Here's a song we sing at school. I wrote it on sentence strips. Each child gets a turn. They come up and find their name and put it in the line. Then we sing the song to them. They can dance, jump, etc while we sing their name.
This is a great song for name recognition. I chose pigs for the names because we are learning about The Three Little Pigs. It isn't necessary to choose a new die cut for each week; this is just something I did for now. You could change this according to season or you could use the same one for the entire year.
Look Who Came to School Today
tune of Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush
Look who came to school today
School today, school today
Look who came to school today
___________ did!
source unknown
Showing posts with label Preschoolers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Preschoolers. Show all posts
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Song: Look Who Came to School Today
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Tips for Coping with Separation
When I was teaching preschool, I soon learned that some children have a hard time with the separation from their parents. Some kids act like they could care less. They wave and are ready to be on their own. For other children, it may take a few weeks for them to feel secure in their new environment. Here are some tips to help out with the transition.
- Let your child help with the morning routine. Dressing, packing lunch, or choosing something special to bring to school might help your child feel more in control of the process of leaving the house and saying goodbye.
- Plan your goodbye routines together. Decide how you will say goodbye at school and what you will do when you get home.
- Remain calm and confident. Your child will quickly notice if you feel uneasy.
- Think of ways to reinforce the link between home and school. Encourage your child to make things at home to contribute to the classroom. This could be art work for teachers or friends, special foods for snacks, props you find or make at home, or books to share.
- Decide on a special toy or object that your child can bring to school. This can be a family photograph, a favorite stuffed animal, a toy, or something that belongs to you, such as a scarf of handkerchief.
- Connect and communicate with your child's teacher when you say goodbye. This will help your child to feel secure and know that you will be back.
- Make goodbyes short and sweet. The longer you linger, the worse it becomes. Walk your child to class (or drop off), give a quick kiss and hug, say "Have a great day. I'll be back at XX time to get you." Then leave. Try to keep this routine the same at least for the first few weeks until the child is settled.
- Don't allow yourself to be manipulated. Some may be surprised or even offended at this tip, but I have witnessed a lot of parents being manipulated over the years. Some children think that if they scream long enough and loud enough then you will come to pick them up. If you give in to their screams, they'll only continue to do this. Eventually, you have to let them go, have confidence in their teachers, and give your children the independence that they need.
- Focus on the positive. Be excited when you pick up your child. Ask them what cool and exciting things happened that day. When I was teaching, I sang a few songs with my students that helped to focus on the positives of school. You might try, We Had a Happy Day and I Like to Go to School.
You might also like some of the tips shared at Boston Mamas.
Do you have any tips to add to this list?
image sxc.hu
Monday, July 20, 2009
The Importance of Sesame Street
While Sesame Street may seem to be a relic of the past and a show that most adults watched as children, most parents do not realize the positive effect which the show may have on their children. Sesame Street is full of a slew of early educational lessons, from counting to recognizing the shapes of letters. The show is still on air today and it has also become easy to purchase the original episodes from decades ago which serve the same purpose as episodes now do. The ability of the show to keep going after 40 years in existence as well as countless Emmy awards is a testament to the change it has made onto many young children over the years.
Television has been revolutionized since the early days of Sesame Street and there are now countless children’s shows available daily on many different stations. However, there has been a noticeable downturn in the amount of educational children’s shows as most appear to exist merely to entertain the child when parents are busy around the house. Sesame Street has still risen to the challenge and presents itself as the saving grace of the TV world by retaining its slot every day and still teaching many lessons to its viewers. There are not many shows that have been able to teach children how to count or read in ways that can even begin to rival the methods that Sesame Street uses. There are additionally many timeless episodes which never grow old and can continue to be used on today’s children much as they were intended for kids of the 1970s. It seems that Sesame Street will never truly grow old.
Eight million viewers still tune into Sesame Street every week, and many studies have indicated that the children who watch the show regularly have increased signs of literacy and numerical skills than those kids who do not watch it. While the show has been updated to include lessons that are more applicable in modern society, such as focusing on music, health, bilingual learning, and healthy eating, the same original lessons are still taught in every episode. There are still many preschool shows that aim to teach children the importance of learning and reading, but none are as solidified in American culture as Sesame Street is.
