Just You and Me, by Sam McBratney

The rain is coming and Little Goose and Gander Goose must find a place to hide. Along the way they meet several woodland animals who are willing to share their space. But Little Goose wants to be alone with Gander Goose. What will happen when the storm comes?

Materials

Umbrella shape
Empty plastic food containers with holes punched in them.
Food coloring
Bag of Cotton balls
Eye droppers
Many white coffee filters

Vocabulary

Gosling ( a baby goose)
Gander (A father goose)
Ditch (a drain for water on the side of the road or path)

Before Reading the Story

Ask the children if they have ever been outside when a storm is approaching. How could they tell it was going to rain? Talk about storm safety and how it is important to get indoors when they hear the thunder. Tell the children that the story today is about a little goose and his father who must find a place to get out of the storm.

Science/Science Knowledge; expands knowledge of and abilities to observe, describe, and discuss the natural world, materials, living things, and natural processes. AND Physical Health & development/Health Status & Practices; builds awareness and ability to follow basic health and safety rules such as fire safety, traffic and pedestrian safety, and responding appropriately to potentially harmful objects, substances, and activities.

Reading the Story

When Little Goosey tells Gander Goose that he wants to be alone, just you and me, ask the children why they think that is? Each time you get to the line “Just you and me” have the children repeat it with you.

Approaches to Learning/reasoning & Problem Solving; grows in recognizing and solving problems through active exploration, including trial and error, and interactions and discussions with peers and adults. AND Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; shows growing interest and involvement in listening to and discussing a variety of fiction and non-fiction, and poetry.

After Reading the Story

Ask the children if they were out in the woods where they would go to get out of a storm? Pretend to be forest animals (ask the children what kind of animal they want to be) and all go and look for places in the room to hide (under the tables). When the storm is over come back to the carpet area.

Creative Arts/ Dramatic PLay; shows growing creativity and imagination in using materials and in assuming different roles in dramatic play situations.

Discovery

Fill a bowl up with colored water. Have the children drop a cotton ball into the water. What happens? Tell them that clouds soak up the water from lakes and river. Ask the child to squeeze the water out of the cotton ball back into the bowl. Explain that when a cloud gets too heavy with water, then it makes rain (or snow). Let the children experiment making rain clouds and then squeezing them to produce rain. Challenge the children to pick up the cotton balls using tongs or tweezers to work their fine motor muscles.

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

Music and Movement

Sing Rain, Rain, Go Away https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twabSyJmppI

Rain, rain go away

Come again another day

We want to go out and play.

Creative Arts/Music; participates with increasing interest and enjoyment in a variety of music activities, including listening, singing, finger plays, games and performances.

Make a rain storm with the children

Drip, drop, drip, drop…rain,rain,rain Tap fingers on legs

Pitter,patter,pitter,patter…rain,rain,rain Tap hands on legs

Downpour, downpour…rain,rain,rain Slap hands on legs

Thunder,thunder…rain,rain,rain Clap hands together

Downpour, downpour…rain,rain,rain Slap hands on legs

Pitter patter, pitter patter…rain,rain,rain Tap hands on legs

Drip drop, drip drop…rain, rain, rain Tap fingers on legs

Out comes the sun…ah,ah,ah Hands over head in circle, smile

Creative Arts/Music; participates with increasing interest and enjoyment in a variety of music activities, including listening, singing, finger plays, games and performances.

Blocks

ASk the children if they can make a shelter from the rain for the play people or animals? Make sure you add a sturdy roof.

Approaches to Learning/Initiative & Curiosity; approaches tasks and activities with increased flexibility, imagination, and inventiveness.

Art

Give the children umbrella shapes to decorate. After it is dry, glue it to a piece of paper and have the children draw a self portrait under the umbrella. Write their rain poem underneath (see Library and Writing).

Creative Arts/ Art; progresses in abilities to create drawings, paintings, models, and other art creations that are more detailed, creative, or realistic. AND Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; progresses in abilities to use writing, drawing , and art tools, including pencils, markers, chalk,paint brushes, and various types of technology.

Sand and Water

Use a nail to make holes into empty plastic food containers. Put a few holes in some and many in others. The children can fill them up with water and make rain.

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; develops increased ability to observe and discuss common properties, differences and comparisons among objects and materials.

