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Friday, March 15, 2024

THEME: Fish

Reason theme was chosen:
Oceans / SLP theme 2022

__BOOKS/STORIES USED  _________________

Fish Eyes: A Book You Can Count On
  by Ehlert, Lois
Mabel, A Mermaid Fable  by Watkins, Rowboat
Ocean: A Peek-through Picture Book  by Teckentrup, Britta

__  SONGS  __________________________

Slippery Fish


I’m a Little Fish
(Tune: I’m a Little Teapot)


I’m a little fish-o, (hold up one hand with thumb facing upwards to represent a fish)
Watch me swim. (move hand back and forward)
Here is my tail, (wriggle fingers on fish hand)
and here is my fin. (wriggle thumb)

When I want to have fun,
With my friends,
I swish my tail and dive right in. (swish fish hand around)

The Waves in the Sea
(tune: The Wheels on the Bus)

The waves in the sea go,
Up and down, (make a rolling wave by moving one hand up and down)
Up and down,
Up and down,
The waves in the sea go,
Up and down,
All day long.

The sharks in the sea go
snap, snap, snap… (hold hands together to form a mouth, snap open & shut)

The fish in the sea go
swish, swish, swish… (swim hands around as fish)

The crabs in the sea go
click, click, click… (click fingers)


__  FINGERPLAYS / RHYMES_______________

Little Fish

1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Once I caught a Fish Alive

__  NEW WORDS INTRODUCED ____________

Parts of a fishTail, fin
Types of fish – Eel, manta, lionfish, etc.

__  ACTIVITY  _________________________


Foil fish “painting” made into a magnet or puppet

__  MATERIALS NEEDED  ________________

Scissors
Foil sheets
Permanent markers
Paper towels/wipes
Newspapers (or other table covers, if desired)
Pictures of various kinds of fish
Fish templates
Magnetic tape and/or craft sticks & tape


THEME: Building Things

 Reason theme was chosen:
Practice with fine / gross motor skills and imagination / free play

BOOKS/STORIES USED 

*Time to Build  Riggs, Kate
*I am a Backhoe   Hines, Anna
*Bulldozer’s Shapes   Rinker, Sherri Duskey

Books to Build On! More stories about Construction and Tools
Raise the Roof! by Anastasia Suen
Minerva Louise and the Red Truck by Janet Morgan Stoeke
One Big Building: A Counting Book About Construction by Michael Dahl
I Love Tools! by Philemon Sturges, illustrated by Shari Halpern
Old MacDonald Had a Woodshop  by Lisa Shulman, illustrated by Ahsley Wolff
Toolbox Twins by Lola M. Schaefer, illustrated by Melissa Iwai
Digger and Tom by Sebastian Braun
Construction Kitties by Judy Sue Goodwin Sturges, illustrated by Shari Halpern
The Toolbox by Anne & Harlow Rockwell
The Little Dump Truck by Margery Cuyler ; illustrated by Bob Kolar
Tip Tip Dig Dig by Emma Garcia
Digger Man by Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha
Construction Countdown by K.C. Olson, illustrated by David Gordon
  
The Construction Crew by Lynn Meltzer, illustrated Carrie Eko-Burgess
Get To Work Trucks! by Don Carter
Monkey with a Tool Belt by Chris Monroe
Dazzling Diggers by Tony Mitton and Ant Parker
I Drive a Dump Truck by Sarah Bridges ; illustrated by Derrick Alderman & Denise Shea
Those Building Men by Angela Johnson, illustrated by Barry Moser
Tools Rule! by Aaron Meshon
Trucks by Debbie Powell
Dig! by Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha, illustrated by Marc Rosenthal
Additional Books that I didn’t get in time, but would be great for this theme:
A Truck Goes Rattley-Bumpa by Jonathan London, illustrated by Denis Roche
Machines at Work by Byron Barton

SONGS 


FINGERPLAYS / RHYMES

NEW WORDS INTRODUCED 

Names of tools, crescent (shape)

ACTIVITY

Free play with various building materials

MATERIALS NEEDED

Building blocks of various types:
(Most are on the shred inventory board)
 
  Squigs
  Cardboard bricks
  “My Town” block Set
  Magna-Tiles
 
Cups to stack

OTHER IDEAS




Theme: Berries

Reason theme was chosen 
Focus on seasons and colors

Overview & Purpose
Discuss seasonal fruits, colors, cooking, measuring, rhyming and counting


