Down on the Farm

Who doesn't love farm animals? The kids loved FARM WEEK. There was so much to do...

Dramatic Play
We added large boxes, taped together (stalls) and a couple of window flower boxes (feed boxes) a bucket, some big boots, overalls, and straw hat. The kids enjoyed being animals, and being the farmer too!


Math- farm animal counters with barns for sorting


Sensory Table
*Oats
*Corn for shucking
*"Milk a cow" with latex gloves filled with water and holes poked in the fingers. Use a bucket!

Hay with surprises for the kids to discover

Wishy Washy Wishy Washy
Read Mrs. Wishy Washy's Farm
Then fill up a bucket of soapy water and let the children wash farm animals made of foam paper, and hang them to dry with clothespins.

Art

 Paper Plate Hen

                           Use the children's handprints to make this cute hen  

Paintbrushes made with hay
Gather a small bundle of hay
and bind together with string or
rubber bands. Let children
paint masterpieces!


Music
Old MacDonald Had a Farm
The Farmer in the Dell
B I N G O
Mary had a little lamb

Litercy

Pond Life

We had so much fun learning about all kinds of critters that live in a pond. The funniest thing about the whole week was that anytime someone said "beaver" the kids would laugh HYSTERICALLY. They would get me laughing every time!! They loved pretending to be beavers.

Group Time

Pond life cards: The children had to act like the animal card that was shown. We also attempted charades, but it worked better as a group. (you can find the cards @ prekinders.com.)

Science

Life cycle of a frog: We continued to use our Life cycles theme box, which includes a Velcro life cycle activity mit, stamps, and plastic figures.


Sensory Table

Habitat: We added rocks, twigs, leaves, water, foam lily pads, and plastic frogs, fish, turtles, and ducks.

Math

Counting: We used numbered lily pads and added the correct amount of plastic frogs to each one.
Graphing: Each child would grab a handful of pond creatures and place them on a graph to see which animal was more or less.
Lets Go Fishin': We used a magnetic fishing pole, and a blue table cloth "pond". Fish with a certain number of worms on them were placed in the pond and they tried to "catch" matching fish.

Dramatic Play

Little Froggies: We made a small green frog face cutout, gave it eyes, and cut a small slit and inserted solid red party blowers (found at dollar tree). They LOVED hopping around like frogs and sticking out their long "tongues".

Art

Terrific Turtle: A paper bowl, construction paper head, legs, and tail (green), different colored green tissue paper cut into small squares, half glue/half water, paint brushes. Glue on legs, head, and tail. Paint the glue onto the bowl and stick the tissue paper squares all over to make a shell. Very cute turtles!
Somethings Fishy: A white fish cutout, markers, water droppers. Color the fish cutout anyway you like with watercolor markers. Then use the dropper to drip water onto the fish and watch the colors run...neat effect.
Fine Feathered Friend: Duck Cutout, orange triangles for beak and feet, feathers. Let them be creative and make their own unique feathered duck.

Music

Pond Life Song (Tune of: Are you sleeping)

Ducks live here
Ducks live here
At the pond
At the pond
Ducks eat and rest here
Ducks eat and rest here
At the pond
At the pond
(frogs, fish, beavers, bugs)

Down at the Pond (Tune of Down by the Bay)
Down at the Pond                 (children repeat)
Where the water lilies grow
There are lots of animals
Swimming to and fro
They dive and they splash
Of the water they are fond
You can see them every day
In a happy sort of way
Down at the pond

Five Little Ducks
Five little ducks went out one day
Over the hills and far away
Mother duck said "quack, quack, quack, quack"
But only four little ducks came back.
(Continue until no ducks left)
Sad mother duck went out one day
Over the hills and far away
Mother duck said "quack, quack, quack, quack"
AND ALL OF THE FIVE LITTLE DUCKS CAME BACK

Circus

The circus is in town, and most of the children in our class (and myself as well) will be going this weekend. So this got my wheels turning! I thought what better way to reflect on the wonder and excitement of the greatest show on Earth than to have our very own Circus Day!! So we have all sorts of exciting things to do, and its going to be a great suprise for the kids. Here are some of the activities that we have planned.
Snacks
Popcorn, cotton candy, circus peanuts (you could even bring real peanuts if no one has an allergy) and lemonade!

