Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz
Lily and I also worked on assessing her alphabet knowledge. I showed Lily alphabet flash cards, one at a time. For my records, I wrote down the entire alphabet on a slip of paper and circled the letters she correctly identified. Now I have a much better idea of what to teach her next!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
C is for Christmas!
Today Lily and I created a few more Christmas projects and I did an assessment on her alphabet reading skills.
Snowman Calendar
We made a construction paper snowman (I cut and Lily used the glue). I made 25 numbered circles on the snowman. Lily is going to glue one cottonball on a day. She gets practice reading numbers, counting how many days have passed, and counting how many days left until Christmas (how many cottonballs left in the bag).
Shape Christmas Tree
I cut out a piece of green construction paper into the shape of a tree. Then I also cut out a variety of construction paper shaped "ornaments." Lily got lots of practice identifying colors and shapes while she used them to decorate her tree. I also made a star and a trunk to help her practice location words such as "top" and "bottom."
Snowman Calendar
We made a construction paper snowman (I cut and Lily used the glue). I made 25 numbered circles on the snowman. Lily is going to glue one cottonball on a day. She gets practice reading numbers, counting how many days have passed, and counting how many days left until Christmas (how many cottonballs left in the bag).
Shape Christmas Tree
I cut out a piece of green construction paper into the shape of a tree. Then I also cut out a variety of construction paper shaped "ornaments." Lily got lots of practice identifying colors and shapes while she used them to decorate her tree. I also made a star and a trunk to help her practice location words such as "top" and "bottom."
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
C is for Candy Cane!
I am so excited to begin our Christmas preschool activities! I have lots of ideas, and I hope we have lots of time to complete all of our projects!
Today Lily and I did the following:
Practiced writing the letter "C" and talked about the sound it makes and how the word "candy cane" starts with "C."
We read the book "J" is for Jesus (a little confusing for her since we talked about "c" but it is a wonderful story that tells the meaning of the candy cane.
Made Rudolph candy cane ornaments by using hot glue (I did this part) to attach a red bead for a nose, black beads for eyes, and a pipe cleaner for antlers.
More to come tomorrow!
Friday, November 12, 2010
November - Week 2 - Day 2
I See A Turkey!
L.A.
I made a book for Lily today using some of the vocabulary from the preschool Dolche word list. I used clipart turkeys for the illustrations (printed in black and white and then colored in by me). Here are the words to the story:
Title: I See A Turkey!
p. 1 - I see a red turkey!
p. 2 - I see a blue turkey!
p. 3 - I see a yellow turkey!
p. 4 - I see one, two, three turkeys!
This book is simple but Lily enjoyed reading it. I am hoping to post a picture soon-my camera batteries are not working at the moment and need recharged!
Math
I'm going to have Lily help me passing out some gummy snacks (give one to each person, count how many there are, etc.)
Craft
We are going to make a fairly large turkey body out of construction paper and then use a paper chain for the legs. We're going to cut out feet to glue to the bottom of the paper chain. Again, sorry for no pictures! I know it would be so much easier to explain with a picture! I hope to post them soon.
L.A.
I made a book for Lily today using some of the vocabulary from the preschool Dolche word list. I used clipart turkeys for the illustrations (printed in black and white and then colored in by me). Here are the words to the story:
Title: I See A Turkey!
p. 1 - I see a red turkey!
p. 2 - I see a blue turkey!
p. 3 - I see a yellow turkey!
p. 4 - I see one, two, three turkeys!
This book is simple but Lily enjoyed reading it. I am hoping to post a picture soon-my camera batteries are not working at the moment and need recharged!
Math
I'm going to have Lily help me passing out some gummy snacks (give one to each person, count how many there are, etc.)
Craft
We are going to make a fairly large turkey body out of construction paper and then use a paper chain for the legs. We're going to cut out feet to glue to the bottom of the paper chain. Again, sorry for no pictures! I know it would be so much easier to explain with a picture! I hope to post them soon.
Monday, November 8, 2010
November - Week Two - Day 1
Today was a really fun learning day!
Art/Language Arts
I cut out two turkeys from thick paper and Lily helped me glue on the eyes, legs and beak. I cut out a variety of "feathers" in different colors. I asked Lily to tell me one thing she is grateful for. She said "crayons" so I wrote it on a feather and glued the feather to the turkey. We are going to continue this activity for at least a week, gluing on one feather per day and writing what she is thankful for on that feather.
I wrote her name, the date, and her age on the back of her turkey. I'm planning on keeping this for a decoration for future Thanksgivings!
Math
I want Lily to start learning to read her numbers while she's counting so I decided to write the numbers 1-12 on the inside of muffin papers and then to draw the corresponding number of dots inside the papers. For example, on the first muffin paper I wrote "1" and then drew one dot. I put the papers in a muffin tin. Lily's job was to fill each of the 12 tins with the right number of beads. So for the first tin she saw the number "1" and one dot, so she knew to put in one bead. I really had to help her with this activity. I think after a while she will do just fine on her own, but for now be ready to provide lots of support!
Language Arts - continued
Lily is doing a great job learning her letters so I decided to add the letter "G" for "grateful" this week.
We made a "sound basket" and searched her playroom for objects to place inside the basket. We found grapes, a girl doll, a goat puzzle piece, a green crayon, a photo of Grandma, and more. She really liked looking for all of the objects.
We also practiced writing the letter "G."
Art/Language Arts
I cut out two turkeys from thick paper and Lily helped me glue on the eyes, legs and beak. I cut out a variety of "feathers" in different colors. I asked Lily to tell me one thing she is grateful for. She said "crayons" so I wrote it on a feather and glued the feather to the turkey. We are going to continue this activity for at least a week, gluing on one feather per day and writing what she is thankful for on that feather.
I wrote her name, the date, and her age on the back of her turkey. I'm planning on keeping this for a decoration for future Thanksgivings!
Math
I want Lily to start learning to read her numbers while she's counting so I decided to write the numbers 1-12 on the inside of muffin papers and then to draw the corresponding number of dots inside the papers. For example, on the first muffin paper I wrote "1" and then drew one dot. I put the papers in a muffin tin. Lily's job was to fill each of the 12 tins with the right number of beads. So for the first tin she saw the number "1" and one dot, so she knew to put in one bead. I really had to help her with this activity. I think after a while she will do just fine on her own, but for now be ready to provide lots of support!
Language Arts - continued
Lily is doing a great job learning her letters so I decided to add the letter "G" for "grateful" this week.
We made a "sound basket" and searched her playroom for objects to place inside the basket. We found grapes, a girl doll, a goat puzzle piece, a green crayon, a photo of Grandma, and more. She really liked looking for all of the objects.
We also practiced writing the letter "G."
November - Week One
I apologize for not getting this posted sooner. I am a week behind so I'm not going to be extremely descriptive here.
For history we really focused on the first three standards, using the language of time (today, tomorrow, yesterday), labeling days by function (ballet, church, AWANA), and using vocabulary such as next, before, soon, after, now and later.
If you look closely at the picture you can see the ballet slipper stickers we put on Monday's squares, the little pictures of our church we cut our for Sunday's squares, and the Puggles pictures we cut out for AWANA on Wednesdays. We have also marked special holidays and birthdays.
Lily LOVES the calendar we have up in the play room and we've added pictures to it so she knows Sunday is church day, Monday is ballet, and Wednesday is AWANA. We talk about how yesterday was Sunday, tomorrow is Tuesday, today is Monday, and we have ballet today, etc. The calendar has really improved her vocabulary. I highly suggest making or buying a calendar and using it every morning. It takes less that a couple of minutes to update and she is learning so much from it. If you consistently use a calendar and talk about the calendar then I think you will sufficiently teach these first three social studies standards.
For math we worked on counting. We counted little items, food, etc. We sang silly counting songs like (One little, two little, three little turkeys, four little, five little, six little turkeys, seven little, eight little, nine little turkeys...ten little turkeys going "Gobble, gobble! Gobble, gobble! Gobble, gobble!"
For language arts we worked on the letter "t" again and talked about turkeys and Thanksgiving. We read Thanksgiving books.
For history we really focused on the first three standards, using the language of time (today, tomorrow, yesterday), labeling days by function (ballet, church, AWANA), and using vocabulary such as next, before, soon, after, now and later.
If you look closely at the picture you can see the ballet slipper stickers we put on Monday's squares, the little pictures of our church we cut our for Sunday's squares, and the Puggles pictures we cut out for AWANA on Wednesdays. We have also marked special holidays and birthdays.
Lily LOVES the calendar we have up in the play room and we've added pictures to it so she knows Sunday is church day, Monday is ballet, and Wednesday is AWANA. We talk about how yesterday was Sunday, tomorrow is Tuesday, today is Monday, and we have ballet today, etc. The calendar has really improved her vocabulary. I highly suggest making or buying a calendar and using it every morning. It takes less that a couple of minutes to update and she is learning so much from it. If you consistently use a calendar and talk about the calendar then I think you will sufficiently teach these first three social studies standards.
For math we worked on counting. We counted little items, food, etc. We sang silly counting songs like (One little, two little, three little turkeys, four little, five little, six little turkeys, seven little, eight little, nine little turkeys...ten little turkeys going "Gobble, gobble! Gobble, gobble! Gobble, gobble!"
For language arts we worked on the letter "t" again and talked about turkeys and Thanksgiving. We read Thanksgiving books.
November
I apologize for the delay of getting these goals and activities up!