This post was contributed by Sarah Russel, who writes about the best online college degree. She welcomes your feedback at SarahRussel1234 at gmail.com
Friday, July 18, 2008
Preschool Supply List - Sample
This is a copy of the supply list I had when teaching full-day preschool.
folding nap mat
small pillow and blanket
change of clothes
baby wipes or antibacterial wipes
2-3 rolls of paper towels
gallon or pint size easy zip storage bags
durable folder for taking home papers
scissors
Crayola markers - classic and assorted
Crayola colored pencils
Scotch or Elmer's glue sticks
hand sanitizer (8 oz or larger)
---------------------------------------------
For glue sticks, colored pencils, and markers I ask that you buy the name brands specified. Through experience we have learned that the other brands do not work as well and that the children become very frustrated that their supplies do not work properly. Please do not buy Dollar Tree brand school supplies.
****This list was done five years ago. Back in those days (grin), the RoseArt and Dollar Tree brands did not work well and did not hold up like the Crayola. This may have changed since then.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Social and Emotional Development
More stuff from my basement. :)
The Three Year Old - A Year of Beginnings
- more extended child to child interaction and cooperative play
- friendships, but friends are often whoever the child is playing with right now
- "You're not my friend anymore" is a common phrase.
- taking turns and sharing, but still pretty "me, me, me" oriented
- humor - They love the ridiculous, slap stick, silly language, and wild silly games.
- feels sympathetic to other children
- "imaginary companions" may appear
- feelings of independence and pride emerge
- common fears are loud noises, the dark, animals
- loves to help
- the 3 1/2 year old may exhibit a rebellious, testing attitude
The Four Year Old - An Exuberant Year
- mostly cooperative play, little solitary play
- joins most group activities willingly
- outgoing and boastful; will tattle, but is generally polite and cooperative
- sharing is easier, learning to negotiate and to compromise
- exuberance, bordering on wildness requires adults to set limits
- can be aggressive, lots of superhero worship and interest in violence
- extreme with emotions, either loves or hates things
- impatient and jealous, likes to be center of attention
- silly and playful, experimenting with swear and bathroom words
- anxious to tell family tales and new adventures outside home
- takes pride in accomplishments
The Five Year Old - The Composed, "Together" Year
- calm, serene, wants to be "good", to do what is expected by adults
- develops strong friendships, and will defend friends is they are in trouble
- like familiar things and repeating same activity
- has good judgement about what can and can't do, eager to accept responsibility
- "lying" is common, will take things that belong to others
- accepts punishment, but soon forgets
- likes humor a lot, and will share it with adults' makes up nonsense language
- has active curiosity about babies; increasingly aware of sexual differences
- able to follow through on projects that take more than a day
- the 5 1/2 year old may become brash, disobedient, overdemanding
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Preschool Progress Report: 4 and 5 Year Olds
As I am packing to move, I continue to come across things that I think you all would like to see. This week I found a preschool progress report for four and five year olds. Please remember that this is a guide and that your child does not need to master all of these goals. These are things to look for and strive towards.
Evaluation Key: This progress report is designed for four and five year old preschool children.
G = Good Progress
W = Working on Skill
NA = Not Applicable
Self-Reliance Skills
I go to the bathroom alone.
I am learning to dress myself.
I can brush my teeth.
Practical Skills
I can say my first and last names.
I know how old I am.
I know some colors.
I can recognize/point to body parts.
Social/Emotional Skills
I accept and respond to my teacher's authority.
I respect and show concern for people and things around me.
I play and share cooperatively with other children.
I have a good self-image.
I have appropriate control over my feelings.
I follow routines independently.
I can follow direction.
I can work well in small groups.
I am learning not to disturb classmates while they work.
I seek only my share of teacher's attention.
Listening Skills
I listen quietly; my attention span is lengthening.
I respond to a story by answering questions.
Speaking Skills
I speak clearly.
I communicate in sentences.
I can answer some questions.
I am expanding my vocabulary.
I wait my turn when speaking in a group.
