April 2013 CURRICULUM ACTIVITIES. Age 2. Appelbaum Training Institute CHILD

Transcription

1 April 2013 CURRICULUM ACTIVITIES Age 2 Appelbaum Training Institute CHILD

2 Dear Subscriber, This month there are items you may choose to ask your parents to bring in to assist you with the activities. Below is a sample letter you can use. Feel free to edit based on your needs. Appelbaum Training Dear Parents, We will be learning about flowers, fruits, vegetables, and nursery rhymes this month. We are asking that your child arrive each Monday with a special item to help us with the topics. Week 1: Week 2: Week 3: Week 4: We appreciate your assistance in helping us! Sincerely,

3 April Activities for 2 Year Olds Remember to look in your Welcome Packet for your letter and number shapes. Your Welcome Packet was sent separately when you joined as well as on the September 2012 Curriculum . Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Week 1 Flowers What Flowers Need Parts of a Flower Flower Art Flower Songs Flower Gifts Week 2 Veggie Fun Carrots Crunch Celery Fun Tomato Magic Lettuce Wraps Onions Only Week 3 Fruit Fun Apples Oranges Grapes Strawberries Bananas Week 4 Nursery Rhymes Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Jack and Jill London Bridge is Falling Down Farmer in the Dell Mary Mary Quite Contrary Appelbaum Training Institute All Rights reserved CHILD

4 Flowers April, Week 1, Day 1 Activities for What Flowers Need Materials Needed: Picture of a flower ( provided), real flowers (if available), letter Z (Letter Kit), paper plates, yellow water color, paste, glitter, yellow straws and/or yellow pipe cleaners, craft sticks, paper flowers for Math (provided), fake flower LANGUAGE-LITERACY Ask the children to share what they ate for breakfast. Tell them that their bodies need food. Look at your daily schedule and ask them what they do during naptime. They sleep. Tell them that their bodies need sleep. Show them a bottle of water and ask them what it is. Tell them their bodies need water. Show them a real flower and/or picture of a flower (provided). Tell them that flowers need water and sunshine to grow. Chant: Water, food and sleep is what I need. Sunshine and water grow a flower from a seed. The Letter Z Children learn the letter Z. They trace the letter and make the sound. Have them say, Z-z-zero, zebra, zip, zap, zoom, and zucchini. Have children with zippers on their clothing stand up and say, This is a z-z-zipper. Then show them the number zero and have them say, That is a z-z-zero. Show them a zucchini and have them say, This is a z-z-zucchini. Chant: Zebras eat zero zucchinis. Watercolor Sunshine Remind children that water and sunshine make a plant grow. Give each child a paper plate. They use yellow watercolors to paint their suns (paper plates). Once dry, help them paste yellow straws and/or pipe cleaners around the sun to become rays. You can also have children paint paste onto their plates and sprinkle gold glitter to give the sun some shine. Lastly, paste a craft stick onto the paper plate suns to make a sun puppet. Save for Music today. 33 Flowers Go on a walk outside and count each flower. Try to find 33 flowers. If a flower walk is not possible, scatter 33 paper flowers (provided) on the floor. Children find the flowers, line them up on a table, and count them. Sing and Act Out Sun, Sun, Stay A While (tune of Rain, Rain, Go Away ) Hold paper plate suns from Art while singing: Sun, sun, stay a while. You help the flowers to smile. Sun, sun, where are you? I see you in the sky so blue. Sun, sun, so light and bright. You make the flowers grow just right. Pretty Flowers, Pretty People Tell the children that flowers are pretty, just like them. Children take turns passing a flower (real or fake) around the circle and say, Pretty flower, pretty me. Everyone chants: Flowers, flowers are so pretty. We are pretty too. Flowers need water and sunshine. Children need love and limits.

5 Week 1 - Day 1 FLOWER FOR CIRCLE ACTIVITY

6 Week 1 - Day 1 Print three copies of this page for Math. Cut out 33 flowers. FLOWERS FOR ACTIVITY

7 Flowers April, Week 1, Day 2 Activities for Parts of a Flower Materials Needed: Real flower and/or picture of a flower (previously provided), 26 dessert paper plates, flower shape to photocopy for Art (provided), colored construction paper, colored tissue paper, paste, white carnations, food coloring, clear glass or vase LANGUAGE-LITERACY Children stand up. Tell them to touch their feet. Say, Your feet help you stand. Next, have them pat their legs. Say, Your legs keep you standing up. Next, have them move their arms. Say, Your arms are another part of your body. Lastly, have them point to the smiles on their faces. Say, Your smiles add beauty to your faces. Children sit down. Say, Just like your bodies have different parts such as feet, legs, arms and faces, flowers have different parts too. Point out the stem, leaves and flower on a real flower or a picture of a flower. Alphabet Flower Path Write one letter each on small dessert paper plates. Give each child a few paper plates. Say, Let s make an alphabet path. The first step is the A flower. Who has the A? The child with the A plate brings it to you. Continue through Z. Then children walk the flower path saying each letter sound. Mosaic Flower Pre-cut a flower shape (provided) for each child and mount it onto colored paper. Children dip pieces of colored tissue paper into paste and then place them onto the petals of the flower. Next, they dip small pieces of green tissue paper into paste and cover the stem and leaf. Save for Social Skills. Drinking Stems Show the children white carnations. Count how many carnations altogether. Point to the stems and ask them what it is called. Tell them that stems bring water to the flowers. Cut the stems at an angle and place them in a glass or vase of water colored with food coloring. Mark the water level on the glass or vase. As the day goes by have children notice how the carnation will change to the color of the water as the stem drinks up the water to the flower. Also notice that the water level is lower than the originally marked line. Sing Parts of Plants (tune of The Muffin Man ) Oh, do you know the parts of plants, parts of plants, parts of plants? Oh, do you know the parts of plants that help them grow-ow-ow? Stems move the water up the plant, up the plant, up the plant. Then a flower can grow-ow-ow. Flower Colors (Giving Compliments) Children share their mosaic flowers from Art today. They take turns naming a color in their flower. Children say, That is a pretty flower. Great job, (Name of Child). You are an important stem in the life of a child. Your care, teaching and love help them bloom into beautiful flowers.

