SHHHH! DON'T WAKE UP THE BIRDIES!!!

I just love these activities that you can integrate into a spring theme or science unit. I mean, who doesn't love birds? Birds are joyful and carefree and decorate our world like ornaments on a Christmas tree. I hope you can share your passion for nature and our feathered friends with these ideas.

SHHHH! DON'T WAKE UP THE BIRDIES!!!

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

Birdies
Way up in the sky
The big birdies fly.
Way down in the nest
The little birds rest.
With a wing on the left,
And a wing on the right.
The little birds sleep
All through the night.
SHHHHHH!
DON’T WAKE UP THE BIRDIES!
Then up comes the sun,
The dew falls away.
Good morning! Good morning!
The little birds say.

Baby Bird Cut and Tell Story
Materials: construction paper, scissors, marker
Directions: Begin this story with a sheet of paper, scissors, and marker in your lap. Follow the directions as you tell the story. (You can either cut the paper or tear it.)

It was spring time and mother and father bird decided to build a nest. Who can tell me some of the things they might have used to make their nest?
(Fold the paper in half and cut accordingly.)


Mother bird sat on the nest and laid a beautiful egg.
(Open the nest to reveal the egg shape.)

Now, mother bird could not leave the egg. She had to sit on it and keep it warm and safe. Even when it rained and the wind blew hard, mother bird had to sit there and protect her egg. Fortunately, two little bugs who lived in the tree made friends with mother bird and kept her company. This is one little bug. His name was _____. (Use a child’s name in the class.)

(Draw a little dot for the bug.)
This is the other little bug. Her name was _____, (Use another child’s name in the class.)
(Draw another little dot on the opposite side.)

One day as mother bird was sitting on the egg, she heard a little cracking sound. She looked down and saw a little crack in her egg.
(Cut a little slit on the fold slanted toward the eyes.)

Then she heard a great, big cracking sound.

(Cut around the eye and slit as shown stopping before you get to the end of the egg.)

And guess what mother bird saw coming out of the big crack in her egg?
She saw her baby bird!
(Open the egg and bend up the beak as shown.)

Hint! You can also cut this story out of a paper plate.


Here's a copy of the story:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B1SnEagA4jljOGhrSnJKWVVfekU

RHYME ON WITH HUMPTY DUMPTY

http://bit.ly/drjean_humpty

Here's the new verse for the end of the rhyme:

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
Couldn’t put Humpty together again.
So the good children got out some tape and some glue
And they fiddled and faddled until he looked like new.
Then they carefully placed him back on the wall
And said, "Humpty Dumpty, please don't fall!"

*Let children make their own Humpty Dumpty puzzle from an oval that they have decorated. Can they glue him back together?

Rhyme On
Challenge children to fill in the word that rhymes in these additional verses.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a peg.
Humpty Dumpty fell on his leg.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a bed.
Humpty Dumpty fell on his head.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a rose.
Humpty Dumpty fell on his nose.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a pin.
Humpty Dumpty fell on his chin.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a boulder.
Humpty Dumpty fell on his shoulder.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a pie.
Humpty Dumpty fell on his eye.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a deer.
Humpty Dumpty fell on his ear.

Humpty Dumpty sat on the land.
Humpty Dumpty fell on his hand.

Humpty Dumpty sat on the sea.
Humpty Dumpty fell on his knee.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a drum.
Humpty Dumpty fell on his thumb.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a tack.
Humpty Dumpty fell on his back.

Humpty Dumpty said to his friend,
“I’m very tired so this is THE END.”


*Give children an oval shape and scrap paper. After they tear the paper and glue it to the oval add a craft stick to make a puppet them can use as the say the rhyme.

Humpty Dumpty Snack
What could be better than hard boiled "Humpty Dumpty" eggs? Let children draw Humpty on a hard boiled egg, crack the shell, eat the egg, and then try to put the shell back together again.

"EGG" SPERIMENTS

There's more to eggs than dying them!

Rubber Egg
Materials: clear jar with lid
vinegar
raw egg in its shell

1. Put a raw egg in a jar and then cover it with vinegar. Screw on the lid and set it aside for 3-5 days.
2. Observe the egg each day and describe what is happening to it.
3. After 3-5 days, the eggshell should be almost invisible. Remove the egg, rinse it off, and hold it up to the light. How does the shell feel? Hold the egg several inches from the table and drop it. Does it break?

EggStra Special
Materials: 2 clear cups
1 brown egg
1 white egg

1. Pass around the eggs for the children to gently hold and observe.
2. Discuss how the eggs are alike and how they are different.
3. Ask the children to predict if they are alike or different on the inside.
4. Break each egg into a different cup and compare.
5. How are people like the eggs? Do people look alike on the outside? Are people the same on the inside?
*They made good scrambled eggs, too!

