Activities

The children can bring items from home that were made for them or that they made. Items are placed in the sharing basket for large group time. During sharing time, one or two children can share what they brought. This could be done in large group.

Ask the children to find a partner and take turns telling each other about a family outing or favorite activity. You may pose a question to get the conversation started or model a back-and-forth conversation with your assistant teacher.

Read Sharing Time by Elizabeth Verdick. As you read the simple text, point out the rules you have in the classroom, such as taking turns.

Read Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy Shaw. Give the children a box to represent the jeep. Read the story again and have the children respond with the sounds and movement the animals make. This can be done in small group.

Read My Shell Book by Ellen Kirk. Provide a variety of sea shells, and have the children use magnifying glasses to examine the shells.

Read My Shell Book by Ellen Kirk. Provide a variety of sea shells, and have the children use magnifying glasses to examine the shells. Count how many different colors they see on a sea shell.

Add cutouts of shirts from fabric glued to cardstock. Write a numeral one through 10 on each shirt. Have children pin the correct number of clothespins to each shirt.

During small group, remove all of the children's shoes. Place one shoe from each child in a pile, and make a line with the other shoes. Have the children match the shoes to create pairs.

Create a shoe shop in your dramatic play area with a variety of dress-up shoes. Larger children's sizes are perfect for this purpose. Make a shoe size chart by gluing shoe cutouts in a variety of sizes to a piece of butcher paper.

Read Maisy Goes Shopping by Lucy Cousins or A Trip to the Grocery Store by Josie Keogh. Discuss the purpose of a grocery list. Show the children note pads designed for list making.

During outdoor time, have the children say their names using different voice volumes. Start by whispering. Then use “inside voices.” Finally, have them shout their names out loud.

Have the children collect different recyclable items to show to the class during large group. Have the children share how the recyclable items were used.

Create a polka-dot bag for the children to use for show and tell during large group. Invite the children to bring in a special toy from home and place it in the bag.

Have the children choose a toy or prop from one of the centers. Encourage them to have open conversations and ask questions of each other.

Provide the children with manipulatives, such as Unifix® cubes, table blocks and large bottle caps. Ask the children to show you a "lot" of cubes. Then ask, "Can you make there be fewer?" Then ask them to show you a "few" bottle caps.

Place multicultural pictures inside the dramatic play area that display different types of affection such as hugging, hand shaking, playing together and high fives.

Encourage the children to use the large blocks in the dramatic play area to define a dance space within the classroom and use it to perform dances of their choice. Have a music player for the children to use with a variety of music to choose from.

Sit with the infant on a comfortable mat on the floor. Lay the infant on his/her back and put a toy that makes noise on the the floor to the left side of his/her head. Shake the toy and see if the child turns his/her head towards it.

During outdoor time, provide sidewalk chalk to encourage children to draw the school, neighborhood or other landmarks in the community.

During outdoor time, on the sidewalk draw large letters, numbers and shapes. Then, play Simon Says by giving the children a sequence of things to do: Stand on number 3, then run to the letter.