Sometimes you just gotta wing it....

So I didn't have anything really planned for language arts for today other than a spelling test and I thought the only period of language arts for today was the half hour between recess and art. Oops, there was another whole hour and a half after art that I forgot about. So I made something up on the spot and it was GREAT! The kids loved it.

I drew some random shapes on a piece of paper and photocopied it. This week of language arts focused on realism versus fantasy and the kids don't have much of an imagination and have a hard time making up something that is truly fantasy. They don't invent imaginary creatures, or think up stories with dragons and fairies and all the other fantastical things they could think of if they used their imaginations. So today I gave them the weird piece of paper and told them that they could add to the lines and draw more but they had to connect it together to make a fantasy creature. They had no idea where to start so Janine ran up and drew some random shapes on the board and I turned it into a horrible creature. Then I made the stipulation that the creature needed to be able to use the 5 senses -- therefore they had to have some way to hear, taste, touch, smell, and see. I told them that the creatures didn't need 2 eyes, one nose, one mouth -- they could have 10 eyes! They could have a crazy shaped nose! I said, "COME ON! Use your IMAGINATION!!!" Then they got going!

After they finished their creatures, I had them name them and introduce their new friend to their partner. Meanwhile, I wrote on the board:
My creature's name is _______. He lives in ____________. His favorite food is _________.
If I were to hang out with him for one day I would... (4 sentences or more)

Then they had to write all that information in their journal. Some got into it and had way more than 4 sentences about what they'd do with their creature. Ivan the Terrible complained that 4 was so long and he got sentenced to 6. Then we went to the carpet and shared our fantasy stories. It was really fun! The kids loved it and I loved getting them to actually use their imagination. They weren't allowed to look at each other's which was GREAT because the Duchess Whines-Too-Much has a bad habit of copying everything because she thinks it's better.

Next week is Spirit Week! The kids were divided up into teams and they're all pretty excited. Tuesday is team color day. I forget the other days, but one of them is pajama day and one of them is twin day. It should lend itself to lots of pictures! Haha.

The lovely creature above was created by Ivan the Terrible

Princess Talks-A-Lot made this one. Apparently the creature stuns the world by its cuteness...

Oh and this is out of order, but this is the starting paper with my random shapes

I think Oggy is my favorite