Letter of the week + Books

I started out this year focusing on a letter a week and reading a book that focused on something that started with that letter. Here's a list of the letters and books that we did:
A-Hey, Little Ant by Phillip Hoose
B-The Berenstein's B Book
C-The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
D-Dinosaur Roar by Jack Tickle
E-Elmer by David McKee
F-Welcome Fall by Jill Ackerman, Awesome Autumn by Bruce Goldstone, and Leaf Man by Lois Elhert
G-Goodnight, Gorilla by Peggy Rathman
H-All the Pretty Little Horses by Saport, Clarence Goes Out West and Meets a Purple Horse by Adams, and Horse by Malachy Doyle
I-An Island Grows by Schaefer
J-Jamberry by Bruce Degan
K-Kite Day: A Bear and Mole Story by Hillenbrand
L-Love Bugs by David A. Carter
M-Henry's Map by David Elliot
N-Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola
O-Gentle Giant Octopus by Karen Wallace, My Very Own Octopus by Bernard Most, Octopus's Garden by Ringo Starr, and Octopus Alone by Divya Srinivasan
P-Three Hens and a Peacock by Lester L. Laminack, Bees, Snails, & Peacock Tails by Betsy Franco, and Colorful Peacocks by Deborah Underwood

You might notice that we didn't make it all the way to the end of the alphabet. We fizzled out during the summer and then got distracted by other ideas for the Fall. Sorry! But, in an effort, to redeem myself, here's a link to No Time for Flashcards. They also did this same thing, but THEY made it to the END of the alphabet!
Here's the wonderful link: http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2014/04/letter-of-the-week-books.html
Enjoy!

October Week 4

Month: October	Week 4
Gentlemen Training:
What to do when you’re afraid Read Tell Me a Scary Story but Not Too Scary by Carl Reiner and The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda D. Williams. Use the activity from: http://www.toddlerapproved.com/2011/10/book-of-week-little-old-lady-who-wasnt.html to tell the story of the Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything. Talk about things that might scare us and that everyone is scared of something. Talk about how some things like monsters, ghosts, witches, etc. are just play and aren’t real. Discuss things we can do when we’re afraid or have a bad dream: sing a happy song, count to 10, take deep breaths, imagine something funny, talk about it, etc. Talk about how in the first book we read, the boy was scared but how it ended up being silly. Talk about how the little old lady reacted to things in the second story. Watch the video Go Away Big Green Monster from Super Simple Songs: http://youtu.be/4coi65CT1G4 Here’s an activity idea from: http://supersimplelearning.com/songs/original-series/one/go-away/ Print the flashcards for monster, vampire, witch, and ghost. Give the children soft fluffy balls or something they can throw at the cards. On each, "Go away!" they can throw one at the appropriate card. At the end of that verse, take that card away and go on to the next verse.
Day One
Literacy: Sing the Alphabet Song. The letter this week is H. Practice tracing the letter with our finger, saying the letter, and saying the sound. Trace a capital letter H using a Halloween bag of goo from: http://www.playathomemomllc.com/2011/07/squishy-bag-a-tactilemultisensory-approach-to-pre-writing-and-writing-skills/ or http://lets-explore.net/blog/2009/10/paint-bag-writing/ Read a witch book: Wobble, the Witch Cat—Mary Calhoun Room on the Broom—Julia Donaldson Read the poem On Halloween Night with visuals from: http://www.oopseydaisyblog.com/2010/10/h-is-for-halloween-packet.html
Math:   Print out the 13 days of Halloween pictures from: http://www.oopseydaisyblog.com/2011/10/the-13-nights-of-halloween.html Hide the pictures around the house and have the kids look for them. Once we have all of the pictures, sing the song together. Sorting and Matching—Do the witch’s buttons from: http://www.oopseydaisyblog.com/2010/10/h-is-for-halloween-packet.html
Snack We could make Witch’s Stew from: http://www.oopseydaisyblog.com/2010/10/h-is-for-halloween-packet.html
Science/Social Studies: Experiment and play with different sensory things. Focus on the senses and describing textures (soft, hard, gooey, dry, etc.) Here are some great ideas for sensory activities: http://www.growingajeweledrose.com/2012/10/halloween-sensory-activities-for-kids.html I think we’ll play with goo and cloud dough. We could also play with play dough and put objects in the play dough (such as plastic spiders, eyes, etc.) and see if the kids can guess what it is by just touching it. Here’s a play dough resource: http://mamasmiles.com/halloween-crafts/ Have the kids make up a witch recipe for a witch soup. Be creative and gross using ingredients such as bat toe nails, etc. From: http://thehometeacher.org/2011/09/witches-13-days-of-halloween-ideas.html Have your kiddos make a Book of Brews by coming up with unique witch spells and writing the ingredients and directions. Another variation of this book would be to have your kids write different recipes such as Spider Stew, Bat Burgers, and French Fried Frogs.
