LITTLE LESSONS FOR ONLINE LEARNING PART 5

LET'S HAVE A PATTY CAKE PARTY!

It's fun to patty cake, but there's so much more going on here!

When you patty cake you cross the midline which activates both sides of the brain.

It's good for eye-hand coordination.

It's TPR - Total Physical Response - motor skills and oral language.

Patty cake encourages self-regulation and the executive function.

It nurtures 21st century skills - cooperation, collaboration, and communication.

You can reinforce phonics, rhyming, counting, words, and other skills.

It's free, simple, environmentally friendly, sugar-free...

Can you remember a patty cake rhyme you did as a child?  What a great way to connect with children as you share a memory!

Here's a video I made with my grandson K.J. about 10 years ago.
(Wish I still looked like that!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpuDZ1DNl4I

Nursery Rhymes
Patty cake nursery rhymes.
*Use the tune to "100 Bottles of Pop on the Wall" or "Yankee Doodle.)

Letters and Sounds
Clap right hands and say a letter. Cross left hands and make the sound.
A (right hand)
/a/ (left hand)
B (right hand)
/b/ (left hand)
C through Z
Counting
Count by one’s, five’s, ten’s, etc.
Sight Words
Children face a partner. They say the word as they clap. They cross and tap partner’s hands on each letter. Then high five and say the word in the air.
the (clap hands)
t (right hand)
h (left hand)
e (right hand)
the (high five)

Math Facts
Say addends and then high five the sum.
3 (right hand)
plus (left hand)
4 (right hand)
equals (left hand)
7 (high five)


 
http://bit.ly/drjeanMaryMack

BRAIN HOOK UPS

Draw a line from your forehead down the middle of your body. That’s called your midline. The brain is made up of two hemispheres and when you cross that midline it helps both hemispheres of the brain work together. Here are some activities you can do at home that will exercise the brain and release wiggles.

Hint! Place a piece of painter's tape down the children's midline so they can visually see how they cross it as you exercise and learn.

                       
 
Streamers
Attach strips of tissue paper to a craft stick or straw.  Put on some catchy music and use the streamers to dance and cross the midline.
*Make lazy eights in front of you with the tape.
*Use streamers for “invisible writing” as you practice making shapes, letters, numbers, etc.
*Play follow the leader as you take turns making motions. 


Simple Tap
Touch right hand to left knee and left hand to right knee. 
*Say letters of the alphabet, count, read sight words, etc. as you tap.

Bend and Stretch
Lift left knee and touch with right elbow. Lift right knee and touch with left elbow. 

                                                                      
Backwards Touch
Lift left foot behind you and stretch back with right hand and touch. Reverse for the right foot and left hand. 

Catch a Star
Reach with right hand up in the air to your left and pretend to catch a star. Then reach with your left hand up in the air to your right and catch a star. 

Pat on the Back 
Alternate patting the back of your left shoulder with your right hand and your right shoulder with your left hand. 

Karate Chops 
Spread your feet apart and bend your knees. Alternate hands making karate chops as you skip count by ones, fives, tens, etc.

*Spell the letters in words and then fold hands and bow as you say the word.  



JUMP UP, TURN AROUND, AND CROSS THE MIDLINE WITH ME!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slVzDBKyxIo  

BALANCE FOR THE BRAIN

Did you know that balancing is good for your brain?  It strengthens the core and helps you focus.  You can practice balancing if you are a young child, school ager, teenager, parent, or older adult.  It's something the whole family can do TOGETHER!  Besides, you don't need any equipment or special space. 

Note!  Experts say that just like any sport the more you practice balancing the better you will become.  Balance daily for a week and you might be surprised!


Balancing Brains
Have children stand. How long can they balance on their right foot? How long can they balance on their left foot?

Can they balance on their toes?

Can they balance on their right foot and extend their left leg in the air?

Can they balance on their left foot and extend their right leg in the air.

Can they balance on one foot with their eyes closed?
 
Can they balance on one foot and count? Count by 2’s, 5’s, 10’s, etc.
 
Can they balance on one foot and say a nursery rhyme or their ABC's?
 
Can they balance and say the days of the week, months of the year, seasons, and so forth?



