Tot School Week 13 (March 8th-March 14th)

Hopefully someone will view this blog even though I am late AGAIN posting it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please Scroll Down to see what we did this week with our Noah's Ark Theme!

Alyssa is 27 1/2 months old

Activities are done under CLOSE supervision (children can choke on small items). 

Please do not use photos of my child on any website, blog, etc.

I would LOVE it if you could link to my website showing where you found an idea.  

Enjoy your visit and please come back again soon!!!!

More Raccoon Activities

The following RACOON activities were planned and prepared last week, but due to our circumstances we did NOT get to all of them.  I wanted to share them with you all.  Check out last week for more raccoon activities that we did here.  I may use these activities as fillers this month.  I found the following five activities from the website Play 2 Learn under the raccoon or Kissing Hand theme (WHAT AN AN AWESOME WEBSITE!): 

1.) Kissing Hand Spinner Graph (I was going to use heart erasers or glass hearts, have Alyssa graph a total of 10 spins, and compare the graph spins - more, less, and same (or equal) amounts.

2.) Kissing Hand Tic Tac Toe 

3.) Kissing Hand Concentration Game

4.) Roll the Kissing Hand (Using Either Dot or the Number Die)

5.) Kissing Hand Clothespin Count (Alyssa counts the number of kissing hands and clips the correct number.  I was also going to have her match the correct number written on a clothespin (made in advance) to the answer on the card.     

Other Ideas For Unit

1.) Kissing Hand Story Bag (Retell Pieces) 

2.) Day And Night Activity Sort 

3.) Heart and Hand Painting (Counting Book)

4.) Raccoon Puppet

5.) Sorting Kissing Hands (Trace and copy family hands of different sizes: Small, medium, and large.  Place heart stickers in the palm of each hand).  Have your child sort them!

6.) Raccoon and Hand (with heart sticker) ABAB Patterning

Science

Day and Night Animals (Nocturnal Animals)

Alyssa would have sorted the nocturnal animals from the diurnal animals with mommy's help of course.  The activity was found here.  The plan was to reread the nocturnal animal reader.  We were also going to use a pocket chart to sort Alyssa's daytime and night time activities: bedtime and daily routine cards.  The activities could also be written on sentence strips or strips of paper to sort on the floor.  

Animal Tracks 

First, Alyssa would have matched the animal word to the animal picture.  Then, the animal to the their tracks.  I was going to give her Plaster of Paris to make animal tracks using her animal figurines.

Baking
Peanut Butter Kissing Hand Cookies

I REALLY wanted to make hand-shaped peanut butter cookies (filled with jelly or peanut butter filling).  We would have placed a kiss in the center right after they came out of the oven or right before removing them.  I have seen several websites where children made sugar cookies with their parents or teachers.  I wanted to make something different.    

Gross Motor and Math

The Chester Path Game

Alyssa would have rolled a die (can use spinner, numbered egg carton, number cards, or number tiles from a bag, number puzzle pieces in a bag etc.).  I would have your child or student (Chester) jump that many hands towards mama raccoon.  You could also use a raccoon doll if you didn't want your child to jump on the board.  I would laminate the game if your child will be jumping on it.  I made mine with a hand pattern from Childcareland and foam, heart stickers.  I wrote numbers on the hearts.  I saw this activity and a picture of it somewhere on a teaching website, but couldn't find it again.  I created the activity from memory.  

Raccoon Grid Game

Alyssa spinned a number spinner and counted out that number of hearts on the grid game board.  The grid game was found here.  You could also use the giant dice templates found at Prekinders for the numbers 1-3.  (scroll down).  I already own the photo stacking cubes from One Step Ahead which also work for giant dice.     

  

Kissing Hand Grid Game

Alyssa shook a numbered egg carton with a heart eraser inside.  She identified the number covered by the eraser and counted out that number of hearts (glass, foam, stickers, wooden, etc.) to place on the grid game board.  The grid game was found here.


