky, red for stones , and wood pieces, grey for the garden tiles , yellow for the dry leaves. We spotted a squirrel and a crow…and listened to their sounds … N collected some nature treasure… green boras , 2 bondos , interesting shaped sticks, different colour leaves.
Then we picked out a nice spot where we sat down and we discussed the Chameleon’s special ability to change color. Camouflage (through the camouflage game)
I then read the story . N observed the illustration and told me the colours he saw. We learned the tiger has stripes. Since he is very young, I lightly explained that the leaf changes colours during the seasons…..green first , then yelllow sometimes red and then brown. We had the leaves with us for example. He was attentive during the story and excited to share details about the illustration and what would happen next.
We noticed the emotions in the illustration and guessed the chameleon was sad….and then happy when he met another chameleon just like him! And they became friends.
I improvised on the activity. The child had to stick different coloured paper on the chameleon. I explained that we were making a multicolored chameleon. He was so fascinated with the new word multicolour and told his father. Since he likes sticking with fevicol, we both stuck the different coloured paper and filled up the chameleon. Then he decided to put a hat on the chameleon. So I cut out the hat shape while he coloured the hat.. we then stuck the chameleon on the sticks he gathered. N was so proud of himself ..he learned to stick the branches to the chameleon paper using the paper tape. Then we tied a knot using the curling ribbon. He was so intrigued and wanted to learn how to tie a knot and kept on repeating the action. Since he liked how the ribbon was moving with movement….we quickly made him a ribbon wand to play with…and made Air shapes ..zig zag, roll, up down, lines, spiral.
It was time to pack up by then. N enjoyed the session and made sure he took all his nature treasure with him home in a paper cone.
