PBL: Decorate Our Classroom, Day 3

Date: September 21, 2022
Facilitators: Simran K, Simran J, Jasmine and Raveena
Broader Theme: Cultural Festival

Introduction

The music of dhak welcomed each kid to the class today (the music was played on the speakers). The third day of our PBL series again began with an ‘Opening circle’ where the arthlings held each other's hand and sang “Hello everybody, so nice to see you!”. The story of our theme, i.e., ‘Durga Puja’ was narrated to the kids to introduce them to the mythology behind this festival.

Series of Steps

Work Time: Materials used were tempera paints, white chart paper and quarter plates. Three colors, namely yellow, red and orange, were used since they resemble a festive vibe.
Small Group: Materials used were mini sized ‘bamboo Kulos’ and marigold flowers.

How did it go?

Third day of the festivities witnessed colorful smiles all around the room. Both the activities had paint as the primary art medium and the toddlers participated with verve.

WorkTime: Paint colors were poured out on the plates so that the kids can easily put their palms over the paint and subsequently dab the palm over the white chart paper which was pasted over the wall. It seemed like everyone got very excited with the idea of getting hand imprints over a wide canvas. Gradually, the kids moved from the wall onto the glass door to make the imprints. By the end, the whole glass door was filled with imprints of little palms and it was quite a mesmerizing view.

Small Group: Bamboos kulos and marigold flowers were distributed to each kid. They were shown how to dib the flower in the paints and then get the imprint of it on the kulos. The yellow flowers were dipped in red-orange paint colors. Fine motor skills were highly engaged since the kids were supposed to hold the flowers from its thin stem and sepals.

Skills Enhancement

Collaboration: This whole PBL involves working together towards a common goal, i.e., to decorate their own class. This involves collaborating with each other and producing art pieces that are a joint production of the whole class. The wall painting is a fine example of community art.
Cultural Knowledge enhancement: Celebrating a cultural event can inform the toddlers about who they are and how they connect with others around them, thereby enhancing their sense of belongingness, Knowledge and leading to holistic development.
Creativity Upliftment: The toddlers engaged in numerous activities throughout the day that involved exploring different sensorial experiences, engaging with fine and gross motor skills and finally immersing in the free play around the theme that motivated them to use their personal agency and imaginative skills.
Socio-Emotional skills: The toddlers made colorful memories and many new friendships were formed. It is believed that celebrations can bring people together and induce many socialization skills in toddlers. The kids shared paint colors and flowers with each other while immersing in the learning experiences.