Reading

Story Sequencing Cards

The sequencing cards were found on a Complete Collection CD I purchased from KidSparkz.  The Complete Collection CD is the best deal in my opinion if you decide to purchase anything from her website.  She also sells The Kissing Hand Literacy Activity Packet for  a lot less.  I bought this almost a year and a half ago, but Alyssa was too young for most of the activities.  I may start using several items from her CD now with particular adaptations to suite my teaching style and Alyssa's learning styles.  She does offer many FREE items here and here.  Check it out because she may have something that you could use with your child at home or for your students in the classroom.


Raccoon Action Song or Reader

(Tune: Kookuburra)

The reader was found here. This could also be a pocket chart or song book activity.


Other Ideas Planned For This Unit:

1.) Kissing Hand Story Bag (Retell Pieces: Paper or real items) 

2.) Day And Night Activity Sort (what your child does) 

3.) Heart and Hand Sponge Painting (Counting Book)

4.) Raccoon Puppet

5.) Sorting Kissing Hands (Trace and copy family hands of different sizes: Small, medium, and large.  Place heart stickers in the palm of each hand).  Have your child sort them!

6.) Raccoon and Hand (with heart sticker) ABAB Patterning

OKAY ... THIS IS WHAT WE DID DO THIS WEEK!

Noah's Ark Theme

Reading

Stories and Books Read:

On Noah's Ark written by Jan Brett

We're All in the Same Boat written by Zachary Shapiro

Mr. and Mrs. Noah written by Lois Lenski

Noah's Ark A First Little Golden Book written by Mary Packard
All Afloat on Noah's Boat written by Tony Mitton
No, No Noah written by Dandi Mackall
Noah's Ark written by Peter Spier
The Animals and the Ark written by Karla Kuskin
A Stormy Ride on Noah's Ark written by Patricia Hooper

100 Bible Stories 100 Bible Songs 100 Bible Songs pages 18-23 written by Stephen Elkins

100 Ways to Know God Loves Me by Stephen Elkins page 202-203

Note: The last two books can occasionally be found at Sam's or Ross (try Cosco too).  They should be cheaper.   

Bible 
Story: Noah's Ark
A Child's First Bible written by Kenneth Taylor (Pages 14-21)
The Bible in Pictures for Toddlers written by Ella Lindvall (10-15)
The Beginner's Bible: Timeless Children Stories written by Kelly Pulley (Pages 26-33)

Noah's Ark Mini Book

Alyssa read the Noah's Ark mini book from two websites: The second picture shows the book from the DLTK website and the first picture is of a book found at Christian Preschool Printables. 

Noah's Ark Story Sequencing

Alyssa used the sequencing cards from DLTK to retell the Noah's Ark story.

Animals on the Ark Book

This mini book was found at 1+1+1=1 under Raising Rock Stars (tot books).  Alyssa read through the book and learned several new words.  She counted each animal on the pages.  We talked about what a "pair" was again. Repetition! Repetition!  

We did a lot of singing with props this week!!!!!!!!!!

Songs and Music Heard
We did a lot of singing with props this week!!!!!!!!!!

"Holy, Holy, Holy" on the CD from 100 Ways to Know God Loves Me by Stephen Elkins (page 202-203) 

CD Songs from 100 Bible Stories and Songs: 

       "Who Built the Ark: Noah, Noah"

       "There's Gonna Be a Floodie" 

        "Going A-Z with Noah"

Songs We Sang

Oh ... Do You See the Rainbow Tune: The Muffin Man 
The rainbow prop came from Childcareland on page 3 - for fun add cotton for clouds.  This printable can also be used as a prop for your bible story kit or in any song that mentions a rainbow.   

More Noah's Ark Songs 

The words or song sheets can be found here or from DLTK:

1.) Do You See the Animals Tune: Muffin Man

Note: I added words for each animal that marched off the ark before singing the last verse.  

