We will read Go Away Big Green Monster by Ed Emberly. Each page of the book reveals a different part of the monster such as his sharp white teeth and his big red mouth until the complete monster is shown. Then the story reverses and the body parts and monster disappear one by one.
Sing the monster song. This is a great way to learn the names of body parts. Encourage your child to imitate the motions of the song and to touch each part as you name it.
The Monster Song
(to the tune of “The Wheels on the Bus”)
The feet on the monster go
Stomp-stomp-stomp
Stomp-stomp-stomp
Stomp-stomp-stomp
The feet on the monster go
Stomp-stomp-stomp
All through the town
Then, eyes/wrist/ankle/shoulders
Blink-blink-blink/bend-bend-bend/twist-twist-twist/shrug-shrug-shrug
(taken from Early Childhood Themes through the Year by Teacher Created Materials, 1993)
Use a flashlight to make monster shadows on the wall. Make noises that a monster would make. Talk about when and why we use a flashlight.
Trace your foot and your child’s foot onto construction paper and cut out the prints. Which footprints are big which ones are little? Have your child follow the “monster footprints” around the room. The footprints could lead to some of the pictures related to our story. Have your child label the picture when he/she finds it.
Download Big-green-monster-vocab.
Week of 10/17/11
This week, we will read The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams. It is about an old lady who went for a walk through the forest one evening in October. Along the way, she encounters some scary figures: a pair of shoes, some pants, a shirt, a hat, and some gloves. However, the lady remains unafraid. Finally, a scarecrow is created in her garden from her scary friends.
Download the PowerPoint below which includes vocabulary from the story.
Download WhereDoYouWear
Week of 10/10/11
This week, we will read Glad Monster, Sad Monster by Anne Miranda and Ed Emberely. It introduces and describes many feelings. It talks about situations, activities, and items that produce specific feelings.
Make magnets for your refrigerator. Cut out circles and make faces on each one to represent a different feeling. Place a magnet on the back of each one. Name each feeling. Have your child put up the magnet that corresponds to the way that he/she feels that day.
Look in a mirror and create different expressions with your child. Make faces that show happy, scared, angry, etc...
Sing "If you're Happy and you Know It." Add additional verses to include more feelings such as "If you're sad and you know it say "boo-hoo" or if you're mad and your know it stomp your feet.
Remember to encourage your child to use his/her words when he/she is mad. When your child begins to hit, bite, scream (or any other negative behavior) tell him/her "no hitting, you can say I'm mad."
Visit www.hiyah.net and download the powerpoint with basic emotions. It contains most of the feeling words related to our story.
Download Glad Monster vocab
This week, we will read Fall Leaves Fall by Zoe Hall.
Collect several types of leaves from your yard. Mix them together and help your child sort them into piles by color or size. Make leaf rubbings by placing a leaf under a sheet of paper and coloring the paper while the leaf remains underneath the paper. Talk about the size, color, and shape of each leaf.
Sing the following song with your child. Singing together helps your child learn new vocabulary and develop auditory memory skills.
(Sung to the tune of London Bridge)
All the leaves are falling down
Falling down, falling down
All the leaves are falling down,
It is fall time.
They are yellow, red, and brown.
Red and brown, red and brown,
They are yellow, red and brown.
It is fall time.
Take the leaves and crunch them up,
Crunch them up, crunch them up.
Take the leaves and crunch them up.
It is fall time.
(From perpetualpreschool.com)
Pretend to be the wind and have leaves fall on various parts of your child. Have a leaf land on your child’s nose, knee, ankle, palm of his/her hand, etc…
Download the vocabulary related to the story and have your child name each picture, point to each picture as you describe it, and/or tell you two things about each picture. In addition, download the attached Powerpoint titled, "Fives Senses in the Fall."
Week of 9/26/11
This week, we will read Ten Apples Up On Top by Dr. Suess.
Cut out an apple shape from red paper. Use a hole punch to create a hole in the apple. Your child’s finger will represent the worm. Have the worm crawl through, under, beside, and over the apple.
Eat apples together. Talk about the different parts of an apple (the stem, seeds, core, etc…). Talk about the taste and textures of the apples using words such as “juicy,”, “sweet,” “sour,” and “crunchy.”
Point out apples at the grocery store to your child. Talk about the size and colors of the apples. For example, “I see a big green apple.”
