Piano Pizzazz

Materials

piano or child's keyboard

someone who can play piano or a recording of piano music

black and white paper

black marker

white glitter

Instructions

1. After a period of free play, gather the children in a circle. Bring an empty
vacuum cleaner to the circle and discuss its uses. Lead the discussion to
kinds of things that dirty the classroom floor (things from the play that day).
Make a list of what the children think they might find on the floor.
2. Quickly vacuum some particularly dirty parts of the floor. Make sure to
vacuum an area that is not too damp or dangerous for the children.
3. Dump the contents of the vacuum cleaner on a few pieces of newsprint in
the middle of the circle.
4. Divide the group into manageable numbers of children to investigate what
is on the newsprint. Have magnifying glasses and tweezers available to assist
in the exploration.
5. Let the children choose something they can identify or that interests them.
Stick it to a large piece of clear book tape and tape it to a piece of white
construction paper. Ask each child to write her name on her paper (write for
those who can't).
6. Ask them to dictate what they found on the floor of the classroom. Write it
underneath the item on the paper.
7. Staple or attach all of the pages together to make a class book and add it to
the library area.