          Props: Noah, Noah's wife, ark, Animals (2 each), ramp (piece  
          of card board), and a tree 

2.) The Ark Rocks Tune: The Farmer in the Dell 
          Props: Ark, water bottle (mist level), and air (from mouth 
         when blowing)


3.) The Animals March Tune: The Ants Go Marching
          Props: Two of each animal you use, ark, and rain (clear 
          marbles) or mist bottle 


4.) Noah's Tools Tune: The Wheels on the Bus
          Props: A play hammer, screwdriver, and a saw

5.) Noah's Ark Song Tune: Old MacDonald Had a Farm
          Props: Noah, Ark, 2 of each animal


6.) Noah's Ark Song Tune: The Ants Go Marching
          Props: Noah, bad guy figurines, ark, animals, rain or 
          raindrops (water bottle, clear marbles, cut blue, foam hearts 
          in half, sun, number 40 tile, and a rainbow.  

7.) A Promise Tune: Did You Ever See a Lassie
          Prop: Rainbow from Childcareland (glue on cotton clouds) 
         I used a clothespin to hold it up because I haven't had much  
        luck with velcro and popsicle sticks or paint sticks.  

The Singing Bible
"Noah Build a Boat" Act 1 - Side A

Sign Language

ASL "N" for Noah (See Alphabet Carpet Signing At Bottom)

Rainbow (Born 2 Sign)


Notes: You could also teach animal names, rainbow colors, dove or bird, water, dry land, ark or big boat, or the number two in sign language for this unit.  I will teach her some of these next week!   


Alyssa has learned the following letters in a short amount of time: A through J, L, O, Q, R, V, and W.


I found a neat book at our local library titled, Hand Signs: A Sign Language Alphabet written by Kathleen Fain.  My daughter seems to like it ... of course she has been VERY interested in sign language lately.    


We use these websites often for learning sign language:
Starfall (It is a great website for learning ABC's and reading too)

Born 2 Sign

Construction Play

Ark Building

Alyssa built an ark with legos and put two cows inside.  She came running into the kitchen singing Noah, Noah.  She grabbed my hand saying ark, ark ... so I went with her and was very pleased with what she had accomplished on her own.  I showed her how to make the ark taller and wider (of course we made it to tall and it fell apart).  She was also singing Rain, Rain Go Away (motioning rain coming down).  YAH!  I think she likes the theme for the week.

Science

Sink and Float 

I used painter's tape and sink and float labels (an envelope cut in half) on the floor to create a T-chart.  Alyssa and I went around the house choosing items to test.  Alyssa placed items in the tub one at a time (GENTLY) to see if it would float or sink.  Then, she took the items out, dried them, and placed it under the correct label.  We counted and compared the number of items that floated and sunk several times throughout the activity.  The last picture shows ALL of the objects we used to test.  We will probably do this type of activity again.  She didn't start to understand the concept until towards the end ... at times she would guess.      

Rainbow Bubbles

I blew bubbles for her to catch and pop.  We looked at a bubble up close.  She saw rainbow colors and we discussed how and why a rainbow was present.  This was her reaction when we had to stop blowing and take a nap.  Keep in mind she's still feeling a little sick.  She was upset with the bubbles too because it was a windy day and she couldn't catch them. Poor girl!  I can't wait until she's feeling better.  I tried NOT doing any tot school, but I think she's addicted like her mama.      

Rainbow Milk

I placed several drops of red, blue, and yellow food coloring close to each other (but NOT touching) in the center of a pie pan full of milk.  I gave Alyssa some dish soap to drop in the center of the colors.  Then, she was given a toothpick to gently swirl the colors.  The second time we did this activity she saw the letter X (see the last pic).  This experiment was first seen at Early Learning at Home.  She got really excited when she made the colors orange,  green, and purple.

Math

Noah's Ark Matching (Pairs of Animals)

I laminated an animal matching sheet found at Kid's Sunday School Place and gave her wikki sticks.  Her job was to match the animals on the left side to the same one on the right side using wikki sticks.  I think that she would have enjoyed this activity if she liked wikki sticks.  She kept saying, "STICKY!" We ended up using cut pipe cleaners.  You could also try string, yarn, or Playdoh snakes, thin licorice, etc).

Skip Counting Arks

I counted by two's aloud while placing the numbered arks in numerical order.  Alyssa counted the ark windows (cards randomly chosen) and matched the card to the number.  Then, she counted out rain drop marbles for each ark window (counting out loud). 

