Dot Day is September 15th. It celebrates the book, The Dot, by Peter Reynolds. In the book, a girl who thinks she cannot draw is encouraged by her art teacher to at least draw a dot. Through this story, children learn the importance of creativity, and that beginning at least somewhere is better than doing nothing, even if it doesn’t seem like it will amount to much at the start. Dot Day is celebrated in classrooms around the world by reading and discussing The Dot, and through creative projects.
Dot Day Activities
Young children can practice their fine motor skills by by hole-punching dots into paper.
Children can make their own dot by coloring on a coffee filter with marker. Use a spray bottle to make the colors blend in a style similar to the dots in the book.
Make 3-D dots by having children color on the backside of large white paper plates (the thick kind without ridges).
Make positive, affirming words on white ledger paper with masking tape. Children make dots all over the page. Remove the tape and reveal the words.
Place a dot on a piece of paper and have children create a picture and a story from the dot. You can assign a different adjective to each dot to guide students to create a quirky dot, an ambitious dot, and so on. You can use this list of adjectives to get ideas.
Have children bring in a white t-shirt and make dot shirts together using markers or paint intended for decorating cloth.
Use protractors to fill a page with dots, then color them in.
Eat dot candy!
Wear dots!
Buy paper with fun patterns. Give children objects with various-sized circles on them (bowls, potato chip containers, cups, toy containers) to trace. Cut out the circles and assemble together to create a fun Dot Day banner.
Use polka dot gift wrap to create a Dot Day photo background.
Have questions or feedback? Email:
teachgrowsow@gmail.com
Teach Grow Sow 