Library and Writing

Recite to the children the poem Rain.

Rain on the roof tops,

And rain on the trees.

Rain on the green grass,

But not on me!

Have the children write their own version by changing the bolded words to their own. (Rain on the cat, rain on my Dad, rain on the car, but not on me!)

Literacy/Early Writing; begins to represent stories and experiences through pictures, dictation, and in play.

Dramatic Play

Put slickers and boots into the center so the children can play rainy day. Remind them again about being safe during a thunderstorm.

Science/Scientific Knowledge; expand knowledge of and respect for their bodies and the environment.

Math and Manipulatives

Make a class collage. Make a large rainbow on a piece of poster board with crayons. Give the children long pieces of paper (1inch by 10 inches) in colors that correspond to your rainbow. Have the children make snips with the paper and then glue the snips onto the rainbow. Practice “Not a lot, just a drop” as they glue the paper snips to the rainbow.

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. AND Physical Health & development/Fine Motor Skills; develops growing strength, dexterity, snd control needed to use tools such as scissors, paper punch, stapler, and hammer.

Outdoor Play

Let the children dig a hole and add water. Mud play after a rain!

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; begins to use senses and a variety of tools and simple measuring devices to gather information, investigate materials, and observe processes and relationships.

Transitions

Encourage the children to waddle like a goose as they go to the next activity.

Creative Arts/ Dramatic PLay; shows growing creativity and imagination in using materials and in assuming different roles in dramatic play situations.

Resources

Katy No-Pocket, by Emmy Payne

Kangaroos carry their young in front pockets on their bodies. What is to become of Katy’s son Freddy when she has no way to carry him?

Materials

Pocket chart or hanging shoe holder.
Animals from the story and several others that begin with the same letter
Picture of a kangaroo with a pocket and a baby
Pocket shape
Several long scarves

Vocabulary

Awfully (extremely) really big hops
Enormous (another word for really big)
Cross (angry or crabby)
Carpenter (a person who uses tools to build houses and things of wood)

Before Reading the Story

Hold up the picture of the kangaroo and ask the children if they know what kind of an animal this is? Ask them if they can see the baby kangaroo? Explain that the mother kangaroo has a special pocket in her stomach to carry the baby kangaroo. Read the title of the book. Ask the children what they can guess what the problem is in the story (the mother has no way to carry her baby). Ask them if they can think of a way to help the mother kangaroo to carry her baby. Have the children look at their clothing and count the number of pockets that they are wearing. Show the children the front of the book and re-read the title and begin.

Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; demonstrates progress in abilities to retell and dictate stories from books and experiences; to act out stories in dramatic play; amnd to predict what will happen next in a story. AND Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins toi use one-to-one correspondence is counting objects and matching groups of objects.

Reading the Story

As you read, pay attention to the different feelings that the animals are experiencing. Let the children talk about them.

Language Development/Speaking & Understanding; develops increaing abilities to understand and use language to communicate information, experiences, ideas, feelings, opinions, needs, questions; and for other varied purposes.

After Reading the Story

Use the pocket chart and put an animal into each pocket. Ask the children if they can guess which animal is hiding in each pocket by listening to you make the sounds. Sss-nake/snake, cro-co-d-ile/crocodile. As the children guess the animals, pull them out of the pockets so they can see them.

Literacy/Phonological Awareness; shows growing ability to hear and discrimainate separate syllables in words.

Discovery

Bring in pictures or books of real animal adults and babies for the children to look at, compare, and discuss. Do the babies look like the adults?

Science/Scientific Knowledge; expands knowledge of and abilities to observe, describe, and discuss the natural world, materials, living things, and natural processes.

Music and Movement

Finger play, Kangaroo.

Jump, jump, jump goes the Kangaroo

(jump fist up and down)

I thought there was one, but now I see two

( Hold up one finger, then two fingers)

The mother takes her baby along in a pouch

(put thumb inside palm of other hand)

Where he can nap like a baby on a couch.

(open palm and lay thumb across)

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; demonstrates increasing ability to attend to and understand conversations, stories, songs, and poems.

Sing, I’ve Got Something in My Pocket. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkO7UKUBXUY

I’ve got something in my pocket,

That belongs across my face.

I keep it very close at hand

In this most convenient place.

