RHYME TIME

Phonological awareness is the ability to recognize sounds in oral language (rhyme, alliteration, syllables, etc.). Children must first hear the sounds before they can relate them to letters (phonics). Let's start today with rhyming. Learning to rhyme doesn't happen it one lesson...it takes a lot of oral language (nursery rhymes, finger plays), songs, books, and games to help children develop this skill.

Rhyme Detectives
Tell the children that they will get to be detectives andlisten 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: Cat - hat (pinkies up), run - dog (pinkies down).

Handy Rhymes
Have children extend their arms as they say pairs of words that rhyme. For example: sun (extend right hand) - fun (extend left hand). As they progress, the teacher says a word as children extend their right hand.

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.)


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.
*You can also use season shapes to make a rhyming game.



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.

TOP TO BOTTOM - LEFT TO RIGHT

Sometimes I think we put "the cart before the horse" when it comes to teaching young children to read. Here are some tricks and tips for helping children learn some basic concepts about print.


Magic Fingers
Have children hold up their pointer and explain that it is their “magic finger” to help them read. Put a little spritz (magic lotion) on their finger. Use the finger to touch the front of the book and the back of the book. Touch the top of the page and the bottom of the page. Sweep your magic finger under each line from left to right.


When You Read You Start at the Top
Children can sing this song to the tune of “London Bridge” as they practice the movements:

When you read you start at the top,
Start at the top,
Start at the top.
When you read you start at the top
And go to the bottom of the page.
When you read go left to right,
Left to right,
Left to right.
When you read go left to right
And then go to the next line.


Yummy Pointers
Give children Bugles to put on their fingers to practice following a line of print. They can eat them when they are finished.

*Pretzel sticks also make edible pointers.

Finger Pointer
Glue a fake fingernail to a craft stick. What an engaging way for children to track print from top to bottom and left to right!




Envelope Bookmark
Cut a diagonal corner off an envelope. (One envelope will make 4 of these.) Let children decorate these with markers. Practice reading books and putting the bookmark on the upper corner to “save your place.”

Simon Says
Each child will need a book to play this variation of “Simon Says.”
Simon Says show me the front of the book.
Simon Says show me the back of your book.
Simon Says show me the first page in your book.
Simon Says show me the last page in your book…

WEATHER REPORT

No matter where you live, there is WEATHER! It's real and it's something that children are naturally interested in.

We always sang a weather song at morning meeting. Each day we had a "meteorologist" who would remind us which word to use in the song. The "meteorologist" would make a big deal out of walking to the window, looking around, and then choosing the word to sing in the song.

Weather Song (Tune: "Shorting Bread")
What will the weather, weather, weather,
What will the weather be today?
He/she says its sunny, sunny, sunny.
S-U-N-N-Y today.

*Insert cloudy, rainy, snowy, etc. in the song.

Weather Song #2 (Tune: "Bingo")
There is some weather in the sky and sunny is its name-o.
s - u - n - n - y, s - u - n - n - y, s - u - n - n - y,
and Sunny is its name-o.


Weather Song #3 (Tune: “My Darlin’ Clementine”)

Sunny, sunny, sunny, sunny,
It is sunny in the sky.
S – u – n – n – y Sunny
It is sunny in the sky.
Cloudy…
Rainy…
Windy…
Snowy…


Weather Words
Write weather words on a language experience chart and point to the letters as you sing.

*Challenge children to come up with synonyms for different types of weather. For example, sunny could be bright, hot, cloudless, etc.


Weather Journal
Staple several sheets of paper together to make individual books. Each day have children illustrate the weather and write descriptive sentences.

*Graph the weather for a month. Were there more sunny days or cloudy days?
There are several different versions of this you can download free off the internet.



Thermometer
Place a thermometer outside your classroom window so children can learn how to read the thermometer and judge appropriate clothing for outdoor play.




Wind Tester
Make a wind tester by taping a strip of tissue paper to a craft stick. Hold it up to see if the wind is blowing. What direction is the wind blowing from?

