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March 28, 2012 | 37 Comments

Not A Stick – Story & Creative Activity

Guest Post by Deborah J. Stewart, M. Ed. of Teach Preschool

I have been following No Time for Flash Cards for a very long time now and one thing I know about Allie is that she loves a good quality children’s book. So I thought I would share a fun little book we recently explored in my preschool classroom…

The title of the book is “Not a Stick” by Antoinette Portis. The book is very simple to read and the basic idea is to get children’s imaginations going by imagining the stick in the book is anything but a stick!

As a class, we have read this book at least three times. Now as I read the book, the children shout out what the stick will be next! “It’s a fishing pole!”

After we read the book for the second time, I had the children go outside and gather sticks from our play yard…

As you can see, there is no shortage of sticks in our “play yard!” Once the children had selected a few sticks, we came back inside and each child taped their sticks to their own large sheet of paper…

The children then used crayons and their imaginations to turn the sticks into something that was “not a stick”…

This process was simple for the children and yet challenging too! The children tended to draw random lines around the sticks and talk about what they were making. When the children had finished their drawings, I had each child dictate to me a story about their stick. We started the story with, “It’s not a stick. It’s a….” and the children had to complete the sentence…

Our sticks turned out to be alligators, spiders, circles, swords, and more. A process like this is simple yet promotes great opportunity for story telling and imagination!

Whether you are a parent or a teacher, I would love to invite you to stop by Teach Preschool and see some of the other books and activities I share on my blog that young children will enjoy both at home or in the classroom!

Want more preschool lesson plans and thematic activities? Our Build Preschool Thematic Units have tons of great ideas!

THEMATIC UNITS FOR PRESCHOOL (1)

Filed Under: Age Preschool, Circle time Lesson, For Teachers, Guest Post, Nature Activities, Preschool Crafts, Stick Sculptures | 37 Comments

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37 Comments

  1. Melissa says

    March 28, 2012 at 1:41 am

    Sounds like a great book and looks like your class had a wonderful time. The imagination is a wonderful thing isn’t it? I will have to keep an eye out for this book. Thank you!

    to Melissa" aria-label='reply to this comment to Melissa'>reply to this comment
    • Deborah says

      March 28, 2012 at 8:39 pm

      It truly is!

      to Deborah" aria-label='reply to this comment to Deborah'>reply to this comment
  2. Kristah says

    March 28, 2012 at 4:11 am

    I love this. I have read It’s Not a Box, but I didn’t know there was It’s Not a Stick. Thanks for sharing

    to Kristah" aria-label='reply to this comment to Kristah'>reply to this comment
    • Deborah says

      March 28, 2012 at 8:39 pm

      Can you believe it? I have to get Not a Box! I keep meaning to pick it up!

      to Deborah" aria-label='reply to this comment to Deborah'>reply to this comment
  3. Gina says

    March 28, 2012 at 4:19 am

    What a great idea! I’ve never read that book, but I’ll be sure to put it on my list. I love that the activity inspires such creativity from the kiddos!

    to Gina" aria-label='reply to this comment to Gina'>reply to this comment
    • Deborah says

      March 28, 2012 at 8:40 pm

      One of the best things about a book like this…

      to Deborah" aria-label='reply to this comment to Deborah'>reply to this comment
  4. ann at mommysecrets says

    March 28, 2012 at 5:18 am

    I love this book, as well as her similar book “Not a Box”. We read one of them everytime we lead a workshop on creativity, literacy and play. I love how you expanded the activity with your kiddos! 🙂

    to ann at mommysecrets" aria-label='reply to this comment to ann at mommysecrets'>reply to this comment
    • Deborah says

      March 28, 2012 at 8:40 pm

      Thank you Ann! I would love your workshop!

      to Deborah" aria-label='reply to this comment to Deborah'>reply to this comment
  5. Tara says

    March 28, 2012 at 5:54 am

    I love this! What an awesome activity to include! We will be looking for the book. Thanks for sharing.

    to Tara" aria-label='reply to this comment to Tara'>reply to this comment
    • Deborah says

      March 28, 2012 at 8:41 pm

      I hope you are able to find it:)

      to Deborah" aria-label='reply to this comment to Deborah'>reply to this comment
  6. Natalie says

    March 28, 2012 at 8:49 am

    Brilliant idea. I have to try it out one of these days – probably with cardboard and paints in addition to sticks and tape.

    to Natalie" aria-label='reply to this comment to Natalie'>reply to this comment
    • Deborah says

      March 28, 2012 at 8:41 pm

      Oooh – that will be a terrific experience with all those tools for creativity!

      to Deborah" aria-label='reply to this comment to Deborah'>reply to this comment
  7. Charity says

    March 28, 2012 at 10:06 am

    Very cute…just put the book on reserve at my library! Thank you fro the idea!

    to Charity" aria-label='reply to this comment to Charity'>reply to this comment
    • Deborah says

      March 28, 2012 at 8:38 pm

      Yay Charity!

      to Deborah" aria-label='reply to this comment to Deborah'>reply to this comment
  8. Heather says

    March 28, 2012 at 12:10 pm

    I love this story. It reminds me of my son, who is always collecting sticks where ever we go. They become airplanes, magic wands, swords, writing utensils, etc.

    to Heather" aria-label='reply to this comment to Heather'>reply to this comment
    • Deborah says

      March 28, 2012 at 8:38 pm

      This would be a perfect book for your son!

      to Deborah" aria-label='reply to this comment to Deborah'>reply to this comment
  9. Scott says

    March 28, 2012 at 3:31 pm

    I love this book (and it’s counterpart Not a Box).

