Working in collaboration on one project teaches us team work and gives us the satisfaction that we have made a contribution to it. In schools, the children contribute their own little work of art as an extension activity to the Read Aloud Stories we do. This is our collaborative activity. At the end of the story, everyone is given a piece of paper, they draw and paint a thing from the story. They are encouraged to make their own different character or thing so that there is variety. Once everyone is done with it, we collect them and stick them onto a big chart that is then hung in the class. All their little works of art has now turned to one big masterpiece. All the little differences in characters and things, blend.
In Auxillium, Caranzalem and Shri Mahalaxmi Vidyalaya, Panaji we did ‘In My Pocket’ with our first standards. . For ‘In My Pocket’ the story had a little girl stuffing her pockets and it all spills over. The idea of it was to introduce various words like money or socks etc. The children drew any of these things that occur in the story. Some drew a candle, some stones or money etc.
With our second standards we did Moongame, at Shri Saraswati Vidyalaya, Shri Mahalaxi Vidyalaya, Immaculate Heart of Mary and Auxillium. The children listened to a story about a Bear who comes across many things he mistakes for the moon. At the end of the story they gave us pictures drawn by them to stick onto the chart.
Another interesting book ‘Malli’ was done with Our Lady of Socorro School. A little girl wonders what to buy from the market with her pocket money, but on her way there comes across many friends and neighbours who gift her little things. With all these little things she does not feel the need to go to the market. The children drew various little things and put them in a basket cut out.
Similarly, in Mae de Deus, the children did their collaborative activity on Raindrops. This book was appropriate with the season we are in. A big umbrella was drawn and the children did their contributions to it with drawings.
At the end of the activity, when the all the drawings go on a chart and are hung on the wall, the children stare with their eyes shining and point out showing one another, to their own drawings. They fill with pride to see their painting on the wall.