Balancing Act

Watch Balancing Act

Here's a video where you can practice balancing with me.
Balancing Act
Feet together, close your eyes, (Close eyes breath in and out.)
And breath slowly in and out.
Open your eyes, (Balance on left foot.)
Lift your right foot and balance on the left.
Put your arms out straight. (Arms out wide as you balance.)
Now reach for the stars. (Arms up in the air as you balance.)...

Now close your eyes and slowly breath in and out.
Let your mind take you to a happy place.

JIGGLE - JUGGLE!

ARE YOU GETTING A LITTLE RESTLESS?  HAVE YOU GOT THE FIDGETS?
OVER THE NEXT WEEK ON MY BLOG I'M GOING TO SHARE MOVEMENT
ACTIVITIES AND BRAIN BREAKS FAMILIES CAN DO TOGETHER.  
YES, THEY'LL ALL BE SIMPLE, EASY, AND FUN!! 
TODAY, LET'S JUGGLE! 

What do all these things have in common?

They can all be used to juggle!

International Jugglers Day and World Juggler's Day was April 18th, but in case you missed it I thought juggling might be something fun to try at home today.  Common objects jugglers use include balls, clubs, swords, plates, rings, and flaming sticks.  However, you can learn to juggle at home using wadded up paper balls, tissues, or scarves. 
 
Why?
Juggling is fuel for the brain because it requires you to cross the midline, develops eye-hand coordination, and can improve focus and self-control.

When?
Juggling can be a great brain break in the classroom or an activity to entertain children on a rainy day.  It can be done inside, outside, or in a small area.

What?
You can uses wadded up sheets of paper, tissues, sponge balls, or juggling scarves. (I made my own juggling scarves by cutting 10" squares out of netting.)

How?
Begin by having children wad up a piece of scrap paper. Can they toss it and catch it? Can they play catch with a friend? Can they toss it, clap, and then catch it? How many times can they toss it without dropping it?

Practice tossing the paper ball from the right hand to the left.

Add a second paper ball and let the fun begin!

NATURE ART

Celebrate spring weather with a bucket, a brush, and some water.  You'll have one of the best outdoor art experiences ever!!! My kids would spend hours (well, actually minutes) painting playground equipment, trees, the sidewalk, etc. They were very "sincere" about their painting and were totally engaged. The best part was clean up!

Here are a few more art projects that are great to do outside.

Window Painting
Materials: shaving cream (non-menthol)
Directions: Squirt shaving cream on windows and let children fingerpaint. Clean up is easy with a hose.

Nature Prints
Materials: paper, paint, paper plates, paper towels, flat natural objects
Directions: Fold the paper towels and place them on the paper plates. Pour a little paint on the plates. Encourage children to find flat natural objects, such as leaves, flowers, ferns, feathers, etc. Children press the objects in the paint and then press on the paper to make prints.
                   

Wheel Painting
Materials: toy cars, trucks, and other vehicles with wheels, paint, newsprint or large sheets of paper, paper plates
Directions: Put a small amount of paint on the paper plates. Dip the wheels of the vehicles in the paint, and then “drive” them across the paper.
                                                          
Bubble Painting
Materials: several bottles of bubbles, food coloring, large sheets of paper, clothes pins
Directions: Clothes pin paper to a fence. Add food coloring to the bottles of bubbles. Children blow the bubbles on the paper and watch them "pop" into designs.

              

Fly Swatter Painting
Materials: ink pad, paper, paint, paper plates, fly swatter, clothes pins
Directions: First, let children make insects by pressing their index finger on the stamp pad and pressing it on the paper. Attach the paper to the fence. Put a small amount of paint on the paper plate. Children get to dip the fly swatter in the paint and swat at their insects.

P.S. I cut a hand shape out of my fly swatter for this activity.
                                                  
                                             

SONG AND A STORY #2

Did you know that Tell a Story Day is April 27th? I'm going to do it a bit earlier so you'll have a video to share with your children this coming week. I'll start off with "Tooty Ta" and then do "Scat the Cat." I'll end with an echo finger play. You'll find the words for everything below.

P.S. If you subscribe to my YouTube channel you'll get a notice about this each week.

