"M m" is for "Mittens"...

 

 

We have been learning the letter "M m".  "M m" is for "Mittens".  Today we learned the poem / story about the "Three Little Kittens Who Lost Their Mittens" (literature / reading).  My two young students and I made a large poster depicting these kittens wearing their mittens (art).  The kittens represented each of them, as well as their baby brother.  This poster makes a great visual aid for learning the story, learning rhyming words, recognizing the letter "M m" and the sound it makes (phonics), learning the opposite words "lost" and "found", learning colors (brown, black, tan, etc.),  and learning to recognize the numbers 1-2-3 (math). I suppose the story of the three little kittens could also be counted as a social studies lesson as it shows how irresponsible behavior will result in a negative consequence. 

 

"M m" is also for "Mammal".  We discussed the characteristics of mammals (science).  They are warm-blooded, have hair / fur, give birth to live young, and they produce milk to feed their babies.

Our poster is almost as large as the children's school table, which will comfortably seat 4 small students.

2013 Spring Bulletin Board Idea...

 

This bulletin board idea for Spring can be used as a visual aid in Preschool and Kindergarten for:

Social Studies - The Family Unit / My Family / Farm Life

(My new grandbaby's name will be added next week, after his birth.)

Science - Birds/Chickens

(Info about birds/chickens maybe found on the internet.)

Arts / Crafts 

(Similar images of chickens, eggs, and flowers may be copied from the internet. The grass is made from green construction paper.  The nest is made from brown and tan construction paper, cut into thin strips and "fan" folded to make crinkled paper strips. The strips are then glued together into a nest shape.)

Math - Introduction to Addition

Health & Nutrition - Chicken & Eggs as Food - Protein

Home Economics - Cooking

(Your child can help gather and measure ingredients for your favorite chicken recipe.)

Cooking is also a great way for teaching your child about fractions.

"R r" is for Rocket ( lift-up book ) craft project...

Fold a piece of cardstock in half to make a tall, slim book approx. 11 and a half inches tall and 4 and half inches wide.  Copy a free coloring picture of a rocket from the internet, color, and glue to the front of the book.  Give your book a title.

On the inside of the book / card stock sheet, color the right half black (outer space).  Add star stickers or dabs of glitter glue, and a partial picture of the moon (to the top of the page). My moon picture was cut from a magazine.  If you prefer, you could copy a picture of the moon (to color) from the internet.  

Next, color half of another piece of cardstock black.  Cut the black section away from the whole page. Cut about 1/5 of the length off of the top of the black section.  Put glue on the back of the lower 1/4 of this piece and attach it to the bottom of the black, colored side of your book.  Add a partial picture of the earth to the bottom.  My earth picture was cut from a magazine.  If you prefer, you could copy a picture of the earth (to color) from the internet.  

Fold this black section in half toward you.  Then fold the upper half (also in half) away from you.  Attach a small picture of a rocket to the top fold with the tip of the rocket and the exhaust from the rocket extending slightly past the upper and lower edges.  

Unfold the loose, black section and color in some exhaust fumes ascending upwards from the earth to the rocket.  Add more star stickers or dabs of glitter glue.  On the left-hand side of the page/book, add some facts about rockets, the moon, the first man to walk on the moon, etc.  Add a "countdown to blast-off" if you'd like.  This would be a good way to bring numbers/math/counting backwards into your lesson.  After everything has dried well, fold down the rocket section, then unfold it back up to demonstrate how it travels to the moon.

Curriculum covered by this project:  Science,  Math,  Art,  History / Social Studies.  You could even add a Geography lesson by finding on a map and/or globe the location of the blast-off.

A fun way to do school!

I got this idea from the Teacher Resource Book entitled How to Make Books with Children, Volume 2  by: Joy Evans & Jo Ellen Moore.

"O" is for Octopus (craft project)...

Theme of the Day's Lessons:  Letter O, Number 8

Phonics:  Short O sound

Color:  Octopus can change color.  Choose a particular color that you want to focus on.  

Science:  All about the Octopus - live in salt water/ocean - watch a video on the internet about octopus,  read books or find info about them on the internet.

Numbers:  An octopus has 8 arms.  Count them.  Practice writing number 8

Geography:  On a world map or globe, find and name all of the oceans.

Arts/Crafts:  Make an ocean scene like the one pictured above which incorporates the letter O for the head of the octopus, and making the 8 arms by tracing around the child's hand and fingers, excluding the thumbs.  Add wiggle eyes if you want.  Green strips of construction paper for the seaweed.

Christopher Columbus (craft project)...

This "Christopher Columbus Character"  (with moveable arms and legs)  pattern can be obtained free from  www.superteacherworksheets.com .  I added the "Cc" for Christopher Columbus 1492.  I will be using this as a visual aid for our phonics lesson on Monday, Oct. 08, 2012, as well as for our history lesson.  My grandson will make one of his own as a craft project to reinforce the lessons.

"A a" is for "antlers" (craft project)...

