Have fun with this quick, easy, open-ended idea!

Maria Grujicic (Malena)

This is a simple drawing and colouring activity I made for my grade 3 students. The children love to watch it and draw the tree, and pause when they need to. It’s based on my design of The One Little Caterpillar illustration. The video isn’t the best in adults’ eyes, but my students love it, especially when I tell them that I made it. It inspires them to ask questions on how I did it, and perhaps how they could make a film.

The music is by Kevin Macleod at http://www.incompetech.com and it is royalty free.
SONGS: Gaslamp Funworks and Enchanted Valley.
One Little Caterpillar book is sold a www.fastpencil.com 

For customers living in Europe, buy it from Amazon with Free Shipping.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Poems That Dance Cover By Maria Grujicic

Listen to the preview of the exciting and new poems and songs that accompany the One Little Caterpillar Book! Contact Maria Grujicic for your copy mariagrujicic@yahoo.com

Here are some songs available on the other CD that accompanies my Poems That Dance Book for children. Go to www.musicdforcommunication.wordpress.com for more details on this book and CD! It is based on drama, movement and dance through poetry and song!

Also be sure to follow Poems That Dance on SoundCloud for updated songs!

Keep on dancing!
Maria Grujicic
Malena, The Petaled Poet

The magic about this clip is that you can do the activity anywhere> Out and about at the airport, at the doctor’s waiting room, at home or at school! The child just needs some paper, coloured pencils and a quiet uninterrupted space and time. Children can try it out as many times as they like as they improve their drawing skills too!

I tried it with my grade 2 students and they were very enthusiastic about the idea. I paused each part to give them time to draw and then they checked to see if they were right. If the child doesn’t draw in the right place or the same as the video don’t worry too much. Just keep going and produce a unique caterpillar. They may like to repeat it another time. The activity has what Montessorians call ‘control of error’ which means the child can check for themselves if they have completed the activity ‘right’. This gives them more control of their learning.

Have fun, and as usual I would be so happy to receive feedback on how you went!

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Yesterday morning I invited my nephews and nieces to a treat. We were shopping at our local craft store a few weeks ago and bought some pom poms and pipe cleaners. My niece was very proud because she used her pocket-money and had to carefully decide what she could afford for 8 dollars. It was a large enough pack to share between 6 children but not too big that it would encourage waste.

They patiently waited for the big day. I went shopping and I returned with some glue and a small box of magnets. They were all excited and that was reward enough.

First we decided what to make. I suggested making caterpillars and they were instantly enchanted by the idea. I showed them how to sparingly apply the glue on each piece and wait for it to dry. We counted up to 5 to help sooth the waiting period.

The results were amazing and I have my very own magnet caterpillar on my fridge door. Just goes to show how a simple idea can be so effective. The children used their own creativity to make their own designs.

With a small cost of 20 dollars the children were more than entertained. It was educational and a rewarding experience. We took some photos to document our caterpillars. The photos are self explanatory but if you have any questions please let me know by writing a comment below!

If you have any simple craft ideas that can be used at school or home, feel free to share them along with your blog link if you have one.
Click to view slideshow.

Thank you for reading,
Maria Grujicic

Malena, The Petaled Poet

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I told the children we were going to do a play about how a caterpillar changes into a butterfly. I showed them pictures of the life cycle from a book I found at the school library. If you don’t have a book, you could draw it, which was my back up plan!

Watch the play below. Today I had a group of 18, larger than this group in the video, and I had groups of 5 children take turns while the others watched and recited the story. This was great practice for them.

Then we read the sentences on each piece of paper together and the children chose their favorite part. They took their sentence away and drew a picture. Some children worked in pairs because there weren’t enough sentences to go around. If you have pictures of live butterflies, cocoons, and caterpillars, it would be great because you can teach them to draw.

I asked them to look at the shape first, add the details and then the colors. If there aren’t any pictures this could be a challenge. Ask them to use their imagination.

The children can copy or write their sentence from memory, and then use the idea they have to make up their own story. E.g. If their part is about a cocoon, their story will be about a cocoon. Then have a sharing time at the end.

Here’s the preview of the picture book. The next time I read the story to the children they will know it and understand the concept better. They will have experienced it!

You can use this lesson for mixed age groups up to age 8 or 9. Adapt it to suite children’s needs and interests. perfect for children who are learning English because the concepts are clear and repetitive.