Tooty Ta
Tooty ta, tooty ta, tooty ta ta. (Children repeat.)
Tooty ta, tooty ta, tooty ta ta.
Thumbs up.
Tooty ta….
Thumbs up…Elbows back.
Tooty ta…
Thumbs up…Elbows back…feet apart.
Song continues as you add knees together, eyes shut, tongue out, turn around.

https://bit.ly/drjeanTootyScat

Scat the Cat  
Once there was a little black cat. (Hold up the file folder showing the black cat.) He was a magic cat because he could change his colors (snap fingers) just like that. All he had to say was:
CHORUS:
I’m Scat the Cat. (Children join in on the chorus.)
I’m sassy and fat.
And I can change my colors
Just like that! (Snap fingers.)

One day Scat decided he was tired of being black. He wanted to be a new color so he said: CHORUS. (Remove the black sheet of paper to make the cat blue.) And he changed blue! Scat went down to the pond to look at himself in the water. Unfortunately, he fell in and he couldn’t swim. Timmy Turtle came along and helped Scat get back on shore.


Use this link to get the rest of the story and the pattern so you can make your own Scat!

Download the Scat Pattern

ME
(This is another echo rhyme.)
I’ve got ten little fingers, (Hold up both hands.)
And ten little toes, (Point to feet.)
Two little eyes, (Point to eyes.)
And a mouth and a nose. (Point mouth and then nose.)
Put them all together, (Circle arms as if hugging.)
And what have you got? (Hands on hips.)
You’ve got me, baby, (Put thumbs in chest.)
And that’s a lot! (Wiggle hips.)



Special You
(Tune: "Twinkle Little Star")
Special, special, special you,
You are special it is true.
There is no one quite like you.
Your teacher loves you 
and your friends do, too!
Special, special, special you,
Here's a hug from me to you!!!


HELPING CHILDREN AND FAMILIES!
Here's a great blog that Education Service Center 13 has created to help parents and children.  Simple, inexpensive, fun, and meaningful ways that parents can engage their children.
https://blog.esc13.net/5-ideas-for-engaging-your-preschool-child/

ARBOR DAY

It's so easy to take a moment every now and then to focus on trees and all the living things around us that we can enjoy and be grateful for!


National Arbor Day is April, 24, so you'll want to be sure and check out this website and think about some special activities you can do.

Arbor Day

Plant a Tree
Contact your local cooperative extension service, Forestry Services, or National Arbor Day Foundation for free seedlings. Discuss what trees need to thrive.  Name the parts of a tree.  Brainstorm all the things that trees "give" us.
 
THE GIVING TREE by Shel Silverstein is a wonderful book to share, but my little kids always wanted to know, "Why did he have to get old?" (I wonder the same thing sometimes!!!)

                                    

Watch Shel Silverstein's Giving Tree

Tree Identification 
Take a nature walk and challenge the children to look for different types of trees.  How does the bark on trees vary?  How are the leaves different?  Take pictures of the different types of trees and then try to identify them on the internet when you get home.

*Hint! Give children a clipboard and let them draw their favorite tree.
*Let them do rubbings of leaves from different trees and compare.

Vocabulary
What's a deciduous tree? What's an evergreen tree?  Sing this song to the tune of "London Bridge."

If your leaves fall to the ground,
to the ground,
to the ground.
If your leaves fall to the ground
You're deciduous.

If your leaves stay green all year,
green all year,
green all year.
If your leaves stay green all year,
You're an evergreen.

LITTLE LESSONS FOR ONLINE LEARNING PART 4

Since this is Earth Week I wanted to share some great "tools" and "toys" that parents (and teachers) can do with their children. You'll be modeling how to recycle and reuse materials, your children will have some new learning activities, and you'll have fun creating these together. I bet you'll even be "inventors" and come up with some new uses for recycling cardboard food boxes.

Hint!  Suggest families get a grocery sack and save all their cardboard boxes for one week.

Treasure Boxes
Cut the top off the box.  Let children decorate the box with pictures, stickers, drawings, etc.  Punch holes near the top on the short sides of the box.  Tie on a string for a handle.  Let children use these for a nature walk or to store toys or other "treasures."

