Activities

In the art center, twist paper bags and staple them together to form a beanstalk. Staple green leaves onto the stalk and hang from a high place at one end of the play space. Make a magic line with some masking tape and have children sit on the line.

Brainstorm a list of all the stories or nursery rhymes with Jack as the main character such as “Jack and the Beanstalk”; “Little Jack Horner”; “Jack and Jill” or “Jack Be Nimble.” Create a new story that includes elements from any or all of them.

Provide a variety of plastic jars and screw-on lids. Have the children match up and screw on the correct lid for each jar.

Create a prop box in the dramatic play area to retell Jasper's Beanstalk by Nick Butterworth. Include props such as a black cat stuffed animal, a bean, a shovel, a rake, a watering can and a lawn mower.

Play a game of Jenga with the children.  This is a great game to encourage children to keep trying.  It is important to allow the children to make mistakes, so they can think about how they might do differently the next time.

Sing the following song with the children to the tune of “Jingle Bells.” Give some children the wrist bells from your rhythm instruments to shake as they sing.

During large group, give the children a jingle bell bracelet for their wrists or ankles, and play upbeat music for dancing. Try stomping, skipping, hopping and moving in slow motion.

Give the children a jingle bell bracelet for their wrists or ankles, and play upbeat music for dancing. Try stomping, skipping, hopping and moving in slow motion. This could be done in large group.

During large group, read Jobs People Do by DK Publishing. Ask the children to recall various jobs from the story.

Johnny works with one hammer,
(pretend to hammer using one fist)

one hammer, one hammer.

Johnny works with one hammer.

Now he works with two.

Read Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback. Talk about clothing words that children may not know, such as overcoat or vest. Compare them to clothes children wear and discuss where they might have seen them.

Provide a journal for each child to use during small group. Provide a story starter, such as a funny shape, and ask them to finish the drawing or story. Encourage the children to draw or write letters and to be creative.

Give each child a journal from the dollar store. Keep the journals in a basket and set aside time each day to encourage the children to write and draw in their journals.

Provide journals in the writing center to allow the children to express their thoughts, feelings or ideas.

Have the children sit on the carpet or outside with their feet apart and touching the foot of the child on either side so they form a circle. Hand a child a ball to roll on the floor to another child.

Create a jukebox out of a cardboard box. Write all of the children's favorite songs on the front, and use a small picture cue to help the children know the song titles. Have a child choose the song everyone will sing.

Attach yarn to coffee filters or paper plates and hang them just out of the children's reach. Place whatever content you are studying on the plates, such as environmental print, letters or numbers.

Have the children line up and jump as far as they can. Use a roll of toilet paper or yarn for them to mark the distance they jump. Then compare the distance each child jumped.

Using chalk, draw a line for the children to jump from during outdoor time. Show the children how to jump like a frog if they are not sure. Mark with a chalk line how far the children jump.

Turn on music with a fast beat and encourage the children to jump up and down to the music. Some children will need assistance from the teacher to jump, while others will be able to experiment with jumping on one foot.