Activities

Have pieces of pre-cut watermelon for the children to cut with cookie cutters and enjoy eating. Talk about why watermelon is healthy and have the children describe the taste, smell, color and texture.

Encourage good sportsmanship by using gestures, such as a high five and a thumbs up to praise the children when behaving appropriately.

Encourage good sportsmanship by using gestures, such as a high five and a thumbs up to praise the children when behaving appropriately during outdoor time.

Begin large group with one of these songs. Sing to the tune of “BINGO”:
I have a very special friend and Can you guess her name-o J-U-L-I-E, J-U-L-I-E, J-U-L-I-E And Julie is her name-o.

Recite the “We Can” chant, and encourage the older infants to do the actions with you:
We can jump, jump, jump. We can hop, hop, hop.

We can clap, clap, clap. We can stop, stop, stop.

Create 3-D matching games based on characteristics such as color, size and shape. Begin by matching identical objects such as two triangle blocks and two square blocks. The children can match them based on attributes.

Sing the following song to the tune of “Skip To My Lou.” Place five children in the center of the group.

Create a veggie graph by listing a variety of vegetables. Encourage the children to taste different vegetable and decide whether they liked the taste. Fill in the graph blocks using the color of the vegetable that's eaten.

During small group, have the children look at photos of themselves and compare how they are the same and different from each other.

When a classmate or a teacher is absent, encourage the children to draw pictures or create cards for their friend. Say, “Juanita isn't here today, but I know she would like to see a picture you drew for her.

Encourage the children to find multiple uses for objects.

You will need balls and paper towel tubes cut in half. Have the children hold a tube with a ball balanced on the top to resemble an ice cream cone. Give them a starting and ending point to walk with their tube without the “ice cream” dropping off.

Take photos of plants in and around the school. Print them out, punch holes in the pages and put them in a notebook. Look at the book with the children and point out the plants. Talk about where they are located.

Tune: "Mary Had a Little Lamb"
We all share our toys at school

Toys at school, toys at school

We all share our toys at school 

Because we are great friends

Create an absent child ritual by using a pizza pan with a heart drawn in the middle of it. Print the children's pictures on magnets.

Have the children use gestures, such as using their hands as pretend binoculars while singing these words to the tune “A-Hunting We Will Go”:
We're looking all around.

We're looking all around.

Create a bingo game with pictures reflecting various types of weather such as sunny, stormy, cloudy and snowy. During small group, as the children play the game, ask them to name one article of clothing that they would wear that matches the picture.

Take the infant outside for brief times throughout the year. While outdoors, talk about the weather and the types of clothes and activities appropriate for the day or season. For example, say "It's cold outside today because it's winter.

Provide pictures of various types of clouds such as white, puffy ones and gray clouds on an overcast day. Talk about the clouds. Say, “Before it rains, the sky and the clouds sometimes look gray.

Prior to going outside, have the children predict which outerwear they might need. Ask, “Do we need umbrellas? Do we need heavy coats? Do we need a light jacket?” during outdoor time.