Materials

• Globe
• Pieces of cardboard 4×8 inches, one per child
• Hole puncher
• Many pieces of yarn about 4-5 inches long
• Dice, one with dots for numbers and one with numbers 1-6 written upon it
• (If you have one inch cubes, these can easily be turned into dice)

Vocabulary

• Flying Carpet (a magic carpet, small rug that flies in the air)
• Tassels (the edging of the flying carpet)
• Fierce (ferocious and wild looking)
• Spiraled (swirled)
• Market (a shop or store)

Introducing the Story

Bring out the globe and ask the children if they know what it is. Explain that a globe is a map of the world. Ask them why they think it is round instead of flat like most maps. Explain to the children that the world is really round like a ball and so the globe is round like a ball to show where things are. Now open the front cover of the book and show the children the map inside. Explain that mapmakers make maps flat so they can be folded up and taken with. Show the children the flat map and about the proximity where your school is located. Then find the approximate spot on the globe. These are both ‘here, where we are’ just looking at it from two different points of view. Use your finger and follow the map on the front cover while saying this is where Granny went on trip around the world.

Social & Emotional Development/Knowledge of Families & Communities; begins to express and understand concepts and language of geography in the contexts of classroom, home, and community.

Reading the Story

As you begin to read the story, start in North America and move your finger across the globe to each of Granny’s destinations. On the page where Granny goes to Istanbul, show the children the tassels on the end of her flying carpet. Ask the children if they think a flying carpet is real. Ask them how they think people really travel long distances. (plane, boat, train, car). Turn to the next page and explain to the children in this story we have to use our imagination as Granny flies on her carpet from one place to another. On each page hold up the number of fingers that states the number of objects that Granny bought. After the page with 4 lanterns, ask the children if they can guess how many items Granny will buy at the next destination. (The story goes up 1-10 items).

Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to associate number concepts, vocabulary, quantities, and written numerals in meaningful ways. AND Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; shows growing interest and involvement in listening to and discussing a variety of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry.

After Reading the Story

After reading the story, ask the children if they can remember some of the items that Granny bought along her way. If they children cannot recall, go through the pages and let them see the pictures to help them remember what Granny bought in each country. As you finish up with the story, ask the children if they can remember which state they live in. Go back to the globe and find your state, then tell the children that it is in North America. Have the children repeat back to you, the name of your state and North America.

Social & Emotional/Knowledge of Families and Community; begins to express and understand concepts and language of geography in contexts of the classroom, home, and community. AND Literacy/Book KNowledge & Appreciation; demonstrates progress in abilities to retell and dictate stories from books and experiences; to act out stories in dramatic play; and to predict what will happen next in a story.

Music and Movement

Count to ten and back again. Have the children crouch down and together slowly count to ten. As you count hold up the correct number of fingers and begin to stand up slowly. You should reach 10 in a fully stood up position with hands over head. Now have them count back down slowly lowering their bodies into a crouching position and holding up the correct number of fingers. (My children liked to get to zero and yell, “Blast off!” and jump up).

Mathematics/Numbers & Operations; develops increasing ability to count in sequence to 10 and beyond.

Put on a variety of music from different countries and let the children explore moving and dancing to each. For example; put on the Mexican Hat Dance music from Mexico and teach the children the dance (All stand in a large circle. Tap your heels in beat with the music-left foot right foot, left. Right foot, left foot, right. Left foot, right foot, left. Right foot, left foot, right. Skip round and round the circle, skip round and round some more. Skip round and round the circle, then begin the tap once more).

Creative Arts/Movement; expresses through movement and dancing what is felt and heard in various musical tempos and styles

Today would be a fun day to let the children experiment with instruments during free play time. If you have any bell type instruments, you can put them out and remind the children that Granny bought 5 bells in Switzerland.

Creative Arts/Music; experiments with a variety of musical instruments.

Discovery

Show the children how to fold a simple paper airplane and let them practice flying them. https://www.diynetwork.com/made-and-remade/learn-it/5-basic-paper-airplanes

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; shows progress in understanding and following simple and multi-step directions. AND Physical Health & Development/Gross Motor Skills; demonstrates increasing abilities to coordinate movements in throwing, catching, kicking, bouncing balls, and using a slide and swing.