Group Activities
Face Painting: Little clowns with decorated party hats, or your favorite circus animal
Tight Rope walking:  bring some real rope, or you could use masking tape on the floor, give the kids an umbrella and have them practice heel to toe...very giggly
Jumping through hoops: Hula hoops  of course! Make up your own tricks!
Animal Charades: Kids can pretend to be their favorite circus animal

Art
Cotton candy painting: Make a white cone shape and have the children paste it onto some construction paper. Offer the children some light pink or light blue paint (you could have the children mix dark colors with white paint to lighten it) and some cotton balls to paint with to make cotten candy on their page. (of course it helps when you have the real thing so they have an idea what they are painting :D)

Shape Clown: Circle, oval, triangle shape cutouts of different sizes, and also some doilies for the clows coller if desired

Things that Grow

We are having SO much fun with our "Things that grow" unit. Today we had a variety of sliced vegetables (squash, carrots, celery, corn, cucumber) to had to our art area for painting, but first we had a taste test. I was pleasantly surprised that most of the children wanted to eat the fresh veggies, and even more surprised that I had to stop them from eating ALL the veggies so that we would still have something to paint with. :)

Music

Little Seed (Tune: I'm a Little Teapot)

Here's a little seed in the dark, dark ground.
Out comes the warm sun, yellow and round.
Down comes the rain, wet and slow.
Up comes the little seed, grow, grow, grow!

The Gardener Plants the Seeds (Tune "Farmer in the Dell")

The gardener plants the seeds. 

The gardener plants the seeds. 

High ho the derry oh, 

The gardener plants the seeds.

Second Verse: The rain falls on the ground. 

Third Verse: The sun shines bright and warm. 

Fourth Verse: The seeds begin to grow. 

Sensory Table

We placed gardening rocks, small flower pots, silk flowers, trowels, gardening gloves, and aprons in our sensory table. The kids loved "planting" the flowers. They dumped them out and did it over and over. The children in the block area helped them out by making a "garden wall" out of blocks to keep the garden safe. Great job kiddos! Wonderful team work!

Science Center

We placed cards and ink stampers from our Life cycles Theme Box showing the stages of plant growth. We are also planting a garden in cupcake holders and mini green houses to be later placed in a garden box. For now they are sitting in our science area window sill so we can view their sprouting. We are also going to grow lima beans (in plastic bags) to go along with our Jack in the Beanstalk story.

Literacy

Easter

Art: 
R
Egg-celent Works of Art: Give each child a large white egg cutout and a white crayon. Let them decorate the egg as they wish. Then let them paint the egg with watercolors, and watch their decorations magically appear!


Cute Carrots: Cut out a large carrot shape, minus the greens for each child. The children dip their finger into orange paint and cover their carrot. Then let them tear strips of green scrap paper to make their green ends and glue them on.


Runaway Bunny
Cut a paper plate in half. Keep one half, and out of the other half cut out two bunny ear shapes. Staple the ears to the other half. Have the children color pink inside the ears and give their bunny a nose and an eye. Then they can glue cotton balls all over their bunny. So cute




Sensory Table


Green Easter Grass, Plastic Easter eggs, some filled with magnets and some not, magnet wand. Hide the easter eggs in the sensory table filled with easter grass. Then the children move the wands over the easter eggs and see which eggs are the easter bunny's magic eggs! 


Science


Hard Boiled Egg Discovery and Egg Coloring


Literacy

For My Parents

Welcome to my blog guys! I'm so happy that Mrs. Emily put a link on the center's site so that you guys could view what your children are doing and learning!!! I'm still figuring this whole thing out, so eventually it will be easier to navigate. I will be posting new photos, so keep checking back!!
Mrs. Cassie

Weather

Music:

If all the raindrops were lemon drops and gum drops
Oh, what a rain that would be
Standing outside with my mouth open wide
Ah ah ah ah, ah ah ah, ah ah ah
If all the raindrops were lemon drops and gum drops
Oh, what a rain that would be

If all the snowflakes were candybars and milkshakes
Oh what a snow that would be
Standing outside with my  mouth open wide
Ah ah ah ah, ah ah ah, ah ah ah
If all the snowflakes were candybars and milkshakes
Oh, what a snow that would be

Its raining, its pouring
The old man is snoring
He bumped his head and he went to bed
And he couldn't get up in the morning

Rain, rain go away
Come again another day
Little (child's name) wants to play
Rain, rain go away

The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout
Down came the rain and washed the spider out
Out came the sun and dried up all the rain
And the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again

Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun
Please shine down on me
Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun
Hiding behind a tree
These little children are asking you
To please come out so we can play with you
Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun
Please shine down on me.

