A Junior Kindergarten Field Day. The school year is nearly over. Soon, the kids will be out for the summer months. In the final weeks approaching the end of the school year there have been several extra-curricular activities at my son’s school including this, a ‘Field Day’ of events held in the school parking lot and playground. I volunteered to help with the activities and was placed in charge of the sidewalk chalk art event. Here is what we did.
Time To Play
The Junior Kindergarten here consists of two classes, each having their own morning and afternoon sessions. Today, June 15th, 2009, all four ‘J-K’ classes attended the morning schedule for Field Day.
After attendance was taken and the morning announcements were given, the teachers assigned the children into smaller groups of four or five children. There were 10 groups in all. We had ten different fun activities on the playing field and a table set up at each station (with a volunteer or aid at each event.)
I have volunteered in the past for various other Field Trips and events at this school so I’m rather well-known.
All participants of these groups had their group number written on the back of their hand with washable marker. They were led to the playing field, each group starting at one of the ten tables and rotating to the next event at timed intervals so that by the end of class they will have participated in every event.
For approximately ten minutes per event, each group partook of one specific activity with an adult volunteer or helper until the whistle was blown, signifying the time to rotate participants to the next event. Each group leader then led their participating group to the next table/event, and returned to their assigned station to greet the incoming group of children and get them involved in that activity.
I was assigned the sidewalk chalk detail.
We had several large buckets of over-sized chalks in rainbow pastel colors, and I set about getting the children excited over drawing images on the parking lot pavement. We drew images of cats, birds, alphabet letters and numbers. Some wrote their names, drew geometric shapes or common objects like trees, flowers and cars. Others just scribbled. It was whatever they will. Sanctioned defacing of school property was never so much fun!
A favorite activity of every child was tracing their prone outline upon the pavement. Shouts and cries of “Me next! Do me next!” was heard with every child of every group that came my way. I had found a niche that each child wanted to participate in, each playing the role of the faux homicide victim.
A Crime Scene? Not Really!
(Image by author)
(Image by author)
Every child had their outline drawn and they delighted in sketching-in their own eyes, hair, necklace, hat or other adornment. One little girl with long flowing hair was mortified by the outline of her that I drew, she gleefully shrieked that I had made her hair look like a werewolf and she grabbed some chalk and quickly sketched & scribbled around the outline of her head to create a fashionable sunhat and scarf! All the nearby children rushed over to view the perceived fashion outrage that I had created and giggled over the apparent indignation.
Sidewalk Chalk Graffiti-Art
One group of children realized that the forenoon sun caused me to cast a large and noteworthy shadow, worthy of tracing. They requested that I strike an action pose like Spiderman while they all traced my outline. This was fascinating, a true ‘group activity’ invented entirely by them. It involved all group members not only working on the same project simultaneously but working together as a cognitive team. -They had to organize staying out of each others way so that they could see my shadow and trace it. You could actually see them working it out as they progressed. Each child was given a section of my shadow to focus upon. In each group there seemed to be a silently elected team leader that directed the other classmates’ activity and they took their assigned roles dutifully. I gave no directive, I left that entirely up to them to figure out.
Then they began to draw on my legs and arms with the over-sized chalks. I was smeared in the talc of colored chalks by the end of the day, -my legs, arms and clothes! I must have looked ridiculous but the children thought is was the most funny thing that they had ever seen!
Cave Art?
(image by author)
We drew several dinosaurs. Several of us tried to draw ‘Barney the purple dinosaur’ but it looked more like a standing dog with a very large head. Other sketches were a cat’s footprint, a chicken, and a Bigfoot impression. The sole of the footprint was about a meter long. The kids said that if Bigfoot wore socks it would have to be the size of a pillowcase. They all said that this was silly and laughed at the thought of it. I concurred, yes it would indeed look silly!
Sidewalk CSI
(Image by author)
These are supposed to look like homicide victim sketches but you will notice that these look more like cheering fans at a sporting event. There was much jumping up and down and cheering like a bunch of sugared-up four and five year olds which of course, they are.
Blue Eyes
(image by author)
These children had a great time at the sidewalk chalk event. In the ten minutes that I had with each group I got them motivated, involved and their artistic abilities started to emerge. I think I gave them a fun experience with the sidewalk chalks. When the whistle was sounded for the next event to be rotated, -I got a few child hugs. Aww! (smile)
Other Activities on the Athletic Field
Also in their cycle of ten events were the creating of enormous soap bubbles using hand-held hoops and wands, splashing water using squirt guns and water cups, a sudsy tricycle ‘car wash’ event, a relay race, a ’stop-dance’ event (dancie until the music ceases, and they ‘freeze still’ without moving,) a doll-parachute tossing event, sand castle building and more.
At the halfway point of the morning we took a break in the shade for water and fruity freeze pops. We resumed the events where we left off, finishing in time for a quick pep-rally led by the teachers and then we handed-out little plastic Olympic ‘gold medallions’ replete with the red, white and blue ribbons to all the children for their participation. It was a fun day.
Hurrah for Field Day!
In about two more weeks their summer vacation shall begin but I think they will remember June 15th, 2009 as one of the most fun days of their summer so far. Our little guy, despite having had a two-hour nap later that afternoon back at home, still fell asleep in under a minute when it finally came to be his bedtime. I heard him later that night giggling in his sleep. -Somebody was having nice dreams.
Clearly he must have been dreaming and cheering about the events of Field Day, June 15th, 2009.