How Can You Find Out?
Brainstorm different ways to find out about the weather. For example, download a weather app, look at the newspaper, watch the weather report on television, look out the window, etc.

WELCOME TO MY PUMPKIN PATCH

Who's got a field trip to the pumpkin patch this month? 

Once I Had a Pumpkin
(Tune: “Lassie and Laddie”)
Oh, once I had a pumpkin, a pumpkin, a pumpkin.
(Hands over head like a pumpkin.)
Oh, once I had a pumpkin with no face at all.
With no eyes and no nose and no mouth and no teeth.
(Point to facial features.)
Oh, once I had a pumpkin with no face at all.
So I made a jack-o-lantern, jack-o-lantern, jack-o-lantern.
(Draw a jack-o-lantern in the air.)
So I made a jack-o-lantern, jack-o-lantern, jack-o-lantern.
With big eyes and a big nose and big mouth and big teeth.
(Draw facial features in the air.)
So I made a jack-o-lantern with a big funny face.

*Draw a jack-o-lantern on the board as you sing the song.

Pumpkin Paint
Mix equal parts of flour and salt. Stir in orange tempera paint. (Obviously, if it’s powdered, you will need to add some water, too.) Add a spoonful of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice to the paint and stir. Children can paint a pumpkin, pumpkin pie, or whatever they want. Their painting will be textured and smell good, too!

Pumpkin Seeds
Before carving your pumpkin, have the children estimate how many seeds they think it will contain and write down their estimations. Have the children separate the seeds and count them. Who guessed more? Who guessed less? Who guessed the closest amount? Cook some of the seeds by rinsing them and frying them in a little butter and salt. Save some of the seeds to plant in the spring.


Paper Plate Pumpkins
Make pumpkins out of paper plates. Choose five children to hold the pumpkins as you say the rhyme. You could also cut pumpkins out of felt and use on a flannel board.




Pumpkin Play Dough
Make homemade play dough and add red and yellow food coloring to make it orange. Let the children knead in pumpkin pie spices. They’ll have fun making pumpkins, pies, and other characters.

Math Games
Make games where children seriate pumpkins from large to small or put pumpkins in numerical order.

http://bit.ly/drjeanHalloween

AVOCADO Halloween!

Form the pumpkin
Carve the pumpkin
Jack-o lantern, funny jack o lantern

Form the mummy
Wrap the mummy
Walk like a mummy

Form the skeleton
Dance the skeleton
Shake your bones

Form the brew
Cook the brew
Stir the brew - oooooo

Form the cave
Go in the cave
Bats and spiders

Put on your costume
Go trick or treat
Eat the candy eat all the candy

Form the avocado
Peel the avocado
Guacoween – happy Halloween!

http://bit.ly/drjeanAutumn

BOOTIFUL JOKES AND RIDDLES

Jokes and riddles are a delightful way to develop children’s sense of humor as well as language standards (Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases…).

*You might want to choose one joke each day and write it on the board. Invite the children to read it with you. Ask children who "get it" to “think out loud” and explain their interpretation to classmates. This will enable children who “don’t get it” to scaffold to a higher level.

*Satisfy writing standards by asking children to write and illustrate jokes and riddles. Peek-a-boo flaps and lunch bags work well for this. Put their jokes together to make a class book.

*Encourage each child to learn a joke that they can share with their classmates. (Speaking and Listening Standards) Let children decorate craft sticks with their names and put them in a “Joke Can.” When you have a few extra minutes, choose a stick and let that child tell a joke to the class.

                                                

Note! “Bat” you’ll “scream” for some of these Halloween jokes! However, you can use riddles all year long. Non-holiday jokes are plentiful on the internet.

What kind of bats fly around the school at night?
AlphaBATS!
                  
What do ghosts put on their cereal in the morning?
“Boo” berries and “boo”nanas.

What do you get when you take the inside out of a hotdog?
A “hollow” weenie.

What are the birds giving out for Halloween this year?
“Tweets!”

Why was the baby ghost sad?
He wanted his “mummy.”
                                                   
What did the boy ghost say to the girl ghost?
You sure are “boo” tiful!

