Safety-Stranger Danger

Looking ahead to Halloween, we will be learning about Safety. Today we will talk about Stranger Danger. It is very important for children to understand who strangers are, especially the nice-looking ones. They may look nice, but we don't know them.

Two books: Lost
Never Talk to Strangers
There are many things to teach children about strangers, here are some important ones..
1. Who is a Stranger?
I cut some pictures out of magazines of random people, all looking like normal people. I will talk to them about who a stranger is, show each picture and ask them if they are a stranger. More than likely they will say, "No". Try to explain to them that even though they look nice, they are still strangers. You can add pictures of people they know so they can better understand.

2. 'Good Strangers'
We will also talk about who to find if you are lost. It is important for the children to know what to do if they get separated from their parents. Teach them to look for a 'good stranger,' a grandma, a mother with children or a police officer. These grown-ups are typically the safest for them to find.

3. Kidnapping
Another important lesson is what to do if someone tries to take them. We teach that if someone grabs them and starts pulling them away, they are to yell, "HE/SHE ISN'T MY DADDY/MOMMY," as loud as they can. Teach them to kick and scream and yell and if they get away to run as fast as they can to someone/somewhere familiar, or to a 'good stranger.'

4. Adults Don't Need Help From Kids
Teach them that if adults need help, they will ask another adult. Tell them to never go up to a car they don't know. Never take anything from anyone or pet an animal they are not familiar with.

5. Personal Information
Make sure they know their first and last name. It'll be difficult for younger kids to remember their parent's names, but keep trying. Their phone number and address are important as well.

Good luck and be sure to keep it simple and not frighten them!

Seasons and Weather-Spring/Summer

We will be using this song the whole week, only substituting what the weather is...
Rain (leaves, snow) is falling all around (wiggle fingers like rain)
On the housetops, On the ground (touch fingers to make roof of house, point to ground)
Rain (leaves, snow) is falling on my nose, (touch nose)
On my head and hands and toes! (touch head, hands, toes)

Introduce new song to sing every day...What's the Weather?
What's the weather, what's the weather, what's the weather like today?
Is it raining, is it snowing, is it windy or is there sun?

Book: Splish, Splash, Spring by Jan Carr (and if time and boys are interested, The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle)
After the book, we will count raindrops. We will work on one-to-one correspondence (touching each raindrop and saying one number and counting in order). We will try going up to 10.
Then we will learn a new word, evaporation. I have a pix I got off the internet that shows the evaporation process and will explain it. More than likely they won't remember much, but later on when they hear the word again, something will click in their brain and they will understand it better.
For a gross motor activity, we will do a puddle hop. I made 'puddles' with numbers on them. I will tell the boys which number to jump to.

Fine Motor: They will make an umbrella. I will have the bottom part cut, but have them cut the top, sloping part. This will give them a new experience in cutting.

For our art activity we will make a sun mask out of a paper plate. Cut the circle part out, then cut triangles out from it. Staple/glue the triangles onto the outside of the circle. The boys will color with yellow, orange and red crayons (been awhile since we've used them).

For our snack we will make a smoothie. We will make a lot so we can make them into popsicles.

Learning Through Literature

Splish, Splash, Spring
by: Jan Carr

For children who are just learning the seasons, this book is a winner. To learn about the basics that herald the arrival of spring, from sudden rain showers, to flowers blooming, to baby birds hatching, this book fits the bill. The illustrations are colorful and are an integral part of the story. We follow three children on a spring morning as they dig worms for baby birds and watch crocuses bloom. The children manage not to get into trouble when they fly their kite, and they race home before another thunderstorm breaks, stopping along the way to pick some posies.

Transportation-Air and Sea

Book: My First Big Book of Things That Go
It shows all kinds of methods of moving around.
We will discuss transportation in the air and the sea. We will then sort some pictures to the specific category; land, sea, and air.
Math/Fine Motor: Number matching on control panel of an airplane. I will make the paper look similar to a control panel, number circle stickers and place them 1-5 in order. The kids will have their own # stickers and will place them next to the correct match. (For the older kids, they can try to place the stickers in order themselves and go up to 10).

Cognitive: Boat Bingo

Activity 1: Airplane-Have the kids fold a thin paper back and forth (this will prop the plane up so it sticks up off the paper). Have the kids glue cotton balls onto a blue construction paper. Then glue one end of the folded paper to the plane and the other to the paper. (Folding the paper helps with their fine motor skills).

Activity 2: Hot Air Balloon: have a cutout on cardstock of the balloon part. First, see if the kids can hole punch two holes on the bottom of the balloon. Then let the kids tear pieces of crepe paper and set them on the balloon. Next, spray the crepe paper with a water bottle filled with water. Pull off the crepe paper, it will leave some color! Next, attach a small plastic/paper cup to the balloon (this is the basket).

Transportation-Land

WOW! What a week it has been! We are finally back home and semi-settled.
Now on to preschool!

Song: Down by the Station
Down by the station, early in the morning
See the little puffer bellies all in a row.
See the station master, ring the little handle.
Chug, Chug, Choo Choo, off we go!
(I have a train whistle I like to blow at the end)
*Also, if you'd like, I walk around the classroom (staying close at first) then at the end of the song you can call out..."All aboard (child's name)" and they can attach themselves to the 'train' (you). You would continue this until the last child is called.

Book: The Very Bumpy Bus Ride (a childhood favorite). Please see Learning Through Literature post to learn more about this book.
Cognitive Activity: We will play a license plate matching game. All I did was write down numbers and letters on a 3x5 card (two cards each). I did 3 letter/number ones for my kids because they are younger, but older kids can do tougher ones.
Gross Motor: Red Light, Green Light
Science: Ramp Racing: Have two blocks the same size. Set one up so it is at a steep slant and set the other one up so it is lower. Ask the kids which one will make the car go faster?
Fine Motor: Stop Sign cut-out. For my kids, I've cut out half of the sign already, they will then follow the lines and finish cutting it out. For older kids, they can practice doing it all.

Art Activity: Painting with cars! Have them drive their cars in paint then drive them on the paper. Then they can glue paper cars on and stop signs.

Snack: Bus Twinkies! See Fun Food Friday at the end of this week for more details! (Normally I would do healthy snacks, but every now and then I might sneak in something just for fun!)

Learning Through Literature

The Very Bumpy Bus Ride
By: Michaela Muntean

This is one of my childhood favorites! I've read it to my boys and they absolutely love it also. It's more fun if they are sitting on your lap and you bounce them up and down as you read, "And bumpin an bouncin down Bumble Street!'

Such a fun, silly, repetitive and rhythmic book that all kids all ages will enjoy!