Train Shapes Lesson

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I know I have a ton of holiday stuff to post, but I wanted to get this up before I forget.  This morning daddy did preschool with the boys and it was so awesome to be able to sit back and just watch  :)  As you know (or will know when I write my next post on Christmas!), the boys are super into trains right now.  If someone or something in their life isn't a train, we pretend it is.  Those two can literally turn anything into a train.  Got two feet?  Nope- those are your wheels!  Have a spatula?  Nope- that's a piston rod!  See your breath when you walk outside?  Nope- that's steam coming out of your funnel!  So daddy decided why not turn preschool into a train too?!

Daddy made a train out of  sticky foam shapes.  He gave the boys the original and asked them to recreate the train using their own set of sticky foam shapes.  The boys had to sort through the bucket to find the right shapes, lay them in the right places to form the train, and then peel and stick the paper off the back.  It covered everything from spatial awareness to color/shape recognition to fine motor...  what a perfect lesson!  At first both of the boys started to copy the train block for block, which was neat to see that they were able to transfer that design onto their own paper with their own materials.  And then they started to get a little creative  :)  They liked choosing their own colors, and Caleb (who tends to get stuck in minute details- especially with his trains) decided that the train needed a bit of redesigning, so he worked on changing a few things.  While they were both able to follow specific directions, they were also able to artistically venture a bit off the chosen path.  In the end- they both completely selected, arranged, and stuck their own trains together.  I honestly expected some sloppy blob of shapes somewhat resembling daddy's original piece...  so I was completely surprised when the boys finished with two beautifully constructed trains of their very own!  I was even more surprised when they wrote their names on the bottom- our letters are coming along so nicely!!!!  I'm thinking daddy should stay home and do preschool more often  :)  Choo Choo!!!!!

Copying the shapes directly (following the middle paper)
 Matty changed the funnel and went a bit wild with the puffs of steam!

Matthew's train
 Caleb's train
 Similar but unique  :)