Art: Make a paper bag witch puppet from: http://dltk-holidays.com/halloween/mbagwitch.htm
Movement: Songs and fingerplays from: http://thehometeacher.org/2011/09/witches-13-days-of-halloween-ideas.html If I was a Witch If I was a witch I would climb on my broom  And fly away with a zoom zoom zoom (Show the children walking fingers and say this is your witch. Next show the children their pointer finger and say this is a broom. Then have them put their witch on their broom and make her fly) Three Wee Witchies Not last night, but the night before  (Shake head, gesture with hand over shoulder to show the day before) Three wee witchies came knocking at my door  (Show three fingers, knock on floor) One played the fiddle  (Play an imaginary fiddle) One played the drum (Play an imaginary drum) And one had a pancake  stuck to her bum! The Witch Rides Tonight (Game: tune:Farmer in the Dell) The witch rides tonight  The witch rides tonight  Heigh-ho, it’s Halloween  The witch rides tonight!  The witch takes a cat…  The cat takes a bat…  The bat takes a spider…  The spider takes a goblin…  The goblin takes a skeleton… The skeleton takes a ghost…  The ghost scares them all…  Five Little Witches Five little witches standing by the door. (hold up five fingers)  One flew out and then there were four. (Flying motion with hand)  Four little witches standing by a tree. (four fingers)  One went to pick a pumpkin and then there were three. (picking motion with three fingers)  Three little witches stirring their brew.(stir)  One fell in and then there were two. (two fingers)  Two little witches went for a run. (run with fingers)  One got lost and then there was one. (one finger)  One little witch, yes, only one. (one finger)  She cast a spell and now there are none.(make motions as if to cast spell and then put hands in lap)  Old Mother Witch Old Mother Witch is coming to town Coming to town, coming to town Old Mother Witch is coming to town So early in the morning. This is the way she rides her broom… This is the way she wears her hat… This is the way she stirs her brew… This is the way she pets her black cat… This is where she has her wart… This is how she scares you BOO… Old Mother Witch is going away… From: http://www.themotherhuddle.com/halloween-fingerplays-and-songs/ ) Three Little Witches One little, two little, three little witches. (Hold up 1,2,3 fingers)  Fly over haystacks, fly over ditches. (Make flying motion with hands)  Fly over moonbeams without any hitches. (Make flying motion with opposite hand.)  Hey, Ho, Halloween Night! (Clap) One little, two little, three little witches. (Hold up 1,2,3 fingers)  Fly over barb wire and tore there britches. (Make flying motion with one hand, then turn and show your “torn britches”) Had to go home and get some stitches. (Pretend to sew)  Hey, Ho, Halloween Night! (Clap) The witch has an Itch (tune: Farmer in the Dell) The witch has an itch, The witch has an itch. Oh where, oh where, oh where does the witch have an itch? On her tiny little ____, her tiny little ____, The witch has an itch on her tiny little _____. (Children fill in body parts like toe, nose, etc.) Play witch hockey with brooms and a ball. The Dollar Store sometimes has little brooms that would be perfect for little kids. Another game idea from: http://www.oopseydaisyblog.com/2010/10/h-is-for-halloween-packet.html Pass the Witch’s Broomstick Have children stand in circle. Pass the broomstick from one child to the next. This game is like hot potato. When the music stops, the child holding the witch’s broomstick stands in the center of the circle (witch’s cauldron). Sing to the tune of ‘If You’re Happy and You Know It’ Pass the witch’s broomstick round the circle here. While you hear the music playing, do not fear. But if the music stops or if the broomstick drops, You will ride the broomstick while the goblins cheer. Hee-hee-hee!