Thank you for reading,
Maria Grujicic

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Now I’m living back home in Darwin, Australia. I promised my nephews and nieces that we would one day do something fun together. Today I gathered them and we went for a walk in the garden to look for that perfect spot that would create our backdrop. We settled on the setting in the video because of the pot plants and the nice clean, shady cement area.

Originally Vicky was going to film it, but after a few practices she saw how much fun it was and decided to join. We adapted the original story and had 6 little caterpillars instead of 5. Once the children felt confident, I filmed it. We had two takes where the positioning of their movements were not quite right for the filming, and then on the third try it was just the way we wanted it. They were so excited to watch themselves acting it out and asked of we could play another game.

I have a few other poems, four of which I’d like to turn into picture books. I wonder if I can make a play using these stories with my nephews and nieces … I also have a finger play to go with One Little Caterpillar that I’d also like to post one day. But in saying this, feel free and use your imagination and just make one up! It’s great fun.

I hope you enjoy the short film.

Thank you for watching.

Maria Grujicic,
Malena, The Petaled Poet

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There are 20 blocks 4cm x 4cm each.
As always, I welcome thoughts and impressions.

It was so much fun that I decided to make more, and sell them along with my picture book at the markets. I will be posting more information about this in a few weeks!

Thank you for reading,
Maria Grujicic ~Malena~

I try to leave out the parts that people skip.Elmore Leonard

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About a week ago I was lucky enough to be invloved in an exciting story time at one of the local libraries here in Darwin! The children and parents were very nice and I had a lot of fun participating in their weekly songs and finger plays, as well as acting out and reading my One Little Caterpillar book.

The pre-visit preparations of the event inspired me to make some finger puppets to go with the actions in the book. That way parents could use them with their children to tell the story.

The instructions on how to make them are simple. Color them in, cut them out, fit them around each finger and tape them together. Let me know if you need further clarification. I will be posting an instruction video to show you the finger play and how to make them soon!

Thank you for reading, and as always I would love to hear your thoughts on the activity ideas, and of your ideas too! I’m not working at the moment and I have some spare time. If you are in the Darwin area and would like me to come to your library, school, or association I would be more than happy to visit and tell about my book and present my activities.

If you would like to have a set of finger puppets, and you live in the Darwin area, come over to the markets in a few weeks. I will be selling them along with my books and other wonderful games such as blocks and puzzles. I will be posting information about this also on my blog! Love it.

By Maria Grujicic (Malena, The petaled poet)

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Nature is combined with real human features, 
developing empathy, knowledge and 
aesthetics for living things through art.

Part Five

The children will explore and learn about:

• Thinking creatively
• Developing a sense of aesthetics
• Change of shape
• Developing imagination

Prepare:

• The sculpture
• Colored paper or/and patterned wrapping paper
• Glue
• Scissors
• Tape

Shape of the hands for leaves

Age: This activity is perfect  for any age, and multi-age groups.

This is a fabulous way to help children think creatively and become more involved in the artistic process.

1. Tell the children that today we will be adding the final touches of our sculpture.
2. Look at the sculpture and discuss what more we can do to make it look more beautiful.
3. Tell the children that you have a suggestion on what we can add on the branches.
4. Place the wrapping paper over to the blank side.
5. Place your hand over the paper and ask the children if they can see the shadow.
6. With the other hand trace a general outline of the shadow of your hand.
7. Cut it out and find a place to stick it on a branch, on the sculpture.
8. Tell the children that this is the leaf.
9. Ask the children for suggestions of their own.

Looking Back:

• This is the last formal lesson, though the children can continue to work on the sculpture daily, adding touches to it as they review it.

Looking Forward: 

• The children can make their own sculpture using this idea.
• They can work on their own or in small groups.

The Hand From One Little Caterpillar Picture book by Maria Grujicic

This activity is based on the story One Little Caterpillar, By Maria Grujicic

Click to view slideshow.

This was the last step of this project. Look at the other parts! Follow the blog for regular updates on other projects!

Questions? Comments? Feedback? I look forward to them.
Feel free to post them below.

Buy the book:

One Little Caterpillar

by Written By Maria Grujicic
& Illustrated By Radivoje Grujicic

Preview this book at FastPencil.com

Part One /Part Two /Part Three /Part Four /Part Five 

Useful Links:

• Tidying Up Art 
• My Painting Book
• Harvesting Dreams 
• One Little Caterpillar Book

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