Fine Motor Skills
I use my small muscles in:
Holding, using my crayons
Holding, using my pencils
Holding, using my scissors
Easel/watercolor painting
Pasting/gluing
Simple puzzle assembly
Playdough/clay
Stringing beads
Manipulating small pieces
Manipulating zippers
Manipulating buttons
Manipulating snaps
Tying my shoes
Gross Motor Skills
Walk up/down stairs (alternating my feet)
Walk (forward, backward)
Run
Jump in place (two feet together)
Balance (left foot, right foot)
Hop (one foot, two feet)
Throw a large ball forward
Kick a large ball forward
Catch a large ball
Bounce a large ball
Do a forward somersault
Gallop
Skip
Take part in games
Reading Readiness
I can say the alphabet (rote memory).
Lower case alphabet: Identify some letter names
Produce some letter sounds
Upper case alphabet: Identify some letter names
Produce some letter sounds
I can print my first name.
I can recognize eight colors.
I can identify human feelings (sad, happy).
I can identify likenesses/differences.
I know some opposite words (hot/cold).
I know some position orientation words (top/bottom).
Math Readiness
I can rote count to ________.
Recognize some numbers
Name some numbers
Recognize some shapes
I can find shapes in my environment.
I can identiy size difference (big, little).
I can sequence different sizes (small, smaller, smallest).
I can categorize objects (shape, color, size, texture).
Music-Art-Science-Social Studies Readiness Skills
I participate in music activities.
I participate in art activities.
I participate in science activities.
I participate in social studies activities.
Weight:
Start of year
End of year
Height:
Start of year
End of year
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
This is Daniel Cook
I found this cute, ok cool website today for preschool aged children. It's about this little boy named Daniel Cook. You click on different things and navigate what he does. I played with the game for a few minutes. I took him outside and built a water slide for him for the pool. Then I let him go down the slide and play in the pool.
Here's what the website has to say:
thisisdanielcook.com puts preschoolers in control with bright symbols, spoken instructions and stimulating games and activities. Featuring an animated version of the real Daniel Cook, the site is built around "This is Daniel Cook's playroom" a warm, friendly, virtual room that maintains a messy and creatively inspiring space for preschoolers.
The playroom is filled with colourful objects -- toys, posters, art,
musical instruments -- all from Daniel Cook's adventures. Each one of these
objects launches a game or is a game itself within the playroom.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Big Day Tomorrow!
Alligator starts preschool tomorrow. She's been in half-day programs before. Most of the time she has been in preschool where I've been teaching. There were a few months after Cuddlebug was born where she went to a program by herself, just a few days a week. This only lasted a few months because we moved.
This is a big step. I can't believe she'll be in a full-day program. This is a program that is offered through the public schools. I've heard lots of good stuff about this program. We went by to visit her school last week. They had so many manipulatives and great learning toys. There was a nice kid-friendly computer too that Alligator is excited about. She told me that tomorrow she's going to play Mr. Potato Head and the computer.
My little girl is growing up. Part of me questions if this is right. I know that it is and I know that it will be good for her (and me!). I guess there's just a part of me that wants to hold on to her for a little while longer.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
The Armor of the Lord - the Helmet of Salvation
This year, our church's Vacation Bible School theme is "The Armor of the Lord" (taken from Ephesians 6). I have been asked to write a series of character lessons to go along with the theme and thought that you might find these stories useful. Oh, yes, the stories are written for children ages 3-6, but you could surely adapt them as needed.
Here is my story relating to the helmet of salvation.
Just in Case
Eager to ride his new bike, Jonathan raced toward the door. Mother had said that he could ride it until suppertime in thirty minutes. Just as he opened the outside door, however, Mother called his name.
“Jonathan!”
Jonathan reluctantly stopped.
“Yes, ma’am?” he answered.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Mother asked.
Jonathan was puzzled. What could he possibly need to ride his bike?
“Your helmet?” Mother gently prodded.
“Aw, Mom! I’m just riding on our street; nothing will happen to me. Do I really have to wear my helmet?” Jonathan complained.
“Yes, Son, you do, “Mother answered. “Accidents can happen at any time to any one. Wear your helmet – just in case.”
Sighing heavily, Jonathan trudged back to put his helmet on. He didn’t understand what the big deal was about wearing a helmet; he already knew nothing was going to happen to him! After he put on his helmet, he once again raced outside to his shiny new bike. Soon, he was happily riding up and down the street. Suddenly, the bike’s front wheel hit a stick. Jonathan flew through the air, skinning his cheek when he landed face first on the sidewalk. As quickly as possible, he wheeled his bike back home, heading straight for Mother.