Day Two
Literacy: Sing the Alphabet Song. Today’s letter is h. Trace a small h in our bags of goo. Think of Halloween sounds with the letter h: hoooo, hee, hahaha. Read: There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat—Lucille Colandro Look at the sequencing in the story. See if the kids can remember what happens next. Make a little old lady with printables and a Ziploc bag and have the kids feed the little old lady the different things from the story in the right order. Resources: http://www.teachingheart.net/oldladybat.html The little old lady could also swallow other things such as letters, letter sounds, word families, numbers, etc. Another possible literacy activity from: http://www.teachingheart.net/aspiderunit.html Positional words Use an empty spider web and the sentence frame, "The spider is _____ the web."  Use 5 different pages like this. On each, place a spider somewhere on the page, and then fill in the blank accordingly. Examples: inside, above, under, on, and beside
Math: Spider Math Game from: http://www.brilliantbeginningspreschoolutah.com/2011/10/s-is-for-spider-math-game.html Spider Legs Game from: http://www.littlefamilyfun.com/2011/10/spider-game-counting-legs.html Some other great math activities can be found at: Spider unit printable: http://ateachingmommy.com/2011/10/spiders-expanded/ Spider math mats (put the correct # of spider on the web): http://kinderkorner.com/pics10.html Clothespin spiders (you do numbers, colors, letters, or any kind of matching): http://abbypediatricot.blogspot.com/2011/10/clothespin-spiders.html
Snack
Science/Social studies: Read a non-fiction book about spiders. Some ideas for books: National Geographic Readers: Spiders—Laura Marsh About Arachnids: A Guide for Children—Cathryn Sill Spiders Have Fangs: And other amazing facts about arachnids—Claire Llewellyn Spinning Spiders—Melvin Berger Make a small fact book about spiders. Here’s some facts from: http://www.teachingheart.net/aspiderunit.html Facts About Spiders *Spiders are not insects. *Spiders' babies come from eggs. *Most spiders have either six or eight eyes. *Not all spiders spin webs. *There are more than 30,000 species of spiders. *Spiders eat many types of harmful insects, helping to keep your garden free of pests. *All spiders have fangs, though which venom is ejected. Spider bites can be painful and sometimes fatal. *Not all spiders spin webs. We could also add information about bats and talk about nocturnal creatures.
Art: There’s so many ideas for spider or bat art projects! I think we will combine a bunch of these and see what happens! Handprint spider on a string: http://funhandprintartblog.com/category/halloween Spider hat: http://littlebuggietutu.blogspot.com/2010/10/spider-hat-another-fun-and-easy-kids.html Handprint spider on paperplate spider web: http://funhandprintartblog.com/2011/10/handprint-spider-watercolor-resist-paper-plate-web.html Handprint spider on lacing card web: http://funhandprintartblog.com/2011/10/handprint-spider-watercolor-resist-paper-plate-web.html Paper plate spiders: http://www.mypreschool-crafts.com/fall.html Paper plate bat
Movement/Music: Songs and fingerplays about bats and spiders: The Itsy Bitsy Spider The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout. Down came the rain and washed the spider out. Out came the sun and dried up all the rain. And the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again. Visuals for this song can be found at: http://www.oopseydaisyblog.com/2010/10/h-is-for-halloween-packet.html From: http://www.oopseydaisyblog.com/2010/10/h-is-for-halloween-packet.html Busy Spider (Tune: This Old Man) Busy spider, he made one Great big web on a drum, With a spin, spin spin ‘Round and ‘round he goes. He puts on, quite a show. Busy spider, he made two Great big webs on some shoes. With a spin, spin, spin “round and ‘round he goes. He puts on, quite a show. Busy spider, he made three Great big webs on a tree. With a spin, spin, spin, ‘Round and ‘round he goes. He puts on quite a show. Busy spider, he made four Great big webs on the door. With a spin, spin, spin, ‘Round and ‘round he goes. When he sleeps, no one knows! Fly Like Bats (Tune: Frere Jacques) Fly like bats, fly like bats, All around, all around They can go up and down They can fly without a sound Fly like bats, fly like bats. Use the movement cards from http://www.oopseydaisyblog.com/2010/10/h-is-for-halloween-packet.html to play a Halloween moving game.

