Thursday, February 24, 2011

Request These Books: 2nd Week of March

You will need the following books for the 2nd week of March. Make sure you request these book at your local library so you will have them for the upcoming activities.

Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney
Leo the Late Bloomer by Jose Aruego
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Sleep Black Bear, Sleep by Jane Yolen
Who's Awake in Spring Time? by Phillis Gershator
Summer is Summer by Phillis and David Gershator
Weather: A First Discovery Book by Gallimard Jeunesse
All Around the Seasons by Barney Saltzberg
What Makes the Seasons?
Cloudy With A Chance of Meat Balls by Judi Barrett
The Wind Blew by Pat Hutchins
One Windy Wednesday by Phyllis Root
Sing of Song of Seasons (Rookie Reader)
Summer Beat by Betsy Franco

Friday, February 18, 2011

Lessons for March ~ Week 1

This week the focus is on February being the shortest month of the year and the theme for March, "In like a Lion, Out like a Lamb". You will cover the following concepts:
1. February is the shortest month
2. Leap Year
3. Counting to 30
3. Lions- some of their characteristics
4. Lambs- some of their characteristics
5. Vocabulary- leap, loud/ quiet, ferocious/ gentle
6. Weather difference in the beginning of March and the end of March (just a brief introduction, weather will be taught more in depth the second week of March)

Here are the lesson Plans for week 4. Let me know if you have any questions!

Day 1 ~

Supplies:
Brown paper lunch bag
Green Construction paper
Markers
Feb. Calendar
Scissors
Glue

http://www.annointed.net/blog/morning-prayer-for-children/
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/puppets/paperbag/



Prep:

1. Cut out eyes, arms, and legs to glue onto the a paper page to make a frog. See the lesson plan for more details.
2. Have your Feb. calendar accessible.


Day 2 ~

Supplies:
Picture of a Lion, Picture of a Lamb, Popsicle sticks
Orange & Yellow Construction paper
Scissors
Markers
Paper Plate
Wiggly Eyes or Eyes you make from construction paper
Stuffed Animal
Glue

http://www.annointed.net/blog/morning-prayer-for-children/

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/animals/creaturefeature/lion/



Prep:
1. Cut strips of yellow and orange construction paper (this will make the main of the lion)
2. Make eyes for the lion out of construction paper or use wiggly eyes
3. Print a picture of a lion and lamb out. Glue them to popcycle sticks. They will be used to sing the song of the day.


Day 3 ~

Supplies:
Black Construction Paper
Scissors
Markers
Glue
White Cotton Balls
http://www.annointed.net/blog/morning-prayer-for-children/
http://www.first-school.ws/activities/crafts/animals/farm/handprint-lamb.htm
OPTIONAL: Materials to make lion and lamb cupcakes:
http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/lion-and-lamb-cupcakes-685557/

Prep:

No Prep, unless you choose to do the baking activity. See website link above for details.

Request These Books: 1st Week of March

Please make sure to request these books from your local library for the first week of March (this also includes Feb 28).


Froggy’s First Kiss by Jonathan London

Eric Carle's treasury of classic stories for children by Aesop, Hans Christian Andersen, and the Brothers Grimm (Lion and the Mouse)

African lions by Joelle Riley

See and Say: Lost Sheep Story by Christina Goodings

Quick as A Cricket by Audrey Wood

Baa-Choo by Sarah Weeks

Sheep by Robin Nelson

Monday, February 14, 2011

Febuary Week 4

Here are the lesson Plans for week 4. Let me know if you have any questions!

Day 1 ~

Supplies:
Paper Plate
Fastner
Construction Paper
Markers
Glue

Prep:
1. Write the numbers 1-12 on small pieces of construction paper and cut them out in squares. (You will use these to make a clock)
2. Make a chart that has the headings: morning, afternoon, evening as the headings.

Day 2 ~

Supplies:
Construction paper
Markers
Clock Made from previous day

Prep:
1. Write the digital time 1:00- 12:00 on small pieces of construction paper and cut them out.


