December Week 2: Over, Under Around, and Through!

Vocabulary and Basic Concepts: over/under, up/down, around, through, walk, step, crawl, reach, stretch, squat, balance, jump, march, hop, obstacle course, What, Who, He/She.

This week Miss Carrie brought out a lot of things! There were stairs to go over, hula hoops to step over or crawl under, exercise mats to follow (Jumping Jacks! Squats! Sit And Reach! Stretch! Touch Toes! Balance! March! Hop!), and there were tunnels and tents.  Miss Carrie called it an obstacle course.

We went every where.  We tried everything. If we weren't sure what to do, we could ask a teacher. We made sure to use walking feet.  Miss Carrie took pictures of everyone.  Then we all sat down and watched the big screen.  Miss Carrie put our pictures on the big screen.  She asked "Who is that?"  "What is he/she doing?" 

DO THIS AT HOME:  what do you have around your house to make an obstacle course?  Kids think it is great fun to watch a grown up crawl under things.  If not at your house, pick a sunny day and head to the park.  Talk about what you can do.  Make  your child the leader and get ready to follow.

December Week 1: Snow People

Vocabulary and Basic Concepts:  cold, snow, balls, hat, scarf, seeds, berries, nuts, forks, buttons, shapes, head, neck, hands, shoulders, What questions, Where questions.

Transition Song: Must Be Santa by Raffi.  (Note, we only sing the first three verses and we sing it without the music.  The music is too fast.

We also put together a Santa to show the different parts of the song

This week we talked about the snow that fell last week.  Some of us made snow people.  Miss Carrie brought a book about snow people titled Snowballs by Lois Ehlert.

There were so many things to see and talk about!  The snow people had corn and berries and buttons and strings and nuts and raisins and popcorn and scarves.  Squirrels and birds were eating the nuts and seeds.

Miss Carrie had an idea.  She wanted to make snow people, but we couldn't bring snow into the classrooms.  She brought a big bag full of things to make snow people.  We decided that we could turn the teachers into snow people.  We talked about what items we found in the bag and where to put them on the teachers.

DO THIS AT HOME:  Don't wait for snow!  Talk about snow people and what you would put on them.  Go through the house on a hunt of items to put in a big bag.  Then turn your family members into snow people.  Talk about clothing items and body parts.  Talk about hot and cold.  Consider making a hot or cold treat to enjoy afterwards.  When it snows again, who wants to make a snow dad/mom/brother/sister/family?

November Week 3: Yummy/Yucky

Vocabulary and Basic Concepts: Yummy/Yucky, hot/cold, spaghetti, worms, blueberries, crayons, soup, soap, sandwiches, sand, cookies, coffee, chocolate sauce, hot sauce, pie, burger, boogers, eggs, ear wax, fish sticks, fish food, ice cream, alliteration.

This week we read the book Yummy Yucky by Leslie Patricelli.

In this book, Baby finds foods that are yummy and items that we really shouldn't or don't want to put in our mouths.  Miss Carrie really likes this book because it says that BURGERS are yummy, but BOOGERS are yucky.  Miss Carrie always asks our friends to keep their fingers out of their nose because she doesn't want to get sick.  If Miss Carrie or any of the teachers get sick, they can't come to school.  They have to stay home until they are better.

On some of the pages, there are foods grown ups like such as hot sauce.  Miss Carrie LOVES hot sauce.  Some of our friends and teachers don't like hot sauce.  Baby didn't like hot sauce either.

Some of the words had what is called alliteration - words that start with the same sound.

DO THIS AT HOME: Find the book at your local library.  Read it together and talk about what you can or should not put in your mouth.  Then talk about foods you like or don't like.  Check out Leslie Patricelli's other books as well.  They are fun to read.