Here are the major goals/standards we are working on for November:
Math - Number, Number Sense and Operations
Week 1-
1. Count to 10 in the context of daily activities and play (e.g., number songs).
2. Touch objects and say the number names when counting in the context of daily
activities and play (e.g., counting cookies on a plate, steps on a set of stairs).
Week 2 -
3. Demonstrate one-to-one correspondece when couting objects (e.g., give one cookie
to each child in the group).
4. Determine "how many" in sets of 5 or fewer objects.
Week 3 -
5. Construct two sets of objects, each containing the same number of objects (e.g.,
5 crayons and 5 blocks).
6. Compare sets of equal, more, and fewer and uste the language of comparison
(e.g., more, fewer, and equal).
Week 4 -
7. Group and regroup a given set in the context of daily activities and play (e.g.,
5 blocks can be 2 blue and 3 green or 1 blue and 4 green).
8. Represent quantity using invented forms (e.g., child's marks to represent a
quantity of objects.)
Social Studies - History
1. Begin to use the language of time (e.g., day, night, yesterday, today, tomorrow).
2. Label days by function (e.g., school day, stay home day, swim day, field trip
day). For our family we use church, ballet class, AWANA, etc.
3. Begin to use or respond to the langage of time such as next, before, soon,
after, now and later as related to daily schedules and routines.
4. Share episodes of personal history from birth to present through personal
memorabilia or connected stories.
5. Arrange sequences of personal and shared events through pictures, growth charts
and other media.
6. Share personal family stories and traditions (e.g., photo album put together by
family members).
Here are the major goals/standards we are working on for November:
Math - Number, Number Sense and Operations
Week 1-
1. Count to 10 in the context of daily activities and play (e.g., number songs).
2. Touch objects and say the number names when counting in the context of daily
activities and play (e.g., counting cookies on a plate, steps on a set of stairs).
Week 2 -
3. Demonstrate one-to-one correspondece when couting objects (e.g., give one cookie
to each child in the group).
4. Determine "how many" in sets of 5 or fewer objects.
Week 3 -
5. Construct two sets of objects, each containing the same number of objects (e.g.,
5 crayons and 5 blocks).
6. Compare sets of equal, more, and fewer and uste the language of comparison
(e.g., more, fewer, and equal).
Week 4 -
7. Group and regroup a given set in the context of daily activities and play (e.g.,
5 blocks can be 2 blue and 3 green or 1 blue and 4 green).
8. Represent quantity using invented forms (e.g., child's marks to represent a
quantity of objects.)
Social Studies - History
1. Begin to use the language of time (e.g., day, night, yesterday, today, tomorrow).
2. Label days by function (e.g., school day, stay home day, swim day, field trip
day). For our family we use church, ballet class, AWANA, etc.
3. Begin to use or respond to the langage of time such as next, before, soon,
after, now and later as related to daily schedules and routines.
4. Share episodes of personal history from birth to present through personal
memorabilia or connected stories.
5. Arrange sequences of personal and shared events through pictures, growth charts
and other media.
6. Share personal family stories and traditions (e.g., photo album put together by
family members).
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Pumpkins - Day 8
Math-Pumpkin Patch Subtraction
I found this poem at the following website: http://www.preschoolexpress.com.
You can use the little Brach's pumpkins for this, or a felt board like they suggest. We don't have a felt board so we're sticking to the candy!
FOUR LITTLE PUMPKINS
Four little pumpkins
I can see.
______picked one
That left three.
Three little pumpkins
With nothing to do.
______ picked one
And that left two.
Two little pumpkins
Out in the sun.
______ picked one
And that left one.
One little pumpkin
All alone.
It looked lonely
So I took it home. Jean Warren
L.A. - Alphabet
This really has nothing to do with pumpkins but I've been wanting to do this for a while and today's the day! When I subbed in a kindergarten room we helped the kids learn their letters with flash cards. As I've said in the past, I'm not a huge fan of flash cards because I love active learning, but flashcards can be useful every now and then. I'm going to find pictures on the web and make my own set to practice with my preschooler. She is starting to take in interest in learning the alphabet and the sounds the letters make, so that's why I'm choosing to do this now. Here's an example of the type of set I'm making:
A - apple
B - boy
C - cat
D - dog
E - elephant
F - fish
G - girl
h - hat
i - igloo
j - jump
k - kite
l- lion
m - mouse
n - needle
o - octopus
p - pear
q - quilt
r - rabbit
s - snake
t - tiger
u - umbrella
v - violin
x - x-ray
y - yo-yo
z - zebra
It is helpful to do different motions with some of the letters such as pretend to sew for "n for needle," and really jump for "j" for jump.
The way the kids learned the letters were by saying "A for apple, a for apple, ahh, ahh, ahh" (the last part is to say the sound the letter makes). Another example would be "B for boy, b for boy, buh, buh, buh."
I would recommend that you find out which type of alphabet flash cards your child's school disctrict will use, because it may be difficult to learn one whole set and then switch to another when they start school. If your child is use to saying "b for boy" and the school says "b for bear" it might make them a little confused.
I found this poem at the following website: http://www.preschoolexpress.com.
You can use the little Brach's pumpkins for this, or a felt board like they suggest. We don't have a felt board so we're sticking to the candy!
FOUR LITTLE PUMPKINS
Four little pumpkins
I can see.
______picked one
That left three.
Three little pumpkins
With nothing to do.
______ picked one
And that left two.
Two little pumpkins
Out in the sun.
______ picked one
And that left one.
One little pumpkin
All alone.
It looked lonely
So I took it home. Jean Warren
L.A. - Alphabet
This really has nothing to do with pumpkins but I've been wanting to do this for a while and today's the day! When I subbed in a kindergarten room we helped the kids learn their letters with flash cards. As I've said in the past, I'm not a huge fan of flash cards because I love active learning, but flashcards can be useful every now and then. I'm going to find pictures on the web and make my own set to practice with my preschooler. She is starting to take in interest in learning the alphabet and the sounds the letters make, so that's why I'm choosing to do this now. Here's an example of the type of set I'm making:
A - apple
B - boy
C - cat
D - dog
E - elephant
F - fish
G - girl
h - hat
i - igloo
j - jump
k - kite
l- lion
m - mouse
n - needle
o - octopus
p - pear
q - quilt
r - rabbit
s - snake
t - tiger
u - umbrella
v - violin
x - x-ray
y - yo-yo
z - zebra
It is helpful to do different motions with some of the letters such as pretend to sew for "n for needle," and really jump for "j" for jump.
The way the kids learned the letters were by saying "A for apple, a for apple, ahh, ahh, ahh" (the last part is to say the sound the letter makes). Another example would be "B for boy, b for boy, buh, buh, buh."
I would recommend that you find out which type of alphabet flash cards your child's school disctrict will use, because it may be difficult to learn one whole set and then switch to another when they start school. If your child is use to saying "b for boy" and the school says "b for bear" it might make them a little confused.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Pumpkins-Day 7
Pumpkin Math!
I used a mixture of Brach's pumpkins and candy corn to do a variety of math activities with my preschooler.
A few ideas of how you can use this candy for math:
Capacity-Use pumpkins to fill various containers. See which container requires the most/least pumpkins.
Counting-line up pumpkins and have your child touch each pumpkin as they count them (this helps develop one-to-one correspondence).
Patterns-create a pattern using the candy such as pumpkin, candy corn, pumpkin, candy corn...and have your child extend the pattern. If this pattern is too each make it more diffcult like pumpkin, pumpkin, candy corn...
Graphing-give your child a handful of candy. Have your child sort and line the pieces up on a piece of large graph paper. Color in the graph.
Sorting-Hand your child a small amount of mixed candy pieces and let them practice sorting them into groups (all the candy corn in one pile and all of the pumpkins in the other).
Language Arts-Pumpkin Writing
OACS-L.A., Writing Process, 5. Dictate or produce "writing" to express thoughts.
You can choose from a whole variety of activities for this lesson. Here are a few ideas:
-Watch the Charlie Brown Halloween cartoon and write about what you would do if you saw the Great Pumpkin.
-Add sentences to photos from the trip to the pumpkin patch to make a scrapbook.
-Write a story about your visit (pretend or real) to the pumpkin patch.
....anything else your child might be interested in!
Craft-Pumpkin Jars
I saw this craft in Family Fun magazine. We took mason jars (accidentally just recycled all of our spaghetti and peanut butter jars right before this craft) and glued long strips of tissue paper to them. We cut out shapes (tying in math) to make a silly face. We used a real candle, but I would definitely suggest using a battery powere tea light to make this silly pumpkin jar light up. This would be a great craft to also do for Thanksgiving center pieces or for Christmas gifts. I will warn you that it can be a little frustrating for the preschoolers because the tissue paper rips easily when it's wet with the glue, and the preschoolers little fingers can get sticky easily, adding to the tearing paper problem. My little one loved this craft, even with the minor annoying parts!
Monday, October 18, 2010
Pumpkins - Day 6
L.A.- Shaving Cream!
Objective-OACS, L.A., Writing Conventions, Handwriting, Indicator 1- Print letters of own name and other meaningful words with assistance using mock letters and/or conventional print.
It’s wonderful when preschoolers to use a variety of their senses to learn. We got out daddy’s shaving cream and wiped a large amount on the table. We took turns “drawing” in it. We reviewed letters and shapes, plus took some time to draw some pumpkins and other silly pictures.