*These are also great for sight words, letters, numbers, math facts, or other skills children are working on.

Cardboard Castle – Fill food boxes with crushed newspaper and tape shut. Let children use these inside our outdoors like giant building blocks.

Puzzles – Cut box fronts into puzzle shapes. Store in zip bags. For younger children use two like boxes. Cut one up and let them place the pieces on the second box.



Fronts and Backs – Cut front and back panels off of boxes. Mix them up and then ask the children to match up the ones that go together.

More? Play a memory game where you place the fronts and backs face down on the floor. Children try to match up pairs.

Books - Use food boxes to make covers for books.

   

Stencils and Templates – Cut geometric shapes out of box fronts. Children can trace these with colored pencils, crayons, or markers.

Sewing Cards – Punch holes around the sides of boxes. Children can sew these with yarn, string, or old shoelaces.

Weaving – Cut notches around the sides of boxes and let children weave through these with yarn.

Fractions – Give each child the front panel off a box. Can you cut it in half? Fourths? Eights?

Note! This activity is for older children.


Math – Have children sort the boxes by product, size, etc.

Nutrition – Cut the side panels with nutritional information from cereal boxes. Have children rank them according to sugar content, food value, etc.

WHAT WILL I BE WHEN THEY RECYCLE ME?

Here's another free song download:

Download free song

What Will I Be When They Recycle Me?
(Tune: “Oh, Dear, What Can the Matter Be?”)
What will I be when they recycle me? (Roll hands in a circle.)
What will I be when they recycle me?
What will I be when they recycle me?
I’ll come back to life—you will see! (Clap your hands and then point your finger.)

I am an empty soda can (Pretend to hold a soda can in front of you.)
Made of precious aluminum.
I can save lots of energy
If you will recycle me. (Roll hands in a circle.)

I’m an old bottle of plastic (Pretend to hold a plastic bottle.)
But I could be fantastic!
Toys, pipes, car bumpers, and much more—
That’s what my plastic is for. (Roll hands in a circle.)

A pile of used boxes and papers we (Make an invisible square in the air.)
Come from the precious wood of trees.
Recycled we’ll be as good as new (Roll hands in a circle.)
And save some other trees, too.

I am a fine jar made of glass— (Cup hands to make a bowl.)
Please don’t treat me like plain old trash! (Shake head “no.”)
I’ll make new jars again and again
Recycle me—yes you can! (Roll hands in a circle.)

Though we may look like old used stuff, (Open palms.)
Stop, wait! Please don’t give up on us! (Make sign language for “stop.”)
Think of the great possibilities— (Put index finger on your head and tap.)
Recycle us, set us free! (Roll hands in a circle and then throw up hands in the air.)


WATER BOTTLES
DO YOU HATE TO THROW AWAY WATER BOTTLES LIKE I DO? HERE ARE SOME SIMPLE, FUN PROJECTS YOU CAN DO AT HOME. FIRST, REMOVE LABEL AND THEN FILL WITH SOME OF THE MATERIALS SUGGESTED BELOW.

NOTE! GLUE THE LIDS ON WITH E6000 OR ANOTHER CRAFT GLUE.

Bubbles – Fill ½ full with water. Add a drop of dish detergent and a few drops of food coloring and shake.



Mud – Put ½ cup dirt in a bottle. Fill with water. Shake and observe as the dirt settles.

                        

Wave – Fill 2/3 full with water. Add a drop of food coloring. Fill to the top with vegetable oil or baby oil. Slowly rotate the bottle on its side to make waves.

                                                  

Can you find? - Fill a bottle half way with salt or sand. Add small toys and shake. Children try to identify the objects. (You can probably find lots of small objects in a "junk" drawer in your kitchen!)

                

Glitter – Fill a bottle with water. Add food coloring and glitter.

                                               

Finger fun – Put cotton balls, clothespins, pom poms, or other small objects in a bottle. Challenge the children to remove them and then put them back in.

                                                                     

Air tanks – Take two liter bottles and fill half way with water. Tape bottles together. Add shoulder straps so children can be super heroes, astronauts, scuba divers - whatever their imaginations want!