“Jonathan!” she gasped, “Are you okay? What happened to you, Son?”
Jonathan couldn’t help crying a little as he told Mom about his accident.
“Thank you for making sure I was wearing my helmet, Mom. If I hadn’t been wearing it, I might have been hurt even worse. I’m just glad I only scraped my cheek,” Jonathan ended.
“Oh, Honey, I’m so glad you obeyed me and put on your helmet!” Mother exclaimed as she doctored his scrape. “You know, this reminds me of the helmet mentioned in Ephesians 6. Do you remember that?”
“Oh, right - the helmet of salvation. We learned about that in Vacation Bible School. Why did you think of that, Mom?” Jonathan wondered.
“Well, Jon, your helmet protects your head from injuries that could seriously hurt - possibly even kill - you. The helmet of salvation protects you from eternal death. Also, do you remember how you were so sure you weren’t going to have an accident that you didn’t even want to wear your helmet? Some people feel that way about salvation. They are so sure that they will live a long time that they don’t think they even need to be saved. Just like your helmet protected you during your accident, if you were to die today, you would be safe in Heaven because you are protected by the helmet of salvation you ‘wear’,” Mother explained
“I see what you mean now, Mom, and I’m glad that I put on the helmet of salvation a long time ago. Don’t worry any more about my not wearing the bike helmet, either. I’ve learned my lesson, and from now on I’ll be protected both in eternity and here on Earth!”
Friday, April 6, 2007
My Favorite Letters & Sounds Curriculum
Hello everyone! I am pleased to be a guest blogger on Revka's Little Fun; Little Learning. In case we haven't met before, my name is Karen and I am a writer for the blog Thrifty Mommy.
While I am indeed a thrifty mommy, I am also a preschool teacher. I have been in the education field for about 10 years now and have been teaching preschool for about 4 years.
Today I would like to share with you my favorite curriculum for teaching preschoolers their letters and sounds. This is my second year using this curriculum and my students are having excellent results.
Letter of the Week (Book 1) is by the creaters of The Mailbox. Many activity suggestions are provided for each letter. If you will click on this link, you will find a very small sample of the activity ideas for "M week".
Most of my preschoolers come to school Tuesday-Thursday and I plan my activities accordingly. Here's an idea of what we do each week:
Tuesday: Introduce letter of the week and it's sound and begin our weekly list. In my classroom I have a bulletin board that has lists of words. For each week I have a colored piece of paper on the board and we put words on the list that we discover during the week that start with the letter we are learning. The students are getting pretty good at this activity now and they'll come to school proud that they can tell me a word they discovered that starts with our letter. We also do a literacy activity from the Letter of the Week book. Unfortunately, there is not an example of this on the site, so here's a sample of the ones for "W week" that I was cutting out yesterday. Sorry, they're not completed yet, but you get the idea.
Each day I also read books that go along with our letter of the week and we sing songs and fingerplays too. There are some examples of fingerplays and songs on the Mailbox sample link I gave you earlier. I use more songs and fingerplays from other sources.
Wednesday: Review our letter of the week, add words to our weekly letter list, and we usually do another consonant activity. Next week for "W week" the students will have a worksheet with several pictures. We will talk about each picture and discuss whether it starts with our letter or not. If the picture starts with "W" then the students will color the picture. This also becomes a great listening activity. Many students struggle with following directions and this activity teaches them to listen for a teacher's prompt and not to just do their own thing. Sometimes on Wednesdays I have some extra time left to review other letters or skills we have already learned.
Thursday: We review the letter and learn how to write it. The curriculum has a page where the students can practice their writing. It also has a picture on the page that the students can complete. There is usually a sentence they have to complete that goes along with their picture. I've seen that this activity helps to stretch their imaginations and become creative. I have been saving these writing pages all year and will soon combine them to make an alphabet book that they can take home. It will be interesting to compare the pages and see how their skills have improved throughout the year. It is a great keepsake for parents.
I usually try to do an art or craft activity to go along with our letter each week. For "V week" I cut out pictures of vegetables from magazines and we made vegetable collages. It was also a lesson for the students about what vegetables are.