Math- Paper Pumpkins
If you’re like us, you’ll probably need to continue working on your paper mache pumpkins. We are ready to paint our three pumpkins, so that is our goal for today.
NOTE-if going to the grocery you may want to buy a bag of Brach’s “Autumn Mix” for some other math activities later this week.
Science- My mom (who works in an elementary library) found a wonderful book called “From Seed to Pumpkin.” Lily and I are going to read this book and review the life science facts from last month.
Pumpkins- Day 5
Field Trip to a pumpkin patch!
Talk with your child about how the farmer plants the pumpkin, waits for the pumpkin to grow, picks the pumpkin, and then sells it. It would be great if you could actually walk through a pumpkin field or take a wagon ride through one. You can help your child purchase a pumpkin, then bring it home and turn it into a pie or a decoration.
Tip-there are websites that list local pumpkin patches. I know there are a few located in SW Ohio.
Talk with your child about how the farmer plants the pumpkin, waits for the pumpkin to grow, picks the pumpkin, and then sells it. It would be great if you could actually walk through a pumpkin field or take a wagon ride through one. You can help your child purchase a pumpkin, then bring it home and turn it into a pie or a decoration.
Tip-there are websites that list local pumpkin patches. I know there are a few located in SW Ohio.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Great Resources and Learning Tools!
This has nothing to do with the pumpkin unit but I'm really excited about it and it's worth sharing.
We keep a budget and try hard to limit our spending, especially since I decided to become a stay-at-home mom. I probably take it to extremes sometimes, such as doing my own "up-dos" for weddings, clipping lots of coupons, learning to sew clothes for the girls, and so on. However, there are times when I find learning resources that are well worth any money I may spend on them (after I find the cheapest way to purchase them, of course)!
These are two tools that I just bought for my girls:
These are called "Mini Geosolids" from Learning Resources. The company has their own site, but I bought this set from Amazon, using my swagbucks (see below).
These are wonderful hands on manipulatives for teaching sorting, patterns, classification, 3-d shapes and so much more! They are fun for her to use now for building little castles and things, but it is definitely a tool that she can use for most of her formal schooling.
This is a set of "pattern blocks" or "attribute blocks" that I bought on ebay. I bought them for the same reasons I bought the geosolids. These are definitely multi-purpose and can be used for many years.
Swagbucks is one of my new favorite websites! It is an great easy program for earning a little extra money for items I normally wouldn't include in our regular budget (such as extra toys for the girls).
All you do is sign up for a swagbucks account, open the email they send to verify your account, and then use it as a search engine. You will randomly win "swagbucks" as you search. These can be redeemed for a whole variety of prizes, my favorite of which is the $5.00 Amazon.com gift card. This is how I purchased the mini geosolids, as well as my youngest daughter's birthday present. You can also earn "swagbucks" by reading their blog and finding codes, doing online shopping through their site, and a variety of other ways. I've used the site for almost a year and I am very pleased with it! The link for Swagbucks is posted below:
For some reason my hyper links aren't working so here's the link to copy and paste:
http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/NatalieWaddle
We keep a budget and try hard to limit our spending, especially since I decided to become a stay-at-home mom. I probably take it to extremes sometimes, such as doing my own "up-dos" for weddings, clipping lots of coupons, learning to sew clothes for the girls, and so on. However, there are times when I find learning resources that are well worth any money I may spend on them (after I find the cheapest way to purchase them, of course)!
These are two tools that I just bought for my girls:
These are called "Mini Geosolids" from Learning Resources. The company has their own site, but I bought this set from Amazon, using my swagbucks (see below).
These are wonderful hands on manipulatives for teaching sorting, patterns, classification, 3-d shapes and so much more! They are fun for her to use now for building little castles and things, but it is definitely a tool that she can use for most of her formal schooling.
This is a set of "pattern blocks" or "attribute blocks" that I bought on ebay. I bought them for the same reasons I bought the geosolids. These are definitely multi-purpose and can be used for many years.
Swagbucks is one of my new favorite websites! It is an great easy program for earning a little extra money for items I normally wouldn't include in our regular budget (such as extra toys for the girls).
All you do is sign up for a swagbucks account, open the email they send to verify your account, and then use it as a search engine. You will randomly win "swagbucks" as you search. These can be redeemed for a whole variety of prizes, my favorite of which is the $5.00 Amazon.com gift card. This is how I purchased the mini geosolids, as well as my youngest daughter's birthday present. You can also earn "swagbucks" by reading their blog and finding codes, doing online shopping through their site, and a variety of other ways. I've used the site for almost a year and I am very pleased with it! The link for Swagbucks is posted below:
For some reason my hyper links aren't working so here's the link to copy and paste:
http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/NatalieWaddle
Pumpkins - Day 4
L.A.
Read pumpkin mini book and poem.
Math/Art - Paper Mache Pumpkins!
We aren't going to do very much math today because this activity is mostly preparation for next week's math activities. Today Lily and I are going to attempt to make two or three different sized paper mache pumpkins/jack-o-lanterns. This will only be the beginning of the project as it will probably take a few days to let it dry and then paint it.
For the pumpkins,
1. Blow up a couple of balloons into different sizes. (Blow one up all the way, one up about half way, and so on.)
2. Mix 1 part flour with 2 parts water for the paste.
3. Cut newspaper into strips (shorter strips work best for the curves on the balloons).
4. Paste strips around balloon forming a "bowl" shape.
Tip-cover work surface with lots of extra newspaper or plastic, use old t-shirts to cover goood clothes!
We will use this project next week for our capacity/volume math activities.
If you don't want to give up math for today you can have your child use a paperclip chain to measure the strips of paper. They can also arrange different strips of paper in order from tallest to shortest, or practice counting strips of paper.
Read pumpkin mini book and poem.
Math/Art - Paper Mache Pumpkins!
We aren't going to do very much math today because this activity is mostly preparation for next week's math activities. Today Lily and I are going to attempt to make two or three different sized paper mache pumpkins/jack-o-lanterns. This will only be the beginning of the project as it will probably take a few days to let it dry and then paint it.
For the pumpkins,
1. Blow up a couple of balloons into different sizes. (Blow one up all the way, one up about half way, and so on.)
2. Mix 1 part flour with 2 parts water for the paste.
3. Cut newspaper into strips (shorter strips work best for the curves on the balloons).
4. Paste strips around balloon forming a "bowl" shape.
Tip-cover work surface with lots of extra newspaper or plastic, use old t-shirts to cover goood clothes!
We will use this project next week for our capacity/volume math activities.
If you don't want to give up math for today you can have your child use a paperclip chain to measure the strips of paper. They can also arrange different strips of paper in order from tallest to shortest, or practice counting strips of paper.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Pumpkins-Day 3
L.A.- "The Pumpkin"
I want to work on some basic sight words with Lily, and the best way to teach her sight words is to read them in the context of a story. I'm not a huge fan of flash cards. I think they are fine on occasion, but I definitely prefer teaching new words through actually reading stories. I decided to write a simple little story about a farmer growing a pumpkin to go along with our economics unit.
First, I cut four sheets of printer paper (8.5 in x 11 in.) in half. Then I stacked them on top of each other, folded them in half, and then stapled in the fold.
Here's what I wrote-you can change it to suit your child's needs:
Title "The Pumpkin"
Page 1 - blank
Page 2 - The farmer plants a seed.
Page 3 - Look! It is raining!
Page 4 - The seed sprouts.
Page 5 - The little plant grows.
Page 6 - Look! A little pumpkin is there.
Page 7 - It rains on the pumpkin.
Page 8 - The sun shines on the pumpkin.
Page 9 - The pumpkin is not little now.
Page 10- The pumpkin is big and orange.
Page 11- The farmer picks the pumpkin.
Page 12- We go to the pumpkin farm.
Page 13- We buy the pumpkin.
Page 14- We make pumpkin pie!
I highlighted the preschool Dolche words in the book (Dolche words are a basic list of sight words). We will read this book multiple times. I have Lily point to each word as we read. The illustrations are also key to helping her figure out the words on the page, so take care to match the illustrations with the words.
Here is a list of preschool Dolche words I found on the internet:
a, and, away, big, blue, can, come, down, find, for, funny, go, help, here, I, in, is, it, jump, little, look, make, me, my, not, one, play, red, run, said, see, the, three, to, two, up, we, where, yellow, you.
Math- Pumpkin Face!
Lily is doing fairly well with measurement so we're going to take a little break and go back to reviewing shapes.
I saw in a magazine that one mom took magnetic sheets and cut out black triangles, rectangles, squares and circles, and then let her child use them to decorate a pumpkin that she taped to the refrigerator. While your child plays with the shapes and makes different pumpkin faces you can talk with them about the different shapes. Make sure to keep these away from curious babies!
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Pumpkins-Day 2
Field Trip Plans!
If you haven't considered taking your child to a real pumpkin farm-this would be the week to do so! There is a great farm, near Milford, OH, called Shaw Farms. Their website is www.shawfarms.com. You can take hay rides back to the pumpkin fields. It's a wonderful way to show your child first hand farming economics. You can purchase pumpkins at the farm. For extra fun, purchase a pie pumpkin and find an online recipe for homemade pumpkin pie or pumpkin bread.
Children learn through making connections through their life experiences. It is important for your child to take "field trips" and to gain a variety of experiences. I've overheard many teachers observing that students are lacking basic experiences and therefore have difficulties in school because they can't connect what they are learning to their life.