8 Week 1 - Day 2 FLOWER SHAPE FOR ART

9 Flowers April, Week 1, Day 3 Activities for Flower Art Materials Needed: Art sample from yesterday, dry ziti pasta, cooked ziti, zucchini, green non-toxic and washable paint, construction paper, colored tissue paper, paste, towels, washcloths, coffee filters, droppers, food coloring Point to the children s mosaic flowers from Art yesterday. Tell them that they can do many great art crafts with flowers. Point to each part of the flowers from Art and review the stem, leaf, and flower with them. Chant: Flowers make great art. We can color and paste a pretty picture that is oh so great. LANGUAGE-LITERACY Z is for Ziti and Zucchini Pass around dry ziti pasta. Help children describe the pasta with words such as round, hard, etc. Tell them that ziti is a type of pasta and we eat it like spaghetti. Give each child a piece of cooked ziti to taste. Notice it is soft when cooked. Next, pass around a zucchini. Use words to describe the zucchini such as round, hard, green, etc. Then cut a slice of washed zucchini for each child to taste. (Caution: Always check for allergies.) Ziti Zucchini Flowers Children paint dry ziti pasta green. They paste the ziti onto construction paper to become a stem. Next, help them cut pieces of zucchini and paste onto the stem to become leaves. Last, children paste scrunched pieces of colored tissue paper on top of the stem to be the flower. Halves Children practice making halves by folding washcloths or towels in half. Give each child an open, flat coffee filter. Show them how to fold it in half. Help them as needed. Say, This is a circle. Let s fold it in half. Then help each child fold the coffee filter in half once more. Next, children fill droppers with water that is colored with food coloring. They make drops on top of their folded coffee filters. Open to see how the color has absorbed and spread. Let them dry and save for Art tomorrow. Sing Flower, Flower (tune of Are You Sleeping? ) Flower, flower. Where are you? Where are you? (Stand and look around.) Morning sun is shining. Morning sun is shining. (Put hand over eyes.) Bloom, bloom, bloom. Bloom, bloom, bloom. (Spread open hands.) Flower Walk (Practice Listening) Children practice listening by walking with the teacher and listening for outside sounds while looking for flowers. Listen for birds, cars, the wind, the sound of feet walking over grass compared to concrete, etc. When finished sit in a circle outside and share the sounds they heard. Then have them share the colors of the flowers they saw. Watching children grow and blossom is the best benefit of the teaching profession.

10 Flowers April, Week 1, Day 4 Activities for Flower Songs Materials Needed: Construction paper, green pipe cleaners or green straws, coffee filters from Math yesterday, colored butcher paper, green paint, real leaves, oval shape for flower petals (provided), fake flower LANGUAGE-LITERACY Review the parts of a plant with the children: stem, leaves, and flower. Then remind them of their great flower art work. Say, Today you will get to sing more songs about flowers. Children sing: I can smell a flower; I can smell a flower. With my nose, with my nose. (Point to nose.) It smells so good, it smells so good. (Sniff. Sniff.) Just like I thought it would. Alphabet Flower Bouquet Trace each child s hand a few times and cut them out. (The number of times is dependent on your class size. You need 26 hands.) Write one letter A - Z on each hand cut-out. Children put the hands in alphabetical order. They sing the ABC Song. Then paste a green straw or pipe cleaner onto each lettered hand. Gather them altogether in a glass or vase to make an alphabet hand bouquet. Class Filter Flower Garden Children paste their coffee filters from Math yesterday in the center of a piece of colored butcher paper. These will become flowers. Next, they paint a green line coming down from the coffee filters to become stems. Last, they paste real leaves onto the stems. Hang the class flower garden in the room to enjoy. Petals Put Together Pre-cut several oval-shaped flower petals (provided) out of colored construction paper. Give each child one flower petal. Say, Let s make a flower with seven petals. Children bring you one flower petal at a time while counting each to seven. Place them on a piece of paper in a circle to form a flower. Repeat with a different number of petals each time. Then put the petals in a repeating color patter such as red, yellow, red, yellow, etc. Sing I m a Little Flower Pot (tune of I m a Little Teapot ) I'm a little flower pot that sits out. (Point to self.) Just take care of me, and I will sprout. (Nod head.) Give me water, and I will grow- (Pretend to pour water.) Into a pretty flower, don't you know! (Squat down and slowly stand up with arms spread out.) Flower Breaths Tell children that when they get mad or sad or scared they can do flower breathing. Pass around a fake flower and have children take turns smelling the flower (inhale). Then show them how to blow out slowly like blowing out a candle on a cake (exhale). Practice breathing in and out slowly. Sing loud and proud with the children each day.

