What can we learn from a box of crayons?
The Crayon Box That Talked activity
In this activity, the children will discover how they are each special in their own way, and together they are even more special! Teachers should read the book The Crayon Box That Talked by Shane DeRolf to their class and discuss how it relates to each of them. (if you are not familiar with the book, here's a short synopsis- its too cute) I chose this activity because this book is one where many themes and activities can stem from, and they are all ones that are easy for children be interested in and have fun with.
Materials:
- the book to read
- Colorful paper
- variety of colored crayons
- scissors
- glue
After having read The Crayon Box That Talked, spark a discussion about how we are all different from one another and how that makes our world interesting. Tell the children that they will be making their own "crayon" about what makes them special. Children will be given a crayon shaped piece of paper where they can write their name, draw themselves, and write one thing that makes them special. Then, the teacher will assemble all of the crayons together so the class can see everyone together. This activity is age appropriate because it addresses the idea that people are both similar and different, and that a variety of people make up our community and world. These are all multicultural concepts that young children are able to understand. (RW pg. 188-189) This activity will probably work for Pre-k through third grade, but could probably be expanded for older ages as well.
Teachers can focus on a variety themes while doing this activity. One goal that teachers can accomplish while doing his activity is that children will be able to "Recognize, appreciate, and respect the uniqueness, beauty, value and contribution of each child" (Anti-Bias Activity Goals handout) by seeing all of the different crayons together, Children will be able to visually see what they have in common with one another as well as how they stand out. Another Goal they will be accomplishing is "Promoting respect toward others." This can be done through discussing how the crayons must learn to get along and value how they are different, and relating that idea back to the children. Overall, teachers will be accomplishing the goal of "Provide children with a positive experience exploring similarities and differences" through this activity. By giving children a fun opportunity to discuss theses similarities and differences, they will be making positive discoveries.
Another book that would tie well into this activity is the book The Day The Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt,where the crayons tell their owner why they are upset about being used too much for the same things. This book encourages children to be diverse in their art and color things the "wrong" color sometimes, which shows how great all colors are in their own way.
Overall, this activity can be brought to life in many different ways. I think that utilizing something that children are familiar with and come in contact with every day is a good way to keep it on their level and relevant to them. Plus, this activity would visually be a great addition to a classroom as a representation of their community and something that children can constantly look at and remember what they learned.
References
- Tolerance.org,. (2014). What Can We Learn from a Box of Crayons? | Teaching Tolerance. Retrieved 8 December 2014, from http://www.tolerance.org/exchange/what-can-we-learn-box-crayons
- profile, V. (2013). The Crafty Counselor: Kindness Class Projects. Craftycounselor.blogspot.com. Retrieved 8 December 2014, from http://craftycounselor.blogspot.com/2013/10/kindness-class-projects.html?m=1
- York, S. (1991). Roots & wings. St. Paul, Minn.: Redleaf Press.
I think that you have chosen a great topic to write about and discuss. I think that children need to know about the skin color that they are, I noticed one thing, as there is many colors of crayons, there is many skin colors.
ReplyDeleteMaya, I really enjoyed reading your blog. I think it is great that a book can spark a discussion and lead to a great lesson for the children to learn. I also like how the children get to be creative and express themselves as individuals. An addition to the activity and discussion may be to have each child present their "crayon" to the class which would build self confidence and make the children even more aware of the diversity within their class. I agree in that the classroom environment would also benefit from the addition of a colorful art project hanging on the walls. Great job and I will definitely be checking out The Day the Crayons Quit-it looks pretty funny!
ReplyDeleteMaya,
ReplyDeleteWonderful activity choice! Overall blog was interesting to read and included fun and cute pictures to view. I feel like their was enough information listed and detailed examples of how to create the activity in order for me to feel comfortable with offering this activity to a class of children. I have actually never read this story before but, I feel as if this is a great example to teach children that we are all different, however we all are special and play an important part in life! Without one of us we would be missing a color of the rainbow so to speak! Great post :)
I love this and think it is absolutely adorable!! I have this book and think it is a good book as well You definitely explained your activity well enough that I feel comfortable going into a classroom and presenting this! This is a great way to show diversity and show children that each child is an individual and unique! I learned a lot through your blog and discovered a new activity I want to use one day!
ReplyDelete