October Week 3

Month: October	Week 3
Gentlemen Training:
Patience and Waiting Watch Daniel Tiger Episode 113: Daniel Waits for Show and Tell/ A Night Out at a Restaurant Have them watch a clock, hourglass, or timer for a minute. Talk about how sometimes we have to wait and be patient. Talk about examples when we might have to wait: at the store, at the doctor’s office, for dinner, to take a turn playing with a toy, waiting in line for something. Think of things we can do while we are waiting: sing a song, play a game, count, say the alphabet, etc. Do an activity together such as baking a cake (from start to finish) to help kids practice waiting. Talk during the process about when you are waiting and what is happening. Each day practice waiting for something: for example, “Let’s wait two minutes before we eat lunch” or “Let’s wait one minute before we get out the blocks”. Practice waiting strategies. Here’s some parenting ideas: ·      http://www.parents.com/toddlers-preschoolers/discipline/tips/how-to-teach-patience/ ·      http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/20/teaching-children-patience_n_2734842.html ·      http://www.mommyshorts.com/2011/05/early-development-how-to-teach-a-toddler-patience.html
Day One
Literacy: Sing the Alphabet Song. The letter this week is G. Practice tracing the letter with our finger, saying the letter, and saying the sound. Do the pumpkin letter draw: Have the letters of the alphabet in a plastic pumpkin. The kids take turns drawing out a letter and then they need to find the letter on their letter template and stamp that letter. Could use the Halloween alphabet cards (to draw from the pumpkin) from: http://reallyroper.blogspot.com/2011/10/abcs.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%253A+ReallyRoper+%2528Really+Roper%2529 Read another pumpkin book. Where is Baby’s Pumpkin—Karen Katz Pumpkin Eye—Denise Fleming Spookley the Square Pumpkin—Jim Troiano The Runaway Pumpkin—Kevin Lewis Pumpkin Soup—Helen Cooper Pumpkin Heads!—Wendell Minor It’s Pumpkin Time—Zoe Hall The Biggest Pumpkin Ever—Steven Kroll The Pumpkin Patch—Elizabeth King Pumpkin Day!—Nancy Elizabeth Wallace Too Many Pumpkins—Linda White The Pumpkin Fair—Eve Bunting The Bumpy Little Pumpkin—Margery Cuyler The Pumpkin Circle—George Levenson Pumpkin Town—Katie McKay Pumpkin Hill—Elizabeth Spurr The Littlest Pumpkin—R.A. Herman
Math:  Activities from pumpkin unit from: http://ateachingmommy.com/2011/10/pumpkins-expanded/ Spin and graph pumpkins Pumpkin measure Which is different? Size sequencing from tot pack
Snack
Science/Social Studies: Emotions Sing “Five Little Pumpkins” from: http://supersimplelearning.com/songs/original-series/three/five-little-pumpkins/ Use flashcards to talk about different emotions. Make paper plate pumpkins from: http://michellesjournalcorner.blogspot.com/2010/10/pumpkin-paper-plate-craft-for-kids.html Have kids make different faces for different emotions and take lots of pictures!
