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!
Melissa says
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!
Deborah says
It truly is!
Kristah says
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
Deborah says
Can you believe it? I have to get Not a Box! I keep meaning to pick it up!
Gina says
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!
Deborah says
One of the best things about a book like this…
ann at mommysecrets says
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! 🙂
Deborah says
Thank you Ann! I would love your workshop!
Tara says
I love this! What an awesome activity to include! We will be looking for the book. Thanks for sharing.
Deborah says
I hope you are able to find it:)
Natalie says
Brilliant idea. I have to try it out one of these days – probably with cardboard and paints in addition to sticks and tape.
Deborah says
Oooh – that will be a terrific experience with all those tools for creativity!
Charity says
Very cute…just put the book on reserve at my library! Thank you fro the idea!
Deborah says
Yay Charity!
Heather says
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.
Deborah says
This would be a perfect book for your son!
Scott says
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!
Deborah says
Haha Scott! Yes, I did!
ayn says
“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!
Deborah says
Your prek class would love this Ayn!
[email protected] says
I love this! I had not heard of this book, but am definitely going to be getting a copy!
Deborah says
It’s a terrific book Crystal! My 3 yr. old nephew loves it!
Jen says
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!
Deborah says
Oh we love to collect leaves and just about anything that drops from the sky around our play yard – and that is a lot!!
rocket says
Now I so enjoyed reading your writing. I’m thinking about starting my own blog now Cheers.
Deborah says
Wow – that is wonderful! Let us know if you do!
ladygoat says
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.
cheryl says
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!
Deborah says
Great recommendation Cheryl. I haven’t heard of that book!
katie says
Looks like a brilliant book, We love love the book stick man in my setting. Might be one your children would enjoy also.
Alex says
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.