Raised body drawings

Previously the children have drawn above their heads by laying on their backs or standing in front of a vertical surface. In this lesson, the children explored how to balance their bodies while drawing on their bellies. We challenged the children to draw "beneath their bodies." They were excited to try a new experience with a familiar piece of equipment. We had the children try to balance their bodies on a this "mushroom top" they usually use in the gross motor room. The children approached this experience in a variety of ways. Some of the children kept their feet on the ground which made them turn more slowly. Some of the other children realized in order to spin around the stool, they needed to keep their feet in the air. As we investigate how to represent motion, the children continue to try new experiences and learn about how to control their bodies.

Julia's feet remain on the ground as she moves
 her body around the mushroom top.

Sandile uses her left hand to support
herself while she is drawing

Matthew says, "I am balancing!" and occasionally
removes his supporting hand from the ground 

Reda draws in large sweeping movements across
the paper He is well in control of his body and uses
his hand to push himself back and forth.

This exploration can be linked to numerous standards from our assessment, including

• 5. Demonstrates balancing skills
• 7. Demonstrates fine-motor strength and coordination
• b. Uses writing and drawing tools
• 11. Demonstrates positive approaches to learning
• a. Attends and engages
  b. Persist
  c. Solves problems
  d. Shows curiosity and motivation
  e. Shows flexibility and inventiveness in thinking