While searching for the picture for this curriculum, I also learned that The Mailbox has Book 2 available. After looking at the sample page on their site, I believe this is a book I would like to invest in buying.
Thanks to Revka for inviting me as a guest blogger. Maybe I can share some ideas with you again some time.
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Letter S crafts and activities
It is once again time to post about the alphabet theme. Today's post is (quite obviously) about the letter S.
- Enchanted Learning is a site that I only recently found, and it looks to be a wonderful resource. TheirLetter S Alphabet Activities page includes a Letter S Printout, I Can Color S Words printout, I Can Draw S Words printout, a printable activity book for Words That Start with the Letter S, and much more. Their seasons activities includes illustrated rhymes such as "The North Wind Doth Blow" and "Winter". Their numerous Spring crafts include a Butterfly Wand craft and the cute yet easy Hand print Paper Lilies craft. The Summer crafts feature a cute Hand print Sun Paper Plate craft, Tissue Paper Flowers craft, and much more. The Fall/Autumn crafts page offers many crafts and activities including a simple-to-make Paper Scarecrow craft and a Leaf Rubbing craft. Their Winter crafts include a Snowman Puppet, a Real Crystal Snowflake (gorgeous!), a Hand print Poinsettia Paper Plate craft, and a Fireplace craft (to name a few). Some of the other S themes are Shapes, Sharks, Snow, Spiders, and Stories. (Whew! I told you they had a lot of ideas; I didn't even link to all of them!)
- About: Homeschooling is another resource that is new to me. There I found Recipes for the Letter S, Crafts for the Letter S (including an attractive and easy Snow globe craft), Letter S Activities, and Worksheets for Writing and Coloring the Letter S.
- Mrs. Jones' Room always offers great ideas, and the Letter S page is no exception. There you will find Activities, Songs and Poems, and four Sing Along Songs.
Monday, February 5, 2007
Celebrating President's Day
Unsure of the origins of Presidents' Day, I ran a search and found a very helpful site, InfoPlease, which gave very interesting and in-depth information. According to a portion of their information, the third Monday in February (this year it's the 19th) is the Federal holiday known as Washington's Birthday and was created to celebrate only George Washington's birthday, which is actually February 22. InfoPlease went on to state that whether you celebrate President's Day or Washington's Birthday may depend on where you live. Washington's Birthday is a federal holiday, but states are not obliged to observe such holidays. Consequently, while the majority of states celebrate Washington's Birthday, there are about a dozen that celebrate President's Day, and several more celebrate Lincoln's Birthday as a separate holiday.
Having passed on that interesting bit of trivia, here are some ideas for celebrating President's Day.
- Preschool Rainbow offers a Preschool Holiday Art and Craft Activities page which includes three activities related to President's Day. One is especially simple: let the child use different coins to create pencil rubbings. Discuss the president pictured on the coin.
- Perpetual Preschool has many activities for President's Day including a fun yet simple coin toss game (intended to celebrate Lincoln's Birthday but could modify for Washington's birthday or President's Day). The President's Day Art page includes ideas for making wigs, painting cherry trees, creating Lincoln cabins using 8 oz. milk cartons and a penny, and creating simple silhouettes.
- Enchanted Learning, a site I had not previously visited, features a Activities, Worksheets, and Crafts for President's Day page that is chock full of useful ideas such as their easy-to-make Lincoln's Hat craft, George Washington, I Can... A Printable Book, Abraham Lincoln: A Printable Book, Washington Monument printout, and Mt. Rushmore printout.
- Preschool Express by Jean Warren offers a President's Day Theme page which includes ideas for art, counting, movement, science, music, and snack time.
- Apples 4 the Teacher offers seven printable George Washington short stories and twelve printable Abraham Lincoln short stories.
Friday, February 2, 2007
Ideas worth sharing
After writing my own post on indoor fun, I found several other people who recently wrote on the topic of ways to enjoy your family. You will get tons of great ideas from these links!
During the month of January, Shannon of Mommy, Inc. shared her frugal ideas for enjoying your child. Her mini-series included thrifty ideas for reducing child care expenses, saving money on kids' clothes, saving money on a Disney vacation, and having fun with your kids while on a budget. Great job, Shannon!
Lindsey of Enjoy the Journey has a wonderful list of family valentine ideas to help you make Valentine's Day special for your family.