Movement: Paint embroidery hoop orange and let child place face inside circle to become a “jack-o-lantern.” (You could also paint a paper plate orange and cut out the center.) Or we could use the paper plate pumpkins we made for our social science activity. Sing this song: We are Pumpkins (Tune: Mary Had a Little Lamb) We are pumpkins, big and round Big and round, big and round. We are pumpkins, big and round, Sitting on the ground. See our great big shining eyes, Shining eyes, shining eyes See our great big shining eyes Shining all around See our happy laughing mouths Laughing mouths, laughing mouths See our happy laughing mouths Smiling right at you. Have You Ever Seen a Pumpkin? (Tune: Have You Ever Seen a Lassie?) Oh, once I had a pumpkin. A pumpkin, a pumpkin Oh, once I had a pumpkin with no face at all. With no eyes, and no nose, and no mouth, and no teeth Oh, once I had a pumpkin with no face at all. So I made a jack-o-lantern, jack-o-lantern, jack-o-latern So I made a jack-o-lantern with a big funny face With a big eyes and big nose and big mouth and big teeth So I made a jack-o-lantern with a big funny face Mr. Pumpkin (Tune: Where is Thumbkin?) Mr. Pumpkin, Mr. Pumpkin, Eyes so round, eyes so round Halloween is coming, Halloween is coming To my town, to my town Halloween Jack-o-Lantern Poem To scare some folks on Halloween, I’ll tell you what I’ll do, I’ll hide behind this pumpkin face, And then I’ll yell... BOO! Ring Around the Pumpkins (Tune: Ring Around the Rosies) Ring around the pumpkins Pocket full of spiders Boo! Boo! We all fall down! The ghosts are in the meadow Drinking witches’ brew Boo! Boo! We all stand up! From: http://www.oopseydaisyblog.com/2010/10/h-is-for-halloween-packet.html Ten Little Pumpkins (tune: 10 Little Indians) One little, two little, three little pumpkins, Four little, five little, six little pumpkins, Seven little, eight little, nine little pumpkins, Ten pumpkins in the pumpkin patch. ~ Author Unknown (tune: I'm a Little Teapot) I'm a little pumpkin short and stout; Here are my eyes and here is my mouth. When it's Halloween and you are out, Just lift my lid and hear me shout. Boo! ~ Author Unknown From: http://www.thevirtualvine.com/pumpkins.html
Art: Make pumpkin paper plate shakers: Paint backs of two paper plates orange. Add jack o’ lantern faces. Tape a popsicle stick to the bottom of one of the plates. Put some pumpkin seeds, rice, or beans between the plates and staple the two plates together. We could also play with some pumpkin pie playdough: Pumpkin Pie Playdough Create pumpkin pie playdough. Using a pumpkin cookie cutter, cut out pumpkins. You could also place cut-out pumpkins in mini pie pins or tins from pot pies to create own pumpkin pies. 5 1⁄2 c. flour 2 c. salt 8 tsp. cream of tartar 3⁄4 c. oil 1 container (1.5 oz) pumpkin pie spice Orange food coloring (2 parts yellow/1 part red)  4 c. water Mix all of the ingredients together. Cook and stir over medium heat until all the lumps disappear. Knead the dough on floured surface until it is smooth. Store in airtight container. Remind children not to taste! From: http://www.oopseydaisyblog.com/2010/10/h-is-for-halloween-packet.html
Day Two
Literacy: Sing the alphabet song. Focus is on the letter g. G is for ghosts and goblins! Write capital and small letters A-G on ghosts and have kids match the ghosts. Read a ghost book: In the Haunted House—Eve Bunting Inside a House that is Haunted—Alyssa Satin Capucilli Ghosts in the House—Kazuno Kohara
Math: Haunted House math activity from: http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2012/10/halloween-math-activity-for-kids.html Since my kids are younger, I’m going to have dots (or something spooky) on the house for the kids to count and then match the number ghost to the number of dots.
Snack
Science/Social Studies: Today we will learn about wind and clouds. We will be using pages from the weather packet found at: http://www.123homeschool4me.com/2012/04/free-weather-unit-for-ages-3-9.html Wind: Make a pinwheel and practice blowing softly and harder on the pinwheel to make it spin. Do the wind experiment by having various objects and dropping them. Measure how far each object moves. Preferably do this outside. We could also use a fan again or blow on objects to make them move. Clouds: Look at the different types of clouds and what they mean. Make a cloud picture with cotton balls. Keep track of the different clouds for the rest of the month.
