Group Learning Experience Planning Sheet:

Student Name: Jessica Edwards Course Code: ECS4070

Age Group: 4 to 5 years. Date: November 2nd, 2017

Learning Experience: Fine Motor Activity- Beading with Handmade Beads
Programming Purpose:

On a previous placement day the students in the classroom and I created beads and
charms using polymer clay. According to my placement teacher the children really enjoy
beading, and I have seen them create other types of accessories out of paper, toys and other
materials. I chose to create beads and charms with the children and that is what inspired this
part of the project. The use of beading can also help some of the children in our classroom
who love dress up and creating accessories, but have some difficulties in regard to their fine
motor skills. After our pieces are completed I hope that the creations will be able to be used in
our dramatic center as personalized dress up materials.
Objective:
The children will:
1) Engage in dramatic play using materials they created, in order to create accessories and
other dramatic play props.
2) Practice fine motor skills when picking up beads and stringing them onto string or
thread.
3) Practice cognitive skills related to visual literacy, when sorting beads by shape,
colouring, material, texture and size, and making combinations of beads for their
creations based on these traits.
Materials Used:

Polymer Clays Charms and Beads

Yarn
Plastic Stretch Cord String
Small Glass Beads
Pony Beads
Scissors
Set Up:

Beads

Scissors Table

Chair

String
Handmade Charms and Beads

Emergent Activity

1. I placed our polymer clay charm and bead creations from a previous activity onto the
arts and crafts table along with some other beads available to us in the classroom, as
well as scissors and different strings for creating necklaces, bracelets and other
accessories.
2. I invited some students to join me at the table and distributed the pieces they created
during our previous activity. The students who wished to could make something with
the other beads and the beads and charms they created.
3. The children took a seat at the arts an crafts table and cut string on their own or with
hand over hand assistance from myself before selecting their beads.
4. The children selected their beads and began stringing them onto their string.
5. I assisted some of the children in tying knots at the end of their string.
6. The children continued to create their pieces using the beads they selected. While they
did so we discussed the differences in shape, size and colour as well as other traits
among the beads.
7. After the children completed their pieces I assisted them in tying knots on the ends of
their pieces, and helping the children to put them on.
8. After all of the children had finished their items we cleaned up the leftover beads,
charms and string and put them away.
9. I cleaned the table we had used using cleaning spray and paper towel.
Additional Emergent Use of Materials:

Some children created traditional pieces such as necklaces and bracelets.

Some children used their charms from our previous activity to make keychains for their
backpacks.
Other children used the beads for counting and sorting activities.
Some children used their charms from the previous activity as characters when
building with building materials.
Learning Strategy #1
Questions

As the children were creating their pieces and noticing the different shapes, sizes and colours
of beads I used questions to open discussions using questions. Examples of questions for this
activity include:

What beads are you thinking about using for your bracelet, how are they the same and
how are they different?
I noticed youre sorting the beads into different groups, what are you comparing to
decide which group each bead goes into?
Learning Strategy #2
Hand-over-hand Guidance

While the children were completing their pieces some children needed additional help when
putting specific beads onto their string or when using larger sized scissors than they were used
to to cut through thick or tough plastic string. Examples of times when hand-over-hand
guidance was offered include:

Helping some children tie the knots at the end or beginning of their string.
Helping some children use adult size safety scissors as childrens safety scissors were
unable to cut through some of our materials.
Stringing on beads with very small openings.

Overall Evaluation
What worked during this experience? Why?

The children created a variety of different pieces that they were able to give away as
gifts or leave in the classroom as new accessories in our dramatic play center.
Some children started their own emergent activities using their past creations and the
beads we brought out specifically for this project.
Some children got to practice fine motor skills in a new and exciting way they had not
 tried before.

What did not work during this experience? Why?

Some materials were difficult for the children to cut with scissors independently.
Some children had trouble gauging the correct amount of string they would need and
there was some waste due to the use of excessively long strings being cut by students.

What might you have done differently?

Give the children some easy to follow guidelines about how much string they should
cut. This could be done by marking along the string with tape or by using a ruler,
allowing the children to practice some measurement skills.
Testing out the secondary materials such as the string before the activity to see if they
were suitable based on the abilities of all of the children who would participate in the
activity.