Science area: Pinwheels, fan, various items that the wind may or may not move; Tornado made from two liter bottles
Sensory Table:
*Rice with cups for pouring (sound like rainshower)
*Itsy Bitsy Spider water play (pvc pipe, plastic spider, cups, tin pie pan with holes punched)
Art:
Cotten Ball Clouds: give each child a blue cloud cutout, some cotten balls, and clue and let them make their own fluffy cloud
Rainbow Wind Socks: give children a white peice of card stock and various art supplies such as markers and springtime stickers and let them decorate. Then have them glue on mulicolored crepe paper streamers to the bottom of the paper turned hotdog style. When dry, roll and make ends meet, staple, and add a string for hanging
Umbrellas: Let the children color these with markers, and then take a spray bottle of water (rain) and watch how the colors run together.
Stormy Painting: give black and white paint and let them fingerpaint to go along with a cd of weather sound
Paper Plate Sun: cutting practice, have children paint paper plate yellow, swirled with orange, then encourage them to cut out and glue on construction paper triangles to complete their sun.
Mud Puddle: mix glue with brown paint and let the children paint a mud puddle cutout...then springle with grass, dirt and sticks that you find outside.
Group Activities:
Cottenball cloud and water table activity. Give each child a cotten ball to touch and examine. The cotten ball is dry and light weight. Discuss how water evaporates and when the clouds get full of water they become to heavy and it rains. Now have the children hold their cottenball barely touching the water so that it absorbs. What happens went the cotten ball gets full and you hold it above the water? It rains (drips) from your cloud (cotten ball)!
Math:
Counting Clouds Numbered Clouds 1- 10 w/raindrop cutouts. Children add the correct number of raindrops to each cloud
Thunderclap game (from Prekinders) Children get a blue felt sheet (puddle) and flat, blue floral rocks (raindrops). Clap while the children listen. The number of claps indicates the number of raindrops the children should put in their puddle.
Literacy:

Earth Day

Music
Recycling Song (Tune of: The More We Get Together)
The more we all recycle,
Recycle, recycle,
Oh, the more we all recycle
The better Earth will be.
Aluminum and paper,
Glass, cardboard and plastic.
These all can be recycled
By you and by me.
Its Earth Day (Tune of: A Tisket, a Tasket)
It's Earth Day, it's Earth Day
What can we do on Earth Day
To make the world a better place?
Let's (pick up trash) on Earth Day.
(you can also use: plant a tree, recycle, save water, turn off the lights)
Group activity:

Rescue the habitat!
Cut a pond shape out of a blue plastic table cloth, make pond creature cut outs and recyclable cut outs,and I laminated them so that I could save them, but you could also use real (clean) litter. You put all of the creatures (fish, ducks, frogs) into the pond and explain to the children that when people litter,it makes the creatures who live in the pond sad because their home is dirty and they can no longer live there. Then children add the litter to the pond, but for each piece they must take away one creature. When all of the pond creatures are gone, invite the children to "clean up" the pond, and as they do, the pond creatures can return to their home!
Litter Sorting Lable three boxes (words and photos) with either paper, plastic, or aluminum. Have a mixture of clean recyclable items for children to sort through and put in the correct box...they can dump and sort again, and again.
Change the world! Clean up the around your school or center together as a group...explain that everyone can make a difference!
What can we do to help? Discuss ways to save power and preserve water...what can we do at our school to help the environment...make a chart,and a plan!

Sensory Table: make litter cut outs out of foam paper, place in water table (pond) and give the children small strainers or goldfish nets to clean up the pond.

Art:
Give the earth a hand...very simple blue paper circle, let the children slap green handprints on it for a very cute earth
Litter Bugs...Use a full page bug cutout, copy for each child, and let them use magazine cut outs or clean litter to decorate
Litter leaves and impression...Use various clean litter (soda can plastic, bubble wrap, cans, ect.) and let the children use crayons to make rubbings.
Science: Let each child make their own little greenhouse out of a clean parfait container from Dairy Queen or McDonalds.
Math:
We use bottle and milk caps in our math center as counters...you can sort the different colors, make patterns, and my kiddos even like stacking them!
Literacy:
Cut out lables from food containers (cheerios, poptarts,ect., then make word cards (I, like, love) and children can make simple sentences to read all by themselves.