11 Week 1 - Day 4 OVAL FOR FLOWER PETALS IN

12 Flowers April, Week 1, Day 5 Activities for Flower Gifts Materials Needed: Gift wrapped box with a sample of today s Art activity inside, masking tape, paper plates, paints, string, photo sample for Art (provided), cupcake liners, paint or colored ink pads for Math Place a gift wrapped box in the center of the circle with a sample of today s Art activity inside the box. Say, What is that box? It is a present. A gift. Open it. Show children the garden spiral. Tell them that they will make a gift like this to give someone. It is pretty like flowers, and it can spin outside with the flowers. Chant: A gift we get to make, a gift we get to make. Hi-hothe derry-o, a gift we get to make. LANGUAGE-LITERACY Letter Z Review Make the shape of the letter Z on the floor with masking tape. Tell children that the Z shape is a zigzag. Children walk along the Z shape saying, Zigzag, zigzag, I am walking a zigzag on a Z. Point out zippers on clothing. Tell children to point to a zipper and say, Z-z-zipper. Garden Spiral Art Children make Art to hang outside in a garden. Each child paints both sides of a paper plate. Then cut each plate around and around creating a spiral. Tie a piece of string to it. See photo sample (provided). Children take it home and hang it outside to spin in the wind. Thumbprint Petals Give each child a cupcake liner with a number written in it. Children make that number of thumbprints to become petals in the cupcake liner. Paste all of the cupcake liners together on a large piece of construction paper to make a large flower. Sing Flowers, Flowers (tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star ) Flowers, flowers everywhere, very close and very far. In a vase, at my school, in the ground, oh so cool. What a pretty time of year, flowers growing, bringing cheer. Finger Flowers (Working Together) Tell children to pretend their fingers each have a flower on them. They each face a partner and sing: 1 little, 2 little, 3 little flowers. 4 little, 5 little, 6 little flowers. 7 little, 8 little, 9 little flowers. 10 little flowers on our hands. While singing they touch their fingers together with their partner, and count along with the song. You are a gift to children.

13 Week 1 - Day 5 PHOTO SAMPLE FOR ART

14 Veggie Fun April, Week 2, Day 1 Activities for Carrots Crunch Materials Needed: Picture of a rabbit (provided), carrots, pipe cleaners, plain white paper, green tissue paper, paste, bowls, cooking pot (Caution: Make sure carrots are thoroughly chewed before swallowing. If that is not possible, use cooked carrots when tasting.) Show children a picture of a rabbit (provided). Ask, What do rabbits like to eat? Carrots. Say, Carrots are also a very good vegetable for people too. What color are they? Orange. Give each child a thin, washed carrot stick. Watch closely as they chew it and swallow it. Children tell you if they liked the carrot or not. Chant: Carrots are good for you. LANGUAGE-LITERACY A-Z Letter Formation Cut a few long length carrots into thinner sticks. Place them on the table with a few pipe cleaners. Children use the carrot sticks and bendable pipe cleaners to make the shape of each letter A Z. One Big Carrot Children paint a plain piece of white paper orange. Once dry, help them roll it into a cone shape and paste closed. Next, stuff the top opening with green tissue paper to become the leaves. Long or Short Fill a bowl with whole, regular sized carrots and small carrots. Children sort them into long and short groups. How many in each group? Show them two carrots and ask, Which one is longer? Shorter? Sing and Act Out Carrots Carrots grow in the ground. (Point to the ground.) In a garden all around. (Move hand all around.) Scrub them up and down. (Move hands up and down like scrubbing.) We can eat them all year round. (Pretend to eat carrots.) Chewing them makes a crunchy sound. (Pretend to chew.) Mmmm mmmm yummy crunchy carrots. (Rub tummies.) Carrot Drop (Cheering for Friends and Taking Turns) Children take turns standing over a cooking pot with a carrot. They hold it in the air and drop it into the pot. Tell them that people put carrots in a pot to cook them, but today they are using the cooking pot for a game. Children cheer for each other when the carrot goes inside the pot. Commit to eating healthy.

15 Week 2 - Day 1 RABBIT FOR CIRCLE ACTIVITY

16 Veggie Fun April, Week 2, Day 2 Activities for Celery Fun Materials Needed: Several bunches of celery, non-toxic paints, construction paper, carrots, cream cheese (Caution: Make sure children thoroughly wash hands prior to activities with food. Also, always watch children closely so there s no choking while eating.) Show children a bunch of celery. Say, Celery is another vegetable. Look how it grows connected and bunched up with other celery. Children tell you what color it is. Give each child a small, washed piece to taste. They raise their hands if they liked it. Chant: Carrots and celery are good for you. LANGUAGE-LITERACY Alphabet Review Song Children sing while you point to each letter. A, B, C, D, E, F, G, oh do you hear me? H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, always be the best that you can be. Q, R, S, T, U, V, learning is fun yippee! W, X, Y, and Z, so very smart, aren t we? Celery Stamp Art Cut off the bottom of a celery heart by making a cut close to the bottom of the stalk. Save the stalks. Children hold the celery heart, dip it into paint and make stamps onto construction paper. It will resemble a rose shape. They can also hold the stalks and dip the ends into paint to make more stamp prints. Carrot Celery Patterns Place small pieces of carrots and celery in a bowl. Children sort the vegetables. Count how many pieces of celery and how many carrots. Which is bigger? Smaller? Make a repeating pattern on the table: carrot, celery, carrot, celery, etc. Chant and Act Out Celery Snacks Make this snack and enjoy it with the children. Then have them chant: Cut and wash the stalks please. Then spread on cream cheese. What a yummy snack - to make snack time a breeze! Soft Voices Remind children to use their soft voices inside and their loud voices outside. Children practice using their soft voices. Watch this video as an example: Every day you get to make a difference with children.

