A Special Time for the Left Family
Mr. and Mrs. Left were celebrating their special day today. It was Left’s fifth anniversary. They chose the right restaurant to go to celebrate. It was their favorite Italian restaurant not far from Left’s house. Their children, Mary Left, John Left, and Peter Left planned the whole event. Also, the 6PM time was the right time to go before it became crowded.
Some of the other family and friend members asked for directions. The children wanted the family and friends to have the right direction and not get lost: go 3 miles to Center Street, make a left, go another 3 blocks, stay in the left lane and make another left turn on 4th Street, take 4th Street to Heart Avenue and make a right, go 2 blocks and you will see the Italian restaurant on your left, make a left turn into the parking lot. Make sure you stay in the right side of the parking lot because there is more than one restaurant there and park in the right side of the parking lot. The tables are located in back of the restaurant but ask for Mr. Right, the manager, when you go in. You will see all the names on the tables for your seating. It was not long when Mom Left and Dad Left entered. They were surprised to see many family members and friends attending and seated around the table. Of course, the children were seated next to mom and dad left: Mary Left, John Left, and Peter
Describing Your Name
Thechild creates an adjective in front of their first name with the same letter. Example:
Hiccups Harvey.
I’ve Got A Name
Have the children sit in a circle. The teacher demonstrates by
saying his/her name and by clapping the name at the same time. Then one child is selected to start by saying their name and by clapping their name at the
same time. The group copies that child by saying “his/her name is _____.” Each child in the circle follows
through with their names. The coordination between saying the name and clapping the name comes from two different parts of the brain and it will help
coordinate the rhythms within the child.
Copy Cat Name
Similar to “I’ve Got A Name” except the child stands up says their name with an action like a wave or a wink. The group copies the action and says the child’s name. Each child has a turn and tries to think of a new action with their name to not copy an action already presented. The group learns names in a fun manner and the more times it is done, those classmates’ names are learned.
Story Time:
Make up a Story
Make up a story using on, in, under, behind, and beside. The teacher demonstrates the words to be used. Children are divided in pairs. The child on the right goes first with the story and then the child on the left follows through with the story. You can use props, too, like a chair or table.
...Between two and three years, children begin to internalize what you say to them. They pay more attention to directions and store them in their memory bank. When you say the same thing to a three-year-old, they seem to reflect, "Oh, yes, I remember."
Note: The ability to make instructions part of themselves makes discipline easier.
Threes are easier to live with. Threes have the language skills that let two-way communication become real conversation. Threes are more settled having spent a whole year
refining their language skills.
Threes are less egocentric(self-centered, selfish). While twos notice their parent's emotions, threes get involved with them.
Threes become more satisfied with themselves, more obedient, and begin to praise "self. "
The no's of the twos become “yeses” for threes.Threes understand rules and consequences for breaking them.Threes thrives on choices and selection process makes them feel important.
NOTE: Share your choice-making with threes!
PUZZLE IN A SHOEBOX from "Games for Preschoolers" (BJ10) Product with more ideas in www.welearnbydoing.com
Skills Reinforced: Working together, thinking
1. Two groups of children sit on the floor in two different circles.
2. Two shoeboxes are filled with puzzle pieces in it.
3. If an 8-piece puzzle is used, then have eight children sit in a circle. Keep the same amount of puzzle pieces for each group.
4. At the signal, the first child pulls out one piece of puzzle from each group and places it in the middle of the circle and returns to their spot.
5. The shoebox is passed to the second child who places it next to the other puzzle piece.
6. This continues until all 8 pieces of puzzle are next to each other.
7. As the groups start again with the first child, that child has 10 seconds to try to connect two pieces together. If the child does it or does not do it, that child returns to their spot and the next child tries to connect two pieces.
8. This continues around the circle until the puzzle is completed. Remember if a child connects two pieces of puzzle together only, they must return to their spot.
9. The first team to complete the puzzle ...
ONE to TEN RELAY Game
Skills
Reinforced: Number Identification 1-10, Fine and Gross Motor Movements
Procedure:
1. Select two groups of ten and have a starting line ten feet from the blackboard.
2. The teacher gives the “go” signal with a movement direction like “hop on one foot.” The first set of children move to the blackboard hopping. They write number 1 and hop back. The children with numbers three and six proceed to “hop on one foot” and exchange squares. The caller also tries to get to one of the squares “hopping on one foot” before the others do.
3. The next set of children may have the direction of walking backwards and they write 2 and walk backwards back.
4. The teacher continues to create eight more movements until the number 10 is on the blackboard.
5. This game can continue by having the children erase one number at a time in a relay until all the numbers are erased.
...Young children learn through their 5 senses; therefore, providing hands-on experience allows children to touch, see, smell, taste, and hear become important. Many of us have a hard time developing materials. Teachers in Pre-school and Pre-K often teach centering on themes. Teachers need to think about those real objects and materials for the children to explore. Do we think about the ways children can use their 5 senses? One way is to pick a theme and then gather objects and materials. Children must observe, handle, and explore from that theme. Here are a few ideas from this new workshop for teachers:
See: Draw the Other Half. The child is given half a picture and must think and draw the other half like an apple or a chair.
Touch: Texture
Touch. Place a piece of silk, sandpaper, piece of wood, piece of paper, and others and have the children describe what they touch
like is it soft, hard, rough, etc.
Smell and Taste: Describe the Taste and Smell:
Show a picture of a number of food items that include a wide variety of tastes such as jellybeans, lemons, pretzels, marshmallows, peanuts, raisins, chocolate, olives, sour apples, pickles, onions, melons, and let the children describe to you how they taste. Record words the children use like possible words: sour, sweet, tangy, spicy, salty, bitter, yucky, etc. Add the words to your word wall and then find out which are the children’s favorite foods.
Hear:
Repeat the Rhythm. Tap out a simple rhythm and have children repeat it back to you. Alternatively, you can clap the rhythm or use musical instruments.Hear: From Arms Up Keep Moving CD (9183) check out "The Senses Song" found in www.welearnbydoing.com
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...Put These Ideas Into Practice!
What children learn through play?
· Teaches child’s vocabularies to increase
· Teaches sharing and taking turns and improves cooperation
· Teaches children to develop empathy and express emotions
· Teaches children to develop patience and tolerance
· Teaches children to feel successful and gain independence
Allow Enrichment Experiences for Children K-3
· Read the comic strips from the local newspaper. Teacher can cut the comic strip, write on the back of each strip a number so you know the sequence order, mix them up, and let the children in groups of four arrange them in sequential order. Or white-out the comic strip sayings and let the child create a new story.
· Find familiar pictures or commercials in magazines, cut them out and use them as their first words in reading what they see everyday in their environment like a stop sign or a Burger King picture.
· Use magazines or newspaper pictures and/or pictures of families, show the different kinds of emotions like smiling, being angry, crying and then ask the children questions about the pictures. Let the children draw how they are feeling.
Remember, very young children (age’s two to five) need activities to challenge their minds.