Thursday 9/4/08

Theme: Dinosaurs Go To School
Weather: Isaiah
Helper: Kaylie

9:00-9:20 Circle Time
Quietly Read
“Grandma’s Glasses” Fingerplay

Use a high pitched voice:
Here are Grandma’s glasses.
(circle fingers around eyes)
Here is Grandma’s hat.
(pat head)
This is the way she folds her hands,
(fold hands together)
And lays them in her lap!
(lay hands in lap)

Use a low, deep voice:
Here are Grandpa’s Glasses.
(circle fingers around eyes)
Here is Grandpa’s hat
(pat head)
This the way he folds his arms,
(fold arms across chest)
Just like that!
(nod head)

Pledge of Allegiance
Show & Tell: Isaiah
Calendar
Weather
Daily Basics
* Review A, 1, 2
* Introduce RED (Spanish) What are some things that are the color red?
Rules

9:20-9:25 Mini Lesson
Grandparent’s Day
Grandparent’s Day is on Sunday, September 7th. Introduce the Spanish words for Grandma & Grandpa, abuela and abuelo. Ask the children to share some information about their grandparents. How many do they have? Where do they live? Do they visit often? What kinds of things do they do together? What makes each grandparent special?

9:25-9:35 Movers & Shakers
Musical Dinosaurs
Gather a stuffed dinosaur for this activity. Have the children sit in a circle. While you play music, have the children gently toss or roll the dinosaur back and forth between each other. Then the music stops, ask the child holding the dinosaur to answer a few questions about herself. What is your name? What is your favorite food? What types of things do you like to do (read books, play dress up, play outside, etc?)

9:35-9:45 Language
Name Writing Practice
On handwriting paper, write the each child’s name. Have them practice writing their name within the lines.

9:45-10:00 Math
September Math Game
Give each child a game piece and have her place it in the “Start” area. Decide who rolls first. The child will roll the cube and move his dino to the next corresponding color. Continue these steps with the other children. Continue until each child reaches the mother dinosaur at the end of the game board.

10:00-10:15 Wash Hands/Snack
Granola bars & juice

10:15-10:30 Play Time
Preschool Hopscoth
Draw a simple hopscotch board with squares numbered 1-10 on a sidewalk using sidewalk chalk. Invite the children to hop from square to square while naming each number. Challenge them to try to hop on each square using one foot and then the other foot. Continue as long as interest lasts.

10:30-10:40 Story Time
How Do Dinosaurs Play with Their Friends? By Jane Yolen & Mark Teague
Rainbow Fish To The Rescue by Marcus Pfister
God Bless America by Lynn Munsinger (sing the words)

10:40-10:50 Science
How Big?
Children have a difficult time understanding how big dinosaurs really were. Use chalk on a sidewalk to mark off the lengths of some of the following dinosaurs. Have the children count footsteps along each length as you describe each animal or look at pictures.
Brontosaurus – 70 feet
Tyrannosaurus – 40 feet
Triceratops – 25 feet

10:50-11:00 Music

11:00-11:20 Art
Texture Collage
Give each child a Styrofoam tray. Cut the cello sheets in half. Provide glue and divide the materials from the kit among the children. Invite them to glue each material to their tray, as desired. Talk about the different textures. Encourage the children to feel each item individually. Which item is rough? Is there anything that’s soft on the paper? What other words describe the textures? Which of our five senses do we use to describe the textures?

11:20-11:30 Closing
Talk about next Wednesday’s new theme: Feeling Good, Staying Safe. Recite the “Grandma’s Glasses” Fingerplay again. Play puzzles or a game. Blow bubbles outside.

Homework
Grandparent’s Day Art Project
Give each child one ivory door hanger pattern. Explain that they are going to make one door hanger for each set of grandparents or other special people in their lives. Provide markers, crayons, and scissors. Invite the children to color the door hanger patterns as they wish. Have the children cut out the door hangers. Trim to fit in legal envelope if mailing is necessary.

Divide the flower cutouts among the children and provide glue. Invite the children to use the flowers to decorate the door hangers. Offer other collage materials such as glitter or stickers to add more detail, if desired.
Show & Tell: Kaylie (take on her trip)