Art: Read the chocolate chip ghost story (color ghost story). http://www.sandytoesandpopsicles.com/celebrate/halloween/the-chocolate-chip-ghost-story-free-halloween-printable-puppets/ http://www.serving-pink-lemonade.com/2008/10/ghost-story.html Do the color ghost matching activity from: http://www.momto2poshlildivas.com/2011/10/pre-kk-halloween-theme-ghosts-rocks.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%253A+MomTo2PoshLilDivas+%2528Mom+to+2+Posh+Lil+Divas%2529 Ideas for craft: Paper plate ghost from: http://thehometeacher.org/2011/09/ghosts-13-days-of-halloween-ideas.html Paper cup ghost from: http://www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/973091/3-fun-and-easy-halloween-crafts-for-kids Footprint ghosts from: http://funhandprintartblog.com/category/halloween/page/4
Movement/Music: Songs and rhymes about ghosts: One Little Ghost One little ghost flew down the street. (Wave hand through the air.) “I wonder,” he said, “what I will meet– (Place finger to temple, thinking.) One hairy spider, (Hold up one finger, then move hand like spider.) Two black cats, (Hold up two fingers, then put two fingers from each hand on head for cat ears.) Three wild witches with pointy hats, (Hold up three fingers, then place fingertips of hands together to form hat.) Four old owls in a hollow tree, (Hold up four fingers, then form an oval with both hands for eyes to look through.) And five brother bats to fly with me! (Hold up five fingers, then hook thumbs of both hands together and flap fingers for bat wings.) We Three Ghosts (tune: We Three Kings) We three ghosts of Halloween are Scaring kids who wander too far. Trick or treating, candy eating, Beware the Halloween Star. Oh…oh… Star of darkness, star of fright. Star of every gruesome sight. West winds howling, cats a-yowling, Let us play some tricks tonight! Halloween Ghost  There once was a ghost, (extend hand and wiggle fingers) Who lived in a cave. (form hollow with palm for “cave”) She scared all the people (point to children) And the animals away. She said “Boo” to a fox, (point) She said “Boo” to a bee, (point) She said “Boo” to a bear, (nod head “yes”) She said “Boo” to me! (point at self) Well, she scared that fox, (nod head “yes”) And she scared that bee. (nod head “yes”) She scared that bear, (nod head “yes”) But she didn’t scare me! (shake head “no”) Five Little Ghosts Five little ghosts flying through the door, One flew away and then there were four. Four little ghosts spooky as can be, One flew away and then there were three. Three little ghosts drinking Halloween brew, One flew away and then there were two. Two little ghosts having lots of fun, One went home and then there was one. One little ghosts a real superhero, Went to help a friend and then were was zero! This Old Ghost (tune: This Old Man) also use obvious actions This old ghost, he played one, He played peek-a-boo on the run With a boo! boo! boo! and a clap, clap, clap This old ghost is a friendly chap Two: peek-a-boo in a shoe Three: peek-a-boo behind a tree Four: peek-a-boo near a door The Ghost in the House (tune: “The Wheels on the Bus”) The ghost in the house goes “boo boo boo, Boo boo boo, boo boo boo” The ghost in the house goes “boo boo boo” On Halloween Other verses: The steps in the house go “creak creak creak” The cats in the house go “meow meow meow” The mice in the house go “squeak squeak squeak” The people in the house go “eak eak eak” We also added other creatures ( monsters, skeletons, mummies etc.) and made up our own sounds for them! From: http://thehometeacher.org/2011/09/ghosts-13-days-of-halloween-ideas.html Make ghosts out of some white balloons. Have the kids try to blow the ghosts to a finish line, kick the ghosts to the finish line, bounce the ghost up in the air to the finish line, etc. We could also toss the ghost to each other or try to see how long we can keep the ghost in the air.