TWO TURKEY TALES

Many things go in and out of style, but a good story is everlasting. I've got two of my favorite turkey tales for you today. I first heard Timmy Turkey about 40 years ago. In the original story grandmother turns Timmy into a color that "everyone will like" and you pull out a picture of a roasted turkey on a platter. I thought that might be a little too graphic for the kiddles, so I adapted it to be "kinder and gentler." The alliteration and oral language, as well as the sequencing skills, are perfect for engaging children. I guarantee they'll want to hear the story again and again.


Directions: Download the pattern and cut the turkey's body out of the front of a file folder. Insert colors of construction paper inside the file folder according to the story. (brown, blue, red, green, yellow, purple, and multi-color) Glue the words to the back of the folder so you can just read it and remove one sheet of paper at a time.

*Encourage the children to join in on the chorus!

TIMMY TURKEY
Once upon a time there was a beautiful brown turkey named Timmy. One day as he strutted down the road he heard a bluebird say:

Ha, ha, ha! He, he, he!
You’re the funniest turkey I ever did see.
Timmy Turkey replied: Oh, dear, oh, dear! Oh, me, oh, me!
Why am I the funniest turkey you ever did see?
The bluebird answered: You should be blue like me. It’s such a peaceful color.
So Timmy went home a dyed himself blue. (Remove the brown paper to reveal a blue turkey.)

The next day as Timmy strutted down the road he heard a red hen say:
Ha, ha, ha! He, he, he!
You’re the funniest turkey I ever did see.
Timmy replied: Oh, dear, oh, dear! Oh, me, oh, me!
Why am I the funniest turkey you ever did see?
The redbird answered: You should be red like me. It’s such a bright color.
So Timmy went home and dyed himself red. (Remove the blue paper to reveal a red turkey.)

The following day as Timmy was strutting down the road he heard a green frog croak:
Ha, ha, ha! He, he, he!
You’re the funniest turkey I ever did see?
Timmy sadly replied: Oh, dear, oh, dear! Oh, me, oh, me!
Why am I the funniest turkey you ever did see?
The frog croaked: You should be green like me. Green is the color of life!
So what do you think Timmy did? That’s right! He went home and dyed himself green.
(Remove the red paper to reveal a green turkey.)

Timmy was strutting down the road a beautiful shade of green the next day when he heard a yellow cat say: Ha, ha, ha! He, he, he!
You’re the funniest turkey I ever did see!
Timmy answered: Oh, dear, oh, dear! Oh, me, oh, me!
Why am I the funniest turkey you ever did see?
The cat laughed and said: Who ever heard of a green turkey?
You should be yellow like me. It’s such a happy color.
Yes, you’re right! Timmy went home that night and dyed himself yellow. (Remove the green paper to reveal a yellow turkey.)

The next day Timmy was strutting down the road again when he heard a purple parrot squawk:
Ha, ha, ha! He, he, he!
You’re the funniest turkey I ever did see!
Timmy said: Oh, dear, oh, dear! Oh, me, oh, me!
Why am I the funniest turkey you ever did see?
The parrot squawked: Yellow’s no color for a turkey.
You should be purple like me. Purple is the color of royalty.
Timmy went home immediately and dyed himself purple. (Remove the yellow sheet of paper to reveal the purple turkey.)

Once again Timmy was walking down the road when he heard his turkey friends laughing. They said: Ha, ha, ha! He, he, he!
You’re the funniest turkey we ever did see!
Timmy cried and said: Oh, dear, oh, dear! Oh, me, oh, me!
Why am I the funniest turkey you ever did see?
The other turkeys replied: Who ever heard of a purple turkey?
You look so silly!
Timmy slowly walked home and as he walked he thought to himself, “I have dyed myself blue, red, green, yellow, and purple, and I have pleased no one.” Then he got a brilliant idea! He got all the bottles of dye and made all his feathers different colors. (Remove the purple sheet of paper to reveal the turkey with the colorful feathers.)
The next day as Timmy Turkey strutted down the road everyone laughed and cheered!
Ha, ha, ha! He, he, he!
You’re the most beautiful turkey we ever did see!
And that’s why you always see turkeys with beautiful tail colors!

Timmy Turkey Download
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1SnEagA4jljdVlScjd2UlZzdGc/view?usp=sharing

Note! To make the final turnkey I cut little feathers and glued them to make a collage as shown.


