Sept. 4, 2013: Letter A Theme: Apples Number: 1 Color: Red Shape: Circle
Sign In: I show each child a writing tablet with their name on it. Each day of school, I ask each child to "sign in." This gives them practice at name recognition (they locate their own name on their tablet), and it helps them learn to write their name. If a child does not know how to write, I show them the correct way to hold their pencil, and then I will form their name for them with dots. They then can trace the dots to form the letters of their name. Free Play in Learning Centers: I then allow the children 20 minutes or so to play freely with whatever they like. This allows them to get comfortable and interact before we get into a lesson.
Circle Time: After free play, I lead the children to the Circle Time area. To me, this is an important time during the day. It is during this time that we sing an opening Welcome Song, sing about the Days of the Week, Days of the Month, discuss what day of the week it is, discuss the weather and dress our Weather Bear, learn what letter and number we are learning about this week, and learn what theme we will be discussing (see Circle Time Learning Songs below). I read The Letter A book. We also recite the pledge to the American flag, the Christian flag and to the Bible. During these first days of school, I also introduce our daily routine, five rules for our classroom, and allow them to ask questions. I assign the children each a job. I determine how long Circle Time will go on depending on how restless they get. When the wiggles start, I know I need to wrap things up and get them involved in something else. We end in prayer.
Circle Time Learning Songs:
Welcome Song:
Start the day with a smile Original Author Unknown
Sung to: "The Mulberry bush"
This is the way we start the day,
Start the day, start the day.
This the way we start the day,
So early in the morning.
First we smile and shake a hand,
Shake a hand, shake a hand.
First we smile and shake a hand,
So early in the morning.
Then we sit down quietly,
Quietly, Quietly
Then we sit down quietly,
So early in the morning.
We listen very Carefully,
Carefully, Carefully.
We listen very carefully,
So early in the morning.
Borrowed from: http://www.preschooleducation.com
Days of the Week (Sung to O My Darling Clementine)
There are seven days, there are seven days, there are seven days in a week: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday. Sing it twice.
or: Days of the Week
Clapping or clicking tongues can replace the snapping.
Days of the Week Song
(to the tune of “The Adam’s Family”)
Days of the week (snap, snap)
Days of the week (snap, snap)
Days of the week, days of the week, days of the week (snap, snap)
There’s Sunday then there’s Monday
Tuesday then there’s Wednesday
Thursday then there’s Friday
And then there’s Saturday
Days of the week (snap, snap)
Days of the week (snap, snap)
Days of the week, days of the week, days of the week (snap, snap)
http://suite101.com
Months of the Year Song (sung to One Little Indian): January, February, March and April, May, June, July and September, October, November and December--these are the months of the year!
Weather Song: Fill the blanks in with the type of weather (sunny, rainy, snowy, cloudy, etc)
What’s the Weather Like Today
(to the tune of “Mary Had a Little Lamb”)
What’s the weather like today?
Like today? Like today?
What’s the weather like today?
Let’s go look and see.
Outside it’s a ______ day
__________ day,
___________ day.
Outside it’s a _______ day,
Look outside and see.
http://suite101.com
Snack: Now it's on to Snack Time (time to learn table manners, say grace, and converse with one another). We are studying A is for Apples this week, so we will construct a special snack today. Bible Lesson from the Children's Picture Bible/Precious Moments Stories From the Bible: Toward the end of Snack Time, I start reading a Bible story. We then discuss the story, I ask questions to determine comprehension, and then we may do a Bible activity that correlates with the story. I will introduce the week's Bible verse, send it home with them so their parents/guardians can help them learn it.
The Creation Story. After I read the children the story, we will add cutouts of each of the creations God added each of the 6 days of the week, then we will add a cutout of a person resting for the 7th day of creation. Provide additional materials that children can incorporate into their pictures: yarn for hair, colored pencils, etc.
Practice Bible Verse:
Every word of God
proves true. ~Proverbs 30:5
Free Play in Learning Centers: Children can go to any center they choose. I will incorporate our Apple Theme into the centers, i.e., apple stampers at the art center, farmer's market for dramatic play, etc.Clean Up: Children learn to organize their preschool room and keep it nice and tidy for safety and because it is a nicer environment in which to learn. I try to label many of the bins and place pictures on the outside of the bins so children know easily where to return items.
