Activities

Use the book What We Wear by Maya Ajmrea as a basis for discussion of how children of various cultures dress. Have the class compare and contrast their own dress to that of the children in the book. Record their observations.

Read the book What We Wear by Maya Ajmrea. Discuss how the children of various cultures dress. Have the class compare and contrast their own dress to that of the children in the book. Record their observations.

Ask the children, “What if I threw a piece of trash on the floor. How big a deal is it? Now, what if everyone did that?” Read What if Everybody Did That? By Ellen Javernick.

During small group, provide interesting pictures for the children to describe, such as a child jumping in leaves or a person talking on a phone.  Ask them what they think is happening or might happen.

Print photos of interesting animals and place them in the science area.

Have the children look closely around the large group area. Have them close their eyes while you remove an item from the area. When the children open their eyes, see if they can identify what is missing.

Place photos of familiar objects close to the changing area for the infant to look at during diaper change. As you are changing, call the infant's attention to things in the pictures.

To encourage the children to answer questions about the weather, sing this song to the tune of “Mary Had a Little Lamb”: What's the weather like today,
like today, like today?
What's the weather like today?

Show the children unfamiliar pictures of objects or animals and encourage them to guess the name or purpose of the object. For example, shown a picture of a calf, a child might say, “It is a cow.” You would respond, “It is a baby cow.

Read The Feelings Book by Todd Parr. Have the children practice making the same expressions that are shown in the book.

Have the children raise their hands as you call out the classroom jobs, to show which ones are their favorites. Talk about why certain jobs are more desirable than others. Help children recognize that every job is important in the classroom.

Introduce two questions to encourage children's interpretation and justification skills.

On a sheet of paper, have each child draw a picture of what he/she wants to be when he/she grows up. Take the picture of the child, cut out just the face and glue the picture in the face area.

Place a cause-and-effect toy, such as a pop-up toy, before one of the children. Encourage the child to interact with the toy to see what will happen. Say, “What happens if you push the button? Look! You made it pop up!” Have children take turns.

At the close of the day, talk with the children about what they will do when they get home and who they will see. Recalling familiar routines helps them feel comfortable and secure.

Read What's Alive? Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 1 by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld. One day, walk outdoors to point out and take pictures of living things. Another day, point out and take pictures of nonliving things.

Cut pictures of a variety of doors from magazines or print them from the internet. Include a wide range of colors and types of doors. Show one

of the pictures and ask children to describe something they might find behind that particular door.

As you plan special events, talk with the children about what to expect. If the firefighters are coming to visit, let the children know that instead of outside time we will visit the fire truck.

Read Flotsam by David Wiesner. This book is about a boy who goes to the beach to collect and examine flotsam, which is anything floating that has washed ashore. Use the rich illustrations to encourage the children to ask questions.

Put an object in a bag and ask the children, "I wonder what is in the bag? Ask me questions to find out.