17 Veggie Fun April, Week 2, Day 3 Activities for Tomato Magic Materials Needed: Tomatoes, food pictures (provided), index cards, paste, heavy paper or paper plates, blocks (Note: Make sure children wash their hands before and after eating tomatoes.) Show children a tomato. Pass it around the circle. Children describe it. Red, round, etc. Next, cut it in half. Show them the seeds. Cut a piece of celery and a carrot in half. Put them next to the tomato. Ask which one has seeds on the inside. The tomato. Tell children that many people think that tomatoes are vegetables, but they are really a fruit. Chant: Tomatoes are fruit. Yum, yum, fruit. LANGUAGE-LITERACY Food Match Paste a picture of carrots on two index cards. Do the same for celery and tomatoes. Use pictures from your local grocery store ads or the ones provided. Children scatter the cards on the table and find the match. When they match the carrot cards, help them say, This is a carrot. Have them name celery and tomato too. Tomato Sauce Painting Puree a tomato in a blender for children to see it change into tomato sauce. Tell them that tomatoes are used to make pizza sauce, spaghetti sauce and cook stews. Give each child a small cup of tomato paste. They use it as a paint to make designs onto heavy paper or paper plates. They can finger paint or use paint brushes. Growing Tall Remind children that water and sunshine help flowers to grow tall. Tell them that their bodies need water and vegetables to grow tall. Have children build a tower as tall as them. How many blocks high was the tower? Chant Tomatoes Tomatoes are juicy and quite round. (Make round shape with arms.) In a salad they can be found. (Pretend to eat a salad.) Tomatoes are a funny kind of fruit. (Stand up and laugh.) They dress up in a vegetable suit. (Stand up and straighten pretend jacket.) Social Stretch Out Tell children that vegetables help their bodies grow. Say, Let s move your bodies. Children sit facing a friend with the soles of their feet touching. Have them stretch by bending over to touch their toes. They say, Hello friend. Next, they stand up and hold hands with a friend. They stand on their tip toes, stomp feet and jump up and down. Shout: Eat your veggies every bit. Move around to be really fit! Health is more important than wealth.

18 Week 2 - Day 3 PICTURES FOR LITERACY ACTIVITY

19 Veggie Fun April, Week 2, Day 4 Activities for Lettuce Wraps Materials Needed: Bag of washed lettuce, carrots, celery, paper sack, head of iceberg lettuce, paints (Note: Make sure children thoroughly wash their hands before and after handling the vegetables.) LANGUAGE-LITERACY Tell children that another vegetable is a special type of leaf. Show them a bag of washed lettuce. Give each child a piece to touch and taste. They share if they liked it or not. Chant: Lettuce, lettuce is a leaf. We can eat it, do you believe? Which Vegetable Is It? Put a washed carrot, stalk of celery and piece of lettuce in a paper sack. Children take turns choosing a vegetable from the sack without looking. Before taking it out of the bag they say, This is. They name the color of the vegetable when it is pulled out. (Note: These veggies are not to eat, just to be used to play the game.) Leaf Canvas Give each child a washed leaf of iceberg lettuce. Children paint a design on it. (Be sure to lay them out beforehand so that they are dry.) Paste this painted lettuce leaf on a piece of construction paper. Save for Art tomorrow. Sorting Lettuce Children sort a bag of mixed greens by size and color. Count how many of each color. Put leaves in order from biggest to smallest. Chant A Salad We Will Make A salad we will make. Then you toss it do not bake! (Pretend to toss salad.) Add the lettuce a leaf we eat. (Pretend to eat lettuce.) Add some carrot crunch what a yummy lunch. (Say, Crunch, crunch. ) Put in tomatoes too. Yummy, yummy for me and you. (Point to self and a friend.) Lettuce Say Hello Children practice saying hello and the names of their friends. One child sits in the center of the circle. The rest of the children say, Hello (Name of Child). How are you? The child says, Very good, thanks. A second child comes to the center of the circle. Play continues until each child has had a turn in the center of the circle. Learning to develop healthy friendships early is the key to future relationships.

