Peter and the Wolf

Our unit of inquiry is on the five senses, and this has been our week about sound.  The children have played instruments in dramatic play; created their own intstruments out of recycled materials; and experimented with playing jars of water to learn about how to change the tones.

Also, each day, we have listened to a few minutes of Peter and the Wolf.  Right now, it is rest time on Friday, and we are listening to the full story for the second day.  We also have a listening center with the story on headphones, with a few versions of the book available for the children to look at.

Everyone is listening: some laying and listening, some conducting, some making arm movements like the animals that each instrument represents.  And others are humming along with each character's theme.

In the past, I have used this story along with shadow theatre: the story played on a radio while the children chose parts to play, and they created the story with their bodies as shadows behind a large sheet with a bright light.  I'm not sure if this group would be as interested in that work, but it may be worth a try.

Next week, we talk about touch, so we will have a week full of great sensory experiences!

(By the way, we are of course listening to the David Bowie version of Peter and the Wolf!)