L.A./Math/S.S.
There is a cute book called "The Biggest Pumpkin Ever." It is a great little story to read with your child. As you are reading the book, ask your child to think about what’s happening and to make predictions for what they think will happen next. After reading, use the book to do some more paper clip measurements. It's perfect for continuing the math measurement lesson because the pumpkins in the illustrations are various sizes and can easily be measured with paper clips. This book also presents a chance to talk about the social studies standards of production.
Objective-OACS, L.A., Comprehenstion, Indicator 5. Predict what might happen next during reading of text.
Objective-OACS, Math, Measurment, Indicator 6. Measure length and volume using non-standard units of measure (e.g., how many paper clips long is a pencil, how many small containers does it take to fill one big container using sand, rice or beans?)
Objective – OACS, SS, Economics, Indicator 3. Demonstrate an understanding of the concepts of production, distribution and consumption through play (e.g., food from the farm to the grocery store) and concrete experiences (e.g., food purchased from the store and cooked at home).
Don't forget to read the poem of the week and do your daily calendar activities, too!
Monday, October 11, 2010
Poem of the Week!
Poem of the Week – From Seed to Pie
I love to write poems on big pieces of poster/chart paper. It is a great way to read along with your child and to start teaching them some sight words. It’s also wonderful for teaching fluency, rhyming, punctuation, capitalization and many other language arts skills.
http://www.hubbardscupboard.org/patty_s_pumpkin_patch.html
The website stated that this poem was written by Diane Donovan for Mailbox Magazine
It is sung to the tune of “The Farmer in The Dell”
The seed is on the ground.
The seed is on the ground.
Hi-ho the pumpkin patch!
The seed is on the ground.
Additional verses:
The seed grows a sprout.
The sprout grows a vine.
The vine grows a bloom.
The bloom grows a pumpkin.
We make a pumpkin pie.
I might even add in some like “The farmer picks the pumpkin.” And “The store sells the pumpkin” or “The farmer sells the pumpkin.” These extra verses would fit in well with the economic standards for the pumpkin unit.
I love to write poems on big pieces of poster/chart paper. It is a great way to read along with your child and to start teaching them some sight words. It’s also wonderful for teaching fluency, rhyming, punctuation, capitalization and many other language arts skills.
http://www.hubbardscupboard.org/patty_s_pumpkin_patch.html
The website stated that this poem was written by Diane Donovan for Mailbox Magazine
It is sung to the tune of “The Farmer in The Dell”
The seed is on the ground.
The seed is on the ground.
Hi-ho the pumpkin patch!
The seed is on the ground.
Additional verses:
The seed grows a sprout.
The sprout grows a vine.
The vine grows a bloom.
The bloom grows a pumpkin.
We make a pumpkin pie.
I might even add in some like “The farmer picks the pumpkin.” And “The store sells the pumpkin” or “The farmer sells the pumpkin.” These extra verses would fit in well with the economic standards for the pumpkin unit.
Pumpkins-Day 1
L.A.- “P” is for “pumpkins”
Objective-OACS, L.A., Writing Conventions, Handwriting, Indicator 1- Print letters of own name and other meaningful words with assistance using mock letters and/or conventional print.
Help your child practice writing the letter “p” and color a pumpkin. On a side note, your school disctrict probably teaches one of the two different handwriting styles, so you may want to check which style they use before you begin to teach your child to write. Your child's future school teacher (if you do not home school) will probably not be too thrilled if you have taught them to write a different form than what the school uses.
Math- How big is that pumpkin?
Objective-OACS, Math, Measurment, Indicator 6. Measure length and volume using non-standard units of measure (e.g., how many paper clips long is a pencil, how many small containers does it take to fill one big container using sand, rice or beans?)
Cut out a few different sized construction paper pumpkins. Help your child link together paperclips and count how man paper clips long each pumpkin is.
Social Studies –
Objective – OACS, SS, Economics, Indicator 3. Demonstrate an understanding of the concepts of production, distribution and consumption through play (e.g., food from the farm to the grocery store) and concrete experiences (e.g., food purchased from the store and cooked at home).
Plant a pumpkin seed with your child. Talk about how the seed needs soil to live (review from September). Talk about how farmers plant pumpkin seeds. Play farm!
October - Pumpkins!
This month we will be doing a measurement unit in math, an economic unit for social studies, and we will continue with various reading and writing activities. I'm hoping to do at least two mini-units: "apples" and "pumpkins!" This is going to be a fun month for field trips!!
Friday, October 1, 2010
Friday
End of Unit Assessment
This is the end of the unit and a great time to gather information about what your child has learned. I definitely do not recommend any kind of paper or pencil type of test for this age! I would just keep some notes or a checklist of the concepts your child has mastered and ones you need to further review. I would let your child play or read with them and informally assess these objectives by asking questions or observing.
Geometry Unit
1. Match 2-and 3-dimensional objects in the environment and in play situations.
2. Sort and classify similar 2- and 3-dimensional objects in the environment and play situations.
3. Identify, name, create and describe common 2-d shapes like circles, triangles, rectangles and squares.
4. Identify, name and describe 3-d objects using child’s own vocabulary.
Life Science Unit
1. Identify common needs (food, air, water) of familiar living things.
2. Begin to differentiate between real and pretend.
3. Observe and begin to recognize the ways that environments support life by meeting the needs of each organism (plant/soil, birds/air, fish/water).
4. Match familiar adult family members, plants and animals with their young.
5. Recognize physical differences among the same class of people, plants, or animals (dogs come in many sizes and colors).
This is the end of the unit and a great time to gather information about what your child has learned. I definitely do not recommend any kind of paper or pencil type of test for this age! I would just keep some notes or a checklist of the concepts your child has mastered and ones you need to further review. I would let your child play or read with them and informally assess these objectives by asking questions or observing.
Geometry Unit
1. Match 2-and 3-dimensional objects in the environment and in play situations.
2. Sort and classify similar 2- and 3-dimensional objects in the environment and play situations.
3. Identify, name, create and describe common 2-d shapes like circles, triangles, rectangles and squares.
4. Identify, name and describe 3-d objects using child’s own vocabulary.
Life Science Unit
1. Identify common needs (food, air, water) of familiar living things.
2. Begin to differentiate between real and pretend.
3. Observe and begin to recognize the ways that environments support life by meeting the needs of each organism (plant/soil, birds/air, fish/water).
4. Match familiar adult family members, plants and animals with their young.
5. Recognize physical differences among the same class of people, plants, or animals (dogs come in many sizes and colors).
Thursday
Science-Field Trip!
Objective-OCAS, Science, Life Science, Heredity, Indicator 4-Match familiar adult family members, plant and animals with their young (e.g., horse/colt, cow/calf).
Take your child to a petting zoo with mom and baby animals and help them compare how they are similar and different.
Math- Matching Game
Objective-OACS, Math, Geometry and Spatial Sense, Characteristics and Properties-2.Sort and Classify similar two and three-dimensional objects in the environment and play situations (e.g., paper shapes, 2 balls of different size).
Cut out various shapes in different sizes and colors, making sure to cut out two of each. Put one whole set in a “deck” and another whole set in a pile. Take turns drawing from the “deck” and trying to match your shape to make a pair. This is a good time to talk about congruency.
L.A.- Poem!
OACS, L.A., Reading Applications-2. Retell or re-enact events from a story through a variety of media and play events (e.g., dramatize a favorite story).
Have your child tell what happened in the fall poem and act it out.
Objective-OCAS, Science, Life Science, Heredity, Indicator 4-Match familiar adult family members, plant and animals with their young (e.g., horse/colt, cow/calf).
Take your child to a petting zoo with mom and baby animals and help them compare how they are similar and different.
Math- Matching Game
Objective-OACS, Math, Geometry and Spatial Sense, Characteristics and Properties-2.Sort and Classify similar two and three-dimensional objects in the environment and play situations (e.g., paper shapes, 2 balls of different size).
Cut out various shapes in different sizes and colors, making sure to cut out two of each. Put one whole set in a “deck” and another whole set in a pile. Take turns drawing from the “deck” and trying to match your shape to make a pair. This is a good time to talk about congruency.
L.A.- Poem!
OACS, L.A., Reading Applications-2. Retell or re-enact events from a story through a variety of media and play events (e.g., dramatize a favorite story).
Have your child tell what happened in the fall poem and act it out.
Wednesday
Math-Shape Sorting Race!
Objective-OACS, Math, Geometry and Spatial Sense, Characteristics and Properties-2.Sort and Classify similar two and three-dimensional objects in the environment and play situations (e.g., paper shapes, 2 balls of different size).
Use any extra shapes you might have leftover from Monday’s art (or make new ones) and place them in two big piles. Separate out one triangle, one square, and one circle and start three new piles, one for each. Do the same for your child’s pile. Explain that when you say go, you’re going to separate out all of the triangles into one pile, all of the circles into another pile, and finally all of the squares into a third pile. You may need to help them do the first few. Play the game and then change it by having them sort colors next, then whatever else you can think of like size, sides, corners or round, etc.
Science-Picture Time!
Objective-OCAS, Science, Life Science, Heredity, Indicator 4-Match familiar adult family members, plant and animals with their young (e.g., horse/colt, cow/calf).
Get out a picture of your child and of yourself and talk about the similarities and differences.
L.A.
Objective-OACS, L.A., Phonemic Awareness, Indicator 2. Hear sounds in words by isolating the syllables of a word using snapping, clapping or rhythmic movement (e.g., cat, ap-ple).