Books / stories used as songs

The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear By Don Wood – BIG BOOK
More Blueberries By Susan Musgraves
Strawberries are Red by Petr Horacek

Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes By James Dean
The Very Berry Counting Book By Jerry Pallotta
Strawberries are Red By Petr Horacek
Jamberry By Bruce Degen
Jam and Honey By Melita Morales
The Berry Book by Gail Gibbons
One Little Blueberry by Tammi Salzano
Blueberry Mouse By Alice Low 
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Bear Sees Colors By Karma Wilson 
Blackberry Booties By Tricia Gardella
Blueberries for Sal By Robert McCloskey (pre-read this if you are reading  to a group. There are areas where you can shorten it for preschoolers)

Songs
Fruit Salad Song  By the Wiggles
Fruit Salad Salsa Song By Laurie Berkner

Fingerplays / rhymes
Picked a Berry
Pick Berries High
Flannelboard: Five Ripe Berries

New words introduced
Ripe

Activity
Free  “paint” with raspberries and blueberries

Materials needed
Cardstock, raspberries and blueberries

Rhyme: Pick Berries High

Pick berries high (reach up high)
Pick berries low (reach down low)
Pick berries on the bush, nine in a row (clap 9x)
Some like them red (palm up)
Some like them blue (other palm up)
Here’s one for me - yum! (eat)
And here’s one for you. (give)

Hand Rhyme: 5 Berries

Five ripe berries sitting in a bowl.
 (hold up five fingers)

The _____ fell out and started to roll. 
(Hold up finger, and roll hands)

It bumped the table and hit my toe 
(clap once, and touch toes)

How many berries in the bowl?
1-2-3-4   (Count berries) 

Flannel board: “Five Strawberries”

Five red strawberries, sweet to the core.
Bear came and ate one and then there were four.
Four red strawberries, growing near a tree.
Bear came and ate one and then there were three.
Three red strawberries, for you and you and you.
Bear came and ate one and then there were two.
Two red strawberries, sitting in the sun.
Bear came and ate one and then there was one.
One red strawberry, left all alone.
Bear came and ate it and then there were none.

Other ideas: 

Picked a Berry

(Tune: Clementine)

Picked a blueberry, picked a blueberry (picking motion)
That was growing in the sun (circle arms above head)
Then I washed it and I ate it (pretend to eat)
And I picked another one.

Jamberry Flannel Rhyme

Under the bridge and over the dam
Looking for berries, berries for jam
One berry, two berries, pick me a blueberry.

Under the bridge and over the dam
Looking for berries, berries for jam
Three berries, four berries, pick me a strawberry.

Under the bridge and over the dam
Looking for berries, berries for jam
Five berries, six berries, pick me a blackberry.

Under the bridge and over the dam
Looking for berries, berries for jam
Seven berries, eight berries, pick me a gooseberry.

Under the bridge and over the dam
Looking for berries, berries for jam
Nine berries, ten berries, pick me a raspberry.

Thursday, March 14, 2024

THEME: Giraffes

__SUGGESTED BOOKS/STORIES _____________

*Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andrede
*Neck & Neck by Elise Parsley
*Abigail by Catherine Rayner
Giraffe Problems
by Jory John
The Short Giraffe by Neil Flory
The Short-sighted Giraffe by A. H. Benjamin
Giraffe is too Tal for This Book by DK Ryland
Yours Sincerely, Giraffe by Jun
Takabatake
There's a Giraffe in My Soup by Ross Barach
Giraffes Up Close by Carmen Bredeson (non-fiction)
Carlo Likes Colors by Jessica Spanyol
Saffy and Saffy & Ollie by Paola Opal
Giraffes Ruin Everything by Heidi Schulz
Oh Dear, Geoffrey! by Gemma O’Neill
Starry Giraffe by Andy Bergman
One Word from Sophia by Jim Averbeck

__  SONGS  _____________________________

Mr. Giraffe
(Tune: Mary had a Little Lamb)

Mr. Giraffe is very tall.
His neck is long.
His legs are long.
Mr. Giraffe is very tall so he can reach the leaves. 

Mr. Giraffe has a special tongue.
A long tongue.
A purple tongue.
Mr. Giraffe has a special tongue so he can reach the leaves.