The Common Room has a very long list of frugal ideas for family fun.
I encourage you to take the time to enjoy your family every day.
Thursday, February 1, 2007
Winter means fun indoors
Colder weather means the kids won't be outside as much as they usually are. Here are a few ideas for keeping them occupied indoors.
- Race around the house. My girls and I have been doing this for the past 2 days, and all three of them just love having me running with them. (Let me tell you, that is a sight to behold, and I'm definitely getting some much-needed exercise!)
- Have an indoor marshmallow roast. Put mini marshmallows on skewers and let your child roast them over a candle.
- Make a fort or tent out of sheets or blankets. Join your kids inside.
- Read to your child. If you already do this as part of your regular routine, think about letting him choose a couple more books than normal.
- Help your child put a puzzle together.
- Make homemade hot chocolate mix and enjoy a cup with your child.
- Work with your child on a special craft.
- Help your child make a special gift for someone.
- Line up all the chairs from the kitchen table and play train, letting your child be the engineer.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Letter R crafts and activities
Yes, I'm finally getting back to the alphabet theme. I took a little break from the alphabet because I don't want to bore anyone by doing the same thing all the time so I try to vary what I post.
- First School offers a Alphabet Letter R Preschool Activities and Crafts page where you will
find numerous ideas including Letter R Alphabet Letter Printables, a Noah's Ark and Rainbow lesson plan page which includes a craft, a heart theme Raccoon craft (see illustration at side), Raccoon coloring pages, Rabbit Paper Bag Puppet craft, Rabbit printable puzzle (a 4 stage puzzle for children 18 months-6 years) with lesson plan, The Tale of Peter Rabbit Activities, and more. - DLTK's Growing Together always has a lot to offer, and this time is no exception. Look at their Letter R crafts for kids page which includes the Robbie the Robot Rectangle Shapes craft, Rabbit Toilet Paper Roll craft, Rainbow (hand print) craft, Letter R Alphabet songs sung to familiar tunes, Letter R Games and Puzzles, Letter R mini book, and much more.
- From my friend Karen, a thrifty mommy and preschool director/teacher, come the following ideas for rainbow crafts.
Froot Loops Rainbow
Suitable for 2+ years
Supplies
- Froot Loops cereal
- Paper
- Glue
- Something with which to write
- Separate the Froot Loops according to color. This would be good color practice for a child who is still working on color recognition.
- Draw a rainbow on the paper.
- Help or supervise your child as they glue a different color of cereal on each band of the rainbow.
If you are an adventurous parent, you can use the same idea but, instead of cereal, substitute finger or poster paint.
clip art of letter R courtesy of fotosearch.com
raccoon craft illustration courtesy of First School.ws
Monday, January 29, 2007
Valentine's Day fun
It's a little late for some of these suggestions, but you can always file them away for next year if you like.
- Create a Valentine's Tree. A friend of mine purchased a white Christmas tree during the after-holiday clearance time. She decorated it with white lights, heart ornaments, and heart tinsel. (see photo above) The kids could hang any Valentines cards they received.
- Create a "Countdown to Valentines" calendar with a special Valentine themed activity for each day.
- Make a giant (non) Hershey's kiss. Melt a bag of chocolate chips. Use the kind of chocolate you like to eat: milk, semi-sweet, or dark. Set a greased funnel (small end down) on a sheet of parchment paper or a cookie sheet - somewhere from which it can easily be removed after the candy has cooled. Pour the melted chocolate into the funnel and let cool. Create your own variations by adding a spoonful of peanut butter as you are filling the funnel (makes a peanut butter kiss), adding nuts, or melting Andes mints along with the chocolate for a mint kiss. Let your imagination soar.
- Help your child create one-of-a-kind handmade old-fashioned Valentines (directions later in post if needed), or let them create a lovely yet simple 3D heart Paper craft.
- Make a special gift for someone in need of some TLC. (Think nursing home, shut-ins, singles, sick people, those who have recently lost a loved one; you get the idea.) These Valentine Tear and Paste Activities for Kids would be easy to make for this use.