Read the poem from Tuesday. Go back and find a few words to separate into syllables. Model for your child how to clap for each syllable.
Objective-OACS, Math, Geometry and Spatial Sense, Characteristics and Properties-2.Sort and Classify similar two and three-dimensional objects in the environment and play situations (e.g., paper shapes, 2 balls of different size).
Use any extra shapes you might have leftover from Monday’s art (or make new ones) and place them in two big piles. Separate out one triangle, one square, and one circle and start three new piles, one for each. Do the same for your child’s pile. Explain that when you say go, you’re going to separate out all of the triangles into one pile, all of the circles into another pile, and finally all of the squares into a third pile. You may need to help them do the first few. Play the game and then change it by having them sort colors next, then whatever else you can think of like size, sides, corners or round, etc.
Science-Picture Time!
Objective-OCAS, Science, Life Science, Heredity, Indicator 4-Match familiar adult family members, plant and animals with their young (e.g., horse/colt, cow/calf).
Get out a picture of your child and of yourself and talk about the similarities and differences.
L.A.
Objective-OACS, L.A., Phonemic Awareness, Indicator 2. Hear sounds in words by isolating the syllables of a word using snapping, clapping or rhythmic movement (e.g., cat, ap-ple).
Read the poem from Tuesday. Go back and find a few words to separate into syllables. Model for your child how to clap for each syllable.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Tuesday
L.A.-Fall Poem
Goal-OACS, L.A., Word Recognition-7. Recognize that words are made up of letters (e.g., c-a-t).
I found the poem below from the following site:
http://www.preschoolrainbow.org/preschool-fall.htm.
Red and yellow, green and brown.
(count off colors on fingers)
Leaves are falling to the ground.
(simulate falling leaves with hands)
We pile them up OH SO HIGH:
('pile' leaves with hands)
Then we JUMP in!
(pretend to jump in)
My dog and I!
I'm going to write this on a large piece of paper and hang it in the room. I will read it to Lily every day for the rest of the week and hopefully she will read along by Friday. I'm going to have her point out some familiar letters today.
Math-Grocery Shopping!
Objective-OACS, Math, Geometry and Spatial Sense, Characteristics and Properties-2.Sort and Classify similar two and three-dimensional objects in the environment and play situations (e.g., paper shapes, 2 balls of different size).
Today I'm focusing on sortig three-dimensional shapes. We have a play grocery store at our house and I'm going to have Lily be a stock person and stock the shelves with the empty cartons I have. I'm going to ask her to put all of the cans/tubes (cylinders) on one shelf, the boxes (cubes, rectangular prisms) on another, and the round ones (spberes) on the last. You can use items in your pantry for this activity, or any other objects around the house.
Science-Story Time!
Objective-OCAS, Science, Life Science, Heredity, Indicator 4-Match familiar adult family members, plant and animals with their young (e.g., horse/colt, cow/calf).
I don't like to pass up an opportunity to read with my little ones and this is a perfect objective to pair with language arts so we're reading today! We have lots of books about baby animals and their mothers. I'll ask her questions about the animals names and how they look similar to and different from the parent.
Goal-OACS, L.A., Word Recognition-7. Recognize that words are made up of letters (e.g., c-a-t).
I found the poem below from the following site:
http://www.preschoolrainbow.org/preschool-fall.htm.
Red and yellow, green and brown.
(count off colors on fingers)
Leaves are falling to the ground.
(simulate falling leaves with hands)
We pile them up OH SO HIGH:
('pile' leaves with hands)
Then we JUMP in!
(pretend to jump in)
My dog and I!
I'm going to write this on a large piece of paper and hang it in the room. I will read it to Lily every day for the rest of the week and hopefully she will read along by Friday. I'm going to have her point out some familiar letters today.
Math-Grocery Shopping!
Objective-OACS, Math, Geometry and Spatial Sense, Characteristics and Properties-2.Sort and Classify similar two and three-dimensional objects in the environment and play situations (e.g., paper shapes, 2 balls of different size).
Today I'm focusing on sortig three-dimensional shapes. We have a play grocery store at our house and I'm going to have Lily be a stock person and stock the shelves with the empty cartons I have. I'm going to ask her to put all of the cans/tubes (cylinders) on one shelf, the boxes (cubes, rectangular prisms) on another, and the round ones (spberes) on the last. You can use items in your pantry for this activity, or any other objects around the house.
Science-Story Time!
Objective-OCAS, Science, Life Science, Heredity, Indicator 4-Match familiar adult family members, plant and animals with their young (e.g., horse/colt, cow/calf).
I don't like to pass up an opportunity to read with my little ones and this is a perfect objective to pair with language arts so we're reading today! We have lots of books about baby animals and their mothers. I'll ask her questions about the animals names and how they look similar to and different from the parent.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Monday-"Ff"
Math/Art-Fall Shape Trees
Objective-OACS, Math, Geometry and Spatial Sense, Characteristics and Properties-2. Sort and Classify similar two and three-dimensional objects in the environment and play situations (e.g., paper shapes, 2 balls of different size).
Cut many different triangles, squares and circles from orange, brown and red paper. Mix all of the shapes together when finished cutting. Cut three rectangles from the brown paper to make trunks and glue trunks to a piece of green paper. Have your child glue the different shapes around the trunk to make a tree with one tree with only triangle leaves, one with only square leaves, and one with only circle leaves.
When Lily and I made this craft we talked about the characteristics of the shapes, the shape of the trunk and the parts of a tree. You can count the number of shapes on each tree, talk about colors, and more. *Tip-glue sticks seem to be a lot neater than bottled glue for this age!
L.A.-“Ff”
Objective-OACS, L.A., Writing Conventions, Handwriting, Indicator 1- Print letters of own name and other meaningful words with assistance using mock letters and/or conventional print.
Model how to write the letter “Ff” and talk about the sound that it makes. Help your child trace the letter if they are developmentally ready for it. Find objects in the room that begin with the letter “f.”
Science-“Who’s My Mommy?”
Objective-OCAS, Science, Life Science, Heredity, Indicator 4-Match familiar adult family members, plant and animals with their young (e.g., horse/colt, cow/calf).
Find many different figurines with an adult and their offspring such as a cat and a kitten, duck and duckling, mom doll and baby doll, etc., and mix them all up. Have your child sort them into the matching pairs. This is a great activity to learn new vocabulary and to ask questions about the methods your child is using to sort the animals. There are some great opportunities to incorporate some higher level thinking skill questions here. See my page on Critical Thinking for tips.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Friday
Friday
"Dd" Treasure Hunt!
Language Arts
Goal-OACS L.A., Phonemic Awareness, 4. Recognize when words share phonemes (sounds) and repeat the common phoneme (e.g., /b/ as in Bob, ball, baby, /t/ as in Matt, kite, boat
Design a treasure hunt with clue words that begin with “d.” Say the words out loud with your child. At the end have a toy that starts with “d” or some type of food for a prize.
Go Fish!
Goal-OACS Life Science, Diversity and Interdependence of Life, 3-Observe and begin to recognize the ways that environments support life by meeting the unique needs of each organism (e.g., plant/soil, birds/air, fish/water).
The timing of this lesson worked out perfectly because we are supposed to go fishing this weekend. It will be a great way to investigate how fish need water to live. If you don't have a fishing trip planned in the near future, take a trip to Wal-mart and look at the fish in the aquariums. If you're feeling brave, and want to challenge your child with some responsibility, you might even try bringing home a goldfish for a pet!
Also remember to check on your grass science investigation. If you’ve noticed enough of a change help your child write/draw about what they observed in a science journal. You can be their scribe.
"Dd" Treasure Hunt!
Language Arts
Goal-OACS L.A., Phonemic Awareness, 4. Recognize when words share phonemes (sounds) and repeat the common phoneme (e.g., /b/ as in Bob, ball, baby, /t/ as in Matt, kite, boat
Design a treasure hunt with clue words that begin with “d.” Say the words out loud with your child. At the end have a toy that starts with “d” or some type of food for a prize.
Go Fish!
Goal-OACS Life Science, Diversity and Interdependence of Life, 3-Observe and begin to recognize the ways that environments support life by meeting the unique needs of each organism (e.g., plant/soil, birds/air, fish/water).
The timing of this lesson worked out perfectly because we are supposed to go fishing this weekend. It will be a great way to investigate how fish need water to live. If you don't have a fishing trip planned in the near future, take a trip to Wal-mart and look at the fish in the aquariums. If you're feeling brave, and want to challenge your child with some responsibility, you might even try bringing home a goldfish for a pet!
Also remember to check on your grass science investigation. If you’ve noticed enough of a change help your child write/draw about what they observed in a science journal. You can be their scribe.
Thursday
Science
Goal-OACS Life Science, Diversity and Interdependence of Life, 3-Observe and begin to recognize the ways that environments support life by meeting the unique needs of each organism (e.g., plant/soil, birds/air, fish/water).
Lily is having a hard time understanding how plants rely on soil, so we took a morning walk today and did lots of hands on activities. We took ended up digging in the dirt, looking for worms (we found the worm piles in the picture above), looking at wildflowers growing in the garden, and looking at roots. This seemed to help a lot. We're going to plant some pumpkin seeds in a cup to further reinforce the concept.
We also had a great teachable moment when we ran into the toad in the picture above. It surprised Lily so we got to talk about how God created camoflauge and how the toad looked similar to the dirt.
