Activities

Give each child a leaf of colorful, construction paper and encourage him/her to throw the leaf in the air and watch it flutter to the ground. Repeat several times. Teach the children the following song.

Tune: “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”
Leaves, leaves falling down, 

Falling on the ground. 

Red and yellow, 

Orange and brown, 

Leaves are falling down.

Encourage the children to paint with LEGO's, LEGO DUPLO's or other plastic blocks in the art center.

Write letters on the sides of LEGO® DUPLO® blocks so you can see them when the blocks are hooked together. Give the children word cards with simple words like cat, book or jump. Encourage them to hook the blocks together so they spell out the word.

Provide LEGO®s and a LEGO® base plate in the math center. Challenge the children to create LEGO® letters on the board. You may have to show them how to make the curvy ones with just straight lines.

Position a LEGO® baseplate vertically by attaching it to an easel or to the side of a cabinet or shelf. Encourage the children in the math center to use the mat in this orientation to build.

Use fresh lemons, sugar and water to make lemonade. Go through the steps with the children and then review the sequence and chart their responses. This could be done in large group.

Read Length (Math Counts) by Henry Arthur Pluckrose, and explore the concept of length. After reading the book during large group, have the children compare the lengths of their hands, feet, arms, legs, and hair.

During large group, read the book Leo the Lightning Bug by Eric Drachman. This is a good book to use when introducing the emotion of disappointment as well as persistence.

As the children come inside from the playground, introduce new words to describe different ways of walking. One day you might demonstrate how to “amble” along, encouraging the children to copy you. Say, “Everyone is ambling along.

Read Tony's Bread by Tomie De Paola. Provide different breads for the children to sample and describe. This can be done in small group.

During large group, read a book about friends, such as Friends by Helme Heine, Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel or The Sandwich Swap by Queen Rania.

Read the book Llama Llama and the Bully Goat by Anna Dewdney. Discuss suggestions the teacher made in the story and how the conflict was resolved.

During small group, have the children create a class book about nice things they have done for others. Include pictures or drawings of these actions in the book.

Introduce a bowling game in a small group and ask if the children have ever played before. If there are some children who have never played, ask them to guess what they can do with the ball and pins and how they can play the game.

Create tents or forts using hollow blocks, cardboard boxes and blankets in the block center. Encourage the children to move around and explore the fort.

Tune: “The Farmer in the Dell”
Let's clean up today 

Let's clean up today 

We've had our fun 

Our day is done (or “work time”)

So, let's clean up today

Pile pillows on the floor. Put the infant in front of the pillows and place a favorite toy at the top of the pillows. Support the infant as he/she climbs up the pillows to get the toy.

Tune: “Do You Know the Muffin Man”
Let's come to the circle now,

The circle now, the circle now.

Oh, let's come to the circle now.

It's almost story time.

Plan to use music throughout the day. Model dancing and encourage the children to follow your moves. The Learning Station has many songs that teach children how to repeat movements. “Tony Chestnut” is a favorite among children.