SIGN INSTEAD OF SING

Check out the video I did this week where I demonstrate these activities.

 http://bit.ly/drjeanAlternatives

Sign language is multi-sensory, active, free, and simple!  Someone said that sign language was like bubblegum because it’s a great way to “stick” letters and words in the brain.  It might just be the perfect way to engage children orally and physically without singing. 

The ideas below actually have tunes, but you can just as easily say them.

Note!!  Encourage the children to make “strong” letters. As children tighten up muscles in their hands, they will also be strengthening small motor skills. 

Where Are the Letters?   (Tune:  “Where Is Thumbkin?”)

Where is A? (Place hands behind your back.)
Where is A? (Children repeat.)
Here I am. (Make "a" with your hand.)
Here I am. (Children repeat and make an "a" with their hand.)
What do you say A? (Wiggle hand.)
What do you say A? (Children repeat.)
/a/ /a/ /a/ (Make the short a sound.)
/a/ /a/ /a/ (Children repeat.)

The Alphabet in My Hands  (Tune:  “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands”)
I’ve got A /a/ /a/ in my hands. (Sign the letter “a.”)
I’ve got A /a/ /a/ in my hands.
I’ve got A /a/ /a/ in my hands
And I can read.
Continue signing and singing other letters.

Letter Box (Tune:  “Polly Wolly Doodle”)

I wish I had a letter box
To put my A in.
I’d take it out and go (Hold up sign for a.)
/a/ /a/ /a/
And put it back again. (Pretend to put hand back in box.)

Continue singing other letters and making signs for other letters.

Go Letters!  

Children stand and roll arms around in between making the manual signs for each letter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRCVJ0-nB5M&index=3&list=PL7bsHC8DZJxgo1tIChPhzEYl5gKZuqvof 

LETTER OFFICE

 

LETTER OFFICE AND LETTER LOOKER

LETTER OFFICE

Children will enjoy making their very own letter office and then using it for the activities below. First, tape two file folders together.  Let children decorate the outside, and then glue a copy of alphabet letters on the inside. 

Sing and Track
Have children point to the letters as you sing various alphabet songs. (“The Alphabet in My Mouth,” “Who Let the Letters out?” or “Letters You Should Know” all work well.)

I Spy!
Play “I Spy” and other games where children have to identify letters. Can they find the letter that makes the sound at the beginning of “hop”? Can they find the letters in their name? What comes between G and I? Can they match up magnetic letters with the letters in their office?

Partner Play
Use the offices for working with a friend. Read the capital letters, lowercase, consonants, vowels. Read loud, soft, fast, slow, backwards, and other variations. Let friends take turns calling out letters (or sounds) for their partner to identify.

Family Time
Invite children to take their letter offices home and play games with their parents.  

*Take turns naming letters and touching them.

*Sing Alphabet songs and track the letters.

*Look around the house for letters that match.

*Find letters in family members’ names.


LETTER LOOKER

Here’s a simple prop to help your children focus. Loop around the end of a pipe cleaner as shown to make a “letter looker.” Children can identify letters in their letter office and around the classroom with their “lookers.” 
*They can also play a game with a partner with their letter looker. Children take turns focusing on letters as their partner tries to identify it.  

"THEY" SAID WE COULDN'T SING!

Good grief! I don’t know who “they” are and if “they” have ever taught little kids, but I doubt if singing a song is actually going to cause Covid to spread. However, it is what it is, so for the next few days I’ll give you some fun “alternatives to singing."

FINGERPLAYS

Most of you who have followed me for years think I’m a broken record when it comes to finger plays. However, if you think about it, they are a perfect tool for engaging children, oral language, math concepts, and developing small motor skills. Finger plays can also encourage children to use their imaginations and their brains!

Here are some videos where you can watch me do finger plays. It might work well to take one or two each week and repeat them every day. Send home copies of finger plays to encourage families to do them together.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4f2d7BW3CzI


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8XqpPYpNCg


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJZGoFWzPA8


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrIxnH8LXNQ


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gC-r_pajb6I

P.S. I’m laughing at myself because I can just see me doing these one day in the nursing home!!!

 

JUST A DOT - NOT A LOT!

Just think if you were a little kid and you had never held a bottle of glue before. Wouldn’t it be fun to squeeze it all out? Sometimes we forget that children need directions on how to use school materials. Tell children, “We just need to use a baby dot of glue. Not a mama dot or papa dot. Just a tiny, little baby dot.” (Be dramatic with this and say “baby dot” in a high little voice.) Demonstrate how to put a dot on a sheet of paper. “What does that look like? A little bug? A cookie crumb?”

*Put food coloring in a bottle of glue and use it at a center for children to practice making “baby dots.”

If you use glue sticks, you will also need to demonstrate how to use them. “If you barely touch the page you can’t see anything. That means nothing will stick to it. Press it gently down and then look to make sure you can see something. That means your paper will stick.”