Language Arts/Math
Goal-OACS Geometry, Characteristics and Properties, 4-Identify, name and describe three-dimensional objects using the child’s own vocabulary (e.g., sphere-“ball,” cube-“box,” cylinder-“tube” or “can,” and cone-“ice cream cone”).
We are going to play with some letter blocks. I'll talk with her about the faces of the block/cube, the corners, etc., while we play. I'll also help her build a couple of familiar words.
Art
We talked this morning about how deer eat grass, and how grass needs soil to grow in. I'm going to trace Lily's hands to make deer antlers and then let her glue them onto a brown paper bag. We'll draw a face on the puppet and write the word deer on it.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Wednesday-Deer (birds)
Math
Goal-OACS Geometry, Characteristics and Properties, 4-Identify, name and describe three-dimensional objects using the child’s own vocabulary (e.g., sphere-“ball,” cube-“box,” cylinder-“tube” or “can,” and cone-“ice cream cone”).
Decorate and glue two empty toilet paper tubes together to make binoculars. While working, talk about some of the properties of the tubes (they can roll on one side, one end is a circle, they don’t have corners, etc.) It doesn’t hurt anything to call it a cylinder while also calling it a tube.
Science
Goal-OACS Life Science, Diversity and Interdependence of Life, 3-Observe and begin to recognize the ways that environments support life by meeting the unique needs of each organism (e.g., plant/soil, birds/air, fish/water).
Ask your child what they know about birds (they live in trees, they fly in the air, they eat worms…). Explain that God made the birds and he also made the air/sky where the birds fly. Use your binoculars to go on a nature walk and look for birds flying in the air. Point out how silly it would be for a bird to fly underwater.
Goal-OACS Geometry, Characteristics and Properties, 4-Identify, name and describe three-dimensional objects using the child’s own vocabulary (e.g., sphere-“ball,” cube-“box,” cylinder-“tube” or “can,” and cone-“ice cream cone”).
Decorate and glue two empty toilet paper tubes together to make binoculars. While working, talk about some of the properties of the tubes (they can roll on one side, one end is a circle, they don’t have corners, etc.) It doesn’t hurt anything to call it a cylinder while also calling it a tube.
Science
Goal-OACS Life Science, Diversity and Interdependence of Life, 3-Observe and begin to recognize the ways that environments support life by meeting the unique needs of each organism (e.g., plant/soil, birds/air, fish/water).
Ask your child what they know about birds (they live in trees, they fly in the air, they eat worms…). Explain that God made the birds and he also made the air/sky where the birds fly. Use your binoculars to go on a nature walk and look for birds flying in the air. Point out how silly it would be for a bird to fly underwater.
Tuesday-Deer
Story Time
OACS L.A., Reading Process, Concepts of Print, 3. Begin to distinguish print from pictures.
Find a story about deer and read with your child. While reading, ask your child to point to the letters or the words, and then point to the pictures or illustrations. Spend a little time discussing your child's questions or comments about print and illustrations.
Shape Sorting
Goal-OACS Geometry, Characteristics and Properties, 4-Identify, name and describe three-dimensional objects using the child’s own vocabulary (e.g., sphere-“ball,” cube-“box,” cylinder-“tube” or “can,” and cone-“ice cream cone”).
We have a shape sorting toy and I plan to use it to reinforce the concepts boxes (cubes), and tubes (cylinders). While your child plays ask them if the cylinder can roll, or if the box can roll. Help your child identify other properties of the two shapes.
Science
Goal-OACS Life Science, Diversity and Interdependence of Life, 3-Observe and begin to recognize the ways that environments support life by meeting the unique needs of each organism (e.g., plant/soil, birds/air, fish/water).
Check on your grass from Monday and make observations.
OACS L.A., Reading Process, Concepts of Print, 3. Begin to distinguish print from pictures.
Find a story about deer and read with your child. While reading, ask your child to point to the letters or the words, and then point to the pictures or illustrations. Spend a little time discussing your child's questions or comments about print and illustrations.
Shape Sorting
Goal-OACS Geometry, Characteristics and Properties, 4-Identify, name and describe three-dimensional objects using the child’s own vocabulary (e.g., sphere-“ball,” cube-“box,” cylinder-“tube” or “can,” and cone-“ice cream cone”).
We have a shape sorting toy and I plan to use it to reinforce the concepts boxes (cubes), and tubes (cylinders). While your child plays ask them if the cylinder can roll, or if the box can roll. Help your child identify other properties of the two shapes.
Science
Goal-OACS Life Science, Diversity and Interdependence of Life, 3-Observe and begin to recognize the ways that environments support life by meeting the unique needs of each organism (e.g., plant/soil, birds/air, fish/water).
Check on your grass from Monday and make observations.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Monday-Deer
The Letter "d"-
OACS Writing Conventions, Handwriting, Indicator 1- Print letters of own name and other meaningful words with assistance using mock letters and/or conventional print.
Model how to write the letter “d” and the sound it makes. Help your child practice writing the letter “d.” Look for objects/toys that start with “d.” Put a picture of a deer under the “d” in your word wall (if you’ve made one).
Grass Investigation-
OACS Life Science, Diversity and Interdependence of Life, 3-Observe and begin to recognize the ways that environments support life by meeting the unique needs of each organism (e.g., plant/soil, birds/air, fish/water).
Go outside and dig up two patches of grass (if you have any that’s still alive in your yard after all of the dry weather we’ve had!). Place one patch of grass into a bowl. Remove most of the dirt from the other patch of grass and place the grass into a bowl. Water them and place them in the sun. Talk with your child about what they think might happen to the grass patches. At the end of the week your child will record their observations in a science journal. I would also tie this in with studying the deer by talking about how deer eat grass and sometimes hide in tall grasses. My daughter and I will also talk about how God created the land and the animals and how he designed the world.
Building Blocks-
OACS Geometry, Characteristics and Properties,
4-Identify, name and describe three-dimensional objects using the child’s own vocabulary (e.g., sphere-“ball,” cube-“box,” cylinder-“tube” or “can,” and cone-“ice cream cone”).
Offer lots of boxes, cylinders, balls and other shapes for your child to play with. They may build with it, create a craft, or think of another way to use the materials. Talk with them about the shapes while they play.
Update
I apologize to anyone who may be following along with our preschool lessons. I am hoping to try to post entire weeks at a time, and to post them far enough in advance so that there is time to gather any needed materials. I had to take an exam this week in order to be licensed up to 5th grade so it's been a little crazy around here with studying and preparing for that test, so I am behind in my preschool planning. I hope to get a little more organized by next week. Thanks!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
September Week 2- TURTLES!
We are still studying life science and forest animals. To save space in the middle of the posts I’m going to just reference the Ohio Academic Content Standards for each lesson in one place.
Objectives for the Week (all from the Ohio Academic Content Standards)
Math for the Week-OACS Geometry, Characteristics and Properties, Indicator 3-Identify, name, create and describe common two-dimensional shapes in the environment and play situations (e.g., circles, triangles, rectangles and squares).
Science for the Week-OACS Life Science, Characteristics and Structure of Life,
Indicator 2-Begin to differentiate between real and pretend through stories, illustrations, play and other media (e.g., talking flowers or animals).
Language Arts-
Monday-OACS Writing Conventions, Handwriting, Indicator 1- Print letters of own name and other meaningful words with assistance using mock letters and/or conventional print.
Tuesday- OACS Phonemic Awareness, Word Recognition and Fluency for Early Childhood, Phonological and Phonemic Awareness, Indicator 2-Hear sounds in words by isolating the syllables of a word using snapping, clapping or rhythmic movement (e.g., cat, ap-ple).
Wednesday- OACS Reading Process: Concepts of Print, Comprehension Strategies and Self-Monitoring Strategies for Early Childhood, Concepts of Print, Indicator 3-Begin to distinguish print from pictures.
Thursday- OACS Acquisition of Vocabulary for Early Childhood, Contextual Understanding, Indicator 2-Recognize and demonstrate an understanding of environmental print (e.g., STOP on a stop sign.)
Friday- OACS Writing Processes for Early Childhood, Drafting, Revising and Editing, Indicator 5-Dictate or produce “writing” to express thought.
Monday-Turtles
Math/Movement
Turtle Shape Swim-Cut out a fairly large triangle, circle, square and rectangle and secure them to the floor. Explain to your child that they are now a turtle and their job is to swim in a circle around the “rocks” (the shapes) while you play music. When the music stops, you will call out a shape and then the turtle has to quickly swim and land on the “rock” you call out. After you’ve played a while by calling out the name of the shape, make it a little harder and tell your child to land on the round shape, or the shape with three sides.
Connection to last week-talk about how turtles need air, water and food like owls.
Language Arts
Writing the Letter “T”- Show your child how to make the letter “T.” There is a great site with printable handwriting sheets you can use. I printed off the turtle page for “T” for Lily to use. http://www.first-school.ws/theme/animals/reptiles/turtle.htm This site has a lot of other great ideas to use.
Science
Story Time!-Read a book that shows a fictional turtle character, such as Franklin Goes to School by Paulette Bourgeois. While reading, talk about how Franklin is pretend and make some comparisons between real turtles and Franklin. You may want to have a picture of a real turtle to show at the same time.