Happy Teeth
Materials: 4 raw white eggs
4 clear cups
tea, coffee, cola, water

1. Place each egg in a different cup and cover with one of the liquids.
2. Observe the eggs for several days to see what happens.
3. Remove the eggs and encourage the children to describe what happened to each egg and why.
4. How are teeth like the eggs? What will happen to your teeth of you drink tea and coffee all the time?
*Brush the eggs gently with toothbrush and toothpaste and see what happens.

Note! Brushing the egg with toothpaste didn't work too well. I might have left the egg in the coffee too many days. Or, maybe it was the toothpaste???

What’s in an Egg?
Materials: plastic egg
small toy animal that would hatch from an egg (fish, bird, alligator, frog, spider, snake, etc.)

1. Put the toy in the egg? Let the children shake it and try and guess what it is.
2. Have them make a list of all the animals they can think of that hatch from eggs.
3. Open the egg to confirm their guess.
*Make a t-chart of animals that come from eggs and animals that do not hatch from eggs.

Natural Dyes
Did you know you could dye eggs with berries, vegetables, and spices? There are many ideas on the internet if you want to give it a try.

EGGS, EGGS, EVERYWHERE!

One of the fun things about this time of year is using those inexpensive eggs in your classroom. If things are cheaper by the dozen, then here's a dozen ideas for you!

Reading Games
Write an upper case letter on one half with a permanent marker and the lower case letter on the other half.



Give children small pictures of objects to put into appropriate eggs.

Put antonyms on eggs for children to match.

Write synonyms on eggs.

Reinforce compound words with eggs.

*Ask older children to write the synonyms, antonyms, and compounds after matching them.

Write two letter words on eggs. Children make words and then read them. Can they use the word in a sentence?

Write onsets (consonants or blends) on one half and rimes (word endings) on the other half. Children twist around and read words. You could also ask children to write the words.

Make puzzles of sight words and put them in the eggs. Children put the letters together, read the word, and then write the word.

Make puzzles of simple sentences and challenge children to put the words together and read the sentence.

Put random letters in the egg and ask children to see how many words they can make and write from the letters.

Write a poem about spring on a small sheet of paper. Fold it up and put it in the egg.

Math
Write numerals or number words on the eggs. Children fill with the appropriate amount of beans or paper clips.


Children match up dots or number words with numerals.

Place a certain number of small objects in the eggs (2-10). Children dump out the objects and then write all the combinations they can make.

Give children a variety of objects. Ask them to predict if each object will fit in an egg or if is too big. Sort the objects after testing if they will fit.

Use the eggs for addition and subtraction problems.

Reinforce place value by writing numerals 1-9 on the eggs. Children put the eggs together and then say the numeral.



Science
Let children draw pictures of all the animals that come from eggs.

Place objects in the eggs, such as popcorn kernels, cotton balls, bells, etc. Children shake the eggs and predict what is inside.
*Make two eggs with like objects for children to match the sounds.

Musical Instrument
Put dried beans in the eggs and tape to a plastic spoon to make maracas.

Spoon Relay
Give children a large spoon and an egg. Can they get their egg from one point to another without dropping it?

Yummy Snack
Put small crackers, raisins, cereal, grapes, or other healthy snacks in the eggs.



Sensory
Place eggs in a water table or sand box for pouring and measuring.

SOME BUNNY HAS A JOKE FOR YOU

I don't know why, but I bet your kids will love these corny jokes and knock, knocks!

Why did the egg go to school?
To get "Egg-u-cated".

What kind of jokes do eggs tell?
Egg yolks!

What did the mommy egg say to the baby egg?
You're "Egg-stra special".

How do eggs stay healthy?
They "Egg-cercize".

What happened to the egg when he was tickled too much?
He cracked up.

What kind of plants do eggs keep?
Eggplants

What flowers grow on faces?
Tulips (Two-lips)!

What is a bunny's motto?
Don't be mad, be hoppy!

How do you catch a unique rabbit?
Unique up on it.

How do you catch a tame rabbit?

The tame way. Unique up on it.

What is a rabbit's favorite dance style?
Hip-Hop!

Why are rabbits so lucky?
They have four rabbit's feet?

KNOCK!  KNOCK!

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Ether.
Ether who?
Ether bunny.

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Justin.
Justin who?
Justin other Ether Bunny.

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Notta.
Notta who?
Notta nother Ether Bunnies.

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Stella.
Stella who?
Stella nother Ether bunny.

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Juan.
Juan who?
Juan more Ether bunny.

Knock, knock
Who's there?
Chuck.
Chuck who?
Chuck-olate bunny!