I’m sure you will not guess it

If you guess a long, long while

So I’ll take it out and put it on,

It’s a great big happy smile!

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; demonstrates increasing ability to attend to and understand conversations, stories, songs, and poems.

Blocks

In the story the carpenter who helped Katy carried many tools. Add a carpenters apron or tool belt and tools for the children to build.

Creative Arts/ Dramatic PLay; participates in a variety of dramatic play activities that become more extended and complex.

Art

Give each child a pocket shape that they can cut out and decorate. They can then cut out pictures from magazines and put them in their pockets. (My children like to cut out pictures from toy magazines).

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

Library and Writing

Color and cut out the animals from the story. On the pocket chart attach the letters that correspond. (L,T,C,B for lion, turtle, crocodile, and bird). Have the children match the animal to the correct letter/letter sound.

Literacy/Phonological Awareness; shows growing awareness of beginning and ending sounds of words. AND Literacy/Alphabet Knowledge; increases in ability to notice the beginning letters in familiar words.

Sand and Water

Dramatic Play

Add several aprons with pockets. (Ask your local home improvement store for donations) Or… Explain to the children that many mothers use or make baby carriers to help hold their babies. Show the children how to take a large scarf and turn it into a carrier for their baby dolls.

Approaches to Learning/Initiative & Curiosity; chooses to participate in a variety of tasks and activities.

Math and Manipulatives

Copy the kangaroo picture onto a manila file and punch holes all around to make a lacing board.

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

Outdoor Play

Explain to the children that kangaroos are really good jumpers and can jump over 10 feet in one jump. Let the children pretend to be kangaroos and measure their jumping abilities. Measure and record, standing broad jumps and running long jumps.

Mathematics/Pattern & Measurements; shows progress in using stand and non-standard measures for length and area of objects. AND Physical Health & Development/Gross Motor Skills; shows increasing levels of proficiency, control, and balance in walking, climbing, running, jumping, hopping, skipping, marching, and galloping.

Transitions

As the children go off to the next activity ask them to name something that could fit in their pocket or as the teacher ask them if something could fit in their pocket. (Could a tree fit in your pocket? Could a penny fit in your pocket? Could an apple fit in your pocket?)

Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; begins to make comparisons between several objects based on a single attribute. AND Language Development/Listening & Understanding; demonstrates increasing ability to attend to and understand conversations, stories, songs, and poems.

Jump, Frog, Jump! by Robert Kalan

This is a build upon story. Older children will be able to follow along with the verse. In this story the frog is pursued by many predators who would like to eat him for lunch. How will he ever stay safe?

Materials

Flannel pieces/fly, fish, jumping frog, snake, turtle, basket, boy
Frogs numbered 1-10
Jump frog jump path/maze page
Frog cycle cards
Cornstarch packing noodles (ask your director to save all packing noodles that come with children’s materials and check to see if they are cornstarch based.
Small aquarium net or other small net like tool.
Tiddlywinks or poker chips

Vocabulary

Carnivore (one who eats meat or animals)

Before Reading the Story

Hold up a picture of a pond and ask the children if anyone knows what this is? Ask the children if any of them have ever been to visit a pond? Allow the children to share their pond experiences. What did you see at the pond? Did you hear any animal sounds? Tell them that your story today takes place at a pond. Introduce the story.

Science/Scientific Knowledge; expands knowledge of and abilities to observe, describe, and discuss the natural world, materials, living things, and natural processes.

Reading the Story

As you read, put up the flannel board pieces so the children can recall the chorus lines of this story.

Literacy/Early Writing; develops understanding that writing is a way of communicating for a variety of purposes. AND Language Development/Listening & Understanding; demonstrates increasing ability to attend to and understand conversations, stories, songs, and poems.

After Reading the Story

Talk about the sequence of events. Why were the fish, the snake, and turtle chasing the frog? (They wanted to eat him). Tell the children that the fish, the snake, and the turtle were all carnivores because carnivores eat meat or animals. Ask them who else in the story was a carnivore? (the frog, he wanted to eat the fly. And the boys are carnivores too although I doubt they wanted to eat the frog).

Science/Scientific Knowledge; expands knowledge of and abilities to observe, describe, and discuss the natural world, materials, living things, and natural processes.