Group Lesson: This varies. Today we will incorporate a Science Lesson: Varieties of Apples. I will provide green, yellow, and red apples for the children to see, smell, touch and taste. We will discuss foods that contain apples: cakes, pies, fruit salad, etc. The children can observe the apples' shapes, colors and sizes. We will discuss applesauce and I will hopefully get the children excited by telling them that during the next school day we will make applesauce together! My house should smell nice for the rest of that day!
Lunch/Rest Time: If the children do not want to close their eyes, they are permitted to look at a book. At times, I will use rest time to have them lie on their mats and read to them from books they choose.
Gross Motor: Along with talking about applesauce, we will play a game called AppleToss! I will provide a bag of apples for the children, and they will take turns trying to toss apples into buckets, provided weather permits. Plan B: Apple Sweep: I will give the children small brooms and an apple each and each child will try to sweep their apple along the floor to reach a designated masking tape mark.
Art/Fine Motor: A is for Apple Tissue Paper Project: I will give each child a piece of construction paper on which I have drawn an uppercase and a lowercase letter A. The children will then be given red tissue paper to glue onto the letter A. We will leave a little room at the right-hand corner, where, instead of red tissue paper, we will glue brown tissue paper, then add green construction paper leaves to the A's to look like apples. Add seeds to the middle of the apples (real or paper).
Free Play in Learning Centers
Clean-Up/Review/Dismissal (Goodbye Poem)
*Advanced Worksheet and/or Activities for advanced students will be implemented throughout the day, and additional ideas sent home.
______________________________________________________________________________
Sept. 6, 2013
Sign In
Free Play in Learning Centers
Circle Time: Sing Circle Time Learning Songs. Review Letter A and sound, #1, color red, circle shape. Sight Word: "AND." Read: Johnny Appleseed book and discuss. Hap Palmer CD and move to music. Show and Tell. If the kids cannot sit this long, we will do Show and Tell during snack or lunch.
Snack
Bible: Cain and Abel. Read story. Discussion: Giving with good motives and giving what we cherish, not just what we don't want; rules and why we have them; jealousy, hatred.
Free Play in Learning Centers
Group Lesson: Literacy/Science: Weekly Readers from Scholastic
Art/Fine Motor: Art of Cooking: Making applesauce! Involves measuring, math, fine motor, language, following directions, taste, smell, sight, and eating!!!! While children are taking turns helping make the applesauce, I will have handwriting practice sheets for Letter A for them to trace and also the #1 tracing sheet.
Lunch/Rest
Gross Motor: Outdoor play: Frizbee (circle shape) Shape Toss: I will lay cardboard shapes (circle, triangle, rectangle, etc.) around the yard; the children will take turns throwing the Frizbee onto the shapes: shape recognition
Free Play in Learning Centers
Clean-Up/Review/Dismissal (Goodbye Poem)
_____________________________________________________________________________
Sept. 9, 2013: Finish up lesson plans for Letter A that are yet to be completed.
_____________________________________________________________
Sept. 11, 2013: Letter B Theme: Bugs Number 2 Color: Black Shape: Oval
Sign In
Free Play in Learning Centers
Circle Time: Sing Circle Time Learning Songs. Review A, 1, etc. Introduce Letter B, #2, Color Black, Oval. Teach Buggy Anatomy Song (tune of London Bridge): Head and thorax, abdomen, abdomen, abdomen,
Head and thorax, abdomen, That's an insect.
Every insect has six legs, has six legs, has six legs,
Every insect has six legs, that's an insect.
Antennae to feel their way, feel their way, feel their way,
Antennae to feel their way, that's an insect.
-Have each child do a motion 2 times to demonstrate knowledge of how many 2 is. Discuss how many students are wearing black somewhere on their shoes/clothing.
Read books about bugs and read "My B Book."
Snack
Bible:
Free Play in Learning Centers
Group Lesson: Bug Safari: Going on a Bug Hunt. Take a walk with the children. See how many different kinds of bugs you can find. Set up Bug Collection: real bugs (dead) in a case, labeled--from Amazon. Discuss. Provide a fact sheet with interesting information about various bugs, and read it to the children.
Art/Fine Motor: Bug Zoo: Let the children use their imaginations to create their own make-believe bugs. Set out such materials as empty yogurt containers, cardboard tubes, egg cartons, pipe cleaners, yarn, pom-poms, googly eyes, paper scraps, and glue. Invite the children to use the materials to make "bugs." Display their creations as a Bug Zoo.
Lunch/Rest
Gross Motor: Play Outdoors.
Free Play in Learning Centers
Clean-Up/Review/Dismissal (Goodbye Poem)