20 Veggie Fun April, Week 2, Day 5 Activities for Onions Only Materials Needed: Onions, paints, Art from yesterday, children bring in a variety of lids from home (jar, box, bottle), vegetable for each child to hold in Social Skills LANGUAGE-LITERACY Roll an onion to Child A in the circle. Say, This is a vegetable called an onion. Child A rolls it to Child B and says, This is an onion. Child B says, Thank you, and rolls to Child C. Play continues until all children have held and rolled the onion. Chant: Onions are vegetables. Onion On, Onion Off Children take turns putting an onion on a table and taking it off a table. The next child puts the onion on a chair and takes it off the chair. As they move the onion children say, The onion is on the table. The onion is off the table. Give each child a turn using different locations in the room. Onion Skin Painting Give each child a piece of an onion skin. They paint a design on it. Next, paste it next to the lettuce leaf painting on yesterday's construction paper. (Option: Children can also paste pieces of an onion skin onto colored construction paper in any design they choose.) Circle Designs Ask children to bring in a variety of lids from home. (Note: You can ask parents to begin doing this on Day 1 so that you have a variety by today.) Children sort the lids by size and color. Once sorted by size, place the largest lid on a table. Place the second largest lid inside the largest lid and continue by getting smaller and smaller. Children will have concentric circles similar to the inside of an onion. Sing Onion, Onion (tune of Twinkle, Twinkle ) Onion, onion wrapped in skin. (Pretend to slice an onion.) Made of circles very thin. (Make circle shape with hands.) Onion, onion cut in two. (Show two fingers.) See circles all the way through. (Make circle shape with hands.) Vegetable Pokey (Listening and Social Play) Give each child a vegetable to hold. Use carrots, celery, lettuce and onions. (If real ones are not available, use pictures.) They hold out their vegetable and move it around when sung in the song. Sing: You put a carrot in, you put a carrot out. You put a carrot in and you shake it all about. Do the hokey pokey, you turn yourself around. That s what it s all about. The more you care, the more they care.

21 Fruit Fun April, Week 3, Day 1 Activities for Apples Materials Needed: Construction paper, magnetic letters, red and green nontoxic and washable paint, brown and white construction paper, paste, photo sample for Art (provided), large bowl of water, poster board, basket, paper apples (provided), and each child brings one apple to child care. (Note: Be sure to wash the apples and have children wash their hands before and after handling the apples.) Each child brings an apple to child care. Put a red, yellow and green piece of paper in front of you. Children take turns bringing their apple to the matching color paper. How many red apples were brought to child care? How many green? Yellow? Tell children that apples come in different colors and they are all very good for them. Chant: An apple is a fruit. LANGUAGE-LITERACY A if for Apple Show children an apple and put a magnetic letter A beside it. Say, A is for apple. /a/, /a/, /a/. Then show them a banana and put a magnetic B beside it. Say, B is for banana. /b/, /b/, /b/. Continue with various fruits or objects from the classroom for each letter of the alphabet. Make the sound of the letter. Handprint Apple Tree Paste a brown piece of construction paper onto white construction paper to make a tree trunk. Children dip their hands in washable, non-toxic green paint and make handprints as the tree leaves. Let the green paint dry. Then children make red thumbprints onto the tree as apples. See the photo sample (provided). Sink or Float? Children take turns placing apples into a bowl of water to see if they will sink or float. (Apples float because they are made up of about 25% air.) Children repeat, An apple floats. Next, children experiment with a variety of objects and sort them into those that sink and those that float. (Ex: rubber duck, ball, crayon, etc.) Chant and Act Out Apples, Apples Apples, apples, so great to eat. (Pretend to eat an apple.) Apples, apples, yummy and sweet. (Rub tummies.) They grow on a tree and go to a store. (Stand tall like a tree.) Apples, apples, let s eat more. (Pretend to eat an apple.) Red, yellow and green are apples we have seen. (Point to real apples.) We eat them once they are washed and clean. (Say, Yum, yum. ) Picking Apples (Working Together) Draw a tree on poster board and hang it on a wall at the height of the children. Hang paper apples (provided) on the tree. Children stand in a line on the opposite side of the room with a basket. One child goes to the tree, picks an apple off the tree and brings it back to the basket. Then the second child goes to pick an apple. After all of the children have had a turn they hold hands and chant: We worked together and picked all the apples off the tree. You are the tour guide on the path to healthy eating.

22 Week 3 - Day 1 TREE PHOTO SAMPLE FOR ART

23 Week 3 - Day 1 APPLES FOR

24 Fruit Fun April, Week 3, Day 2 Activities for Oranges Materials Needed: An orange for each child plus a few extras, magnetic letters, Ziploc baggies, construction paper, paste, paper plates for Math Show children an orange. Tell them it is a fruit. Peel off the rind and pass it around. Say, This is the rind of an orange. Next, give each child a slice of orange to taste. (Be sure they wash their hands before and after handling the orange.) Children raise their hands if they like the orange. Chant: Oranges and apples are so good. We need to eat fruit. We should. We should. LANGUAGE-LITERACY Orange Bowling Stand up a few magnetic letters on a table. Children take turns rolling an orange as a bowling ball. Then they pick up the letters that were knocked over, name the letter, and say its sound. Make the Color Orange Put a small amount of red and yellow paint into a Ziploc storage bag. Seal the bags closed. Then children squeeze their bags to mix the colors and create orange paint. Next, they open the bags and use the paint to create an orange design on construction paper. (Caution: Watch children carefully when they are using the plastic bags.) How Many Slices in an Orange? Children guess how many slices are in an orange. Cut the orange in the middle so that the white membranes separating each slice are shown. (Example: ) Count each section. Give each child a slice on a paper plate to explore and notice the many different juice sacs are within each slice. Children guess the slices for a second orange. Peel it and break apart each full slice to share with the children. (Note: Be sure all hands are washed well and children do not rub their eyes after handling the oranges.) Sing and Act Out I Like Oranges (tune of Where is Thumbkin? ) I like oranges. I like oranges. Yes, I do. Yes, I do. How are they healthy? With many vitamins. Eat them up. Eat them up. I like oranges. I like oranges. Yum, yum, yum. Yum, yum, yum. They re very good for you. It s really, really, true. Eat them up. Eat them up. Orange Rolling (Working Together and Name Recognition) Sit children in groups of three to four with one orange per group. They take turns rolling the orange to their friends. Child A rolls it and says, Here comes the orange (Name of Child B). Child B says, Thank you. Then Child B rolls it to Child C saying his/her name. Orange you happy to know you are a real difference maker?