JOIN THE LITTER PATROL

A great way to celebrate Earth Week and to be on the "green team" is to keep the earth beautiful by picking up trash. There's nothing more frustrating to me than to see trash along the road, but maybe we can improve things in the future by getting our students to join the LITTER PATROL!

Litter Patrol

Here I go. (Stand up as you begin clapping and snapping.)
I'm on the litter patrol.
I'm going to work all day to put the trash away.
The planet earth, you see, is my habitat.
I'm going to clean it up.
Well how about that?

Join me now.
Here we go.
We're on the litter patrol.
We're going to work all day to put the trash away.
The planet earth, you see, is our habitat.
We're going to clean it up.
Well, how about that?

All by yourself.
Here we go.
We're on the...
 
Here's a link where you can download the song free as well as my song about manners called "Magic Words."

Try this link to see download button for the free song.

http://drjean.org/html/songs/songStoreNotice.html

Click the Buy Now button and follow along. You should get a screen that lets you download the song. In addition, you should receive an email with the link.

Litter Bags
All you'll need is an empty cereal box or cardboard food box and string to make a litter bag.
1. Cut the tops off the boxes.
2. Punch a hole in each short side.
3. Tie on a piece of string. Use these to collect trash or place these in your car.

                                 

*You can also make a litter bag by rolling down the top of a lunch bag and attaching a string for a handle.

 

Pick Up Your Trash Game

Children will love playing “Pick Up Your Trash!” Each child will need a scrap piece of paper that they can wad up into a ball. Divide the class into two teams and have them stand on opposite sides of the room. When the teacher calls, “Pick up your trash,” the teams start throwing their paper balls at each other. The object is to pick up trash (paper balls) and throw it back at the opposite side as quickly as possible. When the teacher says, “Freeze!” everyone must stop and gather the balls on their side into a pile. Count and see how many each side has. The side with the least amount wins. The great part about this game is that you can keep on playing as long as you want. You can also play it out on the playground. 

Trash Snack
How about a “trash snack”? You will need ice cream cones, Gold Fish crackers, Cheerios, pretzel sticks, and peanuts. Take 4 lunch sacks and put a different item in each sack. Write “old tires” on the sack with Cheerios, write "dead fish" on the sack with the crackers, “sticks” on the sack with pretzel sticks, and “stones” on the sack with peanuts. Take a large bowl and make up a story about collecting trash. As you name the different items, invite different children to dump the contents in the bowl. Stir with a large spoon and then serve the “trash” in trashcans (ice cream cones). The cool thing about this snack is that there is NO trash when the children have finished eating!

                                            

Hint! Substitute raisins for peanuts if you have students with food allergies. You can also use sunflower seeds or other snack foods.

GOING GREEN SUPER HEROES

Who wouldn't want to be a super hero on the green team? How about some membership cards?

Click to download

The Green Team (Tune: “When Johnny Comes Marching Home”)
We are on the Green Team. (March in place as you swing your arms.)
Hoorah! Hoorah! (Fist in air as if cheering.)
We can recycle every day. (March in place as you roll your arms around.)
Hoorah! Hoorah! (Fist in air as if cheering.)
Aluminum, glass, tin, (March in place.)
Put paper and cans in recycle bins. (March in place.)
Join the Green Team, (March in place.)
Defend the earth and keep it clean. (Put both fists in the air like a hero.)

We are on the Green Team. Hoorah! Hoorah!
We can reduce what we use. Hoorah! Hoorah!
Turn off water and the lights.
Walk, take a bus, or ride your bike.
Join the Green Team.
Defend the earth and keep it clean.

We are on the Green Team. Hoorah! Hoorah!
We can reuse many things. Hoorah! Hoorah!
Share old toys and old clothes, too.
Give away what you don't use.
Join the Green Team,
Defend the earth and keep it clean.

We are on the Green Team. Hoorah! Hoorah!
We can keep our planet clean. Hoorah! Hoorah!
Pick up all the trash you see.
Protect wildlife and plant new trees.
Join the Green Team.
Defend the earth and keep it clean.

*Ask children what it means to be on the "green team." How can they keep the earth green and healthy?