Blocks

Add any type of play material that the children can sort into like kinds (animals, small cars, colored cubes, etc.) Encourage them to build fences around the like kinds, or structures to house the like kinds.

Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; shows growth in matching, sorting, putting in a series, and regrouping objects according to one or two attributes such as color, shape, or size.

Art

Make flying carpets today. Ahead of time, punch holes along the 4-inch edge of the pieces of cardboard. Let the children use markers to decorate their carpet. Show them how to thread a piece of yarn through one of the holes and tie it off with a knot. These will become the tassels. You may want to trim the tassels down when the children are through making their carpet.

Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; grows in eye-hand coordination in building with blocks, putting together puzzles, reproducing shapes and patterns, stringing beads and using scissors.

Sand and Water

Granny flew over the ocean. Put out water play today and add float and sink items.

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; begins to participate in simple investigations to test observations, discuss and draw conclusions, and form generalizations. 

Library and Writing

Ask the children if they have ever been to the market with their Granny or their parent. Talk about the kinds of things that they purchased when they went to the market. Encourage them to draw a picture of what they purchased and you write their dictation about their market experience on another piece of paper and then attach to their illustration.

Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; demonstrates progress in abilities to retell and dictate stories from books and experiences; to act out stories in dramatic play; and to predict what will happen next n a story.

This can easily be turned into a classroom book entitled; We Went to Market, a Classroom counting book. Have children draw a specific number of items that they purchased at the market (Roger bought 1 box of cereal, Alison bought 2 hair bows, Ryan bought 3 match box cars, etc.)

Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to use one-to-one correspondence in counting objects and matching groups.

Dramatic Play

Travel play. Bring in any small suitcases or bags that the children can use to pack their things. Ask them which mode of transportation they are pretending to travel by. Help them to assemble what they need to make it (bring in extra chairs for seating in a plane or train, add a paper plate for a steering wheel, or let them use a beach towel if they want to travel by flying carpet.

Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; demonstrates progress in abilities to retell and dictate stories from books and experiences; to act out stories in dramatic play; and to predict what will happen next n a story.

Math and Manipulaties

Put out any kind of memory game that you have. If you do not have a memory game, you can use a deck of cards. Pull out a pair of the number cards 1-10. Turn the cards upside down on the table. The children take turns picking up two cards. If they are the same number, they get to keep the pair and go again. If they are not the same number, they turn the cards back over on the table and it is the next child’s turn. Play until all the pairs are found. Let the children count their cards to see who has the most.

Mathematics/Number Operations; begins to associate number concepts, vocabulary, quantities and written numerals in meaningful ways. Mathematics/Number Operations; begins to use language to compare numbers of objects with terms such as more, less, greater than, fewer, equal to.

Put out any type of seriating toy that you have in your classroom (nesting dolls, small to large counting bears, large to small stacking toys, puzzles)

Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; shows growth in matching, sorting, putting in a series, and regrouping objects according to one or two attributes such a color, shape, or size.

Outdoor Play

Youtube shows how to make several simple boomerangs from both cardboard and paper. You will have to make these ahead of time as they will be difficult for the children to make. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0A_Lwr7a9s

Show the children how to flip a hula-hoop so that it comes back to you, just like a boomerang!

Physical health & Development/demonstrates increasing abilities to coordinate movements in throwing, catching, kicking, bouncing balls, and using a slide and swing.

Transitions

Have the children take turns rolling the dice (dots for younger children, actual numbers for older children). If using dots, let the child count the dots and then go to the next activity. If using numbers, let the child state the number and then everybody can count to that number out loud. For more of a challenge, teach the children how to count in another language.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to associate number concepts, vocabulary, quantities, and written numerals in meaningful ways.

Dear Parents, today we read a book about a Granny who went to market and bought many different things. Next time you go to the grocery store, take your child and let them count out 10 apples, 2 boxes of cereal, or 1 treat. Help them to practice counting objects in your home and out and about the neighborhood.