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Lolly Stick Rainbow Adventure

Materials Needed:

A large bag of coloured lolly sticks (craft sticks) in various colours (red, blue, yellow, green, etc.)
Several sheets of coloured construction paper (matching the lolly stick colours)
Child-safe glue or glue sticks
White paper or cardstock for creating pictures
Small balls of play-doh or blu-tack (optional, for building)
A cloth bag or pillowcase for the warm-up activity

By the end of this lesson, Viviana, Reggie, Allegra, and Florence will be able to:

Develop Fine Motor Skills: Confidently pick up, grasp, and place individual lolly sticks to create shapes and pictures.
Practice Color Recognition and Sorting: Identify and sort lolly sticks into groups based on their colour.
Explore Pre-Math Concepts: Create basic geometric shapes (squares, triangles) and count the number of sticks used.
Express Creativity and Imagination: Design their own unique pictures or structures and share a simple story about their creation.
Enhance Social Skills: Practice sharing materials, taking turns, and collaborating on a simple building project.

Step 1: Gather the children in a circle on the floor. Show them the cloth bag and explain that something surprising is inside. Shake it so they can hear the sticks rattling.
Step 2: Let each child take a turn reaching into the bag (without looking!) to feel a stick. Ask them questions like, "What does it feel like? Is it long? Is it smooth?"
Step 3: On the count of three, dramatically pour all the lolly sticks into the middle of the circle, revealing a "rainbow explosion." This creates immediate excitement and engagement.

Step 1: Lay out the different sheets of coloured construction paper around the pile of lolly sticks.
Step 2: Announce, "Oh no! These Colour Monsters are very hungry, and they only eat their own colour! The red monster is hungry for red sticks. Can you help me feed it?"
Step 3: Guide the children to pick up lolly sticks from the central pile and place them on the matching coloured paper ("feeding" the monster). Encourage them to name the colours as they sort. For example, "Florence, you're feeding the yellow monster a yummy yellow stick!"

Step 1: Give each child a piece of white paper and access to the sorted piles of lolly sticks.
Step 2 (Guided Practice): Start by guiding them to make a simple shape together. Say, "Let's all make a square. How many sticks do we need? Let's count them... one, two, three, four!" Help them lay out the four sticks to form a square. Repeat with a triangle.
Step 3 (Creative Application): Now, encourage them to create anything they want. Say, "You can make a house, a flower, a sunshine, or a silly monster! What will you build?"
Step 4: As they work, walk around and ask open-ended questions to spark their imagination: "Reggie, tell me about your picture. What is that part?" or "Viviana, what a beautiful sun! Is it a hot day in your picture?" Once they are happy with their design, they can use glue to stick it onto the paper.

Step 1: Bring the children together to work on one collaborative project. Announce, "Let's see how tall we can build a tower TOGETHER!"
Step 2: Provide small balls of play-doh or blu-tack to use as connectors at the corners of the lolly sticks.
Step 3: Encourage them to work together, with one child holding a stick while another adds a play-doh connector. This promotes teamwork, communication, and problem-solving. Celebrate their final creation, no matter how tall it is!

Step 1: Have a mini "art show." Each child gets to hold up their lolly stick picture and tell the group one thing about it.
Step 2: Make clean-up part of the game. Sing a colour song (like "If you're wearing red, pick up the red sticks now...") as you all work together to put the lolly sticks away.

During the activities, observe and mentally note the following for each child:

Fine Motor: How easily can they pick up and place the sticks? Do they use a pincer grasp?
Cognitive: Can they correctly identify and sort at least 2-3 primary colours? Can they follow simple instructions to build a shape?
Social-Emotional: Do they share the sticks with others? Do they take turns during the warm-up and building activity?
Creativity: Do they engage in imaginative play and attempt to create a recognizable (to them) object?

For Extra Support: If a child is struggling with sorting, start with only two very different colours (e.g., red and blue). For fine motor challenges, guide their hand gently to help place the sticks.
For an Extra Challenge: Encourage a child who masters shapes to create patterns with the sticks (e.g., red, yellow, red, yellow). They can also be challenged to count how many sticks they used in their picture.
Inclusivity: This lesson is play-based and focuses on process over a perfect product, ensuring all children can feel successful. Use positive and encouraging language for all attempts and creations.