Day 3 ~

Supplies:
Crayons, Markers, Pencils
http://www.first-school.ws/theme/printables/days-week.htm

http://www.theprojectgirl.com/2009/01/19/menu-planning-form-free-download/


Prep:
No Prep!

Friday, February 11, 2011

February ~ Week 3

Here are the lesson plans for week 3. Let me know if you have any questions!

Day 1 ~

Supplies:

  • Construction paper for paper hearts
  • Pen or marker
  • Bag or box
  • Box of conversation hearts
  • Printouts

Prep:

1. Cut out some hearts from construction paper
2. If you want, you can decorate the bag or box for the activity
3. Print out the worksheets for activity 2 (if you don't want to print everything out, you can easily make these or do the activity without them)
Counting hearts
Sorting hearts
Graph

Day 2 ~

Supplies:

  • Construction paper and various supplies for the "Q" that you choose
  • President matching cards

Prep:

1. Visit No Time for Flashcards and choose which "Q" activity you would like to complete
2. Print out the president matching cards and cut out.

Day 3 ~

Supplies:

  • Assortment of coins
  • Paper and crayons
  • Piggy bank printout and pennies
  • Q-tip, cotton ball, or old toothbrush, and lemon juice
  • Heads or tails game worksheet
  • Brown paper bag
  • Cotton balls or packing peanuts and glue

Prep:

1. Gather your materials and print out the piggy bank and heads or tails game sheet (again, the activities can easily be done without these if you don't want to print anything)


Thursday, February 10, 2011

Request These Books (4th Week of Feb)

For the 4th week of Feb, you will need to request these books. Make sure you do this because some of the activities planned require that you have some of these books.

Cookie's Week by Cindy Ward
The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle
Today is Monday by Eric Carle
What Time is it, Mr. Crocodile? by Judy Sierra
Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Monday, February 7, 2011

February Week 2

Our theme this week is Valentine's Day, and our Character Trait is Faithfulness- which is a good lead-in to Lent for those of you who recognize the season.

Here are the Lesson Plans

Materials for the Week
Matching Heart Worksheet (With Splitter Splatter Card Instructions on the 2nd page)
Cardboard (a cereal box is perfect)
Pencil
Craft Knife
White Paper
Newspaper
Red or White Acrylic Paint
Toothbrush (an old one is fine)
Markers
1c. flour
1Tbs. shortening
2Tbs. water
Pinch of Salt
Muffin tin
Strawberry Jelly
Finger Paints
3 Sectioned Plastic Plate
Candy Hearts

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Happy Chinese New Year

Let's celebrate the year of the Rabbit on February 3, 2011. Our family has quite a few Chinese friends. So, we will celebrate Chinese New Year with them. We will probably eat jiaozi (similar to pot stickers) and moon cakes. The room will be decorated with RED - everywhere! We will also say, "Zhu ni xin nian kuai le"or "Wish you a happy new year." You can learn more here. I suggest reading the Zodiac sign definitions for each family member. We got a good laugh at how close they were to our personalities.

Here are some things we will do at home to teach Anabelle about the Chinese New Year.

Red Envelope
It's a tradition for Chinese parents to give their children a red envelope with money in it. Red symbolizes it's a gift. We will start the morning giving Anabelle a red envelope with a dollar in it. We are using this one.

Year of the Rabbit
We are coloring this page (the rabbit is on page 12) and talking about the Chinese character (letter) for rabbit. Also, we will be making these cute rabbit ears.

Decorations
You can't have a Chinese New Year party with out making several lanterns and hanging up these greetings

Food
For snack we will make Moon Cakes together. Here is a kid-friendly recipe. Just watch carefully for the eggs.

Reading
To end our time we are reading the "D is for Dancing Dragon: A China Alphabet"  by Carol Crane book suggested on the lantern craft page.

There is a ton more you can do to celebrate! Have fun and Happy New Year!