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Dewey.
Dewey who?
Dewey have to listen to any more Ether bunny jokes?

Knock Knock
Who's there?
Some bunny.
Some bunny who?
Some bunny is eating all my Easter eggs!

Knock, knock!

Who's there?

Noah.

Noah who?

Noah body . . . April Fool's!

Hint! Some of your children will “get” these and some of your children will just fake laugh. This is a good opportunity to have children “think out loud” and explain the jokes to their friends.

BUNNY TALES

Whether you celebrate Easter or not, 

You've all got to love bunnies a lot!

Here are some rhymes and crafts, too.

I've even got a rabbit story for you!

Flip, Flop, Hop
(Tune: “Wheels on the Bus”)
The ears on the bunny go flip, flop, flop (Hands over head and wiggle.)
Flip, flop, flop,
Flip, flop, flop.
The ears on the bunny go flip, flop, flop,
Flip, flip, flop.

The nose on the bunny goes twitch, twitch, twitch… (Wiggle nose.)

The eyes on the bunny go blink, blink, blink… (Blink eyes.)

The tail on the bunny goes wiggle, wobble, wobble… (Wiggle hips.)

The feet on the bunny go hop, hop, hop… (Hop up and down.)

Drawing Rabbits

Teach children how to draw a bunny from two circles. Add details to the bunny as you sing the song.
*You can also make bunnies out of play dough.

Here Is a Bunny
Here is a bunny (Hold up index and middle fingers.)
With ears so funny. (Wiggle fingers.)
And here is his
Hole in the ground. (Make hole with fist of the other hand.)
At the slightest noise he hears,
He pricks up his ears, (Wiggle fingers.)
Then hops to his
Hole in the ground! (Pretend to hop bunny ears into the hole.)

Handprint Bunny

Trace around children's hands and cut them out. Cut off the middle finger and bring the pinky finger and thumb finger down to make arms as shown. Decorate and there's your bunny!

Bunny Basket 

Fold the sack in half lengthwise as shown. Draw ears on the sack similar to those shown. Cut on the lines and then cut off the sides. Open the sack. Staple the top points to make ears. Put a face and cotton tail on your bunny basket.


A Bunny Tale (Tell and Draw Story)
1. One day a man went walking with his arms behind his back.
2. It started to snow.
3. He got a sled so he could play in the snow.
4. But after awhile he got cold and decided to build himself a house with two stories.
5. He put two windows in the top floor and divided them in half.
6. Then he built two chimneys.
7. He threw some sticks on the fire.
8. And soon he was snug as a bunny. 

SINGING SIGHT WORDS

Music can be the “dessert” in your curriculum. Try using some of these familiar tunes to practice reading sight words.

Singing the Word Wall
Sing the word wall from a to z with the tune of “Gilligan’s Island.”

Sight Word Cadence
Children echo each line as you sing four word wall words at a time.
There are some words you need
If you want to learn to read.
A All And Are
Be Book Boy By…etc.

Two Letter Words
Sing two letter words to “If You’re Happy and You Know It.”
If you want to spell he, say “h” “e.”
If you want to spell he, say “h” “e.”
It’s easy as can be when you sing and spell with me.
If you want to spell he, say “h” “e.”

Three Letter Words
Sing three letter words to “Where Is Thumbkin?”
What spells the? What spells the?
T – h – e (T – h – e)
T-h-e spells the. (T–h–e spells the.)
T – h – e. (T – h – e)
*Sing three letter words to “Three Blind Mice.”

*THE Poem: You can say the, or you can say the,
but you always have to spell it T- h - e!

Four Letter Words
Learn to spell four 4 letter words with “Happy Birthday.”
T – h – a – t spells that. T – h – a – t spells that.
T – h – a – t spells that. T – h – a – t spells that.
*Sing four letter words to “My Darlin’ Clementine” or “YMCA.”

Five Letter Words
Five letter words can be sung to “BINGO.”
There is a word that you should know and green is the word-o.
G – r – e – e – n. G – r – e – e – n. G – r – e – e – n.
And green is the word-o.
*Sing five letter words to “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.”

Six Letter Words
The tune of “Ten Little Indians” can be used to spell six letter words.
S-c-h-o-o-l,
S-c-h-o-o-l,
S-c-h-o-o-l,
That spells school.

*The theme song from “The Mickey Mouse Club” can also be used for six letter words.

Seven or Eight Letter Words
*Fit the letters in longer words to “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow” and “Coming Round the Mountain.”

Chiming Words
Use a xylophone for this activity. Strike keys on letters and the blend.

WE HAD A GOOD DAY!
Here's a new video that my webmaster just posted.  You're sure to end your day with a smile and positive feelings.

https://bit.ly/drJGoodDayYT