Tuesday-Turtles
Math/Art
Decorate a Turtle- Ahead of time, cut out small circles, squares, triangles and rectangles from construction paper. Cut out a turtle head, legs and tail from green construction paper. With your child, glue head, tail, and legs around the rim of a paper plate. Draw eyes and a smile on the turtle face. Use the shapes to decorate the “shell” of the turtle. While working, talk about the name and characteristics of the shapes.
Science
Turtle Game-Print out 6 different pictures of a pretend turtles (such as Franklin), and glue on an 8.5 x 11 in. piece of paper to make a game board. Print out these same pictures again, and glue each one onto half of a note card to make playing cards. Next, print out 6 different pictures of real turtles and glue on an 8.5 x 11 in. piece of paper to make a second game board. Print out the same pictures again and glue each one onto half of a note card to make 6 more playing cards.
How to play-Shuffle the cards together and place face down. First player picks a card. If the card matches a picture on their game board they place the card over that picture on the board. If the card does not match they put it back on the bottom of the pile. The next player takes a turn. The first person to cover their entire board wins.
Talk about the differences between real and pretend as you play. This is a great activity because your child is getting sorting practice while they play.
Language Arts
Syllables-Write the word turtle down and talk about the letter “t” and the sound “t” makes. Talk about how the word turtle has two syllables – “tur” and “tle.” Practice clap once for each syllable as you practice the word.
Decorate a Turtle- Ahead of time, cut out small circles, squares, triangles and rectangles from construction paper. Cut out a turtle head, legs and tail from green construction paper. With your child, glue head, tail, and legs around the rim of a paper plate. Draw eyes and a smile on the turtle face. Use the shapes to decorate the “shell” of the turtle. While working, talk about the name and characteristics of the shapes.
Science
Turtle Game-Print out 6 different pictures of a pretend turtles (such as Franklin), and glue on an 8.5 x 11 in. piece of paper to make a game board. Print out these same pictures again, and glue each one onto half of a note card to make playing cards. Next, print out 6 different pictures of real turtles and glue on an 8.5 x 11 in. piece of paper to make a second game board. Print out the same pictures again and glue each one onto half of a note card to make 6 more playing cards.
How to play-Shuffle the cards together and place face down. First player picks a card. If the card matches a picture on their game board they place the card over that picture on the board. If the card does not match they put it back on the bottom of the pile. The next player takes a turn. The first person to cover their entire board wins.
Talk about the differences between real and pretend as you play. This is a great activity because your child is getting sorting practice while they play.
Language Arts
Syllables-Write the word turtle down and talk about the letter “t” and the sound “t” makes. Talk about how the word turtle has two syllables – “tur” and “tle.” Practice clap once for each syllable as you practice the word.
Wednesday-Turtles
Language Arts
Story Time!- Read a turtle story of your choice and talk with your child about where the letters are on the page and where the illustrations are. See if your child can recognize any of the letters. Ask them which illustration was their favorite, and which part of the story was their favorite.
Math/Art
Playdoh!-Play with play-doh and challenge your child to make circles, triangles, squares and rectangles.
Science
Movie Time!-Watch a Franklin video http://www.nickjr.com/kids-videos/franklin-kids-videos.html and talk about how real turtles can’t talk, walk, or play like Franklin.
Story Time!- Read a turtle story of your choice and talk with your child about where the letters are on the page and where the illustrations are. See if your child can recognize any of the letters. Ask them which illustration was their favorite, and which part of the story was their favorite.
Math/Art
Playdoh!-Play with play-doh and challenge your child to make circles, triangles, squares and rectangles.
Science
Movie Time!-Watch a Franklin video http://www.nickjr.com/kids-videos/franklin-kids-videos.html and talk about how real turtles can’t talk, walk, or play like Franklin.
Thursday-Turtles
Math/Movement/Language Arts
Follow that Turtle!- Prior to the activity make a red stop sign with the letters “STOP” on it. Either go outside and draw a big circle with chalk or use a rope to make a large circle inside. Pretend that the circle is the pond and that you are turtles. Give directions like follow me around the pond, inside the pond and outside the pond. When you hold up the “STOP” sign have everyone stop. Talk about how the pond is round like a circle and about what the stop sign means.
Science
Animal Charades!-Take turns acting like a real turtle or a turtle like Franklin and have your child guess if you’re real or pretend. If this is too hard, just pretend to be real turtles and crawl around and eat or swim and then later pretend to do something like Franklin does.
Follow that Turtle!- Prior to the activity make a red stop sign with the letters “STOP” on it. Either go outside and draw a big circle with chalk or use a rope to make a large circle inside. Pretend that the circle is the pond and that you are turtles. Give directions like follow me around the pond, inside the pond and outside the pond. When you hold up the “STOP” sign have everyone stop. Talk about how the pond is round like a circle and about what the stop sign means.
Science
Animal Charades!-Take turns acting like a real turtle or a turtle like Franklin and have your child guess if you’re real or pretend. If this is too hard, just pretend to be real turtles and crawl around and eat or swim and then later pretend to do something like Franklin does.
Friday-Turtles
Science/Language Arts
Field Trip!-Go to a park or a nearby pond and observe some real turtles. Have your child journal about what they observed. They can either color a picture or tell you what to write.
Math/Art
Make a Turtle Habitat- Cut out a piece of large blue paper into a circle. Cut out small circles, triangles and squares. Cut out a large rectangle shape for a log. Help your child glue the shapes onto the large circle to make a home for the paper plate turtle that you made earlier in the week.
Field Trip!-Go to a park or a nearby pond and observe some real turtles. Have your child journal about what they observed. They can either color a picture or tell you what to write.
Math/Art
Make a Turtle Habitat- Cut out a piece of large blue paper into a circle. Cut out small circles, triangles and squares. Cut out a large rectangle shape for a log. Help your child glue the shapes onto the large circle to make a home for the paper plate turtle that you made earlier in the week.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Word Wall
We added the word "owl" to our word wall. The word wall is a wonderful tool for teaching reading. I have familiar words with pictures on the wall to help Lily start to recognize familiar letters and to learn some new sight words. All you need is a space to post the alphabet and some words. It's very easy and inexpensive to create!
Owl Craft
Lily and I had so much fun working on this project. I was amazed at all of the teachable moments during this craft. Crafts are so important for kids because they are an opportunity to introduce new vocabulary, they allow kids to practice following directions, and they are great for fine motor skill development!
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Grandparent's Day Craft Idea
I almost forgot about Grandparent's Day! I think Lily and I are going to write what we love about our grandparents on little slips of paper and then attach those to some chocolate kisses. We'll either buy a pretty jar or decorate one ourselves and place all of the kisses inside. Anyone else have any fun ideas?
September- Week 1 - Owls
September's theme is Outdoors/Forest Animals. Lily and I are taking a trip to the Cincinnati Nature Center for their "Preparing for Night" activities. She will be learning about nocturnal animals so I thought this would tie in well.
These lessons are not meant to be drawn out or elaborate. Preschoolers don't have a very lengthy attention span so you may want to separate lesson plans or cut some out all together. Remember, every child is different so what may work with my daughter may not work for you! We are probably going to start off doing "preschool" an hour or less a day.
Monday- No school - Labor Day
Tuesday
Bible Reading and Prayer-Pray for wisdom and learning for both of us. Read parts of Genesis 1, talking briefly about how God made the animals.
Calendar- I have a blank calendar that Lily and I fill in with the date as we go along. It's great because we use essential vocabulary such as today, tomorrow, yesterday (important for math and social studies), and it gets her more familiar with reading numbers. We fill in fun plans and holidays, too. This only takes a minute or two.
L.A.- Practice reading and writing the letter "O"
Ohio Academic Content Standard: Print letters of own name and other meaningful words with assistance using mock letters and/or conventional print.
Activity: Trace and color the owl picture and the letter "o."
Link: http://www.first-school.ws/t/alpha_owlb.html
Math- Make a circle.
Ohio Academic Content Standard: Identify, name, create and describe common two-dimensional shapes in the environment and play situations (e.g., circles, triangles, rectangles and squares).
Activity: Create a circle (use play-doh, pipe cleaners, markers, crayons...whatever you'd like). Help your child describe the circle (it's round, it doesn't have any straight sides, etc.) Explain that it's called a circle. Look around the room to find other circles.
Science/P.E.-Hunt for food like an owl
Ohio Academic Content Standard: Identify common needs (e.g., food, air, water) of familiar living things.
Activity: Read a book about owls or if you don't have one on hand or have time to get to the library just talk about how owls need to eat like we do. Take turns hiding a play mouse or snake in the house and having the child fly around trying to find the toys. You can tell them that it's day and they have to go sleep while you hide the toys and then tell them it's night and they can start searching. Talk about why owls need to eat.
Wednesday
Bible Reading and Prayer-Pray for wisdom and learning for both of us. Read parts of Genesis 1, talking briefly about how God made the animals.
Calendar
L.A.-Listen to different owl calls
Ohio Academic Content Standard: Differentiate between sounds that are the same and different (e.g., environmental sounds, animal sounds, phonemes).
Activity: Play an owl sound from a website such as one provided in the link below. Then, play either the same sound again or a different one and ask your child if the sounds were the same or different. Repeat with new calls. This activity may sound crazy but they actually use this kind of stuff during testing.
Link: http://www.owlpages.com/sounds.php
Math/Art: Owl Craft
Ohio Academic Content Standard: Identify, name, create and describe common two-dimensional shapes in the environment and play situations (e.g., circle, triangles, rectangles and squares).
