Ladybugs Learn About Guitars

1. January 2009 – Two Year Old Children Ladybugs Learn About Guitars

2. Pat Connelly, Bianca’s dad, brought his guitar to our classroom on Bianca’s birthday. He played several new songs, and allowed the children to explore his guitar.  The children are touching the strings of the guitar, learning how to strum, and listening to the sound it makes. How it all began…A parent shares a talent

3. Kavon uses an object to stand for another (COR) as he pretends to play the drumstick as a guitar. Brycen uses an object to stand for another (COR) as he pretends the broom is a guitar. Pretend Guitars

4. Brady uses an object to stand for another (COR) as he pretends the block is his guitar. He requests “Diki Diki Du” a song Pat played for us. Jerry uses one or more objects to stand for another (COR) as the block becomes a guitar and the scarf becomes a hat. He asks to hear a specific story, rhyme, or song (COR) when he requests “Baseball Song.” Sing me a song!

5. Isaac and Benjamin are interested in what is inside the guitar case. Benjamin uses fine motor skills requiring precise coordination (COR) to unzip the case. What is in there?

6. Eva and Jerry look at the guitar guide book. Eva matches her pick up to the picture of the pick in the book telling Jerry that it’s the same. They are using a phrase or a sentence to talk about a person, animal, or object pictured in a book (COR). Both try their pick on the strings of the guitar in the classroom. Learning about the pick

7. Eamon lines the colored picks along the top of the guitar case. He points at the picks as he counts. He is “saying one standard or nonstandard number name while pointing to each of several objects” (COR). Counting the picks

8. Grace uses an object as a tool to complete a task (COR), as she uses a pick to strum the guitar. She listens to the sound it makes as she plucks each string. Isaac holds the guitar on his lap and uses his fingers to strum it. He requests the “Football Song.” Lynn sings while Isaac strums the guitar. He is asking to hear a specific story, rhyme, or song (COR). Strumming the Guitar

9. Benjamin drops the pick in the hole of the guitar. He gestures and asks where the pick went. He reaches in the hole to get the pick. When he is unable to reach it, he asks Lynn for help. He is verbally identifying a problem before attempting to solve it (COR), and hiding an object for another person to find. Where did it go?

10. Charlie uses an object as a tool to complete a task (COR) as he looks inside the hollow body of the guitar with the magnifying glass. He shows emergent literacy skills as he recognizes letters inside. Grace watches and tries out some of the actions of a child playing nearby (COR) as she looks inside the guitar too. Charlie looks at a variety of parts of the guitar through the magnifying glass (COR). He labels the bridge(s), the strings, the pegs, the neck, and the head(stock). Jerry uses an object as a tool to complete a task (COR) as he looks at various parts of the guitar through the magnifying glass. (Above) Parts of the guitarThrough a magnifying glass!

11. Brady uses an object as a tool to complete a task (COR) as he attempts to strum the guitar with a toy knife. Charlie watches and notices that one of the strings sounds funny. Lynn reminds him how to tighten the string with the peg. He uses small objects in activities requiring precise coordination (COR) as he turns the peg. He also verbally identifies a problem before attempting to solve it (COR). He tries the string again and it is much tighter after he turned the peg. Working together

12. The Teachers enjoy the discovery of the guitar along with the children

13. This project was a little “out of the box” for us in that it wasn’t a project we’d ever attempted before and we were very excited about it! Family involvement is what sparked the interest. “The Arts” were a huge interest for our children. The project was formed after the children continuously used blocks to pretend to play the guitar and requested “DikiDiki Du,” a song Pat played. Reflection

14. The children were introduced to a few play guitars they could use in the classroom. They learned about turn-taking as they waited for a turn with one of the three guitars. They learned about the sounds they could make and began to play and sing specific songs. The project became more teacher-directed as the children were introduced to the parts of the guitar, and the types of guitars. Children could be found working cooperatively during this project also. Although there were no drawn guitars, they were representing their knowledge through their pretend guitars. I learned that representation can be shown in many ways.

15. The parts I struggle with are the “child-led” part, keeping the interest going and the culmination. It helps to do the daily project progress reflection, but many times that can take us in completely different directions too. The children can have many interests all at the same time. Because they aren’t necessarily asking questions, I feel I am directing the project. When they are asking questions, I feel at this age, they need feedback quickly. My struggles

16. Because their interests can flit so dramatically from one topic to another, it is difficult to plan a culminating event. I may be doing the culminating by sending information to families, but I feel the children can be involved more in this aspect.