All Mixed Up on Noah's Ark!
A Matching Activity

First, we talked about what a "pair" was and we counted how many animals were in each pair (matched in advance).  Then, I accidentally mixed them up and tossed the animals in an ark (bath tub boat).  I used a bunch of animal and insect counters.  
Later that day ........ I told Alyssa that they were all mixed up and needed to find their partner.  I asked Alyssa if she would help match the male to the female animals.  Alyssa placed the matching animals in ice cube tray compartments by two's.  She told them good night and blew them kisses each time she placed them in the ice cube tray.  

Two by Two Patterns

Alyssa counted out rainbow colored cm cubes in sets of two.  
First, she placed each pair or set in a compartment of an ice cube tray.  They were placed in the tray using a rainbow colored pattern.  I started with red and then asked her what color comes next.  I guess she remembered the pattern after all the activities we did because she was correct each time.  Then, I had her match the pattern counting sets of two again.  
After the pattern was complete, I tried to trick her by taking one colored cube out at a time.  I would ask her, "Is that a PAIR" or "Do you have a PAIR of reds, greens, etc."   She would respond with a yes or no.  If it was NOT a pair then I would ask her how I could make a pair.  She added another cube.  We also counted by the number of cubes (colors) in each compartment saying "1, 2 - that's a pair of ____!"  I also clipped the song rainbow prop to the ice cube tray just for fun. 

Body Pairs     

I didn't get a picture of this activity because I was sitting down with her doing it and I didn't want to ruin the moment since it was a spontaneous activity.  We discussed which body parts were in sets of two (pairs).  First, I pointed to my eyes and said, "I have a pair of eyes - Do you?"  Alyssa said, "Yes ... 1 eye 2 eye."  Alyssa would also give me examples on her own.  We talked about all the body parts I could think of including eye brows, nostrils, wrists, etc.  We did this activity again later that week "I have a pair of ___ ... You have a pair of ___."

   

Rainbow Gem Patterns

I made a rainbow pattern in the first row of an egg carton container.  Alyssa matched the pattern twice while saying the colors aloud.    

Noah's Animal File Folder Game

First, we used the animals from a file folder game found at Christian Preschool Printables to play Noah's Animal Concentration instead of creating a file folder.  Alyssa matched female and male animals (pairs).  Then, we used the printables as intended as a matching game in her lapbook.  The animal cards could also be used for oversized dice, game cards for board games, odd ball out games, etc.

Noah's Ark 2 by 2 Memory Game

Okay ... I have to admit I remembered seeing this game at Ross for $4.99 while we played the concentration game above.  So, I bought it the next day and figured we could use it for a couple years during our game night.  We used 6-8 pairs at a time.  I placed painter's tape on the floor so that I could put three to four animals face down on the top row and three to four on the bottom row.  This seemed to help Alyssa remember where the pieces were located.  

We also used the tape to create a graph.  We graphed our pairs (counting the number of animals in a pair each time).  Then, we counted our pairs.  We talked about who had more or less pairs.  We never had the same amount (probably because mommy acted like she couldn't find the pairs most of the time).  I probably should have taken a break after playing the game and gone back to the graphing activity at a later time.    

Noah's Ark Counting

She counted each item as she placed the cards in numerical order. I found the printable here.

Colors

Color Matching and Sorting

This was a review activity for my daughter, but I felt like it would fit in well with the theme.  Alyssa was given colored circles in the order of the rainbow (ROYGBP (IV)).  She was given the color words in black ink and in the appropriate colors.  She was also given color strips and colored items.  First, she matched the color strip to the color circle.  Next, she matched the color word written in color to the color circle.  Then, she matched the color word in black print to the color circle.  Finally, she sorted items by color in the appropriate colored circles.  I found this activity here.  They have other task ideas and freebies available on their website.     

Fine Motor

Stringing Rainbow Colored Straw Necklace

Alyssa strung cut colored straw pieces onto a string in a rainbow pattern (three to four times).  I helped her by prompting her with the question "What color comes next?  Check the pattern so far."  She did better than I thought she would with this activity, but it was definitely too hard for her to do independently.  She did like wearing the necklace when he finished the activity.  She told me the color pattern as she wore it!  