25 Fruit Fun April, Week 3, Day 3 Activities for Grapes Materials Needed: Several bunches of grapes (red and green) still on the stem, purple non-toxic and washable paint, construction paper, paper plates, photo of each child, butcher paper, paste, green curling ribbon, pre-cut purple circles, green yarn LANGUAGE-LITERACY Show children grapes still on the stem. Pass it around for children to see how the grapes are attached. Have a bowl of washed green and purple grapes. Children taste each one. Count how many like purple better. How many like green better? (Children need to wash their hands before eating the grapes.) Chant: Grapes, they are great. Grapes. I can eat eight. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Thumbprint Lettered Grapes Children each make a few purple thumbprints in a row across a piece of construction paper. (You need 26 thumbprints total.) Then label each thumbprint with a letter A Z. Hold it up and count the thumbprint grapes, Then point to each grape while children name each letter A - Z on the grapes. A Bunch of Great Grape Friends Each child paints a paper plate purple. Once dry, each child pastes a picture of him/herself in the center of the plate. (Ask parents to send in one picture of their child.) Next, paste the plates in a grape bunch formation on butcher paper. Add green curling ribbon to the top of the bunch as leaves. Make a title that says We are a GRAPE bunch of children. Display on the wall so parents can see easily. Grape Patterns Fill a bowl with purple and green grapes. Children wash their hands well and sort the grapes by color. Count how many in each group. Which has more? Less? Then make a pattern of green grape, purple grape, green grape, purple grape, etc. Sing If You Have Purple (tune of If You re Happy and You Know It ) If you have purple on your clothes stand up fast. If you have purple on your clothes stand up fast. If you have purple on your clothes, If you have purple on your clothes, If you have purple on your clothes stand up fast. Repeat with the color green. (You can add sit right down if all the children stand up at once.) We Can Make a Grape Cluster (Working Together) Give each child a small purple circle. They take turns bringing it to the center of the circle and pasting it onto a piece of construction paper. As each child adds their circle it will form a grape cluster. Then give each child a small piece of green yarn. They take turns pasting it to the top of the grape cluster to become leaves. Chant: Together we are great. Together we can make --- a cluster of grapes. You are a GREAT teacher.

26 Fruit Fun April, Week 3, Day 4 Activities for Strawberries Materials Needed: Strawberry for each child plus some extras, paper strawberries (provided), paper plates, apples, grapes, oranges, whip cream, strawberry and grape jelly, graham crackers, strawberry picture to cut into puzzle pieces (provided) Pass around a strawberry. Have children touch the leaves and feel the seeds on the outside. Then they wash their hands. Now give each child a strawberry slice to taste. Tell them that strawberries are red and sweet like apples, but they look very different. Chant: Mmm mmm, a strawberry I did eat. A sweet taste that can t be beat. LANGUAGE-LITERACY Strawberry Letter Match Print 52 paper strawberries (provided). Write the letter A on two strawberries, B on two, etc. Put all 52 paper strawberries in a basket. Children pick strawberry letter matches. Fruit Face Edible Art Cover a paper plate with thin apple slices. Make eyes with grapes. Then use an orange slice for a nose. Lastly, make a smile with strawberry slices. Use whip cream for hair. (Option: Take a picture of each child smiling with their smiley fruit face.) Eat and enjoy! Strawberry and Grape Jelly Dots Children wash their hands. Break apart graham crackers. Count out four crackers for each child. Next, children put two dollops of strawberry jelly on each cracker. Count each dollop. Repeat with grape jelly. Children taste each flavor - the strawberry and grape. Next, put the containers of both jellies on a table. Children put a sticky note in front of the one they liked best. Count how many votes for each. Which one has the most? Least? Sing I am a Strawberry (modified tune of I m a Little Teapot ) I am a strawberry, red and sweet. See all my small seeds and my leaves so neat. When I grow ripe I m ready to eat. Cut off my leaves --- Yum!! A tasty treat! Strawberry Puzzles (Working Together) Cut apart a picture of a strawberry (provided) into five or six pieces. Children work together with a partner to put the puzzle back together. When finished, they hold hands and chant: We did it! We did it! Yes, we did! Clap for the children. You are berry special in the lives of children.

