I HAD A BIRD

Most children love animals, but learning to recognize farm animals and their sounds can also help children get ready to read. In Early Childhood 101 you learned that children go from real and concrete to abstract. You also learned that children need to go from simple to complex. Take a look at how farm animals can nurture these pre-reading skills.

Visual Memory
Visual memory is critical for remembering letters, sight words, etc. If children can recognize farm animals they will develop the visual skills that will help them remember letters, numbers, shapes, etc.

Visual Discrimination
When children can recognize the difference between a horse and a cow, they'll be on the path for discriminating an "m" from an "n" and "the" from "that."

Auditory Discrimination
As children learn to tell the difference between sounds animals make like "baa baa" and "moo," they are developing auditory skills that will help them tell the difference between /b/ and /m/.

Auditory Memory
What sound does the duck make? Well, isn't that very similar to the sound that the letter "D" makes?

http://bit.ly/HadABirdDrJean

I Had a Bird
(Make signs for the animals as you sing.)
I had a bird, and the bird pleased me.
I fed my bird by yonder tree.
Bird went, “Tweedle dee dee.” (Open and close index finger and thumb by mouth.)

Cat - "meow, meow" (Pretend to stroke whiskers.)
Dog – “woof-woof” (Pretend to call your dog by patting your leg.)
Pig – “oink, oink” (Put palm of hand under chin and wave fingers.)
Duck – “quack, quack” (Open and close index and middle fingers and thumb by mouth.)
Cow – “moo-moo” (Extend thumb and little finger to look like horns and place on head.)

And here are some picture cards for the song.

http://bit.ly/DrJeanBirdPrintables




Old MacDonald
Sing along with me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5iDjbNN1Og

MEET ME AT THE ZOO

I love to go to the zoo. I hope I never lose the thrill of seeing the animals and watching what they will do to entertain the people. Whether you take a real trip to the zoo or an imaginary trip on the internet, I've got some activities that children will enjoy. These ideas could also be related to literature, such as making the elephant puppet when you read HORTON HEARS A WHO. Other ideas could be adapted to literature standards (poems or riddles about zoo animals) or informative writing (habitats, body covering, babies, food).

We’re Going to the Zoo
(Tune: “The Bear Went over the Mountain”)
We’re going to the zoo.
We’re going to the zoo.
We’re going to the zoo.
Won’t you come, too?

The elephants swing their trunks. (Stick out one arm like a trunk
The elephants swing their trunks. and stomp from side to side.)
The elephants swing their trunks.
And we can do it, too.

*Insert other animal names and these motions:
Kangaroos jump around… (Bend elbows like paws and jump.)
Bears put all fours on the ground…(Put hands and feet on ground and walk.)
Giraffes walk on tippy toes…(Stretch neck and walk on toes.)
Zebras gallop to and fro…(Gallop in place.)
Snakes slither and wiggle…(Wiggle as you go up and down.)
Penguins wobble and jiggle…(Palms out by sides and wobble.)


Guess Who?
Let children take turns pantomiming different zoo animals as their friends try and guess who they are.


Zoo Animal Puppets
Let children create their favorite zoo animal from a lunch bag, paper plate, craft stick, or envelope.

Animal Cheers
Seal of Approval – Extend arms in front of you and cross them over each other. Clap as you make a barking noise.
Elephant Cheer - Stick one arm out straight from under your chin. Put top lips over bottom lip as you blow and make a trumpeting sound.
Snake Cheer – Palms folded together next to your chest. Keeping them together wiggle them out as you make a “Ssssss” sound. Stick your tongue quickly in and out of your mouth.
Tiger Cheer – You’re GGGRRREEEAAATTT! (Stick fist in the air.)


Imagination Bag
Give each child an empty lunch bag. Demonstrate how to open the bag and ask them to do the same. Explain that you are going to take an imaginary trip to the zoo. Ask them to look in their bags to see what they can find. Encourage children to name the animals in their bag as they create an imaginary zoo on the floor in front of them.


Matching Game
Make a matching game where children match up mother zoo animals and their babies. Can they tell you the names for the different animal babies?
*You could also play a memory game with these cards.
Hint! I found my pictures at google images.

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.

   

GOING BATTY?

Is a bat a bird or a mammal? 

