Activities

Read 10 Little Fish by Audrey Wood. Place a small fish, such as a goldfish, in a clear bowl and invite the children to observe it. Talk about what they see. "Look at the fish. It's swimming back and forth.

Spend time with the children as they watch the classroom fish.

Cut out pictures of the children and attach a paper clip to each picture. Give the children a wooden fishing rod with a magnet attached to the end. Have them fish for a friend and tell how they are alike and how they are different.

Create a shape box out of a shoe box by cutting two geometrical holes in the lid. Provide an object to fit into each hole (such as a ball for the round hole and a block for the square hole).

Provide a variety of plastic bottles and a tub of lids in the math center. The children can work together to figure out which lids go with which bottles.

Discuss the importance of exercise with the children. Read the book Bunnies And Their Sports by Nancy Carlson and invite the children to join the outdoor exercise class, during outdoor time.

Create simple props to go along with different songs and stories. You can use five plastic frogs and a small bowl of water for this song.

There were five in the bed

(hold up 5 fingers)

And the little one said,

Roll over, roll over!

So they all rolled over

(roll one hand over the other)

And one fell out

There were four in the bed

(hold up

Sing “Five Little Babies” to the infant and move and play with the infant as you sing:
Five little babies jumping on the bed

One fell off and bumped his (her) head.

Five little birdies sitting in a tree 

(wiggle five fingers)

Teasing Mr. Alligator,

“You can't catch me!

Oh, you can't catch me!”

Along came Mr.

Act out the following song during large group:
Five little elephants went out to play,

out on a spider's web one day.

They had such enormous fun,

they called for more little elephants to come.

Add the book Five Little Monsters Went to School by Rozanne Lanczak Williams into the reading area. Add five monster puppets to act out the story.

Five little pumpkins
were sitting on a gate
(hold up five fingers) The first one said,
(hold up one finger)
"Oh my it's getting late!” The second one said,
(hold up two fingers)

Sing “Five Little Speckled Frogs.” Have the children act it out using puppets.

Sing “Five Little Speckled Frogs” with the children:
Five little speckled frogs (Hold five fingers on top of your arm.)
Sitting on a speckled log

Eating the most delicious bugs.

Prepare five paper or felt spiders. Sing “Five Little Spiders” to the tune of “The Itsy Bitsy Spider.” Place the five spiders on a felt or magnet board. Remove them one at a time to the song.

Cut out five stars and a moon to use with the flannel board as you recite this rhyme during large group.
Five little stars shine and shine some more,

One fell to the earth and then there were four.

Sing to the tune of “Where is Thumbkin?”: Five senses, five senses. We have them. We have them. Seeing, hearing, touching, Tasting and smelling. There are five. There are five. (Point to body parts as you sing.) This could be done in large group.

Sing this chant with the children: Five yummy gingerbreads, sitting on a plate. The first one said, “Boy, we smell great.” The second one said, “There's a chill in the air.” The third one said, “I see hungry children everywhere.

Cut old calendar pictures or place mats into puzzles. During small group, encourage the children to verbalize their reasoning when they are putting the pieces together.