    But wait…you let them pick up and use sticks?? 🙂

    Really, I think this is a great idea for encouraging their imaginations and for extending the book. And I like the idea of using the book’s format and letting the children complete the sentence for what they drew. Great post!

    to Scott" aria-label='reply to this comment to Scott'>reply to this comment
    • Deborah says

      March 28, 2012 at 8:35 pm

      Haha Scott! Yes, I did!

      to Deborah" aria-label='reply to this comment to Deborah'>reply to this comment
  10. ayn says

    March 28, 2012 at 3:44 pm

    “Not a Box” is one of my favs, and since your previous post about “Not a Stick”, I’m definitely ordering it this spring! I love, love, LOVE the idea of finding a stick to use as a drawing starter! Thanks for this fabulous idea, Deborah!

    to ayn" aria-label='reply to this comment to ayn'>reply to this comment
    • Deborah says

      March 28, 2012 at 8:36 pm

      Your prek class would love this Ayn!

      to Deborah" aria-label='reply to this comment to Deborah'>reply to this comment
  11. crystal@growingajeweledrose says

    March 28, 2012 at 7:33 pm

    I love this! I had not heard of this book, but am definitely going to be getting a copy!

    to crystal@growingajeweledrose" aria-label='reply to this comment to crystal@growingajeweledrose'>reply to this comment
    • Deborah says

      March 28, 2012 at 8:37 pm

      It’s a terrific book Crystal! My 3 yr. old nephew loves it!

      to Deborah" aria-label='reply to this comment to Deborah'>reply to this comment
  12. Jen says

    March 28, 2012 at 8:32 pm

    Oh this book looks adorable! When I was in the classroom, we would collect leaves and turn them into something new. Love seeing kids use their imagination! I’ll have to pin this for my little man. Great ideas!

    to Jen" aria-label='reply to this comment to Jen'>reply to this comment
    • Deborah says

      March 28, 2012 at 8:37 pm

      Oh we love to collect leaves and just about anything that drops from the sky around our play yard – and that is a lot!!

      to Deborah" aria-label='reply to this comment to Deborah'>reply to this comment
  13. rocket says

    March 29, 2012 at 5:50 am

    Now I so enjoyed reading your writing. I’m thinking about starting my own blog now Cheers.

    to rocket" aria-label='reply to this comment to rocket'>reply to this comment
    • Deborah says

      March 31, 2012 at 7:44 pm

      Wow – that is wonderful! Let us know if you do!

      to Deborah" aria-label='reply to this comment to Deborah'>reply to this comment
  14. ladygoat says

    April 2, 2012 at 11:01 am

    We just read this book! It was such a hit with my 3 year old that she read it at least six times the first day. She thought it was hilarious.

    to ladygoat" aria-label='reply to this comment to ladygoat'>reply to this comment
  15. cheryl says

    May 21, 2012 at 7:36 am

    What fun! I just requested it for our library. If you find a Rock, by Peggy Christian is another good one. Using photographs, it goes through rocks and all the different uses a kid might have for them… skipping rocks, splashing rocks, wishing rocks. It is fun for a grown up to read, too, because there are so many memories attached to these activities!

    to cheryl" aria-label='reply to this comment to cheryl'>reply to this comment
    • Deborah says

      June 21, 2012 at 5:22 pm

      Great recommendation Cheryl. I haven’t heard of that book!

      to Deborah" aria-label='reply to this comment to Deborah'>reply to this comment
  16. katie says

    February 23, 2014 at 11:09 am

    Looks like a brilliant book, We love love the book stick man in my setting. Might be one your children would enjoy also.

    to katie" aria-label='reply to this comment to katie'>reply to this comment
  17. Alex says

    October 26, 2015 at 12:58 am

    This is great, I’m going to try and find some sticks for my class to do this activity with as i got this book out of the library the other day with It’s not a box.

    to Alex" aria-label='reply to this comment to Alex'>reply to this comment
  18. Melissa Thomas says

    March 28, 2019 at 2:08 pm

    Do you think this could be adapted to suit Year 5?

    to Melissa Thomas" aria-label='reply to this comment to Melissa Thomas'>reply to this comment

Trackbacks

  1. It’s not a stick it’s a…. | Teach Preschool says:
    March 28, 2012 at 2:59 pm

    […] No Time for Flashcards […]

    to It’s not a stick it’s a…. | Teach Preschool" aria-label='reply to this comment to It’s not a stick it’s a…. | Teach Preschool'>reply to this comment
  2. Activity creative | Itcaffe says:
    April 2, 2012 at 3:20 am

    […] Not A Stick – Story & Creative Activity | No Time For Flash Cards […]

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  3. Teach like a Pro: A Stick is not a Stick | Grit in education says:
    November 30, 2014 at 1:42 pm

    […] Deborah J. Stewart shows us a good example like this “not-a-stick-story-creative-activity”: https://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2012/03/not-a-stick-story-creative-activity.html […]

    to Teach like a Pro: A Stick is not a Stick | Grit in education" aria-label='reply to this comment to Teach like a Pro: A Stick is not a Stick | Grit in education'>reply to this comment
  4. Post #5 – Studio 1: Drawing ~ What’s Love Got To Do With It? | RAINBOW ARTS MANIA says:
    April 2, 2015 at 10:30 am

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  5. Illustrated Blog says:
    February 14, 2017 at 2:42 am

    My Rainy Day Imagining Book

    […] rs, spiders, circles, swords, and more. A process like this is simple yet promot […]

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