1-2-3 Come Scribble Away With Me!

As you know, when you scribble something, you write or draw it quickly. Scribbles are random and abstract and often done without lifting your pencil off the paper. 

According to Viktor Lowenfeld, an art professor who taught at Pennsylvania State University, the first stage of a child's art development is the scribble stage.

Since my Y5's were wonderful scribblers, and each scribble is unique, I thought I’d turn some scribbles into an interesting get-to-know-you piece of art - and add some dice, turning it all into a fun icebreaker, for a creative back to school activity.  So...

Come scribble away and get to know your students today! Completed projects, make an eye-catching bulletin board.  (Woo hoo!) 

If you need help doing this with preschool students, have this be an open house or meet the teacher activity that children can do with their parents.  Collect and have them share during the first week of school.

Here’s How: Make your own example and share it with your students. A picture is definitely worth a 1,000 words.

Demonstrate how to make a full-page scribble. Explain that they need to create something simple, but that takes up the entire sheet of paper. I’ve found that little ones write large letters, but often draw tiny objects.

While they are scribbling, they should keep in mind that they need to leave enough room in their design to write something inside the sections. (A room helper can assist little ones with writing, recording what they want to say.)

Scribbles can have rounded shapes, angular shapes or a combination of both. If you think this is too difficult for your kiddos, I’ve included six templates that you can run off that they can choose from.

Pass out paper and scribble away. If time permits, allow students to scribble several examples and then choose their favorite. 

For young children, you may want to have them practice on a sheet of newspaper to get the feel of scribbling larger abstract-like shapes instead of little squiggles.

Have children use a different color crayon or marker to fill in 6 to 8 of their sections. I chose this amount because I wanted to reinforce the names of the various colors.

Results would also be more colorful, as young children sometimes choose to color with only their favorite color.

As a quick and easy icebreaker, and fun way to get to know your students, have them write some things about themselves inside the abstract shapes that they colored in.

This can be whatever they want to share, or you can give them further directions for what you’re looking for.

This was my rubric: Jot down 2 to 4 things you enjoy; 1 thing you did over the summer; 2 interesting facts about yourself; and 1 favorite thing. (Adjust numbers to fit your other directions.) 

I've made a poster for you to hang up, so students can refer to it while they're scribbling. 

This is what I wrote inside my scribbles:

• Four things that I enjoy: I love gardening. I enjoy photography. I enjoy taking nature walks. I enjoy kayaking.
• One thing I did over the summer: I road a train to Washington and Oregon to visit family.
• Two interesting facts about me: I have a black poodle named Chloe. I have an identical twin sister named Kathie.
• A favorite thing: Red licorice is my favorite candy.

Because of limited space, I kept my answers short when I wrote them down, but encourage students to add some adjectives when they orally share. i.e. On my paper: I have a pet poodle. Sharing: I have a black poodle named Chloe.

You can have students hold up their scribble and share one thing, or turn it into a get-to-know-you game and add some dice.

To play with dice, have students number 6 of their scribbled sections. Take turns passing and tossing the dice and then sharing the matching numbered section that they rolled.  I use big foam dice to cut down on the noise. They also stay on a desk or table better.

If you want to reinforce colors, make a list of colors and then number your list. Whatever number they roll will have a matching color that they share. I’ve included a rubric for this that you can display on the board.

I used rainbow colors, but you might want to adjust it to include pink.  I found that my little ones rarely chose yellow, but almost all of the girls consistently chose pink or purple.

To turn this into an interesting bulletin board, have students choose from a variety of colors of construction paper, and glue their scribble in the center. Gluing on a photo adds that finishing touch.

A caption could be: We are a unique and colorful bunch. OR... “We scribbled away to learn about our classmates today!”

Click on the link to view/download the Scribble Icebreaker.  Thanks for visiting.  Feel free to PIN away. 

It's time to stop scribbling for awhile and start a bit of cleaning...or not!  

"This world is but a canvas to our imagination." -Henry David Thoreau

15 pages.

Choose a template (PK-highschool) to make a sweet back-to-school bookmark for your students. "You're going to have a grand time in (grade)."

WRITE on!

Happy Father's Day Venn Diagram Comparison:

Brainstorm with your students how they are the same and different from their dads.  A fun way to do this is with a Venn Diagram. 

I like to use 2 brightly colored hula hoops to do this, and then write words on index cards. 

I then transfer this information to the white board so that students are seeing it again, and can copy what applies to them on their own Venn diagram. 

As an added writing extension students could also compare their grandpa's with their dads.  After they make their Venn Diagrams have them draw a picture of their dad and themselves/grandpa inside the diagram. 

You could also add their school photo.

This makes a cute card to give to their dad's on Father's Day by adding "We may be different, but we are also the same, and this you know is true: I LOVE you!" 

The Sweet Taste of Summer:

Brainstorm with your students of all the fun things they like to eat during the summer that are a bit different than the foods they eat during other months, such as Popsicles, ice cream, things cooked on the grill, stuff they take on a picnic, watermelon, strawberries, etc. 

Run off my master of a Popsicle.  Students cut them out and write their favorite things to eat during the summer.

When they are done, tape a large Popsicle stick to the back of their work. Buy a checkered tablecloth at The Dollar Store, cut it into a small rectangle to look like a picnic table and staple it to your b. board.

Arrange the Popsicle sticks around the table as a border in a crisscross fashion.  The caption: The Sweet Taste Of Summer  

Or... cover your b. board with blue paper.  Cut out two Peach lips. (One top and one bottom) Make these so that the mouth looks open. Cut out a long pink tongue. Place the Popsicles in and around the mouth.  

Wishing On A Summer Star:

Brainstorm with your students some of the places they'd like to go during the summer, if they could go anywhere in the world.  Write them on the white board. 

Run off my masters of the starfish on two different shades of light brown construction paper.  Each student will need one of each color. 

Children cut out their starfish.  On the larger, front view one, they complete the writing prompt: "If I could go any where in the world this summer I'd like to go to... and list all the places they'd like to visit. 

On the other smaller back of the starfish, they glue Cheerio's on the lines, for a nice 3-D touch.  Glue the two stars together in a kitty wampus way. 

Put light blue paper on your bulletin board. Buy a fish net from The Dollar store and staple it diagonally in the middle of the board. 

Sprinkle the starfish on the net.  Caption: Wishing On A Summer Star

Click on the link to view/download Summer Fun Writing Packet

I hope these ideas will excite your students and get them to WANT to write.

Thanks for visiting! I hope you can pop back tomorrow for more fun in the sun activities.

As always if you have a creative idea that your students enjoy doing, I'd love hearing from you. diane@teachwithme.com

or feel free to post a comment here, especially if you use one of my ideas.

PIN away if you find something you think would be helpful or interesting to another teacher or parent that home schools!

Wishing you a super summer that simply sizzles with fun!