Bugs and Butterflies

We had such a great time with butterflies this past week that I couldn't wait to share with you!




Music
A Little Caterpillar
Song:(tune of itsy bitsy spider) 
A little caterpillar curled up under a leaf                               
(hold out hand for leaf, wiggle finger on other hand for worm)
It formed a little chrysalis and then it fell asleep                   
(lead head on hands in sleeping action)    
It grew and it changed and the days flew right on by          
(move hands upward and then spread apart)
And when it POPPED out of the chrysalis                              
(cup hands together and then pop them apart)
It was a butterfly!                                                                 
(cross your thumbs and flap hands like butterfly)     


Baby Bumble Bee
I'm bringing home a baby bumble bee
Won't my mommy be so proud of me
I'm bringing home a baby bumble bee
OUCH, it stung me!
I'm squashing up a baby bumble bee
Won't my mommy be so proud of me
I'm squashing up a baby bumble bee
EWW it's messy!
I'm wiping off a baby bumble bee
Won't  my mommy be so proud of me
I'm wiping off a baby bumble bee
LOOK! All clean!


 Play-dough center
 I cut a large leaf out of a green table cloth (dollar tree table cloths are a staple for me) and gave them butterfly cookie cutters and encouraged them to make eggs, caterpillars, and butterflies to add to the leaf.

Science Center

Along with all of the real bugs that we have found outside on our adventures, we have a life cycles theme box that have several interactive activities with bugs and butterflies.

Sensory Table

I filled our sensory table with green easter grass and 10 green plastic bugs. The children used tweezers to pick up the bugs and place them in a bug jar.They had a blast trying to find them and some clever ones looked under the table (which has a clear tub) to spot the bugs. When they found all ten then they had to hide them for the next group.

Math

We used our big box of plastic bugs to make math more fun during our bugs and butterflies theme! I made ten jar print outs, each with a different number, and the children placed the correct number of bugs on each jar. We sorted the bugs by category and even made bug patterns! I also used several print offs from the PreKinders site, such as the bug grids and bug bingo (WONDERFUL resource).

Art
B is for Butterfly
We discussed that butterfly begins with the letter B. We talked about the B sound, and other things that started with the letter B also. Then we took letter B cutout, decorated them with markers and sequins, then added a popcicle stick with a smiley face and antennae. Cute butterflies.
Class Caterpillar
I made a green circle cutout for each child, and kept one to make a head for the caterpillar with large google eyes, popcicle sticks and pom pom balls. I gave the students lots of craft materials and they decorated the caterpillars body anyway they wished. Then we added all of our circles together to complete our caterpillar and put him in the hallway! They loved how long he turned out. Great collaborative project.
Caterpillar Circles
I squirted several colors of paint onto paper plates with lots of circular items that the children could paint with...then i asked them to make their own caterpillar (we added features with a black marker when the paint dried). Then they used forks and green paint to make grass, and they added a yellow circle at the top for a sun! 


Group Time
After reading "From Caterpillar to Butterfly" I asked the children if they remembered how a butterfly's life cycle went. Then I brought out some colorful scarves used for music time, and a large brown blanket. I asked on of my children to curl up into a little ball because they were a tiny egg on a leaf. Then I asked them to stretch out and "hatch" from their egg, crawl around and eat their leaf because they were now a caterpillar. Then I lay out the blanket a placed the scarves inside. The child got in the blanket and we wrapped her up in her "chrysalis". Lastly we asked her to break from her chrysalis and wave her scarves around like a beautiful butterfly! The children loved acting this out, and it really helped them to remember the life cycle. Afterwards I placed these items in our dramatic play area.
Literacy

Welcome to my blog!

I plan to post lesson plans, pictures, and special moments from my preschool class. I have such precious children and we have much to do before graduation! My plan is to post my weather unit, bugs and butterflies unit, and Earth Day activities this week. I hope this blog will be helpful to you, and please feel free to share with others. Thanks for visiting!!!