How do you make a witch itch?
You take away the W.

What pants do ghosts wear?
BOO jeans.

What do ghosts serve for dessert?
I scream!

What did one jack-o-lantern say to the other jack-o-lantern
on their way to the party?
Let’s get “glowing”!

Why do witches fly around on broomsticks?
Because their vacuum cleaners are too heavy.

What did the little ghost say to his mom?
“I’ve got a boo boo!”

How do you make a skeleton laugh?
Tickle it’s funny bone.
                            
Why did the vampires cancel their baseball game?
Because they couldn’t find their bats.

Where do baby ghosts go during the day?
DaySCARE centers.

Who did Frankenstein take to the party?
His ghoul friend.

How do you mend a broken jack-o-lantern?
With a pumpkin patch.
         
What’s a ghost’s favorite party game?
Hide and go shriek!

What do baby ghosts wear on their feet?
BOOties.


Knock, knock!
Who’s there?  Canoe.
Canoe, who?
Canoe tell us some knock knock jokes today, too?

Knock knock! 

Who's there?
Orange
.
Orange who?

Orange you glad it's Halloween?

Knock Knock!
Who’s there?
Olive.
Olive who?
Olive Halloween!

Knock knock!
Who's there?

Boo!

Boo who? 

I didn’t mean to make you cry.
                                      
Knock knock! 

Who's there?
Frank. 

Frank who?
Frankenstein!

Knock knock!
Who’s there?
Wanda.
Wanda who?
Wanda go for a ride on my broomstick?
                        
Knock knock!
Who’s there?
Phillip.
Phillip who?
Phillip my bag with candy.

Knock knock!
Who’s there?
Ben.
Ben who?
Ben waiting for Halloween all year.

Knock knock!
Who’s there?
Who.
Who who?
Are you an owl?

Knock knock!
Who’s there?
Lettuce.
Lettuce who?
Lettuce have some candy, please.
                                                      
Knock knock!
Who’s there?
Justin
Justin who?
Just in time for Halloween!

Knock knock!
Who’s there?
Orange.
Orange who?
Orange you glad you visited my blog today?

http://bit.ly/drjeanJokes

WHICH WITCH?

My students loved to say this rhyme and giggle when the witch tore her britches! (I don't why that was so silly to them, but it was.)

3 Little Witches
(Tune: “Ten Little Indians”)
One little, two little, three little witches. (Hold up 3 fingers.)
Flying over haystacks, flying over ditches. (Fly fingers in the air.)
Slid down the moon and tore their britches! (Touch pants and then cover eyes.)
Hi, ho, Halloween’s here! (Clap hands.)

Choose three children to be witches and act out the song. Make brooms by rolling up several sheets of newspaper. Tape. Cut down 8” from one end and fluff.

Stirring Our Brew
Stirring and stirring and stirring our brew… (Pretend to stir.)
Wooooooo! Woooooo! (Cup hands by mouth.)
Stirring and stirring and stirring our brew… (Stir.)
Wooooooo! Wooooo! (Cup hands by mouth.)
Tip-toe. Tip-toe. BOO! (Pretend to tip-toe.)

Witch’s Stew
How about a little witch’s stew for snack. You will need lunch sacks, 1 large bowl (or plastic witch's pot), Cheerios, pretzel sticks, fish crackers, raisins, M & M’s, peanuts, chocolate chips, and ice cream cones.

1.Write “frog eyes” on one sack and fill with Cheerios.
2 Write “salted bones” on the second sack and fill with pretzel sticks.
3.Write “dead fish” on the third sack and fill with fish crackers.
4.Write “worm pieces” on the fourth sack and fill with raisins.
5.Write “lizard gizzards” on the fifth sack and fill with M&M’s.
6.Write "bat toes" and fill with chocolate chips.

Place the large bowl on the floor and make up a story about collecting all the items for your witch’s stew. One at a time let children come up and dump the contents in the bowl. Stir with a spoon as you sing the above song. Serve in ice cream cones.
Hint! You can substitute miniature marshmallows, gluten free snacks, or other foods for any of the ingredients.