Rainbow Tile Slit

I gave her a container full of rainbow colored one inch tiles from the Oriental Trading company.  She pushed them through a skinny slit in a snack cup.  

Art 

Fruit Loop Rainbow

We found the rainbow printable at Making Learning Fun.  Alyssa placed Fruit Loops on the sheet according to the color indicated.  I got her started by placing one of each color in the appropriate spot.  At first this seemed too hard, but I think it was because she was distracted by Dora (on TV).  She finished it easily after I turned the television off.  You could also use this one instead.   

Snack

Banana Boats

This idea was found at Hubbard's Cupboard Unit 4.  I added in the pretzel sticks and cut the banana in half since Alyssa won't usually eat them.  First, Alyssa made a Mr. and Mrs. Noah out of pretzel sticks and mini marshmallows.  Then, she played with them and had them talking to each other about the ark.  She put Mr. and Mrs. Noah and the animals on the ark (banana).  She begged to eat it when she finished making it.  This is so funny because she won't usually eat bananas for me unless I do something SPECIAL to them.  

Reading

This bible verse was found at 1+1+1=1

1.) I will obey your word. Psalm 119:17
     Alyssa likes to match the word cards to the words on the poster  
     (even though they don't fit exactly).  I also read the verse aloud 
     and she finds the word and places it in the correct order.  

2.) Noah Did Everything God Commanded Him To Do. Genesis 7:5
     You can find an accordion book at Carisa's Tot School.  I   
     laminated mine and connected the pieces with velcro, but I 
     haven't figured out a way to store it yet.  The accordion fold 
     does not work well since I laminated and attached velcro.  I will   
     probably make a pocket for it and place it in her lap book next  
     week.

                         

Bible Verse Memorization Tiles

"God Will Keep His Promise" Genesis 9:8-17  
I wrote the bible verse words (using permanent marker) on six 1" rainbow-colored tiles (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple).  The last can have the scripture reference written on it.  First, I created a rainbow pattern with cm cubes for Alyssa to match.  Alyssa said the pattern aloud and matched it using the bible verse tiles.  Then, I read the bible verse to her.  We read it together and finally she read it by herself.  We counted the number of words in the scripture and we reviewed the colors.  This activity will help with word counting, color recognition, pattern matching, word order, and bible memorization.  I will most likely do an activity like this again using different patterns, manipulatives, and verses. 

Rainbow Match

I cut and laminated the rainbow found at Childcareland.  I placed two circular magnets at the top so that it could be used on a magnetic board.  Alyssa used magnetic letters to match uppercase letters to lowercase letters instead of the letters provided.

Nursery Rhymes 

We read or sang three rhymes this week.  We will hopefully do more with the rhymes next week.  The sheets for the first two rhymes were found at Prekinders: 

1.) Rub a Dub Dub
2.) Rain, Rain Go Away (Sorry the picture is blurry!)

3.) Row, Row, Row Your Boat
Alyssa and I sang two versions of this song.  We sang it once with the word gently and another time replacing the word gently with roughly.  She acted out each version of the song as if she were on a gentle or rough boat.  Sorry, we forgot to put her pants back on after her diaper change!!!  

Boat Spelling Puzzle

I gave Alyssa letter puzzle pieces and the "boat" board.  She used the correct letters to spell the word boat.  My thinking behind this activity was that an "ark" was a big boat.  I asked Alyssa what and ark was a couple hours later and she told me "a big boat."  

Letter B

First, Alyssa colored the letter "B" with blue, black, and brown crayons.  Then, she traced the letter with her pointer finger.  Finally, she covered it with Bandaids (she kept tearing them in half.  The letter B template and idea was found in a book titled, Little Hands to Heaven by Carrie Austin.   

