Activities

For a small group activity, say a child's name and have the other children say the name.

Use a puppet to play a gentle hugging game. The puppet tells the children that a hug can make you feel better when you are sad or mad. The puppet then hugs a child. Encourage the child to hug a friend.

Take one white cake mix and follow the directions on the package. Give each child a Dixie cup with batter and have them add food coloring to create the color batter of his/her choice. Each child then pours their batter into a greased Bundt pan.

Give each child a strip of paper to decorate using markers or paint. The teacher then attaches all of the strips together into a friendship chain to display in the classroom. This activity could be done in small group.

You will need a large mixing bowl and a spoon. Ask each child to bring his/her favorite fruit to school. Wash and cut fruit into small pieces.

Use the writing  center to create a friendship quilt using paper and markers. Have each child decorate a piece of paper. Attach each child's completed work with yarn to make a quilt to display in the classroom.

Create a friendship quilt using paper and markers. Have each child in the writing center decorate a piece of paper. Attach each child's completed work with yarn to make a quilt to be displayed in the classroom.

Read Frog and Toad: The Lost Button by Arnold Lobel. Give the children animal headbands to help retell the story. Emphasize how Frog and Toad feel when they can't find their buttons.This could be done in large group.

Read Frog in a Bog by Karma Wilson. As you read the story, pause and talk to the children about some of the words that may be unfamiliar, such as bog, half-sunk, reeds or tick. This could be done in large group.

Encourage the children to pretend to be frogs and jump around the room.

Provide pictures and flannel pieces from the book Froggie Gets Dressed by Jonathan London. Have the children retell the story using clothing pieces and pictures from the book.

Read the book Froggy Goes to School by Jonathan London. Have the children recall the different things Froggy does at school and how this compares to their own days at school. You can chart their answers or do a comparison graph.

Give the children a set of plastic frogs and lily pads.

Read From Head to Toe by Eric Carle. Encourage the children to move their bodies like the animals in the story, bending their necks like a giraffe or raising their shoulders like a buffalo.

Read the book From Head to Toe by Eric Carle. Encourage the children to listen and watch as you demonstrate the movements, then follow along.

Place a tunnel on a soft surface stretching it out straight so that you can see through the whole tunnel. Tell the children to crawl through the tunnel, one at a time, to the other side as a free choice activity.

Have each child crack an egg into a large glass bowl and observe. Help the children describe the texture with words such as slimy, gooey or runny. Provide an eggbeater and encourage the children to scramble the eggs.

Add tractors, play vegetables, farm equipment and animals to the block center and encourage the children to play farm. Talk with them about harvesting the vegetables and driving them in tractors and trucks to the store.

Show the children pictures of people from the past, for example, pioneers or from a different decade. Ask questions about how differently people dressed and looked. Play music from the different eras, such as the Charleston or the Twist.

During outdoor time, fill bins with water, child-safe baby shampoo and food coloring. Provide whisks to create frothy bubbles. Provide small cups for pouring and scooping.