Zoo Animals song

(Tune: If You’re Happy and You Know It)

If you want to be a monkey, jump up high 
If you want to be a monkey, jump up high 
If you want to be a monkey if you want to be a monkey 
If you want to be a monkey, jump up high 

parrot… flap your wings 
elephant… swing your trunk 
lion… roar out loud 
giraffe… stand up tall


__  FINGERPLAYS / RHYMES_______________


One Giraffe in the bathtub going for a swim. 
Knock, Knock, (Clap twice with “Knock, Knock.”) 
Splash, Splash, (Slap knees twice with “Splash, Splash.”) 
Come on in! (Motion with both hands to come in.) 

Two Giraffes in the bathtub...  
Three Giraffes in the bathtub...
Four Giraffes in the bathtub...  

Five Giraffes in the bathtub going for a swim. 
Knock, Knock, Splash, Splash, 
It all fell in! (knock everything off flannel board)
_____

Flannel board:
(Idea taken from Making Learning Fun)

First, we figured out what color the spots were on one giraffe.
(The spots were: red, blue, green, orange, purple.)
Then we sang this song:

(Tune: “Mary Wore Her Red Dress”)
This giraffe has red spots,
red spots, red spots.
This giraffe has red spots.
Count them with me now.

Count the spots on the giraffe, then bring out another giraffe and repeat.

With the blank giraffe we sang:
This giraffe has no spots,
no spots, no spots.
This giraffe has no spots.
_____

I’m a Giraffe
Rhyme taken from: Mansfield/Richland County Public Library

 I’m a big tall giraffe stretching way up high (reach arms up overhead)
A big tall giraffe, I almost reach the sky (stand up on tip toes)
I eat the leaves from the tallest of trees (pretend to eat like giraffe, rub tummy)
And when I run I move with ease (run in place)
I’m a big tall giraffe stretching way up high (reach arms up overhead)
Way… up… high! (stand on tip toes)

__  NEW WORDS INTRODUCED  ____________

Bobbing, gleaming, goofus, types of dances, sneered

__  ACTIVITY  _________________________

#1 Running giraffe craft
#2 G is for giraffe

__  MATERIALS NEEDED  ________________
#1
Giraffe cut-outs (Ellison dye)
Simple safari background (cut path for giraffe)
Craft sticks (if desired for giraffe), glue, crayons

#2
Coloring page, crayons, glue
Yarn for tail, pre-cut giraffe head

__ 
OTHER IDEAS _______________________


  



Friday, March 1, 2024

Theme: Ready for Spaghetti

PR: This preschool story time uses oodles of noodles to introduce stories, rhymes and songs that help develop early literacy skills. Oh, the pastabilities!

__BOOKS/STORIES USED  _________________

BIG BOOK: On Top of Spaghetti by Tom Glazer
Daddy Makes the Best Spaghetti by Anna Hines
The Monster Mac & Cheese Party by Todd Parr
Tony Baroni Loves Macaroni by Marilyn Sadler

__  SONGS  __________________________

Noodles in My Soup
(Tune: “If You’re Happy and You Know It”)

There are noodles, noodles, noodles in my soup.
There are noodles, noodles, noodles in my soup.
There are oodles, oodles, oodles of the most delicious noodles.
There are noodles, noodles, noodles in my soup.
 (Slurp, Slurp!)

__  FINGERPLAYS / RHYMES_______________

Spaghetti! Spaghetti!

    Spaghetti! Spaghetti!
                     You’re wonderful stuff.
   I love you spaghetti,
                     I can’t get enough.
   You’re covered with sauce
       and you’re sprinkled with cheese.
   Spaghetti! Spaghetti!
                    Oh, give me some please!

__  OVERVIEW & PURPOSE_______________

Gross motor skills (parachute)


__ 
NEW WORDS INTRODUCED  ____________

Oodles, types of pasta

__  ACTIVITY  _________________________

Meatballs on parachute

__  MATERIALS NEEDED  ________________

Balls of yarn, parachute


__  CRAFT  ___________________________

 Lion manes

__  MATERIALS NEEDED  ________________

Lion face template, spaghetti, crayons, glue










Other ideas:

Sunday, October 1, 2017

About 1/4 of the books were gone by the end of the first day!

 We painted with spoons a week or so ago, and now we're painting with forks.  The kids liked this one.  We drew one thin line of black paint along the outside and the kids "pulled" the paint with the fork.  There wasn't enough paint on the page to make a mess.