Recite the following poem with your child and encourage him/her to perform the motions.
Apple Rhyme Tree
Way up high in an apple tree (hold arms over head)
2 little apples smiled at me (hold up 2 fingers to cheeks)
I shook that tree as hard as I could (pretend to shake tree)
Down came 2 apples, Mmmm, they were good! (rub stomach and smile)
from perpetualpreschool.com
Download the attached powerpoint related to apples and read with your child.
Week of 9/19/11
This week, we will be reading and talking about our 5 senses. Review the attached powerpoint with your child.
Week of 9/12/11
We are continuing to learn about body parts. This week, we will read My Nose, Your Nose by Melanie Walsh.
Go to sesamestreet.org to find some activities related to body parts. Once you are on the home page, go to games, then search for "Finger in the Air." This is a favorite class song which helps students to identify basic body parts and follow directions. Also, under the games, search for "Murray Cleans Up." In this game, your child will give an animal a bath and must follow the directions to wash simple body parts.
Week of 9/6/11This week, we will read Here are My Hands by Bill Martin.Review the attached vocabulary related to body parts. Name each picture and talk about the functions of each part.
Bath time provides a great opportunity to talk about body parts. Ask your child to wash his ankle, nose, elbow, etc.. Or you could give a baby doll a bath. Talk about each step of bath time such as filling up the tub with water, washing with soap, rinsing, and drying with a towel.
Sing songs such as "The Hokey Pokey" and "Head, Shoulders. Knees, and Toes" to learn about body parts. Singing is a great way to improve both language comprehension and expression in preschoolers. It presents language in a rhythmic format and often with gestures which makes it easier to remember, Check out speakaboos.com. It's one of my favorite websites. You will find "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" under the songs link.
Play with a Mr. Potato Head. Name each part as you add it to the potato. Talk about the function of each part (Ex. we see with our eyes and smell with our nose).
Week of 8/29/11
This week, we will learn about community helpers.
Sing the following song about community helpers/workers
This is the way (to the tune of “Mulberry Bush”)
This is the way the barber cuts,
The barber cuts,
The barber cuts
This is the way the barber cuts
Everyday at work
-Replace the words about the barber with other workers and their actions.
Gather objects used by a variety of occupations and put them in a box. Let your child select an item from the box and guess the worker to whom it belongs (ex. a comb for a barber or a pot holder for a baker).
Make an edible painter’s ladder using thin pretzel sticks. Break the pretzel sticks in half to create the rungs of the ladder and place 2 whole pretzel sticks on each side of the rungs. Talk about which pretzels are long and which pretzels are short. Talk about which pieces are whole pretzels and which pieces are half of a pretzel. Describe the taste and texture of the pretzels using words such as “crunchy” and “salty.” According to your child’s ability level, you may just want to have him/her simply request “more pretzels.”
Download the following powerpt. and read it together with your child.
Week of 8/22/11
I am so excited to be back with Mrs. Ernst this year. I will be working in her classroom on Thursdays. This is my 16th year as a speech-language pathologist. Most of my time has been spent with Cobb County Schools and with preschoolers. In addition, I am a part of Cobb County's autism support team. Each week, I will post vocabulary and speech-language activities related to our literature units. If you need to contact me, e-mail is the best way. My e-mail address is allison.soncrant@cobbk12.org.
This week, we will be reading The Bridge is Up by Babs Bell. Each vehicle in the story must wait to cross the bridge because “The Bridge is Up.”
Review the attached vocabulary related to the story.
Cut out the center of a paper plate to form a steering wheel. Pretend to drive various types of vehicles such as a taxi, truck, or police car. Explain that one person is the driver and the other person is the passenger. Talk about where you will go and what you might see out the window of your vehicle. Don’t forget to stop for gas.
Use dry pasta wheels to create a vehicle and glue the wheel-shaped pasta to a drawing or a photograph of a vehicle to complete the picture. Explain that the wheels go on the bottom of the vehicle and that the vehicle needs wheels to make it go. Name the vehicle. Talk about the features of the vehicle such as the roof, door, and trunk.
Make roads on the carpet using tape. Drive toy cars on curvy and straight roads. Continue talking about the roads using more descriptive words. Make some roads long, short, narrow, or wide. Make traffic lights, stop signs, bridges, and tunnels for the road. Use positional words such as over the bridge and through the tunnel.
As always read, read, and read!
