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.”

Glue Sticks
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.

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

CHEESE PIZZA DAY

September 5th is Cheese Pizza Day, but I could eat pizza every day! (Seriously!) Here’s a silly song that I used to sing just because the children got a laugh out of it. Now, I tie it into standards because it demonstrates sound substitution and reinforces vowel sounds. Whatever!!!

Pepperoni Pizza
I like to eat, eat, eat, (Extend arms to make a circle like a pizza.)
Pepperoni pizza.
I like to eat, eat, eat,
Pepperoni pizza.

Sing substituting the long “A” sound for each vowel.
A lake tae ate, ate, ate,
Papparaynay pazzay…

Continue substituting with “E,” “I,” “O,” and “U.”

Hint! Make sign language letters for the vowels as you sing.

Word Family Pizza
Chris Baker created this video to demonstrate consonant substitution as children sing the song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrpSSXZK9-I&feature=youtu.be

EASY PEASY PIZZA GAME
There are dozens of math skills you can tie in with this easy peasy math manipulative.

Why? sorting; sets; numerals; addition; subtraction, patterns; following directions; writing how to

What? fun foam (red, yellow, green, brown, black, white), pie pan, red felt, index cards, book ring

How? Cut toppings for your pizza from fun foam.
Sausage – brown
Peppers – green
Cheese – yellow
Pepperoni – red
Olives – black
Mushrooms – white
(Store the patterns in a zip bag.)

Cover the bottom of the pie pan with red felt.

*Let children sort the toppings.
*Give them numeral cards and ask them to make sets.
*Can they make a pattern with the toppings?
*Give them addition and subtraction facts and ask them to work out the problems with the toppings.
*Make recipe cards similar to the ones shown for the children to follow.
*Can they count how many ingredients in all on their pizza?

How To
Have children write their own recipe cards and directions for making a pizza.

Paper Pizza Collage
Give children a paper plate and some scrap paper, scissors, and crayons and let them create their own paper pizza. When they've finished they can add a few drops of glue and sprinkle with oregano or Italian seasonings to make it SMELL like a real pizza.

TEDDY BEAR DAY

Let's have a Teddy Bear Party! Teddy Bear Day is officially September 9th, but wouldn't it be fun to do this any day in September? 

Everybody loves teddy bears, so how did this love affair with teddy bears begin? President Theodore Roosevelt was a hunter. While hunting in Mississippi in 1902, he refused to shoot a small bear. The Washington Post published a story about it and illustrated the event with this cartoon.

Brooklyn candy shop owner, Morris Michtom, saw the cartoon and asked his wife to make two stuffed toy bears to go in his shop window. After asking permission from President Roosevelt, he called them “Teddy’s bears.” Eventually Michtom started the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company.

About the same time a German named Margaret Steiff was making her living by sewing stuffed animals. An American saw a stuffed bear she had made and ordered many of them. These bears also came to be known as Teddy Bears…and that’s how the whole thing started.

"Teddy Bear Party"
Ask children to bring their favorite teddy bear (or other stuffed animal) and introduce him/her to their classmates. (Encourage them to name their bear and explain why they love their bear.)



*Let children draw pictures and write stories about their bears.

*Use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast real bears and stuffed bears.

*Read books about teddy bears. Let children vote on their favorite using a bar graph.

*Play “build a bear” which is similar to hang man. Think of a word and then make blanks for the letters in the word. As children call out letters, write them on the lines. If they call out a letter not in the word begin drawing a bear (body, head, ears, etc.).

*Make a teddy bear sandwich. You’ll need a cookie cutter shaped like a teddy bear. Cut out the bread and then decorate with cream cheese, peanut butter, or your favorite topping. Use raisins, chocolate chips, etc. to decorate.

*Let children make teddy bears from play dough.

*Peanut butter play dough makes cute bears you can eat. (Mix 2 TB smooth peanut butter, 1 tsp. honey, and 2 TB instant dry milk in a bowl. Stir until smooth.)

TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY

Aarr! Yo ho, matey! Of all the September holidays, TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY on September 19th has got to be my favorite!

Why?
According to the founders of Talk Like a Pirate Day, “Silliness is the holiday’s best selling point. And it’s fun!” There are many troubles and a great deal of seriousness in the adult world, but the classroom needs a little fun as well. Although it's several weeks away, I wanted to share a few ideas with you early so you could include them in your lesson plans. (You’ll even notice that I integrated some Standards!)

Pirate Read – Reread poems and big books by talking out of the side of your mouth like a pirate.

Pirate Song – Tune: “Yankee Doodle”
I’m a pirate. That I be!
I sail my ship upon the sea.
I stay up late – til half past three.
And have a peg below my knee.
Yo ho ho ho
Let’s sail away
Aarrr! Matey! Is what I say.
A treasure I will hide today
And walk the plank another day.