27 Week 3 - Day 4 Print six copies of this page to have enough strawberries for Literacy activity. STRAWBERRIES FOR LITERACY

28 Week 3 - Day 4 Print copies of this page to have one strawberry per two children. STRAWBERRY FOR

29 Fruit Fun April, Week 3, Day 5 Activities for Bananas Materials Needed: Oranges, apples, bananas, yellow butcher paper, play dough Show children an orange. Say, This is a fruit that people do NOT eat the outside. Another fruit like that is a banana. People do NOT eat a banana peel. Peel a banana for children to see the inside. Give each child a slice of banana to eat. (Be sure their hands are clean.) Pass around the banana peel for them to see and touch it. Chant: Bananas and oranges are so great. You peel the outside and eat the inside. LANGUAGE-LITERACY Yellow Hunt Place a yellow piece of butcher paper on the floor. Put a banana on top of it. Children go on a yellow hunt in the room. They bring any yellow object to the yellow paper. Then they take turns holding up their yellow object and saying what it is that is yellow. (Example: This is a yellow car. ) Fruit Basket Children make a basket or bowl out of play dough. Then they use play dough to make an apple, orange, grape, strawberry and banana. Place the fruit in the basket. Save for Music today. Apple, Orange, Banana Fill a basket with apples, oranges and bananas. Children sort them. How many of each? Which has more? Make a pattern with apple, orange, banana, apple, orange, banana, etc. Sing The Fruit in a Basket (tune of Wheels on a Bus ) Children hold each play dough fruit when mentioned in the song. The fruit in a basket taste so sweet, taste so sweet, taste so sweet. The fruit in a basket taste so sweet, in my mouth. Apples and grapes have a skin, have a skin, have a skin. Apples and grapes have a skin, that you can eat. Bananas and oranges have a rind, have a rind, have a rind. Bananas and oranges have a rind, that is NOT to eat. Strawberries have lots of seeds, have lots of seeds, have lots of seeds. Strawberries have lots of seeds that are sweet to eat. Monkey See, Monkey Do Remind children that monkeys like to eat bananas. Have one child sit in the center of the circle and pretend to be a monkey. The child does a movement and the other children copy the monkey. Then a new child goes to the center to be the monkey. Play until each child has a turn to be the monkey leader. Your smile adds a bunch of fun each day.

30 Nursery Rhymes April, Week 4, Day 1 Activities for Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Materials Needed: Foil, star shape (provided), paints, yarn, glitter, paste, craft sticks Come to the circle singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Ask children to tell you where they can find stars. In the sky. Tell them that when stars twinkle in the sky they are sparkling and shiny. Show them a piece of foil. Say, This foil is shiny. Chant: Sparkling stars shine in the night sky. LANGUAGE-LITERACY Falling Stars Pre-cut 26 stars out of foil. Use the star shape (provided) to trace stars onto foil. Help children write one letter on each star using a pencil. Notice how the writing indents the foil to make the letter shape. Then have the children sit in a group on the floor. Hold the lettered foil stars high above your head and let them fall to the floor. Children catch a star, name the letter, and say its sound. Special Stars Give each child a pre-cut star shape (provided). They paint it yellow (or any preferred color). Once dry, they paint paste all over the star. They place colored yarn in any design on the star. Then sprinkle glitter on the star. Let it dry and paste it onto a craft stick. Use in Music today. Path to a Star Children place 36 straws end to end in a path on the floor. At the end of the path have a star shape from Art. Children count each straw as they walk next to the straws (not stepping on them) along the path. Sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Children hold their stars from Art while singing: Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the sky. Special Stars (Positive Self Talk) Children stand, hold hands and sing: We are special. Yes, we are. We are such special shining stars. Look at us. We are so great. We have smiles that are first rate. Children give high fives to each other and say, You are a special star. Teachers help children have a twinkle of joy in their eyes.

31 Week 4 - Day 1 STAR SHAPE FOR LITERACY AND ART

32 Nursery Rhymes April, Week 4, Day 2 Activities for Jack and Jill Materials Needed: Pictures of Jack and Jill (provided), paints, construction paper, pail, balls, various objects to fill a pail, small paper cups, dry beans, Band-Aids LANGUAGE-LITERACY Have a boy and girl stand up. They each hold a paper. One says Jack and the other says Jill. Tell them that they are pretending to be friends named Jack and Jill. They pretend to walk up a hill. Say, Jack and Jill went up a hill. Tell the group that they will learn more about Jack and Jill today. Show them pictures of Jack and Jill going up a hill (provided). Words of the Day: up, down Have children stand up and sit down. They say, I am standing up. I am sitting down. Then have them reach up in the air and bend down to touch the ground. They say, I can reach up. I can bend down. Have them place an object up and down, such as a stuffed animal up on the counter and down on the floor. Have them name things in the room that are up (high) and things that are down (low). Paint a Hill Give each child a piece of construction paper cut out in a hill shape. They finger paint it green. Then they add colored finger prints to be flowers on the hill. Have them walk their fingers up and down the hill. Empty and Full Fill a pail with balls. Say, The pail is full. Dump the balls onto the floor. Say, The pail is empty. Repeat several times by filling the pail with different objects. Then fill small paper cups with dry beans. Have them fill and empty the cup by pouring the beans into a bowl. (If you think children might misuse the beans, use something else like small marshmallows.) Chant Jack and Jill Children hold hands with a partner. One child holds a real or pretend pail while chanting: Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down and broke his crown. And Jill came tumbling after. I Hope You Feel Better Children share what makes them feel better if they get hurt. Hugs, a teddy bear, a kiss, etc. Show children a Band-Aid. Tell them that we often use Band-Aids on our boo boos. Tell them that maybe Jack needed a Band-Aid when he hurt his head. Children take turns telling a friend, I hope you feel better fast if you get hurt. Children have confidence to go up hills when holding the hand of a loved one.