Activity: Make the owl craft provided in the link below and talk about the shapes you are using (circles and triangles).
Link: http:www.first-school.ws/t/craft/owl_shapes_b.html
Science: Make Owl Kool-aid
Ohio Academic Content Standard: Identify common needs (e.g., food, air, water) of familiar living things.
Activity- Have your child fly around like an owl and remind them of the game they played yesterday and how owl's need food for energy. After a while of flying around ask them if they are thirsty. Talk with them about how owls get thirsty too and they need to drink water to live. Take a break and make some Kool-Aid with your child.
Thursday
Bible Reading and Prayer-Pray for wisdom and learning for both of us. Read parts of Genesis 1, talking briefly about how God made the animals.
Calendar
L.A.- Words that rhyme with "Owl"
Ohio Academic Content Standard: Identify matching sounds and recognize rhymes in familiar stories, poems, songs and words (e.g., cat/hat, dog/frog).
Activity-write the word "owl" and brainstorm rhyming words with your child (growl, howl...)
Math- Make a Square
Ohio Academic Content Standard: Identify, name, create and describe common two-dimensional shapes in the environment and play situations (e.g., circles, triangles, rectangles and squares).
Activity: Create a square (use play-doh, pipe cleaners, markers, crayons...whatever you'd like). Help your child describe the square (it has four sides, they are all straight sides, etc.) Explain that it's called a square. Look around the room to find other squares.
Science- Owls Need Air!
Ohio Academic Content Standard: Identify common needs (e.g., food, air, water) of familiar living things.
Activity- Have child briefly hold their breath. Ask them how they felt. Explain that we all need air to live. Owls also need air. You can blow up a balloon to show them that air takes up space and is invisible. Practice quickly flying around like an owl and see how you need to breathe more air.
Music- Sing any of the silly owl songs at the link below!
Link: http://www.perpetualpreschool.com/preschool_themes/owls/owl_songs.htm
Friday
Bible Reading and Prayer-Pray for wisdom and learning for both of us. Read parts of Genesis 1, talking briefly about how God made the animals.
Calendar
L.A.- Read an Owl Story
Ohio Academic Content Standard: Retell information from informational text.
Read a simple non-fiction story about owls with your child. When you finish reading ask them what they remembered. Help them as they try to retell some important facts.
Math- Make a Rectangle
Ohio Academic Content Standard: Identify, name, create and describe common two-dimensional shapes in the environment and play situations (e.g., circles, triangles, rectangles and squares).
Activity- Create a rectangle (use play-doh, pipe cleaners, markers, crayons...whatever you'd like). Help your child describe the rectangle (it has four sides, they are all straight sides, etc.) Explain that it's called a rectangle. Look around the room to find other rectangle. If it's nice outside you could even use chalk to make a rectangle!
Science- Owl Memory Game
Ohio Academic Content Standard: Recognize physical differences among the same class of people, plants, or animals (e.g., dogs come in many sizes and colors).
Activity- Find pictures of four different types of owls (I just used an online encyclopedia). Print out two of each picture (for example, print two of the same picture of the snowy owl, two of the barn owl, two of the screech owl, etc.) Cut and glue to notecards to make cards for a matching game. Place all cards face down on the floor. Have child turn over one card, and then one more card trying to find the match. If they find the match they make take another turn. Play ends when a match is not made. The person with the most matches at the end wins. While playing talk about the different features of the owls (keep it simple, like color, size, etc.).
We are taking a field trip to CNC tonight!
These lessons are not meant to be drawn out or elaborate. Preschoolers don't have a very lengthy attention span so you may want to separate lesson plans or cut some out all together. Remember, every child is different so what may work with my daughter may not work for you! We are probably going to start off doing "preschool" an hour or less a day.
Monday- No school - Labor Day
Tuesday
Bible Reading and Prayer-Pray for wisdom and learning for both of us. Read parts of Genesis 1, talking briefly about how God made the animals.
Calendar- I have a blank calendar that Lily and I fill in with the date as we go along. It's great because we use essential vocabulary such as today, tomorrow, yesterday (important for math and social studies), and it gets her more familiar with reading numbers. We fill in fun plans and holidays, too. This only takes a minute or two.
L.A.- Practice reading and writing the letter "O"
Ohio Academic Content Standard: Print letters of own name and other meaningful words with assistance using mock letters and/or conventional print.
Activity: Trace and color the owl picture and the letter "o."
Link: http://www.first-school.ws/t/alpha_owlb.html
Math- Make a circle.
Ohio Academic Content Standard: Identify, name, create and describe common two-dimensional shapes in the environment and play situations (e.g., circles, triangles, rectangles and squares).
Activity: Create a circle (use play-doh, pipe cleaners, markers, crayons...whatever you'd like). Help your child describe the circle (it's round, it doesn't have any straight sides, etc.) Explain that it's called a circle. Look around the room to find other circles.
Science/P.E.-Hunt for food like an owl
Ohio Academic Content Standard: Identify common needs (e.g., food, air, water) of familiar living things.
Activity: Read a book about owls or if you don't have one on hand or have time to get to the library just talk about how owls need to eat like we do. Take turns hiding a play mouse or snake in the house and having the child fly around trying to find the toys. You can tell them that it's day and they have to go sleep while you hide the toys and then tell them it's night and they can start searching. Talk about why owls need to eat.
Wednesday
Bible Reading and Prayer-Pray for wisdom and learning for both of us. Read parts of Genesis 1, talking briefly about how God made the animals.
Calendar
L.A.-Listen to different owl calls
Ohio Academic Content Standard: Differentiate between sounds that are the same and different (e.g., environmental sounds, animal sounds, phonemes).
Activity: Play an owl sound from a website such as one provided in the link below. Then, play either the same sound again or a different one and ask your child if the sounds were the same or different. Repeat with new calls. This activity may sound crazy but they actually use this kind of stuff during testing.
Link: http://www.owlpages.com/sounds.php
Math/Art: Owl Craft
Ohio Academic Content Standard: Identify, name, create and describe common two-dimensional shapes in the environment and play situations (e.g., circle, triangles, rectangles and squares).
Activity: Make the owl craft provided in the link below and talk about the shapes you are using (circles and triangles).
Link: http:www.first-school.ws/t/craft/owl_shapes_b.html
Science: Make Owl Kool-aid
Ohio Academic Content Standard: Identify common needs (e.g., food, air, water) of familiar living things.
Activity- Have your child fly around like an owl and remind them of the game they played yesterday and how owl's need food for energy. After a while of flying around ask them if they are thirsty. Talk with them about how owls get thirsty too and they need to drink water to live. Take a break and make some Kool-Aid with your child.
Thursday
Bible Reading and Prayer-Pray for wisdom and learning for both of us. Read parts of Genesis 1, talking briefly about how God made the animals.
Calendar
L.A.- Words that rhyme with "Owl"
Ohio Academic Content Standard: Identify matching sounds and recognize rhymes in familiar stories, poems, songs and words (e.g., cat/hat, dog/frog).
Activity-write the word "owl" and brainstorm rhyming words with your child (growl, howl...)
Math- Make a Square
Ohio Academic Content Standard: Identify, name, create and describe common two-dimensional shapes in the environment and play situations (e.g., circles, triangles, rectangles and squares).
Activity: Create a square (use play-doh, pipe cleaners, markers, crayons...whatever you'd like). Help your child describe the square (it has four sides, they are all straight sides, etc.) Explain that it's called a square. Look around the room to find other squares.
Science- Owls Need Air!
Ohio Academic Content Standard: Identify common needs (e.g., food, air, water) of familiar living things.
Activity- Have child briefly hold their breath. Ask them how they felt. Explain that we all need air to live. Owls also need air. You can blow up a balloon to show them that air takes up space and is invisible. Practice quickly flying around like an owl and see how you need to breathe more air.
Music- Sing any of the silly owl songs at the link below!
Link: http://www.perpetualpreschool.com/preschool_themes/owls/owl_songs.htm
Friday
Bible Reading and Prayer-Pray for wisdom and learning for both of us. Read parts of Genesis 1, talking briefly about how God made the animals.
Calendar
L.A.- Read an Owl Story
Ohio Academic Content Standard: Retell information from informational text.
Read a simple non-fiction story about owls with your child. When you finish reading ask them what they remembered. Help them as they try to retell some important facts.
Math- Make a Rectangle
Ohio Academic Content Standard: Identify, name, create and describe common two-dimensional shapes in the environment and play situations (e.g., circles, triangles, rectangles and squares).
Activity- Create a rectangle (use play-doh, pipe cleaners, markers, crayons...whatever you'd like). Help your child describe the rectangle (it has four sides, they are all straight sides, etc.) Explain that it's called a rectangle. Look around the room to find other rectangle. If it's nice outside you could even use chalk to make a rectangle!
Science- Owl Memory Game
Ohio Academic Content Standard: Recognize physical differences among the same class of people, plants, or animals (e.g., dogs come in many sizes and colors).
Activity- Find pictures of four different types of owls (I just used an online encyclopedia). Print out two of each picture (for example, print two of the same picture of the snowy owl, two of the barn owl, two of the screech owl, etc.) Cut and glue to notecards to make cards for a matching game. Place all cards face down on the floor. Have child turn over one card, and then one more card trying to find the match. If they find the match they make take another turn. Play ends when a match is not made. The person with the most matches at the end wins. While playing talk about the different features of the owls (keep it simple, like color, size, etc.).
We are taking a field trip to CNC tonight!
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