OWATAGOOSIAM
This next story is a tell and draw story. After you do it several times invite the children to retell the story and draw along with you.

Once there was a little old lady who lived out in the country.

Her house was shaped like an oval. (head)

It had a little window that was a circle. (eye)

She had a garden beside her house. (beak)

And she planted seeds there.

Near her house there was a lake. (body)

And there was a little island in the lake. (wing)

Campers from the city would come and pitch tents by the lake. (feet)

They would walk to the lake to look at the fish in the water. (legs)

They would also watch the geese on the island.

But the people made so much noise they scared the geese and away they flew. (feathers)

The little old lady heard all the commotion and went down to the lake to see what was going on. (neck)

What do you think she saw?

When she got home she laughed and said, “OWA TAGOO SIAM!”

Say this faster and faster and it will sound like, “Oh, what a goose I am!”

GOTTA JOKE FOR YOU!

If you’ve got a minute to spare, I’ve got some jokes for you. Yes, you can count these as using “instructional time” because you can integrate phonological awareness and double meanings of words. You might want to write one each day on the board and discuss it at morning meeting. It’s also good to tell these multiple times because it will take some of your kiddles a while to “get it.”

Knock, knock!
Who’s there?

Gladys.Gladys who?
Gladys Thanksgiving, aren’t you?

Knock, knock!
Who’s there?
Harry.
Harry who?
Harry up, I’m hungry!

Knock, knock!
Who’s there?
Aida.
Aida who?
Aida let you in if I knew it was you.

Knock, knock!
Who’s there?
Dewey.
Dewey who?
Dewey have to wait long to eat?

Knock, knock!
Who’s there?
Arthur.
Arthur who?
Arthur any leftovers?

Knock, knock!
Who’s there?
Waddle.
Waddle who?
Waddle I do without you?

What kind of music did the Pilgrims Like?
Plymouth Rock

What key won’t open any door?
A turkey.

Why was the turkey the drummer in the band?
Because he had drumsticks.

Why did the turkey cross the road?
It was the chicken’s day off.

Why did the chewing gum cross the road?
It was stuck on the turkey’s foot.

Which side of the turkey has the most feathers?
The outside.

What do you find at the end of Thanksgiving?
The letter ‘G.’

What always comes at the beginning of parades?
The letter ‘P’.

If April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring?
Pilgrims

TEDDY BEAR JUST FOR FUN!

TEDDY BEAR, TEDDY BEAR
(Have the children stand and follow along as you model these movements.)
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear,
Turn around. (Turn around.)
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear,
Touch the ground. (Touch ground.)
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear,
Read the news. (Pretend to read.)
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear,
Tie your shoes. (Bend down to shoes.)
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear,
Go upstairs. (Climb stairs.)
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear,
Say your prayers. (Fold hands.)
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear,
Turn off the light. (Pretend to switch.)
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear,
Say, “Good night.” (Place head on hands and close eyes.)

*You can change, “Say your prayers,” to “Comb your hair” if you wish.

Puppet – Give children a copy of a bear to color and cut out. Attach it to a straw or craft stick to make a puppet. Use it to repeat the rhyme.

Positional Words - Give the children directions for placing their bear on their head, under their chin, behind their back, etc.
*Let them place their bear somewhere in the classroom and then use descriptive words as to the bear’s position.

Skill Game – Cut out bears and shirts. Write uppercase letters on the bears and lowercase letters on the shirts. Children match bears and shirts with clothespins.

*Make similar games for sets and numerals, color words, and so forth.

THE BEAR WENT OVER THE MOUNTAIN

Here's a "treat" for you from Alex May Webmaster Wonder!

YouTube - https://bit.ly/drJBearMountain

Book - https://bit.ly/drJBearBook

SMILE BREAK

Here's a simple little classroom management trick that might help your kids keep their "cool" with all the candy and partying today.

When children are wound up, help center them with a smile break. Tell them to look at the clock and smile for 30 seconds. (Use the timer on your phone or have them look at the clock until the big hand is on the 6.)

You can also ask them to hug themselves, sit and freeze, or do other motions for a specified amount of time.

Breath Through Your Nose
I love this idea to help children focus and clam down. Have them close their lips and breath through their noses. (Works like a charm because they can’t talk!)




Babble Break
A brain break that students will love is a “talking break.” Set a timer for one minute or whatever and tell students they can talk with a friend until the timer goes off. Once the time goes off there's no more talking!