33 Week 4 - Day 2 JACK AND JILL FOR CIRCLE

34 Nursery Rhymes April, Week 4, Day 3 Activities for London Bridge is Falling Down Materials Needed: Picture of London Bridge (provided), butcher paper, blue finger paint, crayons, blocks Have a bridge built with blocks in the center of the circle. Put blue paper under the bridge to represent water. Tell children that bridges go over water. Show a picture of London bridge (provided). Tel them that they will learn about this bridge in a pretend song where it falls down. Chant: London Bridge is falling down. LANGUAGE-LITERACY Let s Go Under Have two children hold their hands up to make a bridge. Children take turns walking under the bridge. When the child is under the bridge, the child stops and says, I am under the bridge. Bridge Over Water Remind children that bridges go over water. Cut out a long, curvy piece of butcher paper for each child to become a river. They finger paint it blue. Then they can use crayons to color fish in the river. Building Block Bridges Children use blocks to build bridges. Have them count how many blocks were used for each bridge built. They can use plates, cut up poster board, etc. to be the road between the two supports. Chant and then Sing London Bridge London Bridge is so high. (Reach arms up high.) It reaches to the sky. (Reach higher.) London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down. (Arms down.) London Bridge is falling down, my fair lady. (Sit down.) Chair Manners Demonstrate to the children how to quietly pull out a chair from under the table. Sit down carefully. Then get up, and slowly, carefully, and quietly, put the chair back under the table. Have several children take turns doing this while other children watch and listen to make sure they can t hear any noise. Children chant: We carefully tuck our chairs under the table. We have chair manners. Teachers definitely build bridges to the future.

35 Week 4 - Day 3 BRIDGE FOR CIRCLE ACTIVITY

36 Nursery Rhymes April, Week 4, Day 4 Activities for Farmer in the Dell Materials Needed: Towels, sheet, crayons, paper, box, objects to roll, farmer in the dell props (provided), craft sticks, paste Children use their arms to make a waving motion that goes up and down. Say, Up and down. Up and down. Hills go up, and then they go down. Tell them that hills go down into a valley called a dell. Children repeat, A dell is at the bottom of a hill. LANGUAGE-LITERACY Act it Out Slowly sing The Farmer in the Dell using the words from the Music section. Children make the sounds of a child, cow, pig, dog, cat and mouse as they are sung in the song. They pause and say the name of the animal sounding out the first letter and then the sound it makes. (Example: C-c-c cow, moo. P-p-p pig, oink, etc.) Animals in the Dell Put towels in a pile and then cover them with a sheet to make a hill. Children color pictures of a cow, pig, dog, cat or mouse. Put all of the pictures in the dell (bottom of the towel hill). Rolling Down a Hill Set up a hill by propping a box at an angle against a chair. Children roll objects down the hill while counting each roll. They can roll balls, toy cars, etc. Sing The Farmer in the Dell Paste picture props (provided) onto craft sticks. Hold each one up as children sing in the song. The farmer in the dell, the farmer in the dell, Hi-ho, the derry-o, the farmer in the dell. Other Verses: The farmer takes a wife; The wife takes a child; The child takes the cow; The cow takes the pig; The pig takes the dog; The dog takes the cat; The cat takes the mouse; The mouse takes the cheese; The cheese stands alone. Lining Up Quietly It is important to move inside quietly. Children hold their props from Music today. Call one animal, farmer, child or wife at a time to come stand in a line. They stand in line with their quiet feet. While in line children whisper: We are standing in line with our quiet feet. When we begin to walk, the quiet sound will be so sweet. Your calming voice can help children out of a sad spot.

37 Week 4 - Day 4 PROPS FOR MUSIC AND SOCIAL SKILLS ACTIVITIES

38 Nursery Rhymes April, Week 4, Day 5 Activities for Mary Mary Quite Contrary Materials Needed: Poster board, paints, construction paper, finger paints, construction paper, photo sample for Literacy and Art (provided), sidewalk chalk or masking tape Make a happy face. Say, This is my happy face. Children do the same. Repeat with a sad and mad face. Tell children that there is a rhyme about a girl named Mary who was contrary. Contrary means she was not happy. Chant: Mary, Mary, quite contrary. LANGUAGE-LITERACY How I Feel Children tell you when they are happy. Write what they say on their happy painting from Art. Repeat with their angry and sad paintings. Then hang all of the art work in the hallway. See photo sample (provided). Feeling Art Children finger paint an angry, happy and sad drawing on three different sheets of paper. Save for Literacy today. Numbers in a Row Make hopscotch with sidewalk chalk outside or masking tape on the floor inside. Children hop or jump on each number while saying the number aloud. Sing and Act Out Mary Mary Quite Contrary Mary, Mary, quite contrary, (Make mad face.) How does your garden grow? (Point to pretend fruits and vegetables.) With silver bells, and cockle shells, (Pretend to ring a bell.) And pretty maids all in a row. (Stand in a row.) Facial Expressions Draw two faces on poster board, one with a smile and one with a frown. Point to the smile. Children smile and say, I am happy. Point to the frown. Children frown and say, I am sad. Ask children to show you a mad face. Children share when they are happy, sad or mad. Say to each child, You make me smile! Have each child tell a friend, You make me smile. Teacher, teacher, you are quite so caring.

39 ANGRY Week 4 - Day 5 Happy SAD PHOTO SAMPLE FOR LITERACY AND ART ACTIVITIES