Handmade Valentines Cards
Supplies:
- Construction paper - pink, red, white (any or all)
- Glue
- Stickers (scrap booking stickers are great, but any will work)
- Real lace or a heart-shaped paper doily
- Scissors
- Pen or markers
- Glitter pen or regular glitter (optional)
- Cut a large heart out of construction paper. (A nice idea is to cut out another smaller version in a different color to glue on top of the big heart.)
- Cut your paper doily so that you can glue it around the edge of your heart. You can also use real lace to glue around the edge.
- If you cut out a smaller heart, glue it on top of the large heart.
- Write a Valentine's message in the center.
- Add stickers, glitter, and other decorations as desired.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Fun with counting and number recognition
Thank you, Angel, for e-mailing me and asking for these resources. I hope this is a help to you.
As always, Preschool Rainbow is a great resource. Their Counting Theme page features 16 games/activities to help with counting.
Printable counting and number recognition worksheets are available at Kid Zone and TLS Books, a site which offers more than 100 free printable preschool/kindergarten worksheets for all kinds of learning, including counting.
A to Z Teacher Stuff is an incredible site that offers free teacher resources, lesson plans, themes, Tips, printables, and more. Their resources include ideas for all grades: pre-K through 12th. Visit their Preschool Lesson Plans page to choose from several different categories including Math. The Kindergarten Lesson Plans page includes a Math link as well. Some of my favorite preschool numbers and counting related ideas are the number book, Cheerios necklace, bean sorting/counting game, Cheeto Walk, and the Number Song - a counting variation of "The Twelve Days of Christmas."
DLTK's Growing Together is another site to which I often refer. Their Number Buddies page includes printable worksheets, fun games, and cute crafts, all designed to help your child recognize numbers and learn to count in a variety of ways (1's, 2's, 5's, etc.). At the bottom of the page, they even offer links to other numbers/math sites.
One last bit of advice: since children learn most when they enjoy what they are learning, make learning into a game.
clip art of number courtesy of fotosearch.com
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Letter Q crafts and activities
Before you start following all the links to resources and ideas I have found, take a moment to read this article explaining why learning the alphabet is so important for our children.
- School Express has an easy-to-make Alphabet hat for the letter Q. It has a picture of a quail.
- Everything Preschool has several useful pages including the Letter Q Songs and Music page, Letter Q Arts and Crafts page (which includes ideas for making queen crowns, a quill, and several different quilts), Letter Q Coloring Pages page, and the Letter Q Extras page that presents ideas for additional Q related activities such as snacks and field trips.
- As always, Preschool Express by Jean Warren features excellent ideas. Her Q Activities page includes instructions for Q art (q-tip designs, quarter rubbings, and such), Q games and movement, Q language (ideas for types of books to read as well as instructions for a Jeopardy-like game called "What's the Question"), and 8 original Q songs and rhymes.
- DLTK's Growing Together offers a Quetzal Craft made from a toilet paper roll. Additionally, the page provides information about the Quetzal, Guatemala's national bird. Also available is a Quetzal Paper Craft for young children to cut and paste. This craft has 2 templates from which to choose: color or B&W.
- For more information about the Quetzal bird, visit The Quetzal at Mexico Para Ninos (the page is in English).
clip art of the letter Q courtesy of fotosearch.com
Monday, January 22, 2007
Reading with your child
A book opens worlds of delight that you can find nowhere else. Watching a movie of a book is not the same as reading the book. A movie lets you sit passively while it does all the work for you, but a book engages the imagination as you actively create pictures in your mind of what is going on. Most young children of my acquaintance love to "read." Reading with a child is a great way for a parent to foster a life-long love of learning in his child. However, as Frank of The New Parent pointed out, not all books are created equal. We need to exercise discernment when choosing books for our children to read. Frank has a short list of his recommendations in his sidebar.
Here are some authors and books I recommend:
Dr. Suess - what child doesn't enjoy his zany stories? They often teach important lessons, too. Visit Seussville on the Internet for information and fun.
Laura Ingalls Wilder - when we were quite young, my siblings and I enjoyed listening as my mother read Little House on the Prairie and other books in the series. I was reading them on my own at age 5. Reading the books is quite different from watching the TV series!