Hint! You can focus the talking break by having children discuss a story you’ve read or talk about a topic you are studying.

HI HO - ADDING WE WILL GO!

The Great Pumpkin has a treat for you today!  Addition will be like eating candy with this song and video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry-VVkLKKIE&index=1&list=PL7bsHC8DZJxh3UuXWDyOXZ1c_dGBUdxOA

Addition Pokey (“Totally Math” CD)
Put 1 finger in. (Hold up finger on right hand.)
Put 1 finger more. (Hold up 1 finger on left hand.)
Shake them altogether (Roll around.)
And then lay them on the floor. (Place on floor or table.)
Add them both together, (Bring hands together.)
And you don’t want to stall.
Now you have 2 in all.

2 fingers…3 fingers…4 fingers…5 fingers

*Do “Addition Pokey” with other facts.

These are two of my other favorite materials for addition.

Math Mat
You will need heavy paper cut in a 10" square. (I used a file folder.) Draw a line horizontally down the middle and then divide the top section in half as shown. Children make sets in the upper sections and then bring them together in the bottom. I tell the children the horizontal line in the middle is like the "=" sign. What's on top has to equal what's on the bottom.

*You could use this for subtraction, the missing addend, and other operations.


Hands Up Math
Trace around the children's fingers and cut out. Glue the palms to a sheet of paper. Do not glue the fingers because you want to be able to move them up and down to demonstrate addition and subtraction.
Hint! You might want to make this with one hand for the younger children.

CANDY WRAPPERS

Turn those candy wrappers into a learning activity. Have children safe their wrappers and then do some of these "yummy" activities.

Counting - Count the wrappers. Tally how many in the whole class.

Sets - Make sets with the wrappers.

       

Sorting - Sort the wrappers. What’s the sorting rule? Can they regroup them?

Graphing - Use the wrappers to graph their favorite candy bar.

Nutrition - Look at the food value on each wrapper. How many calories? How much sugar? Rank the candies by calories.

Vocabulary - Find descriptive words on the wrappers. Make a list of the words and use them in sentences.

Writing - Fold 2 sheets of paper in half and staple to make a book. Children write “I like…” at the top of each page and glue a candy wrapper underneath. This is a book every child in your room can read! Older children could write descriptive sentences about each candy.

Alphabet Letters - Use the wrappers to make a class book called “The Sweet ABC’s.” Write alphabet letters on 26 sheets of paper. Children glue their wrappers to the appropriate letter. Bind pages together to make a book.
Hint! If you don’t have a wrapper for each letter, let children suggest “sweet” words for the page.




Money - Glue candy wrappers to a file folder. Write a coin value by each wrapper. Children count out the appropriate amount and place it on the wrapper.
Hint! For young children, price the candies from 1 cent to 10 cents and give them pennies. Make the amounts higher for older students.

Art - Let children use wrappers to make a collage.

Finally, take advantage of this “teachable moment” by discussing why sugar is not good for their bodies. What happens if you eat too much sugar? Make a list of healthy snacks that would be better food choices.

TIPS AND TREATS FOR HALLOWEEN WEEK

NEEWOLLAH????

You can do this, yes you can! As the excitement increases for Neewollah (Halloween spelled backwards) go with the flow with one of these activities.

Pumpkin Face
Play "Pumpkin Face" which is similar to Wheel of Fortune. Think of a vocabulary word or sight word. Put a blank on the board for each letter in the word. Children take turns calling out letters. If they guess correctly put the letter on the line. If their letter is not in the word begin drawing a pumpkin and then adding features. If letters are not in the word make a "bone pile" at the bottom of the board.

Real and Pretend
Do a T-chart of things that are real and pretend.




Halloween Safety
Let them work in small groups and make posters about Halloween safety.


Making Words
How many words can you make out of HALLOWEEN?

Partner Writing
Divide the children into partners and challenge them to write a ghost story together or draw a spooky picture together.


Charades
Play a game of pantomime where children act out Halloween symbols and events as their friends try and guess.


Pass the Pumpkin
Play "pass the pumpkin." (You can use a real little pumpkin for this or just pretend with a ball.) Children stand or sit in a circle and pass the pumpkin around as the music plays. When the music stops the one holding the pumpkin has to read a flash card, answer a math problem, recall information from a book, and so forth.

PATALINA MATALINA

Here's another new video to share this week.  It's Katalina's friend!

https://bit.ly/drJPatalinaYT