Naturalist Kit 
Make a naturalist kit by recycling a cardboard box. Make binoculars by cutting a cardboard paper towel roll in half. Tape the halves together and hole punch at the top. Tie on a piece of string so children can easily take the binoculars on and off their heads. Add a magnifying glass, field guide, paper, pencil, etc. Talk about what naturalists do. Can you be a naturalist?

          

Nature’s Colors
1. Give children assorted pony beads and a piece of string or yarn 20-24” long.
2. Explain that they can select a bead to represent the different things in nature that they appreciate. For example, a blue bead might remind them of the ocean, or a red bead might remind them of a cardinal. (Hint! Limit one bead per color. To make it easier to string wrap a small piece of tape around the end of the yarn.)
3. Tie the ends of the string together to make a necklace.
*Older students could write sentences about each color.
4. Ask children to describe their necklaces and explain what each color represents.

                                                                  

EARTH WEEK

Earth Day is officially April 22, but every day we should stop, look, and enjoy the beauty around us. Earth Day actually turns 50 this year -1970-2020. I

Here's a video my webmaster created to go with this song.

Click for Earth Day video

Earth Day
Earth Day, Earth Day! Let’s all come together. (Clap hands.)
Earth Day, Earth Day! To make this world much better.
‘Cause we love our planet Earth, beautiful and blue. (Make a circle with arms.)
We want to take care of it with everything we do.

We can recycle – tell your friends and neighbors! (Pretend to pick up paper.)
Glass, aluminum, plastic and paper.
‘Cause we love our planet Earth, beautiful and blue. (Make a circle with arms.)
We want to take care of it with everything we do.

We can plant a tree or two, to create green spaces;(Pretend to dig.)
Walk or ride our bikes to go different places. (Pretend to ride a bike.)
‘Cause we love our planet Earth, beautiful and blue. (Make a circle with arms.)
We want to take care of it with everything we do.

                                   

Recycled Products
Have children to look around your house and make a list of recycled materials. Have them practice identifying the “recycle logo” so they can help conserve materials.

Brainstorm
Have children brainstorm all the ways they can reduce, reuse, and recycle
materials.

Earth Day Necklace
1. Give children a small ball of blue polymer clay.
2. Give them a small piece of green clay and tell them to break it into 4 or 5 little pieces.
3. Attach the green pieces to the blue ball and roll in your hands.
4. Make a hole in the center with the nail.
5. Bake in a 275 oven for 12-15 minutes.
6. String the earth ball on yarn or string to make a necklace.

    

Visit these websites to get other ideas for Earth Day:

Visit earthday.org



Visit Children of the Earth

Visit Kids for Saving Earth

A SONG AND A STORY!

Dear Friends,

Each Saturday I'm going to share a video where I sing a song and tell a story. I can't be a guest in each of your "classrooms," but I can "visit" you each week in this way.

I've also heard teachers comment, "I'm running out of things to do." Hopefully, this will help!

Here is a link to this week's "Song and Story." I'll paste the words below.

https://bit.ly/drjeanStory01


At a time like this, I think one of the best things we can share is a song, a story, and a smile!

Keep on singing and dancing!

Love, Dr. Jean


Alligator
(Echo Chant)

Chorus: Alligator. (Extend arms and open and close like a mouth.)
Alligator.
Alligator.
Can be your friend, can be your friend,
Can be your friend, too! (Point finger.)

The alligator is my friend, (Point to self.)
And he can be your friend, too. (Point to a friend.)
If only you could understand, (Hold up palms.)
Don’t wear him as a show! (Chorus)

The alligator is my friend. (Point to self.)
He likes to dance and flirt. (Shuffle feet and fluff hair.)
If only you could understand, (Hold up palms.)
Don’t wear him as a skirt. (Chorus)

The alligator is my friend. (Point to self.)
He likes to sing and dance. (Snap fingers and dance.)
If only you could understand, (Hold palms up.)
Don’t wear him as your pants. (Chorus) (Point to pants or legs.)
                            

Alphagator
(Put "Alphagator" in the search engine on my blog to get the pattern.

