A large part of our school program here at Mission of Love Preschool is to incorporate the parents and community as much as possible by creating ways for them to get involved. There are several opportunities for the parents to do this; one way is for them to come to school with their children for special art projects and just last week the moms were invited to come. Medis and I thought it would be a lot of fun for the moms to come and made clay beads with their children, in which the children could paint the beads and make a necklace to give their moms.
Like everyone in the school, we want the moms to feel appreciated and loved by their children and the class. Each child was given the chance to draw a picture of their mom and then tell the teachers one thing they really enjoy doing with their mom. After all the children had finished with their art work, we were able to display it on the walls for all the moms and children to look at and admire.
The moms came to school not knowing what to expect, but had a very joyful attitude about spending time with their children and their friends. We had to split each class into two groups to fit them around the art table where their creativity would take them away. While one group of moms and children were busy working together in the art studio, the rest of the moms and children were busy working in other areas of the classroom exploring magnets, puzzles, dolls, cooking, writing, reading, construction, and anything else they could get their hands on.
Over in Art Studio, the table was filled with everything needed for the activity: In the middle of the table was the recipe cards, ingredients, and measuring tools needed to make the clay. The moms had to work together with each other and their children in order to complete the task at hand…they did an excellent job helping their children along in measuring the flour and salt, then mixing it all together with water. Once the clay was the exact texture and consistency it needed to be, we split it between all the children allowing them to make up to 5 beads to save and paint later. The moms and children really enjoyed creating different shaped and sized beads, as well as ones that were all the same.
Next week the children will get to paint their beads any color they want to and give them to their moms as a thank you for coming to school to learn with them. I can’t wait to see the look on the faces of the moms and grandmothers who receive these unique gifts with all the hard work the children (and moms) put into them.
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