School Glue
(Tune: “This Old Man”)
School glue, school glue,
Just a little dot will do.
Put a dot and spread it around.
It will hold your paper down.
School glue, school glue,
Don’t use more than a dab or two.
When it dries up, it will disappear.
Your work will look good never fear.

Glue Globs
Someone taught me how to make these years ago and I wanted to pass on the idea to you. Children squirt a glob of glue on wax paper. Add googly eyes and let dry overnight. When they are dry, peel off the wax paper, punch a hole, and tie on a string for a necklace. 

P.S.  These are really fun to make at Halloween.

CUT IT OUT!

How about some tips for helping children learn to cut with scissors.

Cutting Tub
You can use a shoe box or a plastic container to make a cutting tub. Insert safety scissors, junk mail, old greeting cards, wrapping paper, etc. in the tub. When you are busy cooking dinner get out the tub to entertain your child.

Hint! Before having them cut, let them tear paper.

Tummy Cutting
Have children lay on the floor and prop themselves on their elbows. If they cut in this position, their elbow will stabilize their arm and give them greater scissor control.

*Wad up two sheets of paper and put one under each arm. As children keep their arms by their sides they will be able to cut better.

Demonstrate and Model
It’s important to take your time, model, and give explicit directions on basic tasks. Remind children to put your thumbs on top, just like "Tooty Ta," when you cut.
Hold the paper in one hand and take little bites with your scissors with the other hand.

Here's a video to share with parents so they can help their children with scissor skills:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc_KiV2lFaY

TOP TO BOTTOM

Children can have fun as they practice pre-writing strokes and train their eyes to go from the top to the bottom and left to right.

Top to Bottom Song (Dawna Hunter) 
(Tune: “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”) 
Top to bottom, 
Left to right. 
Top to bottom, 
Left to right. 
My mind knows that writing always goes 
Top to bottom, 
Left to right. 

Pencil Stories
Pencil stories using story symbols can help children develop top to bottom and left-to-right orientation. They’re also an engaging way to develop small motor skills. These stories should be told multiple times so children can practice the pre-writing strokes and feel more competent. You might want to do the same story every day for a week as you invite the children to recall what will come next. 

Here's an easy version I would try with the little ones to encourage them to go from left to right and make a few strokes.

Let's go for a walk.  (horizontal)

The sun is shining down.  (vertical)

The wind is blowing.  (slant)

Here come some raindrops.  (circle)

I hear thunder. (X)

Time to run home!  (horizontal)

Hint! Put a green line down the left side to show them where to start and a red line down the right side to indicate where they should stop.

Write Round the Mulberry Bush
Here's another great pre-writing activity for the beginning of the school year called “Writing Round the Mulberry Bush.” I clearly remember where I got this idea. About 20 years ago I was doing a workshop in Huntsville, Texas. A young teacher said, “My mentor needs to tell you how she teaches handwriting. Her kids have the best handwriting in the school.” Well, she grabbed my attention and when I asked the older teacher her secret she smiled and said they practiced “Writing Round the Mulberry Bush” several weeks before introducing letters. 

Basically, you have children make the strokes as shown on a blank piece of paper as they sing the different verses to the song “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush.” It makes sense because children need to go from top to bottom and left to right as they learn to master simple strokes.

Here's a link if you're interested.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1SnEagA4jljSUZWMl9YZVh4UVE/view?usp=sharing

RIGHT AND LEFT

Training eyes to move from left to right and then reverse sweep is a key to beginning reading and writing. A simple, yet powerful way, that teachers can do this is through modeling. Make it a habit to sweep your hand from left to right under words or lines of print on charts, big books, white boards, and so forth.

Right & Left Song
(Tune: “Up on the Housetop”)
Here is my right hand way up high.
(Hold up right hand.)
Here is my left hand touch the sky.
(Hold up left hand.)
Right and left and roll out of sight.
(Roll hands around.)
Now I know my left and right.
(Hold up left and then right.)

Hint! Focus on the right hand because then what is “left” over will be their left.


Sticker
Put a sticker on each child’s right hand and then play “Simon Says” or the “Hokey Pokey.”

Bracelet
Let children make bracelets out of pipe cleaners and wear them on their right hand. Throughout the day call attention to their right hand…right ear…right leg…right foot, etc.
Lotion
Rub lotion or scented lip balm on each child’s right hand.

Poem
Hold up your hands and stick out thumbs and index fingers as you say:
Which is my left? Which is my right?
Sometimes it’s hard to tell.
But when I stick my thumbs out straight,
My left will make an “L.”



Left From Right(Anthony Corbo aka “Mr. Kindergarten” taught me this song.)
(Tune: “Mary Had a Little Lamb”)
I want to learn my left from right,
Left from right, left from right.
I want to learn my left from right,
I try with all my might.
The left hand makes the letter L,
Letter L, letter L.
The left hand makes the letter L,
Hurray, now I can tell!

Tracking Left to Right
Draw tracks on sentence strips similar to the ones shown. Children can drive cars or move animals from left to right.

Hint! Make a green dot where they are to begin and a red dot where they should end.