Note! I adapted this song from one posted on talklikeapirateday.com

Creative Writing – What would you do if you were a pirate? Where would sail on a pirate ship? What would you like to find in a treasure chest?

Pirate Cheer – Put one hand over your eye to make a patch. Talk out of the side of your mouth as you say, “Aarr! Way to go, matey!”

Parrot Cheer – Put your hands in your armpits to make wings and then flap them as you squawk, “You did a good job! You did a good job!”

Pirate Maps – Cut the bottom off lunch bags and then cut down one side and you’ll have a big rectangle. Children can draw a treasure map with markers or crayons. Squash up the paper and roll it around in your hands to give it a vintage look.

*Older children could write stories about their treasure hunt on the back of the map. Younger children could dictate a story.

*Add a compass map and introduce North, South, East, and West.

*Have children make maps of the playground.

Mustache – Cut mustaches out of construction paper and tape them under your nose. (This would just be optional, but what little kid wouldn’t want a mustache?)

Eye Patch – Cut an oblong shape out of construction paper, fold it in half, and glue it over a 30 piece of string.

Hook – Cut hooks out of cardboard and let children cover them with aluminum foil. Insert the end of the hook in a cup you can insert over your hand.



Hunting for Coins – Write letters of the alphabet on poker chips with a permanent marker. (You can buy poker chips at most dollar stores.) Hide these on the playground or in the classroom. When children find the coins they can name the letter or think of a word that starts with that sound.
(You could also write numerals, math facts, or words on the poker chips.)

Vocabulary – Introduce pirate vocabulary that you can actually use in the classroom on September 19th.
Ahoy = hello
Avast = stop and pay attention
Matey = friend
Disembark = leave
Embark = enter, get started
Foul = something turned bad
Grog = drink
Weigh anchor = prepare to leave
Aye = yes
Nay = no

Parts of a Ship – Relate these to places in the classroom with labels.
Starboard = right
Port = left
Stern = back
Bow = front

Pirate Flags – Let children design their own pirate flags. These can be done with crayons on paper, or, better yet, cut an old sheet into rectangles children can draw on with markers.

Sharing the Booty - Cut pirate chests out of construction paper and write numerals on them. Let children use the poker chips to make appropriate sets or do addition and subtraction problems.

Walk the Plank – Children can practice balancing by walking forwards and backwards on the plank. (To make a plank put a piece of masking tape on the floor or draw a plank outside on the sidewalk with chalk.)

Pirate Snack – How about some fish crackers in an ice cream cone? After they eat the crackers they can eat the cone.
*You could also serve oyster crackers, Pirate Booty, or grog (juice).

READ A BOOK DAY

READ A BOOK DAY IS "OFFICIALLY" SEPTEMBER 6TH, BUT IF YOU'RE A 

BOOK LOVER LIKE ME EVERY DAY IS READ A BOOK DAY!

There are some things I just cannot part with…such as favorite books I read to the children in my classroom and my own children and grandchildren. Like anything, YOU add the magic to a book. If you love a book, then I can guarantee you that your enthusiasm will make your listeners love it as well.

This picture of Kalina and I reading together about ten years ago brought back a sweet memory.  I'd like to turn back the clock and do it again!  What a reminder to CHERISH childhood because children grow up so quickly. The world has changed, but when you share one of your favorite books with children, it's like time has stopped. 



It's important to remember to READ A BOOK AND LET IT BE!  You don't have to dissect every  book talking about the problem, resolution, beginning, middle, end, vocabulary, yada yada. You really can teach children everything with a good book!  But, you don't have to TEACH children with the books – they will just learn in a natural, meaningful, enjoyable way.

Here are some of my "oldies but goodies"!  Do you still read any of these?

Good books are like good friends that you want to visit again and again!

Step Into a Book
Children can take off their shoe and trace around their foot on construction paper. After cutting it out they can decorate it and use it as a bookmark.

*Let children do rubbings of the bottoms of their shoes and use these for bookmarks.

SEPTEMBER HOLIDAYS

One of the best ways to make September memorable is to celebrate some special days. Over the next few days I'll share how to take some crazy national holidays and turn them into learning opportunities with songs, games, and crafts. Who would have thought that there was a National Bubble Gum Day or Play Dough Day? Get ready for a GOOD TIME! 

                 

                

               

But of all the September holidays, NATIONAL GUACAMOLE DAY ON SEPTEMBER 16 has got to be my favorite. How many foods that you love are truly good for you like avocados? People often ask me what is my favorite guacamole. Hands down it's CHIPOTLE!!! I've tried a dozen recipes and I can't even get close to theirs. My mouth is watering!

BACK TO SCHOOL RIDDLES
Here are some fall riddles that my webmaster created for you!

                                            

http://bit.ly/FallRiddlesDrJean