Look on the internet and you'll discover amazing bat facts. 

(I learned a few new things today at this site: https://nayturr.com.)

You'll also learn some fantastic activities with plastic bat rings on my blog!

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.

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 bats and spiders and watch them do their thing. (I cut the ring part off these.)

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. 

Bats in a Cave
Make a cave from a disposable bowl by turning it upside down and cutting an arch as shown. Display a certain number of bats. Put some in the cave and ask children, "How many do you see? How many do you think are in the cave?"

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

MY COLORFUL WORLD

The world is full of beautiful, colorful things.  And, many classrooms are full of colorful things and having discussions about colors this time of year. But, have you ever wondered why?  Colors nurture visual discrimination and visual memory skills which are the building blocks for letter recognition and sight words. Colors are bolder and easier to discriminate that letters and words, so let's get started!

Color Box (Tune: “Happy Birthday”)
Here’s a crayon for you. (Pretend to hold a present in your hand.)
It’s a blue one for you. (Hold up a blue crayon or marker.)
B – l – u – e blue
Here’s blue for you...
Red, yellow, orange, green, purple, brown, black, white.

*Children could hold up crayons or touch something the appropriate color as you sing.

Click to download Small Color Cards

Cick to download Large Color Cards

Sign Language
Teach children manual signs for the colors. You can see video clips at aslpro.com.

Color Scavenger Hunt
Cut construction paper in a variety of colors into 2” squares. Place these in a bag and let children choose a square. Have them hunt around the classroom to find an object that color. Can they find more than one?

*Try a color scavenger hunt on the playground.

Colorful Snack
Have a “colorful snack” where every child brings a colorful fruit or vegetable. Ask parents to prepare the food in bite size pieces so it will be easy to serve the class.
*Have children draw pictures of the “colors” they ate.

Wearing Colors

Sing this song to the tune of "If You're Happy and You Know It."  Children stand up when the color they are wearing is sung in the song.

If you're wearing color stand up.

If you're wearing color turn around.

If you're wearing color jump around.

If you're wearing color sit down.

Color Book
Materials: copy paper, hole punch, crayons, rubber band

Directions: Fold two sheets of paper in half. Cut in half. Stack and fold in half again. Make two hole punches on the folded sided about 2” from the ends. Insert a rubber band in one
hole and slip a crayon through the loop. Insert the other end of the rubber band in the other hole and slide the other end of the crayon through that loop. Children can use these books to write color words, draw pictures of their favorite colors, cut objects out of
magazines and label the color, and so forth.


Rainbow Everything
Materials: paper, crayons or markers

 

Directions: Children can trace around shapes or letters with different colors of crayons. You can adapt this activity to seasonal shapes, words, numerals, or anything you want the children to practice.

FARM ANIMAL DAY

April 10th is FARM ANIMAL DAY, and this is the perfect day to explain why I believe farm animals should be a part of all early childhood curriculums. Why? I love animals, but farm animals can also be one of the first steps in getting children ready to read. No, I'm not kidding!

In Early Childhood 101 you learned that children go from real and concrete to abstract. You also learned that children need to go from simple to complex. Take a look at how farm animals can nurture these pre-reading skills.

Visual Memory
Visual memory is critical for remembering letters, sight words, etc. If children can recognize farm animals they will develop the visual skills that will help them remember letters, numbers, shapes, etc.


Visual Discrimination
When children can recognize the difference between a horse and a cow, they'll be on the path for discriminating an "m" from an "n" and "the" from "that."


Auditory Discrimination
As children learn to tell the difference between sounds animals make like "baa baa" and "moo," they are developing auditory skills that will help them tell the difference between /b/ and /m/.


Auditory Memory
What sound does the duck make? Well, isn't that very similar to the sound that the letter "D" makes?

Old MacDonald
Sing along with me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5iDjbNN1Og

Note!  Make a red barn out of paper and staple a zip bag behind it. Use pictures of animals and insert them in the baggie as you sing “Old MacDonald Had a Farm.”




I Had a Bird
Here are some more animal sounds.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zT9jznNwJwE

Puppets, Puppets, Puppets!  

Invite children to make stick puppets, sack puppets, and envelope puppets of animals and use them as you sing the songs.