Once there was an Alphagator and he absolutely adored the letters of the alphabet! He’d eat letters and dream sweet dreams all night long.
On Monday he ate the letters A B C D E F,
But the pointy part of the “A” kept poking his tummy,
And he couldn’t sleep a wink all night long.
On Tuesday he ate the letters G H I J K,
But “H” and “I” made a word and said over and over, “Hi! Hi! Hi!”
And he couldn’t sleep a wink all night long.
On Wednesday he ate the letters L M N O P,
But “O” kept rolling back and forth in his tummy,
And he couldn’t sleep a wink all night long.
On Thursday he ate the letters Q R S T U V,
But “S” kept playing snake in his tummy and going, “Ssssssss!”
And he couldn’t sleep a wink all night long.
On Friday he ate the letters W X Y Z.
Then he closed his eyes and dreamed sweet “Zzzzzzz’s” all night long.
See you later Alphagator!

Five Little Monkeys 
Five little monkeys swinging from a tree, (Hold up five fingers.)
Teasing Mr. Alligator, “Can’t catch me.”
Along came Mr. Alligator quiet as can be,
And snatched a monkey right out of that tree!

Four little monkeys… (Hold up appropriate number of

Three…two…one… fingers on hand.)

“Missed me, missed me. (Stick thumbs in ears and tease.)
Now you gotta kiss me!”

RHYME TO READ

If you missed my FB Live yesterday it's not too late!

https://bit.ly/drjeanLittleLessons3

Last week a teacher requested activities to help children learn to rhyme.  Take a look because there are some simple things that you can do in the classroom or that parents to do at home.

RHYME ON!

Learning to rhyme doesn't happen in one lesson...it takes a tremendous amount of oral language (nursery rhymes, finger plays), songs, books, and games to help children develop this skill. Here are some games you can do in your classroom or share with parents.

Rhyming Song
Do this activity to the tune of “Skip to My Lou.”
Cat (hold out right hand)
Hat (hold out left hand)
Those words rhyme.
Cat (hold out right hand)
Hat (hold out left hand)
Those words rhyme.
Cat (hold out right hand)
Hat (hold out left hand)
Those words rhyme.
They all end with “at.” (Roll hands around as you say this.) 
*Can children think of other words that end with "at" that you can sing in the song?

Rhyme Detectives 
Tell the children that they will get to be detectives listen for words that rhyme. You say a word, and they put their pinkies up if they hear a word that rhymes with it. Pinkies down if it doesn’t rhyme. For example:
      ball - fall (pinkies up)         
      run - dog (pinkies down)

A Rhyming We Will Go (Traci Zietlow)
(Tune: “The Farmer in the Dell”)
A-rhyming we will go.
A-rhyming we will go.
Hi ho the derry-o
A-rhyming we will go.
Cat rhymes with rat.
Cat rhymes with rat.
Hi ho the derry-o,
Cat rhymes with rat. 

*Ask children to think of two other words that rhyme that can be sung in the song.

Rhyme Puzzles
Cut paper plates in half using puzzle designs similar to those shown. Glue pictures that rhyme on each half. Mix up the pieces. Children say the words and match up the plates that rhyme. The game is self-checking because the pieces will fit if they match the correct pictures.
*Hint! You can easily find rhyming pictures online.


 
Rhyme Ball
You will need a ball, beanbag, or other object to toss for this game. Children sit or stand in a circle. The teacher says a word and then tosses the ball to a child. As the child catches the ball, she must say a word that rhymes.

Riddle Rhyme Game
Let children make up their own rhymes in this game. First, they choose an object in the room. Next, they say a word that it rhymes, along with another clue. For example: “This rhymes with hair and it is something you sit on.” “This rhymes with look and it is something you read.”

Rhyme Bag
Give each child a lunch bag and for homework ask them to bring two objects that rhyme. As they take turns sharing their items encourage classmates to think of other words that rhyme with their objects.
                                          


Rhythm Rhyme
Start a beat by slapping legs two times, clapping hands two times, and snapping fingers two times. On the first snapping beat the teacher says a word. On the second snapping beat the children say a word that rhymes.
For example:
Slap, slap, clap, clap, snap, snap. 
Slap, slap, clap, clap, mitten.  
Slap, slap, clap, clap, kitten.
Slap, slap, clap, clap, star.  
Slap, slap, clap, clap, car.