Bags Project

Why did we choose this project?

We decided on this project as we wanted to study something that we see and use every day. We had often noticed that the children were very happy whenever they got a new bag or a new chain or badge decoration. Therefore bags are a very personal thing for the children, and something we felt would be worthwhile studying.

What activities did we do?

English – We learned the names of various types of bags (backpack, shoulder bag, tote bag, etc.) as well as parts of bags such as, “zip”, “velcro” and “strap”. We enjoyed singing a bag song in several activities that asked “What’s in your backpack, let’s take a look”, which allowed the children to talk about what was in their backpack, either real or imagined. Children also enjoyed bringing bags for show and tell and talking about the different bags that were brought into the classroom.

Math –   We did several surveys that allowed the children to learn counting skills as well as categorizing. Our survey results were then made into graphs which we learned to read so we could easily analyze our results. Our surveys included “What types of bags do people carry” and “How many people carry bags”, where we counted 100 people!

Art/Craft–This project allowed us to make many different kinds of bags using various materials, including paper, felt and even old t-shirts! We also made various artistic representations of bags including sketches, paintings and molding with clay.

Drama – Friends enjoyed acting out roles based on different bags, such as hiking with a big backpack or shopping with shoulder bags.

Other – We were very fortunate to be able to visit a bag factory nearby (Yokohama 045 Canvas Bags), where we watched the people make a tote bag and were able to ask many questions about bags. We also enjoyed having a special guest in our class to make our own drawstring bags. Everyone got the opportunity to use a real sewing machine! We also visited many shops in the area to look at bags and talk about them. The children developed some new fine motor skills in using a sewing machine (with adult help) and threading yarn through holes. We also tried making music with bags, using zips and scratching or hitting them but it was very difficult!

How did we conclude this project?

All of our artwork and bags were displayed in the preschool classroom to show to parents and other visitors, while our main activity to finish the project was making drawstring bags in the class by using a real sewing machine!