Stop, Drop, and Color?!

One of the best end of the year moments was when I told my kindergartners they got to (free) draw under their chairs.  They were so excited!  This provided them a different perspective...and this was definitely a new one for them.  It was so cool just to see them laying on their backs, looking up at the bottom of their chairs, crayon in hand, and hard at work.  I mean they showed enthusiastic concentration!  They also thought it was fun to just turn and look at what their table mate was drawing.

I saw the idea on Pinterest, but my tables are too tall for my kids to reach up and touch, so chairs it was.  This worked out better because they had their own space to work with and the chair legs contained them within this area.  I gave them their little Dixie cup of crayons (easy to pass out and clean up), I taped the pieces of paper to the bottom of their chairs (my 5th graders also came in to help--a rare end of year treat, too), told them to lay on their backs and wiggle under their chairs, and the magic began.  Even better, they loved that I let them take the drawings with them that day.

Just imagine the future possibilities--you could use this activity to change simple activities or assignments into more stimulating ones or as a brain break.  I will definitely continue to use this in future years!