Bible Story Time Object Kits or Interactive Stories

You can create an interactive bible page to be placed in a binder for your children or create retelling story kits.  The ideas were found at Early Learning at Home: Scroll down to Interactive Bible Stories AND Story Time Kits to see how she set up examples for a Noah's Ark unit.  
Alyssa REALLY enjoyed playing with her story kit.  I bought a Noah figurine from the dollar store several months ago.  We used black gloves rolled up for clouds, yellow bent pipe cleaner for lightening, frosting spreader for hammer, Noah figurine, other plastic Fisher Price people (family), animal figurines (Oriental Trading) and insect counters, bathtub boat, blue felt, rainbow prop, and clear, flat marbles for raindrops. 
*I still need to add a dove and a green plastic leaf to the kit.  


Kit Changes and Additions: We now use crumpled, black napkins for the clouds, a princess figurine for Noah's wife, figurines from her Nativity set for his sons, a tree to represent dry land, and I recently purchased a tool kit that included a hammer and saw.  

Note: The website owner also has a milk carton boat that could be used as a craft for this unit.  

Game

Sight Word FLOOD!

I have seen similar games when I taught 2nd grade called Bang or Crash!  This inspired me to create my own themed version using a preschool or kindergarten sight word list for Alyssa.  

1.) I printed colored ark name tags from DLTK and zoomed the image to 115% on my copy machine (printer MP 610).  I printed five copies in color on white card stock.  If I had brown paper at the house I would have used the black and white template.
2.)  I printed black and white raindrop pattern (page 1) from Childcareland and reduced the image size to 90%.  I printed five copies on blue copy paper to save on color ink.
3.) Write sight words on four of the rain drop pages (18 rain drops total) and the word FLOOD on one rain drop page (six raindrops).  Glue the rain drops to the back of the arks.  I used a Dot-n-Roller until I ran out of adhesive, then I used the Xyron.  Laminate (Xyron 900) and cut out the ark patterns for game.  
4.) Place all arks in a boat or some sort of container.
5.) Alyssa and I took turns drawing and reading sight words.  Whoever drew and read the word FLOOD had to place all of their arks back in the boat or container.  We played until all arks are gone except FLOOD cards or until Alyssa didn't want to play anymore.  
Notes:
1.) For younger children only use two or three FLOOD cards.    
2.) When you pick up a FLOOD card - make it a big deal ("Oh No!  I have to put all of my cards back!)
Note About a More Simplified Version: Choose template (raindrop or the ark) and write sight words on most of them and the word Flood on a few of them.  Place in container and play.  Use any sight word list you want or have access to.  Here are four helpful sight word, fry, or dolch list websites: The School Bell, Mrs. Perkins,   Gemini, and Kidzone.      

No Theme

Stacking Shapes

Alyssa stacked five different shapes on a board.  The first picture shows her sorting and stacking two different shapes at the SAME time!  Just in case you are interested in this toy ... I bought this game for her at Ross maybe a year ago, but I just saw it at our store the other day.

Domino Parking Lot 

Alyssa counted the dots on dominoes and matched them to the correct parking spot on the game board.  She did well until she got to the number eight and then she started rushing (counting too fast).  So, I counted with her SLOWLY and she told me where to place the domino.  The printable was found here and recommended by Confessions of a Homeschooler.    

Swinging Outside

Leapfrog Word Whammer

Landa Park in New Braunfels, Texas

We all went to Landa Park because it was a beautiful day.  We rode the train, climbed, ran, and played on the slide.  She ran around the park saying "Mommy, Daddy can't catch me ... I'm the gingerbread girl!" LOL!!!

Alphabet Carpet

After I did a few house chores ... I was walking to the kitchen and found this.  Apparently during free play Alyssa used her carpet and Leapfrog letters together.  She placed a ball on the letter "B" too.  I LOVE finding these little surprises around the house.   

Alphabet Carpet Sign Language

This activity was NOT planned, but I think Alyssa liked it!  Alyssa jumped on and signed the letters of the alphabet (at least the ones she knew).  Mommy's suggestion to her: If she didn't know the sign for a particular letter, then she could look it up in her library book so that she could try it again!  She is signing the letter "F" in the picture.  

My Plans 
Continue Noah's Ark theme next week along with a St. Patrick's day theme including rainbows, shamrocks, etc. This will probably be the themes I use until Easter. 


Please visit Carisa's Tot School blog and Jolanthe's Preschool Corner blog for more ideas.

Tracey