Arleta Richardson - her book In Grandma's Attic, one book in The Grandma's Attic Series,
relates the often funny true stories about her grandmother's life as a young child. The series takes you from her childhood to her life as a married woman. "Here are marvelous tales--faithfully recalled for the delight of young and old alike, a touchstone to another day when life was simpler, perhaps, richer; when the treasures of family life and love were passed from generation to generation." I recently found her Letters from Grandma's Attic, a child's book with the stories told in letters that the child can remove from the envelopes pasted inside the book. All of my kids enjoy this one. The whole series is worth buying.
V. Gilbert Beers is a Christian author whose many children's books include both fiction and nonfiction genres. His works of fiction teach valuable lessons through a fun story. His nonfiction works include song books, devotionals, and Bibles for young children. A lot of my favorites are available through alibris.com.
- Along Thimblelane Trails - Selected Bible stories pair with related stories involving the imaginary Muffin family. Includes questions for discussion.
- Around the World with My Red Balloon - Two children tell of their dream to travel in their red balloon carrying the news of Jesus to the children of the world.
- The House in the Hole in the Side of the Tree - Grumpy Squire Squirrel discovers the value of being friendly to his forest neighbors.
- The Magic Merry-Go-Round - From the old woodcarver who makes merry-go-round horses Eric learns about the new life he can have from Jesus.
- Coco's Candy Shop - During their outing two children and their animal friends from the candy shop learn something about God from each person they meet.
- Cats and Bats and Things like That, and Other Wonderful Things about God's World - Describes some of God's gifts in nature, such as the bats' sonar, the changing colors of leaves, and the life contained in a seed.
The Best Nest by P. D. Eastman (a writer and illustrator) teaches a valuable lesson about contentment. Mr. and Mrs. Bird search for a place to build a new nest only to discover their old one is better.Other Eastman titles include:
- Are You My Mother? - A baby bird sets out to find his mother. But he doesn't know what his mother looks like--or even that she's a bird! Mother and child are ultimately reunited, but not before some pretty confusing situations.
- Go, Dog, Go - This lively story about dogs doing all sorts of things introduces readers to such concepts as colors, above and below, up and down, and size. Color illustrations accompany the text.
- Red, Stop! Green, Go! - With the beloved dogs from Eastman's classic "Go, Dog, Go!," toddlers can explore the world of color in this interactive adaptation of the original book. Includes flaps, wheels, and slides. Full color.
- What Time Is It? - It's 8:00 a.m. and Ted is waking up. Not Fred! He's going to snooze a little bit longer. Kids will love moving the hands on this sturdy clock book as they follow P.D. Eastman's dynamic dog duo throughout their day.
- The Cat in the Hat Beginner Book Dictionary - A silly book with a serious purpose— to help children recognize, remember, and really enjoy using a basic vocabulary of 1350 words. Written and illustrated by P. D. Eastman— with help from the Cat (Dr. Seuss)— this decades-old dictionary pairs words with pictures that carry their meaning, making it simple enough even for non readers to understand. A wacky cast of characters reappears throughout the book, making this perhaps the only dictionary in the world that is actually "fun" to read!
Cat in the Hat Dictionary and Go, Dog, Go photos courtesy of Alibris.com
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Letter P crafts and activities
Here are links to activities, crafts, and work sheets to aid you as you teach the letter P.
- Mrs. Jones' Room is an excellent resource for kindergarten ideas. She has a Letter P page which has activities, songs and poems, and 3 sing-along songs.
- Preschool Express by Jean Warren is another great source for fun activities and
educational ideas. Her "P" activities page includes art, games, language, science, cooking projects, and songs and rhymes emphasizing that letter. - Alphabet Soup has a free printable alphabet coloring book. Each page features a letter from the alphabet and includes pictures of several objects that begin with the letter. You do have to print each page individually. (Click on the photo of the coloring page at the right to go to the page where you can print it.)
- Activity Village has a page full of ideas for alphabet games and number games using their Alphabet and Alphabet and Number Strips. They have a LOT of fun activities that your kids will enjoy.
- First-school also features a page for Alphabet Letter P preschool activities and crafts. I particularly like the following crafts from their site: Panda Paper Bag Puppet (circles theme), Hearts Penguin Craft (includes printable accessories for Valentine's Day and Christmas/Winter), and Pumpkin Theme Crafts.
- DLTK's Growing Together has a fun craft: a Styrofoam (air)Plane. Templates are included for both the cargo and jet plane versions.
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