 

 

Theme of the lesson:  "A a" is for "antlers" (Phonics - short "a" sound)

 

Animals having antlers:  deer, caribou (and their habitats - forests, the Arctic tundra); differences between deer and caribou; the difference between antlers and horns - and some animals with horns such as the musk ox and bulls (Science)

 

The Appalachian Mountains, Alaska, Northern Canada - find on a globe and discuss the climate (Geography)

 

My almost 4 year old grandson observed that antlers "look like a tree" without leaves, so we went out to our back yard and found some branches to use for our deer craft project.  For the background, we used the cardboard tray from a 24 pk. case of bottled water (recycling).

 

This project is now hanging on our classroom wall.

 



First Day of (Second Year) Pre-school, 2012...

Science, Geography, Alphabet/Phonics, Colors:  animal habitats/jungle, Aa for anteater/ants, Central & South America on a globe, brown/white makes tan.

The anteater wall decoration was made from 3-piece puzzle pages which I got from the book "Mix and Match Zoo Animals" (a Dover Coloring Book) by: Stephanie Laberis

 

 

Thumb Print Ants (paint)

 



 

We began our day by praying together. (I just realized that I forgot to add a Bible Memory Verse to our schedule.  Oooops!  I'll have to do better next time!!!)

 

We read the book "A House is a House for Me" by: Mary Ann Hoberman, as well as parts of the book "My Creation Bible" by: Ken Ham.   We discussed that God created the world to be a habitat/home for both people and animals. 

 

We discussed the climate in a jungle, and the various animals that live there.

 

We colored the anteater wall decoration and painted the ant figures (pictured above).

 



We watched a National Geographic video on the internet about anteaters.

 

We searched for pictures of ants and an anteater in the book "Picture My World - Animals"  by: Hyperion Books for Children.

 

We talked about the four seasons and the weather typical of each one.  We noted that our current season is still summer, and the month is September.  We discussed summer activities and colored a picture of these activities.

 

We also reviewed the circle/round shape, as well as the numbers 0 & 1.  We focused on the short "a" sound and practiced writing letter A, a.   We talked about the meaning of the numbers 0 & 1 and practiced writing them.

 

We practiced "sewing" with our lace-up shape boards/cards. 

 

We practiced cutting along a straight, printed line.

 

We worked on a page from the activity book "What's Wrong" by: Anna Pomaska.  The page depicted two children having a picnic.  There were 6 things in the picture that were "wrong" and the student was directed to find these things. 

 

We ended the day by playing with playdough, a favorite activity of my grandson. 

 

We spent approximately 4 hours (including our lunch break) in school today.  The playdough was an added "extra" privilege, as it was not scheduled for today. 

 

Springtime Literature & Art Project...

Walt Disney's THUMPER'S LITTLE SISTERS (book)

Thumper's three little sisters loved their big brother very much.  They followed Thumper everywhere.

One day, Thumper accidentally led his sisters into danger, but he figured out a way to keep them safe.

Art Project:  SPRING THUMBPRINT BUNNIES (paint thumbprints for bodies of bunnies, cotton swab tips for ears,  cotton from swabs for tails, construction paper grass, sun, and background, sun rays drawn with a  yellow crayon)  This picture portrays Thumper, on the right, being followed by his little sisters.

Phonics:  "R r" is for rabbit.

Numbers: 1 (Thumper) +  3 (sisters) = 4 rabbits

Science:  Rabbits are mammals.  Discuss the characteristics of mammals.

               

Calendar:  Month of April, Season is Spring

Social Studies:  Family life - the role of a big brother/big sister.

Butterfly-Themed Daily Lessons (sample)...

Bible Verse:  "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature..."  2 Corinthians 5:17

Science:  Lifecycle of a Butterfly (visual aids that you can make yourself)

Ideas for the visual aids taken from this fantastic educational book (written from a creationist's viewpoint):

The Life and Adventures of  Monica Monarch  would make an excellent science resource text for children's use in grades 4 and above.  For younger children, it contains great photos showing step-by-step the process of a caterpillar hatching from an egg, spinning a chrysalis around itself, and then emerging from the chrysalis as a butterfly.   My pre-school grandson loved the pictures!

Reading/Story/Colors:  The Resurrection Butterfly

                                      Reinforces the concept of becoming a new creature in Christ Jesus -

                                      A caterpillar can change into a new and beautiful creature, and so can we!

                                      Associates a particular meaning with each color - red for Jesus' shed blood,

                                       black for our sin, etc.

Social Studies & Art Project:  Butterfly Card (an invitation to attend church with me next Sunday)

                                                 Fold a piece of cardstock (or sturdy construction paper) in half.

                                                 Trace a butterfly shape onto the paper.  The left wing must touch

                                                  the fold.  Color and cut out.  On the inside of the card, write a

                                                  message to a friend or relative, inviting that person to attend church

                                                  with you next Sunday.  Include references to your Bible verse.

(inside of invitation)

Phonics/Writing:  Bb is for Butterfly - practice writing, and recognizing by sight and 

                                                              sound       

Numbers:  1-2 (2 wings) / 1-4 (4 spots on the wings of the butterfly card).     

Geography:  The Migration of Monarch Butterflies (info found in the first book mentioned 

                     above or on the internet)

                      From Canada to Mexico.