Discovery

Bring in pictures of real frogs. Talk about the frog’s appearance. ( frogs have smooth skin, frogs have strong back legs so they can jump, A frog has big eyes that sit on top of his head, frogs have webbed feet to help them be better swimmers, frogs must live near water, a frog has a long sticky tongue to catch insects for lunch).

Science/Scientific Knowledge; expands knowledge of and abilities to observe, describe, and discuss the natural world, materials, living things, and natural processes.

Make the frog cycle cards and encourage the children to put them into proper order.

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; develops growing abilities to collect, describe, and record information through a variety of means, including discussion, drawings, maps, and charts.

Music and Movement

Sing Mmm-ahh Went the Little Green Frog https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwU3beZ9kcw

Mmm-ahhh went the little green frog one day

Mmm-ahh went the little green frog.

Mmm-ahh went the little green frog one day

And they all went went Mmm-ahh.

Language development/Speaking & Understanding; progresses in clarity of pronunciation and towards speaking in sentences of increasing length and grammatical complexity.

Make about 10 of the large frogs. Number them 1-10 and tape them to the floor touching front to back. Make a lily pad by cutting out a circle and tape it to the floor in front of the number one frog. Show the children how to do a standing long jump. Let them see how far they can jump on the frog measuring tape. Record their scores.

Mathematics/Patterns & measurement; shows progress in using standard and non-standard measures for length and area of objects.

Blocks

Ask the children to make a simple pond using the blocks. Then show them how to play tiddlywinks and flip the tiddlywink/chip into the pond. This takes practice to get the correct amount of pressure to fli[ the tiddlywink. (Put one tiddlywink/poker chip flat on the ground. Use the other to put pressure on the edge of the flattened one and pull back gently causing the flattened tiddlywink/poker chip to flip, hopefully into the pond.

Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; develops growing strength, dexterity, and control needed to use tools such as scissors, paper punch, stapler, and hammer. AND Approaches to Learning/Engagement & Persistence; grows in abilities to persist in and complete a variety of tasks, activities, projects, and experiences.

Art

Show the children the cover of the book and how the turtle is hiding within the pond grass. Bring in cornstarch based packing noodles for the children to make 3 dimensional pond grass. Put out a bowl with a little water in it. Show the children how to dip the end of the noodle into the water (because it is a cornstarch base it will dissolve and the noodles will stick together). Show the children how to dip and stick their noodles together to make a 3 dimensional shape. When they are finished, let them dribble green paint over and it can be pond grass.

Creative Arts/Art; gains ability using different art media and materials in a variety if ways for creative expression and representation.

Give the children long thin pieces of paper that are cut out to resemble snakes. Let them use markers to decorate the snake. Encourage them to add a pattern like the snake in the book. (I have used unifix cubes to make patterns for the children to follow).

Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; enhances abilities to recognize, duplicate, and extend patterns using a variety of materials.

Library and Writing

Make a copy of the Jump Frog Jump page. Cover it with contact paper and let the children use a washable marker to follow the frog’s path. When they are done they can wipe it off with a damp cloth for another child to use.

Literacy/Early Writing; experiments with a growing variety of writing tools and ,materials, such as pencils, crayons, and computer.

Sand and Water

Add any small pond animals that you might have to the water table. Put out Tupperware lids that the children can pretend are lily pads. Let them use a small aquarium net to try to catch the animals/fish. How many fish did you catch? How many frogs fit on the lilly pad?

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

Dramatic Play

Math and Manipulatives

Mark a frog pond onto the floor or use a hoolahoop. Mark a line about 5 feet from the pond. Give a child 5 beanbags to try to throw into the pond. (Tell the children that the beanbag is a pretend frog that must try to jump into the pond). How many ‘frogs’ made it into the pond? How many did not? For older children you can give them a piece of paper that they can graph their results (2 in and 3 out of the pond). Have the children take turns throwing the bean bags into the pond.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to use language to compare numbers of objects with terms such as more, less, greater than, fewer, equal to. AND Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; develops growing abilities to collect, describe, and record information through a variety of means, including discussion, drawings, maps, and charts.

Outdoor Play

Play leap frog with the children.

Physical Health & Development/Gross Motor Skills; shows increasing levels of proficiency , control, and balance in walking, climbing, running, jumping, hopping, skipping, marching, and galloping.