Ghost Busters
Cut ghost shapes out of white paper. Write letters, numerals, words, or whatever skill you want to reinforce on the ghosts. Staple ghosts to a bulletin board and let the children identify the information as they swat the ghosts with a fly swatter.
*You can make a similar game from a file folder. Glue a hand to a craft stick and use to swat the ghosts.

Scary Things
Halloween is a good time to talk about things that are real and things that are pretend. It’s also helpful to talk about things that scare us. I always talk about things that scare me, and that usually encourages the children to open up and talk about things that scare them. Everybody’s afraid of something, and that’s O.K. Make a class book called “Scary Things” where each child draws their fears and dictates or writes a story about them.


Handprint Art
Trace around children’s hands and feet on white paper. Glue to black construction paper and let children add details.



How about a lollipop ghost made with a Dum Dum and napkin? You know, the kids will love these just as much in 2024 as they did when I started making them in 1969.

SPIN A LEARNING WEB WITH SPIDERS

Here are a few more ways to use spiders to "web" children's interest.


Arachnoids
What’s the difference between a spider and an insect? How many legs does a spider have? How many legs on 2 spiders? 3 spiders?

Bats 
Is a bat a bird or a mammal? How can you find out? That’s right! Look on the internet and discover other interesting bat facts.

Graphic Organizers 
Use attribute webs, Venn diagrams, T-charts, and other visual graphics to extend learning.

 

 


Where's Batty? 
Turn four or five cups upside down as shown and write sight words (letters, numbers, etc.) on them. Explain that "Batty" is going to hide under one of the cups. Have children close their eyes and “hide” the bat under one of the cups. Children take turns calling out a word and looking under that cup for the bat. The child who finds the bat gets the next turn to hide it.



Literacy
Children draw a spider web on a paper plate. Ask them to write a story about a spider on the back of the plate.

Sticky Drippy Spiders
Your students will also be delighted with this bottle. Pour about 1 cup of clear corn syrup in a plastic bottle. (The amount you need will depend on the size of the bottle. I really like to use larger round containers, but this was the only one I had on hand.) Add a few drops of red and yellow food coloring and swirl around to make orange. Add a few plastic spiders and watch them do their thing. (I used spider rings and cut the ring part off. I also put in a few bats.)



I Spy Bottle!
Several years ago we were eating in a Mexican restaurant in October and there were little Halloween toys in the spice bottles. It was interesting to watch adults, children, and families at every table trying to identify the objects. I guarantee this bottle will capture your students' interest!

You will need a clear plastic bottle or jar, salt or sand, and small seasonal toys. Fill the container 2/3 full with salt or sand. Insert the toys and then screw on the top. Shake.
*How many objects can the children find?

*Pass around the bottle and let each child make a complete sentence starting with "I spy a..."
*Have each child repeat what the previous child says and then add something they see. First child: I spy a spider. Second child: I spy a spider and a bat. Third child: I spy a spider and a bat and a cat.

*Ask younger children to draw what they see in the bottle.

*Have older students make a list of everything they find in the bottle.

*Can they write a story using the objects in the bottle?

*Use the bottle to reward children who are working quietly or children who are resting quietly.

Ring Hunt
Children love to hunt for eggs at Easter, but they’ll also have fun hunting for these rings in the classroom or out on the playground.

Spider Soup
This was one of my favorite Halloween activities! Get a large industrial size can of chicken noodle soup. Remove the wrapper and cover with construction paper. Write “spider soup” on the label. Take two packages of ramen noodles and crush. Put in a paper lunch sack and write “spider webs” on the front of the sack. Explain to the children that you’ll be having spider soup for snack. Show them the can and just LISTEN to their comments. Open the can and put it in a crockpot. (Someone will be sure to comment that they see spider legs and meat!) Show them the sack and explain that you will end crunchy spider webs to make it better. Dump those in and slowly cook until it is warm. Serve in paper cups.