January Week 4: Drum Those Drums

Transition Song: Colors by The Learning Station

Vocabulary and Basic Concepts: loud/quiet, fast/slow, stop/go, big/little or small, in/out, open/closed, under/over, big/bigger/biggest, small/smaller, smallest, beat, drum, box.

This week Miss Carrie brought out boxes. So. Many. Boxes.  There were big boxes and little boxes.  we were going to drum!  But first we had to know how to stop and listen. We practiced putting our hands up whenever Miss Carrie said "Hands UP!" This meant "stop drumming and listen to directions".

Ready, set, GO! We drummed LOUD!  We discovered that when we were drumming loud, we couldn't hear Miss Jeana or Miss Jen talking.  When we drummed quietly, then we could hear them. We experimented with drumming fast and slow. We practiced go and stop (which was "hands up").

What else could we do with boxes.  We tried getting in them.  Some boxes were too little.  We could hide under them by putting them over our heads.  Some boxes were so big that we could get into them and close them. Our friends would open the boxes to find us.  We had so much fun exploring all of the boxes.

DO THIS AT HOME:  Find some boxes and make some noise.  Explore what else you can do with the boxes.  Make a fort.  Play hide and seek.  Make houses and color features on the boxes.  Let our child take the lead on what to do.

January Week 3: Do What I'm Doing

Transition Song: Colors by The Learning Station

Vocabulary and Basic Concepts: colors, body parts, look, watch, move, swing, sway, stomp reach, throw, blow, up/down, forward/backward, high/low, fast/slow, big/little, present progressive -ing, past tense-ed, Pronouns I/He/She/We + is/am/are, What questions, Who questions.

This week Miss Carrie brought her scarves.  There were lots of different colors.  If we didn't get the color we wanted, we could ask our friends to trade.  Then we danced and moved with our scarves.  Our teachers had to watch us and copy what we did.  We ha so much fun showing what we could do.  Scarves waved high and low.  We threw scarves in the air and caught them.  Then we threw them at our friends.We jumped, stepped, swayed, and swung our arms.  We sat on the floor to see what other ways we could move with just our upper bodies. Miss Carrie played fast music and slow music.

DO THIS AT HOME:  Pull out scarves or not.  But do put on some music an dance!  Follow your child's lead.  "What are you doing?  Oh, look, I see that you are stomping your feet.  I wonder if I can do that?  Stomp!Stomp!Stomp!"  "You are shaking your arms fast!  I can shake them fast, too!" Use your best sports broadcaster voice and give a play-by-play.  Have your child tell you what they are doing and let them correct you if you do it wrong.  Or, use single word narration to talk about what your child is doing to hep them label: "Stomp! Swing! Arms! Legs! Head! Shake! Fast!"

January Week 2: Dinosaur, Dinosaur

Transition Song: The Color Song by The Learning Station

Vocabulary and Basic Concepts: same/different, big/little, loud/quiet, long/short, smooth/spiny, stomp, walk, fly, run, swim, eat, identify parts of a whole (EX: The head of the dinosaur), head, back, feet, Who questions, What questions, Where questions.

This week we read a book together called Dinosaur, Dinosaur by Byron Barton.

Every time Miss Carrie said the word dinosaur we clapped it and said it with her.  The word is divided up into three parts called syllables. We practiced the word over and over.  We said dinosaur with fierce voices, with hungry voices, with tired voices, with tiny voices,  and with big voices.

Then Miss Carrie brought out toy dinosaurs. They looked just like the ones in the book!  We traded with friends if we wanted to.  Then Miss Carrie told us to look at the head of the dinosaur.  We found the head.  Miss Carrie showed us pictures and asked if our dinosaur looked like the picture.  We looked at the back of the dinosaur and the tail of the dinosaurs.  Everyone had dinosaurs that looked different. We talked about which dinosaurs walked on two feet and which ones walked on four feet.

DO THIS AT HOME:  pick out some favorite toys and compare and contrast.  What looks the same and what looks different?  Point out the parts of the toy.  Be sure to get down on the floor and play with the toys with your child.  Let your child lead on what to do.

January Week 1: Draw A Map

Transition Song: Colors

Although, I think we'll do this version next week since it has more colors:

Vocabulary and Basic Concepts:  Map, draw, tummy, red, yellow, blue, green, black, white, gray, orange, purple, pink, house, long/short, big/little, street, park, store, restaurant, trees, mailbox, backyard, next to, in front in back of, same/different. neighborhood, What questions, Where questions.

This week Miss Carrie showed us her house on Google Maps.  We saw her street and what was near her neighborhood.  We used Google Maps to then find our school and saw what it looked like from way up high.  We could see our playground!  Miss Carrie talked about maps.  Then she rolled out really big paper and we drew a map of our neighborhood.  We noticed that everyone's house looked different.  Some people had parks, stores, or restaurants near their homes.

 

DO THIS AT HOME:  Go for a walk or a drive around your neighborhood.  Talk about what makes up your neighborhood.  Then go home and draw a map, build your neighborhood out of blocks, or create your neighborhood in a new and fun way.  Be sure to talk about it together and show your creations to other family and friends.  Let your child take the lead on what it will look like.